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posted by janrinok on Monday March 24 2014, @08:51PM   Printer-friendly
from the not-for-the-faint-hearted dept.

Anonymous Coward writes:

"Dan Luu, in his blog, suggests that editing binaries is something that we should consider from time to time. From that blog:

Editing binaries is a trick that comes in handy a few times a year. You don't often need to, but when you do, there's no alternative. When I mention patching binaries, I get one of two reactions: complete shock or no reaction at all. As far as I can tell, this is because most people have one of these two models of the world:

  • There exists source code. Compilers do something to source code to make it runnable. If you change the source code, different things happen.
  • There exists a processor. The processor takes some bits and decodes them to make things happen. If you change the bits, different things happen.

If you have the first view, breaking out a hex editor to modify a program is the action of a deranged lunatic. If you have the second view, editing binaries is the most natural thing in the world. Why wouldn't you just edit the binary?"

 
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  • (Score: 2) by Reziac on Tuesday March 25 2014, @02:52AM

    by Reziac (2489) on Tuesday March 25 2014, @02:52AM (#20711) Homepage

    How do you know when a programmer is really good? He starts with:

    COPY CON PROGRAM.ZIP

    --
    And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
    Starting Score:    1  point
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