Begun in 1999, VBReFormer is a Visual Basic (V5/6) decompiler. There is a free and a professional version. VBReFormer allows you to dump GUI information, and also to change that information. You can alter an exe file directly, for example to translate text portions from one natural language to another. VBReFormer now features the disassembly of native code, and the professional version attempts to decompile parts of the code.
VBReFormer is the most advanced tool in Visual Basic 5 & 6 decompiler technology.
VBReFormer is a solution for recovering the design of each form and control, with all properties, values, all reference to external controls (ActiveX™ libraries), and all pictures. Then with VBReFormer you can obtain the necessary information to re-write the graphical design of your application without executable Visual Basic code...
Design recovery means recovery of information about the user interface structure of the executable you want to analyze.
VBReFormer succeed where others resources editors fails: editing the static design properties of Visual Basic 6 applications easily and without limitation of size, working directly on your binary (very useful for translating your application into another language for example).
The changes aren't limited in size because VBReFormer includes a "post-build compilation" technology which integrally re-build the binary code that holds the form design information.
VBReFormer is able to disassemble all the forms and all controls in your application (if it was compiled with the native code option), recover all subroutines, runtime and API calls.
Then VBReFormer attempts a native decompilation of basic code, without warranty of success because it's an experimental decompilation process.
Note: VBReFormer is not able to disassemble and attempt decompilation if the program is compiled to PCode for the moment.
Hans-Peter Diettrich, better known as DoDi, is author of a well-known set of Visual Basic decompilers (VBDis 3/4/5), and has worked on decompilers for executables as well.
In 1986 he bought his first Atari ST and then wrote disassemblers and C-decompilers for several compilers and systems (TOS, UH-Pearl, Amiga DOS and HPUX). The decompilers all worked well, also for the GFA Basic on the ST. But he never released these programs, because he detest software piracy.
In 1994 he found that MS had put the sources into the executables compiled with VB3, and because MS didn't respond to his questions, he decided to publish a simple decompiler to make this fact known to every programmer. This resulted in the VBDis3 decompiler.
He has apparently completed decompilers for VB4 and VB5, but these are nowhere near as complete (in the decompilation sense) as the one for VB3. The VB4 decompiler (trial version, presumably) was available from decompiler.com software listings page. For users that have genuinely lost their source code, and can prove ownership, he will attempt a manual decompilation for a flat fee of US$100.
He had plans for a general decompiler for Windows executables, written with C/C++, that also would decompile at least those nasty setup programs. Some years ago he wrote the WinDis disassembler for Windows programs which is pretty good, but the next step including a database for the system calls and data structures of Windows is not yet completed. He is supposed to have written a 68K decompiler, but I have not seen it.