Uncompile

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To reverse the process of compiling code back into a human-readable form; to break down or disassemble a compiled program; to convert executable files into source code approximations
2. The act of transforming a compiled software program into a higher level language representation; analyzing assembled code to retrieve original programming instructions; reverting machine code into a form understandable by developers
3. The procedure of undoing compilation to regenerate source code; decoding object code into a programming language format; reconstructing program logic from binary executables for review or modification

Etymology: "Uncompile" is formed simply by attaching the reversing prefix "un-" to "compile." The prefix "un-" is an Old English element that signals reversal or undoing, as in "untie" or "unlock," and it can be added productively to many verbs in modern English. "Compile" itself came into English from Latin "compilare," meaning to plunder or pillage, literally to pile things together, and its sense of gathering material into a finished book or list developed later. Computing gave the verb its present meaning. A compiler translates source code written by programmers into machine-executable form, so "uncompile" describes the opposite job: taking an executable file and producing an approximation of the source code it came from. Because compilation discards much of the original structure, such reconstructions are typically imperfect, with variable names, comments and formatting often lost. The word is a transparent coinage, and its meaning follows directly from the two parts it combines.

Synonyms: decompile, reverse compile

Antonyms: compile