[rlili]

Makes me wonder if decompilation could eventually become so trivial that everything would become de-facto open source.

[jasonjmcghee]

It would be "source available", if anything, not "open source".

> An open-source license is a type of license for computer software and other products that allows the source code, blueprint or design to be used, modified or shared (with or without modification) under defined terms and conditions.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source

Companies have been really abusing what open source means- claiming something is "open source" cause they share the code and then having a license that says you can't use any part of it in any way.

Similarly if you ever use that software or depending on where you downloaded it from, you might have agreed not to decompile or read the source code. Using that code is a gamble.

[sa1]

But clean room reverse engineered code can have its own license, no?

[DrNosferatu]

But, for example, isn't Cannonball (SEGA Outrun source port) open source?

https://github.com/djyt/cannonball

[mkatx]

So instead of reverse engineering.. an llm/agent/whatever could simply produce custom apps for everyone, simply implementing the features an individual might want. A more viable path?

[yieldcrv]

Open source never meant free to begin with and was never software specific, that’s a colloquialism and I’d love to say “language evolves” in favor of the software community’s use but open source is used in other still similar contexts, specifically legal and public policy ones

FOSS specifically means/meant free and open source software, the free and software words are there for a reason

so we don’t need another distinction like “source available” that people need to understand to convey an already shared concept

yes, companies abuse their community’s interest in something by blending open source legal term as a marketing term

[VikingCoder]

I wonder when you're never going to run expensive software on your own CPU.

It'll either all be in the cloud, so you never run the code...

Or it'll be on a chip, in a hermetically sealed usb drive, that you plug in to your computer.

[TheAceOfHearts]

If progress continues, someday it'll be possible to generate the source code for any binary and make a native port to any other platform. Some companies might be upset, but it'll be a huge boon for game and software preservation.

[big-and-small]

While "native" is always questionable it was possible long ago without actually ever having source code. E.g back in 2024 there was ARM port of StarCraft 1 for OpenPandora. Just "dumb" x86 decompilation and then building against Wine for ARM.

https://hackaday.com/2014/07/31/playing-starcraft-on-an-arm/

https://pyra-handheld.com/boards/threads/starcraft.73844/

[tcdent]

That's definitely a possible future abstraction and one are about the future of technology I'm excited about.

First we get to tackle all of the small ideas and side projects we haven't had time to prioritize.

Then, we start taking ownership of all of the software systems that we interact with on a daily basis; hacking in modifications and reverse engineering protocols to suit our needs.

Finally our own interaction with software becomes entirely boutique: operating systems, firmware, user interfaces that we have directed ourselves to suit our individual tastes.

[jonhohle]

That runs into copyright issues. As someone who does a reasonable amount of decompilation, I wouldn’t ever use an LLM. It falls too close to mechanical transformation territory which is not protected, fair use.

Obviously others aren’t concerned or don’t live in jurisdictions where that would be an issue.

[Aeolun]

When the decompilation like that is trivial, so is recreation without decompilation. It implies the LLM know exactly how thins work.

[johnfn]

Surely then people start using LLMs to obfuscate compiled source to the point that another LLM can’t deobfuscate it. I imagine it’s always easier to make something messy than clean. Something like a rule of thermodynamics or something :)

Though, that’s only for actively developer software. I can imagine a great future where all retro games are now source available.

[tuhgdetzhh]

But on the other hand, at the current speed of LLM progression, a game that might have been obfuscated with the help of Opus 4.5 might in two years be decompiled within hours by Opus 6.5.

[DrNosferatu]

This day will arrive.

And it will be great for retro game preservation.

Having more integrated tools and tutorials on this would be awesome.

[js8]

Yes, I believe it will. What I predict will happen is that most commercial software will be hosted and provided through "trusted" platforms with limited access, making reverse engineering impossible.

[anabis]

Would some sparks fly when easy decompile of MSOffice and Photoshop are available, I wonder.

[Xmd5a]

This deserves a discussion

[ronsor]

I've used LLMs to help with decompilation since the original release of GPT-4. They're excellent at recognizing the purpose of functions and refactoring IDA or Ghidra pseudo-C into readable code.

[stevemk14ebr]

We're very far away from this.