How It Works
Decompiling
Translating compiled machine code into a higher-level, source-like representation so people can inspect how a program works. The result is usually an approximation: compilation can discard names, comments and other details, so decompiling does not recover the exact original source. It is one technique used in reverse engineering.
Origin · no single documented coiner
An established software-analysis technique documented in early computing research, including IBM's 'A methodology for machine language decompilation.' No single documented coiner is credited here. Modern tools such as Ghidra and IDA include decompilers.