Executable envelopes

Revision as of 15:10, 18 August 2023

Executable envelopes refers to a diverse class of files that use a standard executable format, but which were generated in a formulaic way from some original file (which may or may not have itself been executable). They usually consist of a boilerplate decoder section, plus a payload section that could potentially be extracted to a standard format.

Executable compression

Refer to Executable compression.

Executable protection

(password protection, obfuscation, authentication, tamper-proofing, expiration, etc.)

• HackStop

The Security section of the SAC collection has many such programs.

Some Executable compression utilities also have features of this type.

(TODO: Populate this section.)

Self-extracting archives

Most self-extracting archive formats are covered (or would be covered) in the article for the corresponding Archiving format.

A few are listed at Archiving#Self-extracting archives, especially if they have their own article.

Self-extracting installers

Self-extracting installer formats are listed at Archiving#Program/App/Applet/Installer specialized archive formats, along with other formats.

Executable documents

(A document in some known format, combined with a viewer for that format.)

Most such formats are covered (or would be covered) in the article for the corresponding document format.

Executable text

(plain text, text with simple markup, simple e-book formats, etc.)

• Asc2Com (MorganSoft)
• AutoCom (REXXCOM) (companion to AutoDoc) [1][2]
• BIGTEXT (Kevin Solway) [3][4]
• BREEZE text to .EXE format (Kevin Solway) (see also Breeze)
• DIZ2EXE (Olan Patrick Barnes) [5]
• DOC2COM (Dan K. Nelson) [6]
• DOC2COM (Gerald DePyper)
• Electronic Text Publishing System, The (Philip P. Kapusta) [7]
• MakeScroll (Eric Gans) [8]
• READMAKE (Bruce Guthrie / Wayne Software) [9]
• SHOW (Gary M. Raymond)
• Simply Docs (SimpleWare / Robert E. Pitcher) [10]
• TEXE
• TextExe (LRC Computing)
• TEXTLIFE (Kevin Solway) [11]
• TurboTXT (by HyperWare, part of ExtraDOS Toolbox) [12]
• TXT2COM (De Trans Software)
• TXT2COM (Keith P. Graham)
• TXT2COM (Prakash.K)
• TXT2COM (Wiering Software)
• TXT2EXE (John De Palma) [13]
• TXTRUN (Sawada) [14]
• WriteMe System, The (Sitting Duck Software) [15]
• XDOC (JauMing Tseng)
• X-Filer (Philip P. Kapusta) [16]

Executable graphics

There are probably a lot of old self-displaying raster graphics formats of this type, e.g. self-running FLI, but they are rarely documented specially.

• FMAC2COM
• GIFEXE
• GRABBER
• Graphic Workshop self-displaying picture
• NETPIC
• PIXIT
• Title-Maker
• VGAPaint 386 COM Program
• VGAPaint 386 PCX Self-Extracting Picture

Executable ANSI Art

(ANSI Art and related formats)

• ANS2COM (REXXCOM) [17]
• ANSi To Exe Converter (BUFF) [18]
• P-Screen COM Screen
• sMAUG ANSI Executable
• TheDraw COM File

Other executable documents

• Font Mania (REXXCOM) (COM format)

Executable libraries

(Multiple executable files combined into one executable file.)

• ARK (executable library)
• COM-Pack library
• XEQ

Compiled scripts

(Some compiled script formats don't fit this category very well, but may be listed here anyway.)

• BAT2EXEC
• BatLite

Transfer-encoded executables

(A file that remains executable despite having had a transfer encoding or the like applied. This is impossible or impractical with most executable formats, unless they are very "raw", as .COM format is.)

• c2t (Jørgen Ibsen)
• com2txt (Naoyuki Nide)
• Com2txt (Dark Stalker)
• COMT
• NETRUN
• xcom (PTS)

Special-purpose formats:

• NETPIC
• NETSEND

Links

• ANORMAL's DOSEXE collections → Executable Tools Pack - Collection of many DOS utilities