Edited by author 07-17-2003 05:09 PM
Hmmmm, This is really a tricky one. I've seen other software to do this for flash, but the debate over the benefits or inappropriateness of decompilers has been going for some years in the C and Java worlds (among others).

As a creator and a user here is my take. Unlike building for a platform based upon transparency such as html and javascript, flash, like any compiled code is considered a black-box by it's coders. A private machine they are ready to let others use but not necessarily become open-source.

I am a big proponent of open-source and Some-Rights-Reserved trade marking, but both of these allow for the creator, not the user to determine what the rights usage should be. Decompilers allow the user to decide what is now private domain, which isn't the most ethical thing. A similar example could be opening someone's mail. Just because we can open it, doesn't mean we have any right to do so.

In the end I know I still have Decafe (a Java decompiler) around as a utility. I'll fire it up to undo some code a coworker wrote. I'll use it rarely for looking under the hood of some non-commercial software whose creator has implied a shared use. And many years back I've used it to look at commercial products to see the code that was worth paying for, but now I strongly feel that I was taking from that coder as if I went into their hard drive and stole it.

So I imagine the same debates will grow in the Flash realms. Decompilers are a great learning tool, but should be treated with great respect. Each little flash .swf file is a mini invention, some of which are ground breaking, and unless explicitly stated, no one has the right to take at will, just like you can't open a letter or spy thru someone window.

My 2 pennies,

B. Mindful