Both Java and .NET use the idea of a "virtual machine" (VM) rather than a true executable. While very useful for some purposes, VMs make your source code and hence your intellectual property (IP) inherently less secure because the process can be reversed or "decompiled". This book is useful because you must understand how decompilation works in order to properly protect your IP. Anyone interested in protecting Java code from prying eyes will want to buy this one of a kind book as it separates fact from fiction about just how ineffective obfuscators are at protecting your corporate secrets.
Godfrey Nolan is president of RIIS LLC, where he specializes in website optimization. He has written numerous articles for magazines and newspapers in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. Nolan has had a healthy obsession with reverse engineering bytecode since he wrote Decompile Once, Run Anywhere, which first appeared in Web Techniques in September 1997.