Hi, On Thu, 17 Jan 2019 17:48:50 +0200 "Octavian Rasnita" <orasn...@gmail.com> wrote:
> From: "Chas. Owens" <chas.ow...@gmail.com> > > > The only way to truly hide code is to not give the code to the person > > you don't want to see it. Even languages like C have decompilers. If > > you truly need to prevent people from seeing code, then your only real > > option is to run a server and distribute a client that connects to the > > server. If all you need to is to discourage casual lookers from > > seeing the source, then you only need something like Acme::Bleach. > > Yes, you can unbleach the code, but it takes effort and knowledge and > > with those no code is safe behind any form of obfuscation (including > > compilation to binary). > > > > If you are trying to hide the code because you are distributing > > secrets (like passwords, api keys, etc) in your code, then you have a > > fundamental design issue that needs to be fixed. > > > > > > Decompiling C/C++/asm code in a form that can be re-compiled again is hard > to do for most programmers. > Finding/unhiding the provided Perl code is not as hard. > > So the real answer is that if the protection of the source code is so > important, then Perl is not an appropriate programming language for this, > because it doesn't have a way of compiling the code and storing it in files > that can be distributed and ran by the final users. C/C++/Java/C# or even Go > or Python are better for this. > Please see https://github.com/shlomif/Freenode-programming-channel-FAQ/blob/master/FAQ.mdwn#how-do-i-hideobscureencrypt-my-source-code-to-prevent-end-users-from-learning-how-it-works (short URL: https://is.gd/pLk1b2 ) Python is not suitable for that either. Also note that while decompiling is problematic, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_engineering is usually doable with some effort if you wish to learn about a certain key technique. > As far as I know, perlcc never really worked for complex programs. It might > work for Hello, world programs, but not fore more, so it is not a solution > either. > > ActiveState PDK could be a good enough solution for hiding the source code, > but it is not a very clean solution that works well for any kind of > programs, and it doesn't compile the code. > > Creating web-based apps that run on a server might not be a solution either, > because in some cases a local (desktop) app with a OS native interface is > needed. > > Perl still has its advantages, but not for compiling/hiding code and for > distributing the programs to final users, and because it is used less and > less for new projects, probably it will never have that kind of advantage > unfortunately. > > Other people used to recommend to distribute a license and put the loyers > sue those that don't respect it, but it is obvious that this is not a > solution either. > > Perl is good only when is not necessary to hide the code, for example for > very complex web-based apps that can't be replaced with an already-made free > CMS, or for special programs that run on a server by a cron job, but not for > applications ran by common users on their desktop computers. > ...unfortunately. > > --Octavian > -- ----------------------------------------------------------------- Shlomi Fish http://www.shlomifish.org/ Beginners Site for the Vim text editor - http://vim.begin-site.org/ Wikipedia deletionists Don’t Die. They lose notability and get deleted. — http://www.shlomifish.org/humour.html Please reply to list if it's a mailing list post - http://shlom.in/reply . -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: beginners-unsubscr...@perl.org For additional commands, e-mail: beginners-h...@perl.org http://learn.perl.org/
