Columbus: A reverse engineering approach

In this paper we present our approach to several common problems in reverse engineering that are built around the Columbus framework. Columbus defines several fundamental building blocks for the use in reverse engineering processes, and as such it can be an important player in the studies conducted at the workshop for Empirical Studies in Reverse Engineering. The Columbus framework proved its usefulness in the field through a number of research projects (also by independent researchers) and several industrial applications. Columbus may contribute as (1) a flexible, easily extensible tool architecture, (2) a data exchange model (C/C++ schema) and (3) as a source code analysis process. 1