Decompiler for Clipper EXE
Swapan Das
Due to unavoidable circumstances I've lost my source of certain
applications written in Clipper. I've an immediate requirement of
doing certain modifications in one of such application - I've taken
the backup of EXE & Dbfs from the client site, and requested them to
be patient for a few days.
It will be just impossible to re-write the entire application. Is
there any way to get the source code back - I googled and saw
"Valkyrie" - but that's commercial. Also saw "rescue5".
Is there anyway to get the source code back from my this clipper
application (hope its in Clipper 5 and not in Clipper 5.3). There's NO
THIRD PARTY LIB USED. I had a planning for converting this application
first to xHarbour and then to xHarbour with GUI - but it jeopardised.
I'm ready to upload my EXE also if reqd.?
With regards,
Swapan
Pavel Bogdan
if you have deleted the lines with no option / L
Bapu
Please send me zip file at learn...@yahoo.com , I will show to one of my
friend who may help you.
Regards
Bapu.
Central Africa
"Swapan Das" <swapan...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:3b03b514-6ec4-4763...@b7g2000pre.googlegroups.com...
Ron Pinkas
You may send the publishers of Valkyrie a letter describing the charitable
cause, and maybe they'll send you a free copy. Otherwise if your client
pays you for your work, it would only be fair that you also respect the work
of other software developers, and honor their copyright.
Ron
Swapan Das
wrote:
>
> - Show quoted text -
Thanks everybody for the response.
RON: Thanks for ur suggestion. Yes the application is written by me
only, if anyone decodes it can see my name in the prgs, as developer
name. The issue with Client is that I never supplied the source code,
we generally don't until the customer asks for the same. And in that
case we quote the price of the software in that way also......
My this client know little about programming and thinks I can make
changes to the program if I take the backup of his application with
data and work on it!
I'm just wondering if Valkyrie guys will do this charity.......
BAPU:Thanks for ur help. Let me first try with Valkyrie people.
I lost source codes of many applications, but I wanted to get back the
source code of this application as its small, practical project and a
good sample application for converting to xHarbour and then to xHrbour
+GUI.
Regards,
Swapan
Alexey L. Gustow
About decompiliers for Clipper:
I have some expirience in this job and can say: Valkyrie get us "good
looking" code, but... it makes some mistakes sometimes (especially in
codeblocks with "chain" of functions and some other situations).
When I need to decompile Clipper application (I use Clipper 5.01 and
RTLink), I use _two_ decompiliers for this:
1) RESCUE5
It gives me "bad looking" code - because text contains Clipper built-
in _functions_, not translated to _commands_ . For examle:
@ 10, 10 say "Hello"
it writes like
DEVPOS(10, 10)
DEVOUT("Hello")
etc.
Good news: RESCUE5 gives me files (with .SRC or .UDF extension) that
contains functions and procedures as in _original_ PRGs
2) VALKYRIE
It gives me (as I said) "good looking" code - but it will be in
_one_ .SRC file (and can contain - as I said too - some mistakes).
Another bad news about Valkyrie: if you have in different PRGs two or
more STATIC functions with _same_ name (f.e. with name "KDD"), you
must _resolve_ this problem when you decompilies your app in Valkyrie
(and then you have one "static function KDD()" in 1st .SRC file -
where _all_ other is - and another "static function KDD()" in 2nd .SRC
file [in can be different with 1st "KDD()"]; and if you want edit one
of KDD's - what you must edit?).
After decompiling with both decompiliers (in different folders of
course) I take Valkyrie's code as _main_ (I copy funcs from
Valkyrie's .SRC and paste them to lot of .PRG's if I need) and (looks
to RESCUE5's code) edit it.
Such process is better way (for me) and give best result.
(Sorry if my English is not the best :) I tried)
Alex L. Gustow
Yekaterinburg, Russia
http://gustow.narod.ru/harbour/harbour.htm
gustow33 [at] mail [dot] ru
Ath
...
That is a very good description of real practice using these
decompilers.
