EVERHART%ARISIA.decnet@crdgw1.ge.com (10/26/89)
May I suggest that distributing .OBJ files and having the user link them would only disable current viruses; an obj infector is perfectly feasible, and could be easier than an .EXE infector. More to the point, though, linking applications is not always feasible at all PC sites. To link AnalytiCalc on a 256K machine with dual 5.25" floppies is barely possible, with many disk changes, and requires some skill AND the correct linker (since the linker distributed with most MSDOS versions cannot handle the particular .OBJ constructions). This even though the resulting executable will fit (tightly) in 256K. With an only slightly larger file, linking would be completely infeasible on such a small engine. In addition to a fairly onerous "installation" procedure thus invoked, the distribution would be several times larger than it is; the object library requires an entire disk, and separate objects needed for overlays take much of a second. Documents, utilities, and so on are still required. Finally, commercial software vendors may be nervous about distributing OBJ code. Consider that global symbols, and sometimes internal symbols, are present in these files. A disassembly of such a beast can be VERY close to the original code, labels included...especially if the original is IN assembler. This is wonderful for learning algorithms, etc., but tends to make it easier to clone applications. In the current climate I suspect it would lead to a great many more lawsuits based upon suspicions that competitors' code was derived in part from such sources. Unfortunate, but likely... Then, some object libraries that come with compilers can be linked and the results distributed; without these, the .OBJ files cannot be linked. This would also prevent widespread use of .OBJ files. In a different vein, may I suggest that a great deal of the hysteria over viruses stems from the fact that well backed-up PC disks are the exception rather than the rule. As an industry we should become VERY upset over machines with inadequate backup hardware and software. More energy in this direction could render the damage viruses can cause moot. By easy backup/restore, I mean hardware such that one can slap a tape into a slot, type some simple command, and after a few minutes (over lunch break, perhaps?) come back with the entire volume copied. Not having this designed into ALL the PCs we use, or at least made a requirement for those containing business-critical data, seems a mistake. As Grace Hopper put it, we are terrible custodians of the data we have/use. Glenn Everhart Everhart%Arisia.decnet@crd.ge.com