VB6 decompiler

[neowin_hipster]

i've googled around for a vb6 decompiler but i never found one that worked.

What's the best compiler out there and how much is it able to decompile.

[Post-It Note]

First, why do you want to know?

Secondly, you can't. It isn't decompilable.

The best you can do is extract the Forms, and the subs/functions. It doesn't restore the code inside those subs/functions. It is really only useful if you lost the source for a program.

[azcodemonkey]

You could use a disassembler like WinDasm. VB 6 defaults to compiling to a native binary. If it's compiled to pcode, you should be able to use the normal, VB 4 decompilers.

[Holes]

  Post-It Note said:

First, why do you want to know?

Secondly, you can't.  It isn't decompilable.

The best you can do is extract the Forms, and the subs/functions.  It doesn't restore the code inside those subs/functions.  It is really only useful if you lost the source for a program.

Wrong. You can decomible VB6 code. There are many commercial decompilers available, and they do work.

And VB6's "binary" is not actually binary.

[azcodemonkey]

  Holes said:

And VB6's "binary" is not actually binary.

Then what is it?

[Radium]

  weenur said:

Then what is it?

It's octal. :rofl:

[sourcer*****]

man. i have a decompiler that decompiles the code exactly .. even the comments!!!(exe's and ocx's too!!) but it costs alot and you can use a trial version that decompiles only some code.. i'll look into it(cuz i forghot the name) if you're interested..

[Jambooo]

Are you sure :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[anog]

  sourcer***** said:

man. i have a decompiler that decompiles the code exactly .. even the comments!!!(exe's and ocx's too!!)

How can that be if all the coments are stripped out before compiling?

[Jambooo]

He's lying... from what I know, apps to a lengthy extent CANNOT be decompiled... just not feasable

[jamend]

There's no quick and simple way of doing this. There is a site (can't remember exactly where) that will do it for you at a price since it's manual work. They were planning on releasing a program to do it but I think the project died.

Edit: The site is http://www.decompiler.org/, and apparently they've almost finished the decompiler :blink:

[neufuse Veteran]

  weenur said:

Then what is it?

it's pcode... aka precompiled code... that is used a lot in 4GL languages

[neufuse Veteran]

  Lee McDermott said:

He's lying... from what I know, apps to a lengthy extent CANNOT be decompiled... just not feasable

yes they can, get a little more education on the subject then speak... .NET apps, and VB Classic apps can be decompiled VERY easily, as long as they arnt obsfucated.

[BananaMan]

  sourcer***** said:

man. i have a decompiler that decompiles the code exactly .. even the comments!!!

The comments are stripped from the code when it is compiled, so that's impossible.

[neufuse Veteran]

  sourcer***** said:

man. i have a decompiler that decompiles the code exactly .. even the comments!!!(exe's and ocx's too!!) but it costs alot and you can use a trial version that decompiles only some code.. i'll look into it(cuz i forghot the name) if you're interested..

oh drop the BS.. comments are *NOT* compiled into code in ANY language

[sourcer*****]

so.. u think i'm liying? ok that's fine ... maybe you want a screenshot :p , but i won't bother

[akaladis Veteran]

VB6 apps can be decompiled easily and some times even perfectly. However, it only requires average IQ for the author to protect his .exe from such actions... So if the .exe is not the one directly compiled by VB and has undergone further treatment, its very difficult (or even impossible) to decompile it...

/Raptor

[Dr.Jones]

  sourcer***** said:

but i won't bother

How conveniant ! :angry:

[Jambooo]

  Dr.Jones said:

How conveniant ! :angry:

Exactly... all this bullsh*t about decompiling comments...

[neowin_hipster]

Thanks for all you help guys. I didn't know that vb6 had the option to not use pcode.

[neufuse Veteran]

  sourcer***** said:

so.. u think i'm liying? ok that's fine ... maybe you want  a screenshot :p , but i won't bother

dude, I've been working in development professionaly for many years, I know the in's and out's of how compilers and linkers work and have even writen one myself.. i can tell you for a fact it is physically IMPOSSIBLE to get comments out of compiled code.. the only way it could even come close is if you have precompiled database files with debug information and even they don't have comments in them in the majority of the languages or are even sent out with programs that are release builds! and screenshots cant prove crap, you'd have to give a working example for someone to test it out on but since its impossible have fun trying to do that

[neufuse Veteran]

aw comon sourcer***** did we scare you away? I'm sitting here waiting for this mysterious proof from you

[neowin_hipster]

Hmm, i'm a compy engineering student and i can't seem to figure out why compilers would want to store thousands of kb of comments and somehow attach that to line numbers.

[neufuse Veteran]

  Goalie_CA said:

Hmm, i'm a compy engineering student and i can't seem to figure out why compilers would want to store thousands of kb of comments and somehow attach that to line numbers.

thats because they don't store them ;) you need the original source and a PDB precompiled debug database file to link the executing program to the debug symbols then back to the source to get them :)

[nX07]

No comments go into complied code.

[neowin_hipster]

  Quote

thats because they don't store them

*someone doesn't understand sarcasm*