Many a times we forget to take backup of our source code or upload it to a secure place. So when our system crashes or due to some other reason we lose the source code, we are left with only the executables (DLL/EXE). So how do we get back all the data, the source code, all the hard work back from the executables.

Well, there is a tool called ILSpy. It’s a free download.
Just install this tool and you can start with the de-compilation of your .net executables (DLL or EXE) as shown below.

Just open the tool . Go to File->Open

ILSOpen

Open a DLL that you want to decompile or an EXE file.

After you have opened the DLL it will look something like this

ILSOpened

Expand your DLL and you will see all the classes and configs and the code inside them that is used in your Application. Below you can see the “FolioApp.Helpers” namespace which has the “Apis” cialis black wiki class that was in the code that has been decompiled.

ILSDecompiled

 

On the left are the Classes and Objects and on the right is the code inside them. It also shows the DLL references. Images and Icons used are in the form of resources file. You can open the .resources file in Visual studio to get your images and icons.

This way you can get all the code you have written back from the DLL. ILSpy doesn’t export the project source from the compiled DLL. So you will have to manually create a new project and import (copy/paste) all the code from the tool into your project.

The downside of using a Decompiler like ILSpy or any other such tool is that sometimes you won’t get 100% accurate code after decompiling. You will have to check throughout and make changes and edit and fill in certain gaps in the code. For eg :  A List variable in .NET DLL gets compiled to an Object variable. So after decompiling, the code will contain “Object” as the data type of that variable instead of “List”. Still it’s a very good tool to get most of your code back.

For more tips and tricks like these, feel free to reach out to us. Taksa has great experience in application development using Microsoft technologies. Taksa is a modern offshore resource provider. A one stop shop for all your offshore staffing solutions.