Editing Obfuscation (software) (section)

{{short description|Deliberate creation of difficult-to-understand code}}
{{Use American English|date = March 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date = March 2019}}

In [[software development]], '''obfuscation''' is the practice of creating [[source code|source]] or [[machine code]] that is intentionally difficult for humans or computers to understand. Similar to [[obfuscation]] in [[natural language]], code obfuscation may involve using unnecessarily roundabout ways to write statements. Programmers often obfuscate code to conceal its purpose, logic, or embedded values. The primary reasons for doing so are to prevent [[Anti-tamper software|tampering]], deter [[reverse engineering]], or to create a [[puzzle]] or recreational challenge to deobfuscate the code, a challenge often included in [[Crackme|crackmes]]. While obfuscation can be done manually, it is more commonly performed using [[Executable compression|obfuscators]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://searchsoftwarequality.techtarget.com/definition/obfuscation|title=What is obfuscation (obfu)? - Definition from WhatIs.com|website=SearchSoftwareQuality|language=en|access-date=2019-02-01|archive-date=February 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190202041700/https://searchsoftwarequality.techtarget.com/definition/obfuscation|url-status=live}}</ref>