14 DAY TRIAL // If you're reading this review, then I suppose you have an idea about portable executable file format, but if you don't, that shouldn't be much of a problem. In Windows operating systems, EXE, OBJ and DLL files use this file format in most of the cases. To be short, the "portable" term refers to the fact that this format is portable across all 32-bit(and by extension 64-bit) Windows operating systems.
Why would you be interested in all that? Reading a hundred books about anatomy without getting to see a dissection is like beer without alcohol, and in our case, programming without getting to know the internal structure of executable files is like driving without knowing what a cylinder is(I am sure that such situations are possible, but they are something to laugh about, in my opinion). Of course that you won't use a scalpel to reveal the innards of computer programs, but a software tool.
The tool I am talking about is called PE Explorer, its latest version being 1.98, the fourth release candidate. Its installation kit has 2.7MB in size and setting it up was a child's play. What I have here is a 30 days trial of the commercial product that is priced at 129$. This shouldn't be much of a problem for those who really need this tool, but is it really worth the price? There's only one thing to be done, and that is trying to discover the truth by ourselves...
Unlike most of the programs belonging to this family, I found PE Explorer's interface really nice to look at and easy to use. There are three program windows to think about - the Explorer, Disassembler and the Dependency Scanner. They all look fresh, with a menu bar, a good looking toolbar and a work area. Now, let's take each of them and see what they're up to.
The Explorer is used to explore, obviously. No, you won't get to see the South Pole with it, but it can be quite useful to explore executable files. First, open a file - just press Ctrl+O or use the Open command from the File menu.
The default view of the file's contents is called Headers Info, and here, you can get information about the machine(s), the binary is supposed to run on, how many sections are in it, the time it was linked, whether it is an executable or a DLL and more.
Next, we have the Data Directories and Section Headers views. The first one contains pointers to data in the sections, while the other shows descriptions of the available sections and their raw data.
From the Tools menu of the explorer you can start two additional programs - the Disassembler and the Dependency Scanner. The first one is an up to date disassembler that supports the SSE3 instructions set with average features. The only disappointment, from my point of view, here was the lack of direct disk editing, but I guess that advanced users will find some more. The good part is that the features stripped from the disassembler have been replaced with speed and simplicity, so the product is easier to use, compared to the competition.
At last, the Dependency Scanner allows you to view DLL dependencies without executing the code, helping you learn the minimum set of DLL files required by the EXE file to load and run.
This is it, and everything comes with an excellent Help file, so dare to step in and check PE Explorer!
The Good
PE Explorer is a good looking, fast and easy to use tool for programmers and an interesting way for the others to discover the inner mysteries of Windows PE files.
The Bad
Despite the complex task this program is built to accomplish, its price is too high, in my opinion, especially since some high-end features have been put aside to ease its use.
The Truth
I am not a programmer, so I can't give a final sentence here. PE Explorer was the first user-friendly from this programs? family that I have seen so far, and that's excellent. You have an entire month at your disposal to decide if this program is worth your money or not, so enjoy this time!
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
