A next-generation platform for analyzing executables
APLAS'05 Proceedings of the Third Asian conference on Programming Languages and Systems
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In this paper we present our efforts to measure different quality aspects of large-scale, binary software. We apply four well established metrics to binary versions of Windows and Debian Linux, analyze our results and discuss our observations. It is surprising to see that our metrics, which search for well known bad coding habits, result with so many violations. It appears that although bad and insecure software development practices are well understood and documented, in practice, recommended coding styles are not followed. Our work evaluates binary versions of software, allowing us to inspect software quality without the need of source code. We believe that this approach, if successful, could lead in the future to better priced software. This is because the quality of software bought today is not transparent to its users.