An approach to the problem of detranslation of computer programs

Abstract

A crucial problem in the decompilation or disassembly of computer programs is the identification of executable code, i.e. the separation of instructions from data. This problem, for most computer architectures, is equivalent to the Halting Problem and is therefore unsolvable in general. The problem of identifying instructions is examined in this paper and an algorithm that will 'usually' perform a correct analysis is described. In addition, other aspects of disassembly are discussed and algorithms outlined. © 1980 The British Computer Society.