Recovering Meaningful Variable Names in Decompiled Code

Abstract

Conventional wisdom tells us that when a compiler transforms a program from source code to executable, some information is lost and cannot be recovered. For example, variable names are not included in a compiled executable, and have been assumed to be lost. Although state of the art decompilers can recover the presence of variables, they make attempt to recover their original names. Instead, they name the variables, v1, v2, and so on. This is unfortunate since several studies have shown that programmers carefully select variable names to make the program easier to understand.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2020
Accession Number
AD1110243

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  • Carnegie Mellon University

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