| If you have ever had your car stuck in the mud or the snow, you probably already know that in order to go forward, you often must first use reverse.
|
"Everyone" uses reverse engineering at some time or other.
As children, our instinctive curiosity causes us to study what things are, how they work, and what we can and cannot do with them.Note 1
In adult social circles, we often probe and inquire, trying to find out what makes other people "tick."
-
Archeologists reverse-engineer history.
-
Scientist reverse-engineer nature.
-
Law enforcement officials and the courts attempt to reverse-engineer crimes.
Another example of reverse engineering is general "trouble shooting" where we try to analyze and understand something in order to determine what has failed. This applies to both products and processes.
-
Reverse engineering is done on our own products or processes in order to pursue improvements.
- Reverse engineering a competitor's product may enable us to understand its weaknesses and thereby enter the market place with a better product.
- Reverse engineering is a critical necessity for maintaining long-life systems in which parts becomes obsolete.Note 2
See also A Recent History in Reverse Engineering.
| Notes |
| 1 |
Sometimes this experimentation produces un-desired results, as when things break from misuse. |
| 2 |
This happens whenever the original manufacturer discontinues production and support for a product, goes out of business, is acquired, etc. |
|
