This project is an attempt to develop a real decompiler for machine code programs through the open source community. A decompiler takes as input an executable file, and attempts to create a high level, compilable, possibly even maintainable source file that does the same thing. It is therefore the opposite of a compiler, which takes a source file and makes an executable. However, a general decompiler does not attempt to reverse every action of the decompiler, rather it transforms the input program repeatedly until the result is high level source code. It therefore won't recreate the original source file; probably nothing like it. It does not matter if the executable file has symbols or not, or was compiled from any particular language. (However, declarative languages like ML are not considered.)
By transforming the semantics of individual instructions, and using powerful techniques such as Static Single Assignment dataflow analysis, Boomerang should be (largely) independent of the exact behaviour of the compiler that happened to be used. Optimisation should not affect the results. Hence, the goal is a general decompiler.
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