Re: Ngen.exe

From: Henning Krause (newsgroup.no_at_spam.infinitec.de)
Date: 06/06/04 

Date: Sun, 6 Jun 2004 10:51:53 +0200

Hello,

I use the reflector mainly to get a clue how something was implemented. I
don't use it to re-compile existing code. From that point of view,
Decompiler.NET is not so good, because it does not provide a class browser.
It's simply faster to take a quick look into a .NET Assambly with Reflector.

And what about the GAC? Decompiler.NET won't let you look into assemblies
stored in the GAC. Same with Salamander. But Reflector does this.

Anyway, the president of the Decompiler.NET company said, that both features
(Class Browser & GAC accessibility) would be available in a future version.

Greetings,
Henning Krause
==========================
Visit my website: http://www.infinitec.de
Try my free Exchange Explorer: Mistaya
(http://www.infinitec.de/?page=products)

"Jonathan Pierce" <jpierce@nyc.rr.com> wrote in message
news:3d0f5457.0406052219.42045e48@posting.google.com...
> Henning, Rene,
>
> For simple code examples, Reflector 4.0 does a much better job than
> the previous version. At first glance, it looks as powerful as the
> commercial products being sold, however, there are many examples where
> Reflector 4.0 does not generate code that compiles or runs, while
> Salamander and Decompiler.NET do a much better job and provide better
> support as you might expect from a commercial products. Before you
> pass judgement, you may want to try using the tools for more than just
> examining code, but instead for generating readable code that compiles
> and runs correctly. A good example is the ILReader library written by
> Lutz where he provides source code. Reflector 4.0 is unable to
> correctly decompile or run this library written by Reflector's author,
> while Decompiler.NET decompiles and runs the library correctly.
> Another example would be the correct handling of constructs like fixed
> statements and unsafe code.
>
> Try the following code example in each of the products and see how
> well they handle it both from code readability and runtime behavior.
> You will see that Reflectot 4.0 generates code that won't compile or
> run correctly. This is just one example of a construct that is
> difficult to support and there are many others. I have reported many
> of them to each of the other vendors as bugs including Lutz regarding
> Reflector 4.0.
>
> unsafe static bool unsafePointer(string s) {
> char[] c = new char[10];
> s.CopyTo(0,c,0,10);
> fixed(char *p=c){
> *(p+5) = 'x';
> for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++)
> if (*(p+i) == 'p')
> return true;
> }
> return false;
> }
>
> Here's what Reflector generates which will not compile or run
> correctly. Notice the assignment to p]10] where it should be p[5]
> because the chars are two bytes. Also notice the missing fixed
> statement and the incorrect use of the ref keyword and the datatype
> mismatch between chars and ints. Here's what Reflector 4.0 produces:
>
> private static bool unsafePointer(string s)
> {
> int num1;
> char[] chArray1 = new char[10];
> s.CopyTo(0, chArray1, 0, 10);
> pinned ref char local1 = ref chArray1[0];
> local1[10] = 120;
> for (num1 = 0; (num1 < 10); num1 += 1)
> {
> if ((local1 + (num1 * 2)) == 112)
> { return true;
> }
> }
> local1 = 0;
> return false;
> }
>
> Decompiler.NET however generates even better code than the original by
> replacing ptr arithmetic with array references. The generated code
> also runs correctly unlike what any of the other decompilers produce
> including Salamander. Decompiler.NET is also the only decompiler
> product being sold which retains local variable names by reading them
> from the symbol file when it is available. It is also priced extremely
> low relative to the competitors and includes free support, updates,
> and full obfuscation capabilities.
>
> static unsafe bool unsafePointer (string s)
>
> {
> char[] c;
> c = new char[10];
> s.CopyTo (0, c, 0, 10);
> fixed (char* p = c)
> {
> p[5] = 'x';
> for (int i = 0; (i < 10); i++)
> {
> if (p[i] == 'p')
> {
> return true;
> }
> }
> }
> return false;
> }
>
> Jonathan Pierce
> President
> Jungle Creatures, Inc.
> http://www.junglecreatures.com/
>
>
>
>
>
>
> "Henning Krause" <newsgroup.no@spam.infinitec.de> wrote in message
news:<OH$YGE0SEHA.1168@TK2MSFTNGP11.phx.gbl>...
> > Hello,
> >
> > yes, the Reflecter was the first decompiler I ever used. The current
version
> > (4.x) has finally an equal high level of decompilation as the Salamander
> > Decompiler. The version 3.x left many goto's in the C# code.
> >
> > From a point of usability, it is by far the best... therefore I fully
agree
> > with you.
> >
> > Greetings,
> > Henning
> >
> > --
> > Henning Krause
> > ==========================
> > Visit my website: http://www.infinitec.de
> > Try my free Exchange Explorer: Mistaya
> > (http://www.infinitec.de/?page=products)
> >
> >
> > "Rene" <renegram@nospam.hotmail.com> wrote in message
> > news:Ow2lUxzSEHA.3224@TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl...
> > > Have you taken a look at .NET Reflector? It does this already for free
and
> > > everybody I know is using it.
> > >
> > > It seems hopeless to me trying to make money on anything like that?
> > >
> > >
> > > "Jonathan Pierce" <jpierce@nyc.rr.com> wrote in message
> > > news:3d0f5457.0406011110.1b0cd22c@posting.google.com...
> > > > "Henning Krause" <newsgroup.no@spam.infinitec.de> wrote in message
> > news:<O3wSgi0REHA.3616@TK2MSFTNGP11.phx.gbl>...
> > > > > Hello,
> > > > >
> > > > > your decompiler is also quite advanced. Add an inline viewer and
the
> > ability
> > > > > to decompile GAC assemblies, and its even more powerfull ;-)
> > > >
> > > > Henning,
> > > >
> > > > Thank you for the positive feedback about the product. Also, your
> > > > feature suggestions are excellent. Decompiler.NET will decompile
> > > > referenced GAC assemblies, but the open file dialog doesn't let you
> > > > select one directly. I'll add the feature. I'm also adding a class
> > > > browser interface to the next major release of the product as well
as
> > > > a solution explorer for generated source code.
> > > >
> > > > I appreciate any technical feedback about code generation accuracy
and
> > > > additional feature requests as well.
> > > >
> > > > Jonathan
> > >
> > >

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Obfuscate
    ... preconfiguration prior to obfuscation, ... Lutz a lot of feedback regarding code generation issues in Reflector ... decompiler which reads symbol files and retains local variable names. ... We also do a much better job with unsafe code and COM Interop and each ...
    (microsoft.public.dotnet.languages.csharp)
  • Re: VB.NET and PRECOMPILES HELP
    ... As Jason said Reflector is the magic word in this case ... I was able to get a copy of the published web site. ... to use a decompiler, such as Reflector: ...
    (microsoft.public.dotnet.languages.vb)
  • Re: Ngen.exe
    ... Reflector 4.0 does a much better job than ... support as you might expect from a commercial products. ... statements and unsafe code. ... the Reflecter was the first decompiler I ever used. ...
    (microsoft.public.dotnet.security)
  • Re: Ngen.exe
    ... in Reflector... ... but instead for generating readable code that compiles ... > correctly decompile or run this library written by Reflector's author, ... > statements and unsafe code. ...
    (microsoft.public.dotnet.security)
  • Re: Decompiler.NET reverse engineers your CLS compliant code
    ... >> Our customers prefer the decompilation capability offered by the real ... >> Our product has many other capabilities that Reflector doesn't include, ... >> Visual Studio and other decompiler tools like Reflector allow. ...
    (microsoft.public.dotnet.languages.vb)