Glad to see some proper quality questions raised here in this forum..kudos to the thread starter!!!
1- If in case of Pakistan's f-16 or any other countries f-16(for examples sake) source codes are held by the US and the owner country. If the owner country decides can they rewrite the whole set of codes again.
Partially correct..I said partially because the if someone owns the source code,then it will be easy for him to
modify the code.If u r re-writing the whole code,well in that case u r starting from the scratch,hence u just don't need any examples at all..Though the manual may help to certain extent(a properly acquired source code always comes with a manual).Again from programming point of view,it is easier to modify/add new functionalities to the source code if the language used is an OOP like C++,JAVA(write once,run
anywhere) or Python(Google runs on Python
).It will be extremely difficult,if not impossible to do the same if the language used is non-OOP like C(Windows XP is mostly written in C).
2- I have ready in an online discussion some where that these codes be as complex as 5 million codes for one jet. How hard are they to crack or rewrite.
Ahhh.... if I try to explain in detail then ill have to create an separate thread if not an entire forum
..Ill try to explain more later if I have time..For now,let us just say that,it not the lines of code which is the deciding factor for cracking a code.To many people,hacking and cracking translates to be the same thing..Ill provide a link that will help people to understand better...
Cracking and hacking..differences
3- If the producer country gets into bad terms with the owner country can they give the codes to the owners enemies.
Hypothetical situation....technically possible,but i personally dont think this particular step will be taken by any sane person considering there maybe future repercussions to this causing harm in the end...
4- Another example that comes to mind is the Egyptian f-16's allot of people here say that the Israelis might have their codes in hand already (Lets assume that that is correct for arguments sake). How harmful can that be to Egypt, or can the Israelis just by the use of these codes render the Egyptian jets useless, or hack into them.
I dont know much 'bout the programming practices used in programming softwares for guiding a fighter plane(I have never worked in a project like that
),but so far as my knowledge goes i dont think u can hack into a system even if u know the source code.The best example coming to my mind at this moment is of linux.The source code is freely available to everyone.But linux happens be one of the most protected OS available,widely considered to be more secure than Windows.Most of the servers run on Linux.
Each and every fighter jet used by any particular country must have its own integrated controlling systems,that will have its own security protocols to secure it from external interference.If anybody wishes to hack,he will have to hack into that particular system,which will be extremely difficult if not impossible,with or without the knowledge of the source code.
5- Also I understand that the codes have to be there when a new weapon system is to be integrated in the jet.
If the weapons systems integrated is new to the existing system,the the answer is "yes".
6- And again the same question again, can another country if they have the source codes of a different countries jets in hand effect the jet in anyway.
Having the source code, surely helps a lot.One can modify the code anyhow to integrate new systems into the aircraft,integrate the very fighter jet into an already running infrastructure.This will help in easier usage of the product upto its full potential.If the code is protected,then u can not condition it according to its local requirements,then u can have only limited usages of the product as devised by the distributor.
If u have any kind of doubt..just ask....also,if im wrong at any point,plz correct me.
