New subject: very confused

17 Feb 2006


      At 15:11 17/02/2006 -0000, you wrote:
I apologize for this second intrusion, but i have some difficulties
to really understand this:
...
Define 'MS code'. If we're talking about leaked source code, then that is
true.
But you said elsewhere that there was _no_ leaked source, so that
the only problem should be with your next words:
...
If we're talking about small chunks of assembly from dissasembled MS
binaries, then that is what the audit hopes to uncover and remove. Once the
audit is complete, we can also say we know this to be true, at the moment we
don't know.
... and this one sounds strange to me, because i saw several messages
talking in terms of *year* (?!), for the audit.
Well, i just downloaded the ReactOS Sources, and searched for all the
Files having an "__asm__" Statements inside, after having saved in a
dedicated Directory, the folders: bootdata / Drivers / hal / include /
lin / media / modules / ntoskrnl / regtests / services / subsys and
win32api.
I did not considered the other ones because, for example, i suppose
that there can be no "problem" with the [apps] Folder. ;)
The search of the Files with "_asm_" inside shows only around 80 Files
found. Opening several of these Files, shows that the occurencies of
"_asm_" seem to be from 1 to, say, 10. Most usually around 2 or 3. It
also shows that many of these Statements cannot be any problem. Example:
{
__asm__("int $3\n\t" : /* no outputs */ : /* no inputs */)
}
Some other ones, a little bit more significative look like, for
example:
__asm
{
    mov edx, Port
    mov edi, Buffer
    mov ecx, Count
    cld
    rep ins byte ptr[edi], dx
}
... that do not seem to me big enough for demonstrating anything,
particulary not for a so trivial code... Not considering that most
of the ones i saw, were simple LOCK or INT instructions, and the like,
that do not even diserve a reading.
I did not search inside _all_ files, but i had to search inside many,
(say, 1/3), before i could point out an Asm Routine with more than 10
Instructions...
I stopped there, because i said to me that it was stupid to read that
way, and that i was possibly missing the Files of real interrest for
the Audit. But all i have seen does not explain to me, how it could
ever take one year for proof-reading so few, and so small, "__asm__"
statements.
What am i missing?
Betov.
< http://rosasm.org >

RE: [ros-dev] very confused