From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on inbox.vuxu.org X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-0.8 required=5.0 tests=DKIM_ADSP_CUSTOM_MED, DKIM_INVALID,DKIM_SIGNED,FREEMAIL_FROM,HTML_MESSAGE,MAILING_LIST_MULTI, RCVD_IN_DNSWL_NONE autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 Received: (qmail 13301 invoked from network); 19 Jun 2021 21:50:21 -0000 Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (45.79.103.53) by inbox.vuxu.org with ESMTPUTF8; 19 Jun 2021 21:50:21 -0000 Received: by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix, from userid 112) id 8513093DDE; Sun, 20 Jun 2021 07:50:19 +1000 (AEST) Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 2B56893DD3; Sun, 20 Jun 2021 07:49:26 +1000 (AEST) Authentication-Results: minnie.tuhs.org; dkim=fail reason="signature verification failed" (2048-bit key; unprotected) header.d=gmail.com header.i=@gmail.com header.b="bCQCKoEO"; dkim-atps=neutral Received: by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix, from userid 112) id 2683493DC0; Sun, 20 Jun 2021 07:49:23 +1000 (AEST) Received: from mail-pf1-f173.google.com (mail-pf1-f173.google.com [209.85.210.173]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id AFD1F93D62 for ; Sun, 20 Jun 2021 07:49:22 +1000 (AEST) Received: by mail-pf1-f173.google.com with SMTP id x16so10570030pfa.13 for ; Sat, 19 Jun 2021 14:49:22 -0700 (PDT) DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=20161025; h=mime-version:references:in-reply-to:from:date:message-id:subject:to :cc; bh=z0fqCAFLExfrlVufpCKw/zKvQXhBmM/dSjAowVMiyl4=; b=bCQCKoEOdoP5TNftyxP/onEiv4wKuU7gkZ1bZOhn0mXqejLX5Uvv8zXRf+ch3CI5wt 6AyRYEkFrFr4/CZfNgu2oLmNnYjBLPSfz/HOrMNQY3cUygqly3Zi5UVUJSRuPT6c7cQR xAZ2B20Q6zFD3W9fecCNBrSXNX4wuUbXXJn7RF9XkigqSsaoDSQE9/nMv0cZ0mhNsuzq CQzZYmjuKsnPBe72wrODBKYzZSaxR2Kt16varUMi+xK8BofY5ybshPZmGtUkpPXgQz1+ 4W8kQco7qgq1nTgL0jW5fpaOVO1BohYOBc50Ix+brDr6NvbLiUMRsWgh+sGX11zDkmtY UxGA== X-Google-DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=1e100.net; s=20161025; h=x-gm-message-state:mime-version:references:in-reply-to:from:date :message-id:subject:to:cc; bh=z0fqCAFLExfrlVufpCKw/zKvQXhBmM/dSjAowVMiyl4=; b=W248dG0qz6NI7hO7TgiVTTt7n/6j/+lrRHmBD8o+xHQtTgxBHv+wYBVZkFX2U1qbjM Bh432CvzQCTlefAGLmvj86W4x9tGyUwQEjK8dCLHa73zvj7SVgUMWrOiI9mOhUMOegM3 ZurYzNze5j453aDrPtOkXFcyAlJKoaTHO7+tvuSvGZTYxUjdq/vmrCvJ0Hcbl/4QRexo 80QlmbX05u+GSmnekJkutWdu7Ie8hy31Zu69NgHJkN3Mnb3cx2SoTGHtJSBSHkr+MhZI NyQ7GLksNDACZLF9mk4vb461veEX9e4Q9D1YTScmcu1fEraK3+IVsFbvSBe9HaOEm8/X ecGA== X-Gm-Message-State: AOAM5303qzxVrVRd/dfIrlvzg3tWHLtHF1i8TKZpXmHPyDgFikCi2geO uCpYneB6Z/hEm2Re4RqustG23dSeWtto6RLzDM0= X-Google-Smtp-Source: ABdhPJx/acmch69MRlCXtgmeyMc5ZmTD1g2/KN711AAjH5TdkcUDCzeftTx2vACn5+lIrR8qrDRH5aaubUNi0LcC7y8= X-Received: by 2002:aa7:93d2:0:b029:2ea:5909:ebfc with SMTP id y18-20020aa793d20000b02902ea5909ebfcmr11853959pff.40.1624139361854; Sat, 19 Jun 2021 14:49:21 -0700 (PDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 References: In-Reply-To: From: Rob Pike Date: Sun, 20 Jun 2021 07:49:10 +1000 Message-ID: To: Richard Salz Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="000000000000baab8205c525693c" Subject: Re: [TUHS] Disassemblers X-BeenThere: tuhs@minnie.tuhs.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.26 Precedence: list List-Id: The Unix Heritage Society mailing list List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Cc: The Eunuchs Hysterical Society Errors-To: tuhs-bounces@minnie.tuhs.org Sender: "TUHS" --000000000000baab8205c525693c Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" For v8 or thereabouts, I spent some time fixing some fundamental bugs in db and found that it was arcane but remarkably powerful. Since it was lower level, it avoided the endemic debugging problem of misleading you about your program: All it could do was tell you what the machine was doing. (Cdb, sdb, and adb were, at least in my experience, always lying to you.) I may be the only person who appreciated db fully. Once the bugs were gone you really could use it to good effect, as long as you understood the CPU. But it was buggy and arcane, no question about that. -rob On Sun, Jun 20, 2021 at 6:46 AM Richard Salz wrote: > I remember compiling and playing Langston's "empire" that I was told came > from a decompiled executable. This was in the 4.2 days. > --000000000000baab8205c525693c Content-Type: text/html; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
For v8 or thereabouts, I spent some time fixing some funda= mental bugs in db and found that it was arcane but remarkably powerful. Sin= ce it was lower level, it avoided the endemic debugging problem of misleadi= ng you about your program: All it could do was tell you what the machine wa= s doing. (Cdb, sdb, and adb were, at least in my experience, always lying t= o you.) I may be the only person who appreciated db fully. Once the bugs we= re gone you really could use it to good effect, as long as you understood t= he CPU.

But it was buggy and arcane, no question about t= hat.

-rob




On Sun, Jun 20, 2021 at 6:46 AM Richard Salz <rich.salz@gmail.com> wrote:
I remember compi= ling and playing Langston's "empire" that I was told came fro= m a decompiled executable. This was in the 4.2 days.
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