calling all the c coders

[Guest Stephen Hyde]

ok folks im wondering if their is any skilled c coders in here who can hack and edit compiled library files (.so files) as im thinking of trying to reverse engineer dells audio changes but its way above my skills in that respect

[Guest jmhalder]

which .so files specifically, could you post them up? I'm not a coder, but why are they not usable? I've heard them referenced SO many times, but have never truly understood the dilemma.

[Guest popetodd]

which .so files specifically, could you post them up? I'm not a coder, but why are they not usable? I've heard them referenced SO many times, but have never truly understood the dilemma.

If you are not a coder then he is not talking to you.

You would have NO idea what to do.

They are shared object (.so) libraries, they contain the code routines that the binaries link to to run.

Whoever does the job for you Steve will also need to know assembly, the code disassemblers usually output the decompiled machine code in assembly language.

[Guest Stephen Hyde]

yep i know, theirs apps like idapro that supposedly can help but i cant get my head round said app :(

[Guest CodaWolf]

yep i know, theirs apps like idapro that supposedly can help but i cant get my head round said app :(

while it should be possible to create assembly for the files, I would think that getting anything useful out of them will be tough. I have had the misfortune of trying to do this for an old proprietary system that my organisation lost the source code for we had to abandon it due to time constraints.

I guess the real question is what kind of changes or information do you need from the files.

[Guest XsCode]

By 'Eck that's a bit harsh!

I'm a coder of 16yrs experience, and I have NO idea what to do either! :(

If you are not a coder then he is not talking to you.

You would have NO idea what to do.

[Guest popetodd]

By 'Eck that's a bit harsh!

I'm a coder of 16yrs experience, and I have NO idea what to do either! :(

Perhaps. :(

Fact is it's not an easy job.

First it needs to be decompiled from machine code into assembly, then it needs to be further decoded by someone who is extremely familiar with how a compiler optimizes the code as it compiles it.

This is because the decompiled code is not straightforward to read and the internal links are obscured by the compiler during the first compilation.

I might have said it a little softer, but what I said was correct, as you yourself have pointed out that even experienced coders are probably out of their depth on stuff like this.

[Guest offthahorse]

Perhaps. :(

Fact is it's not an easy job.

First it needs to be decompiled from machine code into assembly, then it needs to be further decoded by someone who is extremely familiar with how a compiler optimizes the code as it compiles it.

This is because the decompiled code is not straightforward to read and the internal links are obscured by the compiler during the first compilation.

I might have said it a little softer, but what I said was correct, as you yourself have pointed out that even experienced coders are probably out of their depth on stuff like this.

are you a coder? if not why are you making comments on what needs to be done? since anyone who isnt a coder couldnt possibly have any idea of what needs to be done...

[Guest popetodd]

are you a coder? if not why are you making comments on what needs to be done? since anyone who isnt a coder couldnt possibly have any idea of what needs to be done...

Gee smartass, ya think?

Yes, I do code. No, I can't code assembly.

So no, I can't help out here.

Why, can you? Or are you just being a muppet for fun?

[Guest kentt]

are you a coder? if not why are you making comments on what needs to be done? since anyone who isnt a coder couldnt possibly have any idea of what needs to be done...

Answer: to be a tough guy?

[Guest jmhalder]

I might have said it a little softer, but what I said was correct, as you yourself have pointed out that even experienced coders are probably out of their depth on stuff like this.

I thought about writing a rude response back, but held back... I was tired as hell when I wrote my post, so I may not have made myself super clear. I was only curious as to why the current libraries can't be used, or more specifically what needs to be changed, its far from similar but I honestly would like to read about any modifications anyone makes. Similarly (by a long shot) I used to follow ECU code modifications that people would make for my Nissan U12 ECU by the same means (decompiling to assembly, modifying and recompiling) although that was on a 8 bit motorola CPU :( . Interested to read the work here, even though I am not a coder.

(and I guess I was asking for it since I'm not a coder, so no harm no foul)

[Guest gilrad]

Out of curiosity, are these audio changes related to the proprietary drivers that are preventing Cyanogenmod and MIUI roms?

(and yes, I am not a coder either. Feel free to lay into me--after my question is answered, that is!)

[Guest Stephen Hyde]

yep thats why im asking, i may of just found a different route around it but i need some people skilled with c and/or kernel compilation to help me out porting the changes to dells kernel

[Guest megazig]

is RE of .so files and interpreting back to C still needed for this? I am trying to find something to do to contribute in this scene and have a bit of knowledge on ARM and embedded systems and am an avid linux user.

have my own license for IDA Pro and would only need to write myself a loader for .so files

[Guest fards]

is RE of .so files and interpreting back to C still needed for this? I am trying to find something to do to contribute in this scene and have a bit of knowledge on ARM and embedded systems and am an avid linux user.

have my own license for IDA Pro and would only need to write myself a loader for .so files

Yes! Very definitely, we have the gb kernel code, but with Dell's changes to, and lack of openness about the userspace drivers it's frankly pointless to build it.

So anything you can contribute would be great. #dellstreak, freenode :P