Software reverse engineering (SRE) is the practice of analyzing a software system to extract design patterns and implementation information. This involves studying the program’s code (usually a low-level assembly or bytecode) to understand its behavior and functions.
If you are looking for the best online courses to learn Software Reverse Engineering (SRE), I’ve made this Best Courses Guide (BCG) with my top picks.
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What is (Software) Reverse Engineering?
Reverse engineering is the process of taking an object apart and understanding its design and functionality to understand how it works and potentially recreate it or create something similar. This technique has been used throughout history to understand the technology (especially military) of others, from the Ancient Egyptians capturing and incorporating fearsome Assyrian chariots into their own army, to more recent examples when the Soviets reversed engineered American planes and vice versa.
In the information age, a new form of reverse engineering has emerged: Software Reverse Engineering (SRE). Instead of physical technology, digital technology can be taken apart and analyzed for information. This involves studying the program’s code and internal operations to understand its behavior and functions. Often, only the compiled machine code or bytecode is available, making it a challenge to translate low-level abstractions back into higher-level concepts.
How We Made Our Picks and Tested Them
I built this article following the now tried-and-tested methodology used in previous Best Courses Guides (you can find them all here). It involves a three-step process:
- Research: I started by leveraging Class Central’s database with 200K online courses and 200K+ reviews. Then, I made a preliminary selection of 500+ Reverse Engineering courses by rating, reviews, and bookmarks.
- Evaluate: I read through reviews on Class Central, Reddit, and course providers to understand what other learners thought about each course and combined it with my own experience as a learner.
- Select: Well-made courses were picked if they presented valuable, engaging content and fit in a set of criteria: comprehensive curriculum, affordability, release date, ratings and enrollments.
Fabio revised the research and the latest version of this article.
