Executable envelopes

Revision as of 21:41, 19 November 2021

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.)

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) [1]
• AutoCom (REXXCOM) (companion to AutoDoc) [2][3]
• BIGTEXT (Kevin Solway) [4][5]
• BREEZE text to .EXE format (Kevin Solway) (see also Breeze)
• DIZ2EXE (Olan Patrick Barnes) [6]
• DOC2COM (Dan K. Nelson) [7]
• DOC2COM (Gerald DePyper)
• Electronic Text Publishing System, The (Philip P. Kapusta) [8]
• MakeScroll (Eric Gans) [9]
• READMAKE (Bruce Guthrie / Wayne Software) [10]
• SHOW (Gary M. Raymond)
• Simply Docs (SimpleWare / Robert E. Pitcher) [11]
• TEXE
• TextExe (LRC Computing)
• TEXTLIFE (Kevin Solway) [12]
• TurboTXT (by HyperWare, part of ExtraDOS Toolbox) [13]
• TXT2COM (De Trans Software)
• TXT2COM (Keith P. Graham)
• TXT2COM (Prakash.K)
• TXT2COM (Wiering Software)
• TXT2EXE (John De Palma) [14]
• TXTRUN (Sawada) [15]
• WriteMe System, The (Sitting Duck Software) [16]
• XDOC (JauMing Tseng)
• X-Filer (Philip P. Kapusta) [17]

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.

• Graphic Workshop self-displaying picture

Executable ANSI Art

(ANSI Art and related formats)

• ANS2COM (REXXCOM) [18]
• ANSi To Exe Converter (BUFF) [19]
• 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

• BAT2EXEC [20]

(TODO: Populate this section.)

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