Thank you very much, I have never read such hands-on description.
Thnx
Ath
Swapan Das
> gustow33 [at] mail [dot] ru
Thanks a lot Alexey for going in such detail regarding the decompiling
methodolgy you follow.
RON: What's the email-id of publishers of Valkyrie?
BTW, my this mishap of losing "source code" helped me to know about
this avenue of Clipper (the decompilation of exe!) which remained
untouched even after so many years of my programming with Clipper.
Regards,
Swapan Das
swapan19DOTTTTTTdasATTTTTgmailDOTTTTcom
Ron Pinkas
> RON: What's the email-id of publishers of Valkyrie?
I believe you missed my point. From what you describe it sounds as if you
are being PAID to do the work you do for this customer, and thus you should
BUY Valkyrie (http://www.hallogram.com/valkyrie/).
> BTW, my this mishap of losing "source code" helped me to know about
> this avenue of Clipper (the decompilation of exe!) which remained
> untouched even after so many years of my programming with Clipper.
Yet your misfortune should not lead you to abuse the copyright of other
developers.
Ron
Robert Campsmith
I have used Valkyrie years ago. It worked fine.
Unfortunately it will NOT decompile an exe that was linked
with Blinker 5 or later, only Blinker 4.1.
I never used another linker so I have no experience.
-- Robert
Swapan Das
> developers.
>
> Ron
First of all Thanks everybody for enlighting me on this subject. BTW
I used Clipper 5.1 and RTLINK linker only, and no 3rd party add-ons.
Ron: I didn't had the intention of abusing other developers'
copyright. Yes, I was paid for the software I developed, and it didn't
included the price of the source code. And my this Customer will not
pay single penny to me for obtaining the "source code", as this is not
his headache how I modify the program. Through this thread I was
gathering info. on the ways out and the work arounds..... as I had
little knowledge on this decompilation field. What I gathered is that
its not that "easy" even to rebuild the entire applicaiton from the
original versions of Valkeryie & Rescue5. Its something like "data
retreving" process the people used to do with crashed HDDs. I've seen
the codes generated from the demo ver. of both these decompilers -
looks good but still lot of hard work has to be done to rebuild an
application of 100+ prgs, I suppose.
In the meantime, I was fanatically searching for my lost code from old
backups of 50+ floppies & 50 cds. And fortunately almost at the end of
my fanatic search, I happened to get hold of it from one of my floppy.
The version may not be the latest & exact one, but my purpose was
solved.
All of your good wishes helped.........
Regards,
-- Swapan
N:dlzc D:aol T:com (dlzc)
"Swapan Das" <swapan...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:bd9ec10b-d79e-4217...@b6g2000pre.googlegroups.com...
>> Yet your misfortune should not lead you to abuse
>> the copyright of other developers.
...
> Ron: I didn't had the intention of abusing other
> developers' copyright. Yes, I was paid for the
> software I developed, and it didn't
...
Ron was referring to the developers of Valkeryie & Rescue5, not
the original authors of your code-base. If you can get those
authors or their agents to donate its use because Bill Gates ate
your source code, then they have a say in the matter. And you
did indicate you were going to ask them...
...
> In the meantime, I was fanatically searching for my
> lost code from old backups of 50+ floppies & 50 cds.
> And fortunately almost at the end of my fanatic search,
> I happened to get hold of it from one of my floppy. The
> version may not be the latest & exact one, but my
> purpose was solved.
Hooray!
Now could you learn a lesson, and start a regular backup program,
or routinely file your project's source code (unless trivial) in
some regular fashion? Can this pain you've experienced lead to a
life lesson? Could I sound more like a Jewish mother? ;>)
David A. Smith
sadaqatal...@gmail.com
Robert Campsmith
I have used Valkyrie in the past. Both on S87 and v5.2 project with
Blinker. It works as expected. You may have to bite the bullet and buy
it if your project is important to you.
It certainly taught me to exercise better source code protection methods.
-- Robert