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Binary and Hex format
- Thread starter Haheehi
- Start date
Haheehi, eventually you will find a need to visually verify the integrity of the files written by your applications. The availability of a hexadecimal display can be invaluable since many of the ASCII characters are invisible or displayed as black boxes in an ordinary file editor.
Another use, that you probably won't require for a while, if ever, is snooping around in another app without decompiling it (normally, that violates your license agreement). Sometimes you can get an idea of how a program works by scanning for the API calls, which are stored as plain text in the EXE. You can't see the parameters but the names of the functions might be all you need to know.
Believe it or not, there are countless examples.
My favorite hex viewer is a little shareware program called "List" by Vernon D. Buerg. It is extremely fast and very flexible, allowing you to browse through files as large as the Windows Swap file. My copy is seven years old but I'm sure you can still find it on the Internet. My favorite hex editor is Norton Diskedit. Not only will it allow you to view and edit binary files, you can do the same with physical disk sectors (not under NT).
I use both programs every day. Many programmers learn their trade and somehow make a living without ever seeing a hexadecimal display but I, personally, wouldn't try to do it.
[sig]<p> <br><a href=mailto: > </a><br><a href= plain black box</a><br>[/sig]
Another use, that you probably won't require for a while, if ever, is snooping around in another app without decompiling it (normally, that violates your license agreement). Sometimes you can get an idea of how a program works by scanning for the API calls, which are stored as plain text in the EXE. You can't see the parameters but the names of the functions might be all you need to know.
Believe it or not, there are countless examples.
My favorite hex viewer is a little shareware program called "List" by Vernon D. Buerg. It is extremely fast and very flexible, allowing you to browse through files as large as the Windows Swap file. My copy is seven years old but I'm sure you can still find it on the Internet. My favorite hex editor is Norton Diskedit. Not only will it allow you to view and edit binary files, you can do the same with physical disk sectors (not under NT).
I use both programs every day. Many programmers learn their trade and somehow make a living without ever seeing a hexadecimal display but I, personally, wouldn't try to do it.
[sig]<p> <br><a href=mailto: > </a><br><a href= plain black box</a><br>[/sig]
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