diff --git a/content/posts/the_book.md b/content/posts/the_book.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d95a88a --- /dev/null +++ b/content/posts/the_book.md @@ -0,0 +1,49 @@ ++++ +title = "The Book Of Binaries" +date = 2024-07-02 +authors = ["InnocentZero"] ++++ + +Hi everyone, InnocentZero here. I've taken up on a very ambitious and extensive +"project" if you choose to call it that. I'll be writing a book about binaries. +That's it. Executables. But of all sorts. + +The main focus will be from a security and optimization point of view. It plans +to touch a vast range of topics ranging from compilers and linkers to operating +systems, embedded firmware and hardware design. Once again, all from the point +of view of mainly security. + +This is a massive project and would require many months if not complete years to +be in a remotely publishable stage. As of now, one of the chapters that serves +as a basic introdcution to C programming is complete. + + +## Why do it? + +Simply because we love sharing knowledge. On a personal basis, I want this book +to be a complete and total encyclopedic and academic text to everything about +executables. Let's see how we reach there and if there's a change of plans in +between. + +When I first entered this domain, the hardest part was to get a proper source +of information and knowledge in this field in particular. Web is easy, forensics +is mostly about dealing with the data given at hand and seeing if you can +extract something from it and cryptography is just mathematics. But to +understand rev and pwn, you need a very solid base that most people often do not +have. And many a times, CTF write-ups just tell you _how_ to exploit a challenge +without telling you the exact specifics of it. The _why_. That's what this book +is for. + +While there are many other notable attempts at this, the most important one +being "The Art of Exploitation", I feel they are somewhat dry in nature and not +engaging enough for the audience. On the other hand, this book is a direct +inspiration from the "The Art of Computer Programming", as I definitely found +it to be a very engaging text. + +## The How, typst and more + +The book is available for free [here](https://codeberg.org/innocent_zero/the_book). +It utilizes the new typst tool for generation of the book. I chose this because it's +far easier and faster to compose books in typst than in Latex. It is licensed +under Creative Commons, so with proper attribution nobody should have issues +utilizing or promoting the book.