Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!apple!netcom!ergo
From: ergo@netcom.UUCP (Isaac Rabinovitch)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: C obfuscator
Message-ID: <12579@netcom.UUCP>
Date: 28 May 90 04:44:46 GMT
References: <12546@netcom.UUCP> <220@taumet.COM> <12573@netcom.UUCP> <4342@muffin.cme.nist.gov>
Distribution: comp
Organization: NetCom- The Bay Area's Public Access Unix System {408 249-0290 guest}
Lines: 21

libes@cme.nist.gov (Don Libes) writes:

>>>(there are legitimate uses for a C obfuscator!)
>>
>>Such as?

>... a useful way to distribute commercial products for multiple
>platforms.  Instead of dozens of binaries, just distribute one source
>and let the buyer compile.
Surely you jest.  If the buyer has porting problems, how is he supposed
to deal with it?  I've never heard of non-trivial source code that didn't
require tweaking on a new platform.

>For example, page 18 of this month's C Users Journal has an
>advertisement for a lint that comes in "shrouded source form" that is
>K&R and ANSI compatible, and which compiles on UNIX, DOS, VMS, VM/MVS,
>and several other operating systems.  The vendor has covered 99% of
>the market with a single distribution.
OK then, I apologize.  There are people dumb enough to consider this
a sane form of distrbution.  I suppose that should be legitimate enough
for me!