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Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!duke!mcnc!tim@unc.UUCP (Tim Maroney)
From: tim@unc.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.lang
Subject: Re: Self-modifying code
Message-ID: <6480@unc.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 30-Dec-83 17:29:43 EST
Article-I.D.: unc.6480
Posted: Fri Dec 30 17:29:43 1983
Date-Received: Sun, 1-Jan-84 02:07:55 EST
References: <319@decvax.UUCP>
Organization: CS Dept., U. of N. Carolina at Chapel Hill
Lines: 12

In response to the assertion that high-level languages don't allow
self-modifying code, I must point out that C's pointer typing freedoms allow
the addresses of functions to be converted into pointers to arbitrary data.
The self-modification can be done completely in C, although it will be
processing machine code, not C.  (Needless to say, this requires that the
program text not be loaded as read-only.)

It is also possible to write complete functions in process memory and
transfer control to them, and modify them.
--
Tim Maroney, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
duke!unc!tim (USENET), tim.unc@csnet-relay (ARPA)