What language will protect my source code?

Question

I wish to create shareware software that contains a registration algorithm. I am looking for a programming language, that cannot be easily decompiled into readable code. F

Answer 1

You could write it in Perl.

(I kid, I kid! Put down the pitchforks!)

Answer 2

No language is capable of that AFAIK.. since it's impossible as it can always be reverse engineered.. though a good number of developers would cry if you coded it in brainfvck though.

Answer 3

if you really concern about people disassemble your software, make your software as a service (SaaS) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_as_a_service

Answer 4

I'd suggest the language of business and economics can protect your program.

If you are targeting consumers, and price it at say $10, almost all people would find it easier to pay you the $10 vs going into your program and reverse engineering it.

If you are targeting corporations, and say pricing it at $10,000, it just has to be easier to get the purchasing department to approve the payment than to reverse engineer your code. For real companies who would purchase your product, it's not worth the audit risk to have unlicensed code running.

Lastly, what are the costs/benefits of protecting your code? If you write your program in assembly instead of C#, you might have far higher production costs, while reducing the chance of reverse engineering. However, does this cost outweigh the potential lost sales? Could this time be better spent adding value for people who will buy the product? Generally, trying to sell your product to people who are never pay for software is not a economic strategy.

Answer 5

1. As the others said, Delphi is NOT dying.
2. As the others said, there is no bulletproof method.
3. As the others said, there are tools to make the life of a cracker much harder.

But what the others didn't say is:

1. Java, .NET (etc.) obfuscation is rather a toy compared with obfuscation toys for eg. Delphi and other native solutions. (of course YMMV)
2. A very good technology to relatively protect your executable can be found here.

Answer 6

You could always write it in APL. You could deliver the source and still no one would be able to understand it.