Re: FLASH: Giving away source

[Phillip Kerman]

The first point you make (that JavaScript on the client is pretty

insignificant) makes sense.  Actually, I believe a well planned project only

dedicates 10% to true "programming" (the rest is designing etc.)--even with

Flash.  (A poorly planned project can easily take more programming, but

that's not good.)


You talk about obfuscation techniques, of which there are actually software

tools to make your code completely un-readable.  That's cool.  (No one of

any merit would be trying to steal your stuff however.)  I'd only say that

if someone spends a lot of time making the code unreadable they're paranoid.


Regarding Flash's limits.  Like I said, it takes  a cleaver programmer to

use Flash.  But I think you'd be hard pressed to find a language that has

FEWER functions and operators (Flash has about 20 each).


To reply to someone else's interesting analogy of a photographer giving away

negatives.  Negatives are a little different because only with the negatives

can you make decent duplicates of the original delivery.  In the case of

Flash, you can make as many perfect copies of the .swf regardless of whether

you have the source.  Analogies are never good for arguments (great for

explanation, not for convincing).  Anyway, to take the photography analogy

to my theory... giving away the source Flash files is equivalent to a

photography who simply documents their technique... lets a client watch them

work... or just "tells" the client how they did it.  It's easy to explain,

more difficult to actually do it.  Just like how source file can be opened

and snooped upon... it's another thing entirely to do the work.


Phillip


> Date: Tue, 13 Jun 2000 02:06:14 -0500

>

From: "Tony Gunn" <tony99texas [dot] net>

> Subject: Re: FLASH: Giving away source

>

> >You don't have to "give away the souce".  The point about JavaScript is

> it's

> >pretty open for anyone to see.

>

>

> In my experience JavaScript (on the client) is mainly used to:

> validate form

> variables, populate drop down or list box controls, simple redirection, &

> basic detection, and image rollovers.  These functionalities are so minor

> (like maybe 5%) in the overall solution that it dosen't matter (to me at

> least) if someone copies the code.  But a clever scripter might: define

> unnecessary variables, run unneeded selection statements, setup a complex

> flow of looped nested function calls and use their side effects

> as counters

> and calls, as well as use cryptic function & variable naming conventions

> (l010l, 1010l, l0101, 10lO1), all to throw off the source theif


> or the new

> contrator hired to maintin the code ).  If the source theif was able to

> decipher what was going on they would likely have the skills to code it

> themselves, otherwise the code theif will at least have to clean up the

> script and make a flow chart.

>

>

> >Frankly, despite how much I like (love) Flash... I'd have a hard time

> >calling any "code" in Flash serious programming.

>

> All the 'canned' object classes that we have become oriented to in higher

> level languages were at one time created with abc's and +, -, *, / .

> It's just more archaic because it's in it's youth.

>

> >It's mostly workarounds to

> >limits

>

> True, but isn't that the case in all languages?

>

> ------------------------------

>

> End of flasher-digest V1 #3203

> ******************************

>

>



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