Does Perl has a code hider

[Daniel Pittman]

jesse <jesse at fsck.com> writes:
> On Wed, Sep 16, 2009 at 10:52:18PM +0530, abhishek jain wrote:

>> Do perl have a kind of code encoder which hides the readable Perl code by
>> encoding like we have in PHP.

They don't actually work, having had to decode several "encoded" PHP projects
over the years, for various legal / client reasons.

>> I am working on a project and i dont want to give the editing / viewing
>> rights to the user, also a right to expire the code after some time
>> interval .  How can i protect the code, Possible?
>>
>> What would you advice for the options to me.
>
> There are a number of ways to do what you ask. And none of them will do what
> you want.
>
> http://search.cpan.org/~jjore/B-Deobfuscate-0.20/lib/B/Deobfuscate.pod
> is just one of several tools your end users will be able to use to see
> your source code.  If you have proprietary secrets, don't put them into
> code you distribute to end users. 

*nod*  If you want to control access to the source code, don't distribute it.
Provide your service as a web service, or whatever, and require your clients
access it only via the API.

Oh, and if you *do* decide to go down the path of "encrypting" your source
code, make *SURE* that you are not using any code that is licensed under terms
that require you to make that source code available to end users for
modification.

I strongly suggest that this *will* require the advice of a lawyer experienced
in the area, since software licensing and the "spread" of licenses such as the
GPL is a very difficult area of law.

Regards,
        Daniel
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