Summary and Observations

Abstract

The “compile once, run anywhere” philosophy has imposed a number of stumbling blocks for modern systems and software. As computer architectures have evolved and software has become significantly more complex, the need to completely understand and potentially modify the runtime behavior of modern software has become paramount. Unfortunately, the standard software distribution model hinders this goal as software is often distributed in binary form, with relevant information necessary for analyzing or modifying the application permanently removed. Fortunately, dynamic binary modification has emerged as a means for bypassing the restrictions of binary code, and accomplishing a series of tasks that were never envisioned and perhaps deemed impossible by the initial designers of computer systems and software.