Protecting Source Code in Matlab vs. Python

Question

I need to write a program in either Python or MATLAB that contains some proprietary information, but will not easily reveal this proprietary information if the program is distributed.

While I realize that a determined hacker can reverse engineer any source code, would it be easier to secure code written in Python or MATLAB?

Answer 1

In MATLAB you can use the command pcode, which preparses your MATLAB code to a form that is unreadable by humans, but runs exactly the same (actually, very slightly faster) as the original MATLAB code. What happens is that for each .m file you pcode, you'll get a new file with a .p extension. The .p file runs the same as the .m file, but is unreadable.

Alternatively, you can purchase MATLAB Compiler, which will convert your entire application into a standalone executable where the code is encrypted.

Answer 2

It seems to be pretty easy to do in MATLAB:

pcode <filename>

See the Documentation Center.

For python see the Python wiki.