Brian Raiter

RIP, dmr

My Own Private Binary: An Idiosyncratic Introduction to Linux Kernel Modules

Several years ago, I spent a serious chunk of time figuring out how to make really teensy ELF executable files. I started down this path because I was annoyed that all of my programs, no matter how short they were, never got smaller than 4k or so. I felt that was excessive, for C, and so I started looking at what ELF…

Albert Einstein's theory of relativity in words of four letters or less (1999)

So, have a seat. Put your feet up. This may take some time. Can I get you some tea? Earl Grey? You got it.

Bootstrapping Understanding: An Introduction to Reverse Engineering

Reverse engineering an unfamiliar data file could be described as the bootstrapping of understanding. In many ways the process resembles the scientific method, only applied to human-made, abstract objects instead of the natural world. You begin by gathering data, and then you use that information to put forth one or…

INTERCAL: Practically impossible

A very good friend of mine has been experimenting with trying to coax Chat-GPT4 to successfully do basic coding tasks. So have a lot of people these days, of course. In an idle moment, though, my friend submitted the following query:

Cryptic Crossword: Amateur Crypto and Reverse Engineering

Reverse engineering is a special subgenre of computer programming. It's about the closest that I as a programmer get to being a scientist. Gather data, formulate a hypothesis, test, refine, repeat: reverse engineering is basically applying the scientific method to a very, very small knowledge domain. If you've never…

A Whirlwind Tutorial on Creating Really Teensy ELF Executables for Linux (1999)

If you're a programmer who's become fed up with software bloat, then may you find herein the perfect antidote.