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| NOTE: This Design document is subject to change at any time. |
Encrypted ZXL Files
Text-based ZML application files can be encrypted into binary ZXL files using the zApp Developers IDE program. These encrypted files can be executed by either the normal zApp program, or the free zAppLite program. Thus, developers can encrypt their programs and anyone can run them for free without having to pay for zApp.
Plugins can still be developed for encrypted files. However, only the normal zApp program can read and execute the text-based ZML files. So, any user that wishes to create their own plugins or customize an application must purchase zApp.
The encrypted ZXL files also have the added benefit of high security. You can place sensitive parts of your application into encrypted ZXL files to prevent the end-user from prying into your source code. In particular, Script and Event properties of ZXL file are locked so that they cannot be viewed or modified by the end user.
However, while locked script and event handlers cannot be viewed or modified within zApp, you should be aware that hackers have many methods for interrupting applications and viewing data directly in memory, so never rely on this protection to keep data such as passwords secret. Since Windows ultimately needs to decode ANY data in order to run it, the encrypted data is eventually decrypted in memory at some point, and hackers can trap that data and read it if they are very clever.
The protection of scripts and event handlers is mainly designed to prevent plugins from overwriting your scripts. And certainly, while it is possible for a hacker to view parts of your program as it executes in memory, your entire ZXL file is never decrypted all at once, so reconstructing your entire program source code would be extremely difficult. It's essentially just as safe as a normal binary EXE file would be in protecting your source code. |
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Plugins