The first programs were written in binary/hexadecimal, and only later did we invent coding languages to convert between human readable code and binary machine code.

So why can’t we just do the same thing in reverse? I hear a lot about devices from audio streaming to footware rendered useless by abandonware. Couldn’t a very smart person (or AI) just take the existing program and turn it into code?

  • Toes♀
    5•6 months ago

    I have a bunch of 16-bit applications that I would love to be able to do that with. Mostly dos and windows 3.1 games.

    • subignition
      4•6 months ago

      You might actually consider dipping your toes into trying to learn how to analyze/reverse those yourself. Relatively speaking, software that old can sometimes be easier to reverse.

      • Toes♀
        2•6 months ago

        Yeah I’m not unfamiliar (still a novice though) with the process and mostly used it circumvent something obnoxious or tweak save files. Just takes a lot of effort when you’re just looking to spend a couple hours playing a game before bed.

        I’m currently experiencing a frustrating bug in dolphin and I’m being tempted to learn enough about it. My MIPS buddy won’t help me with it because he thinks it’s a waste of time.

        I like LLMs for the time it saves you to do something laborious or mundane. One day we’ll have general ai fingers crossed

        ~Love the toes pun

        • subignition
          2•6 months ago

          My apologies for preaching to the choir. (And I didn’t notice your username when I wrote that, LOL. Happy accident.)