Dec 192017
 
Shroud your C source code - compilable but nearly unreadable to humans.
File SHROUD.ZIP from The Programmer’s Corner in
Category C Source Code
Shroud your C source code – compilable but nearly unreadable to humans.
File Name File Size Zip Size Zip Type
READ.ME 3265 1533 deflated
SHROUD.EXE 22219 13361 deflated
SHROUD.MAN 4054 1756 deflated
SHROUD.MAP 780 358 deflated
START.MAP 780 358 deflated

Download File SHROUD.ZIP Here

Contents of the READ.ME file



Thank you for downloading our C source code shrouder. Here are some
notes concerning version 1.0 of shroud.

This version is distributed as executables only for MSDOS computers.
The source code for shroud will be released later. We wish to ensure that
the version of LEX we use is compatible with LEX on other systems. This
source code will not be shrouded.

Version 2.0 will have another command line switch to specify the
maximum number of mappings that are allowed. Currently, 5000 are allowed.
This is a nice number for MSDOS large model programs.

Shroud has only been tested with Microsoft C V5.1. We ran it through
most of our C source code that was available. There were no problems, even
with the code from the obfuscated C contests held from 1984-1988 on Usenet.

We have not been able to get shroud to produce output that can't be
compiled again. All the problems show up as linker errors. You will see
things like:

LINK : error L2029: Unresolved externals:

__409 in file(s):

FRED.OBJ(fred.c)

Basically, what happens is that certain names get shrouded when you
don't want them to. Older code which doesn't include header files is the
main culprit. The best remedy is to create a version of the mapping file
(shroud.map) that contains all of your library function and variable names.
You can do this by creating a C program that includes all of your library
include files and then shrouding it.

Linker errors are also caused by external names created in other
languages, usually assembly code. These names must be placed into the
mapping file as null mappings to prevent them from being shrouded. For us,
this isn't a problem because we only shroud our code for porting to other
systems and assembly isn't portable.

The shrouded source code does not have formatting whitespace removed.
There is no reason to do this because any source code formatter can put the
whitespace back in.

Now, for a message on ethics and whatnot. Please don't shroud any
source code that you upload to this system or any others. People won't be
able to learn anything from your code. There are two things you should
shroud code for.

The first is to prevent the loss of trade secrets when installing
your program on a client's system. We think that this is ok because you are
being paid to provide a service to someone by installing your program and
letting them have the benefit of using that program. Shrouding makes it easy
for you to install your program and difficult for the client to steal your
program.

The second use of shrouding would be to report compiler bugs. Most
compiler bugs would be demonstrated in the shrouded code and the original
code. You can send your shrouded source code to the compiler manufacturer
without worrying about giving away any details of your source code.

Please inform us of any bugs you discover. I suspect that we
missed a few Ansi features. Tell us what compiler you were using.
Any suggestions on how to make the program easier to use are also
appreciated. You may contact us at any of the following addresses:


Bix: toren
Compuserve: 76167, 3600
UUCP: [email protected]


Thank you and happy shrouding.



 December 19, 2017  Add comments

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