bacteria

Description

This C/ASM project explores the principle of self-reproduction through the implementation of a quine, a program that produces a copy of its own source code as output.
It delves into the challenges associated with self-replicating code and serves as an excellent introduction to more complex topics, including malware development, providing insights into the mechanisms and implications of self-replicating programs.

Features

The project includes both C and ASM versions of the self-replicating program, named bacteria.

Functionality

When executed, the program performs the following actions:

• It creates a file named bacteria_X.c or bacteria_X.s, where X is an integer defined in the source code.
• After creating the file, it compiles and runs the newly created program.

Execution Rules

1. The program stops based on the file name: it executes only if the integer X is greater than or equal to 0.
2. The integer, initially set to 50, is decremented with each execution, controlling how many iterations the program performs.

Settings (C Code)

You can set your own values for the following variables by changing the assigned values directly on the source file:

File name

#define FNAME "bacteria"

Extension name

#define EXT ".ext"

Reproduction quantity

int i = 50;

Usage

Build and run

ASM

cd ASM/
make
./bacteria

C

cd C/
make
./bacteria

# Produce a given quantity of quines of different file extensions 
cd C/
make collection i=<QUANTITY> ext=<EXTENSION,...>

Example:
make collection i=10 ext="txt pdf vob"

Testing

Quine verification

To test if all generated files are quines (i.e., they produce the same code with only the variable value differing), run:

make test

in the ASM/C directory.

This command will execute the test suite to verify that each generated program correctly replicates its source code, differing only in the index variable.

Collection

To generate a collection of quines that have different extensions:

./test.sh

Screenshots

1. Before Execution:

No replication has occurred yet. Index is at 500.

2. After Execution:

This shows the replicated files created by the program.