The Slim Binary^TM Decompiler

This nifty utility allows one to decode a Slim Binary^TM (.Obj) file back into an Oberon-2 (.Mod) source format. (In case of native .Obj files, only the global symbol table is produced.) In writing this utility, I have stuck (I think) to the final ANSI C++ draft throughout the project so it "should" be portable, provided your compiler supports namespaces, templates, extension-less STL files (e.g., "#include <fstream>") and the like. The sources compiled successfully under both Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0 and the Metrowerks CodeWarrior 5 compilers for both Win32 and PowerPC MacOS targets.

My purpose in writing this application was twofold. First, I wanted to fully understand the structure of the Slim Binary^TM format, with all its strengths and weaknesses, as a springboard for further research. Secondly, the decoder demonstrates the ease with which high-level semantic information can be extracted (and plausibly used for module verification, optimization, etc.), given a properly designed portable code format.

Since there exists no formal (or even quasi-formal) specification for the Slim Binary^TM layout, the sb1d utility presented here cannot ever be viewed as being "complete" in any meaningful sense of the term. The application succesfully decompiles those Oberon-2 .Obj files, found in the Windows and MacOS distributions of Oberon System 3, that I had a chance to test out. Unfortunately, my little program can never be guaranteed to handle any and all such files (to say nothing of object files on other Oberon ports).

Should you encounter weird problems during compilation and/or execution, please let me know. Any feedback regarding the usability and understandability of the system shall also be appreciated.

The following items are available for download (the usual disclaimers apply):

The Slim Binary^TM Decompiler C++ Source Code (Ver 1.30: 24-Nov-1999.)
Use these to compile the decoder on your platform.

The Slim Binary^TM Decompiler Win32 Executable (Ver 1.30: 24-Nov-1999.)
This is a pre-built executable (.exe) for 32-bit Windows platforms. (I've tested it only on Windows NT 4.0, though.)

new!
The Slim Binary^TM Decompiler MacOS PowerPC Executable (Ver 1.30: 24-Nov-1999.)
With the help of my friends, I have finally been able to figure out how to build this thing for the Mac! :) It is packaged as a StuffIt Expander^TM document containing the actual sb1d application. When you double-click on the resulting sb1d icon, you will be prompted for the .Obj file name. For convenience, you may want to place sb1d in the same directory as the files you want to decompile (e.g., the :Obj: subfolder of your Oberon System 3 tree).

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	The Slim Binary^TM Decompiler C++ Source Code (Ver 1.30: 24-Nov-1999.) Use these to compile the decoder on your platform.
	The Slim Binary^TM Decompiler Win32 Executable (Ver 1.30: 24-Nov-1999.) This is a pre-built executable (`.exe`) for 32-bit Windows platforms. (I've tested it only on Windows NT 4.0, though.)
new!	The Slim Binary^TM Decompiler MacOS PowerPC Executable (Ver 1.30: 24-Nov-1999.) With the help of my friends, I have finally been able to figure out how to build this thing for the Mac! `:)` It is packaged as a StuffIt Expander^TM document containing the actual `sb1d` application. When you double-click on the resulting `sb1d` icon, you will be prompted for the `.Obj` file name. For convenience, you may want to place `sb1d` in the same directory as the files you want to decompile (e.g., the `:Obj:` subfolder of your Oberon System 3 tree).

The Slim BinaryTM Decompiler

(C) Copyright 1998-2002 by Ziemowit Laski. All Rights Reserved.

The Slim Binary^TM Decompiler