Obfuscation
Obfuscation is a technique used in software development to deliberately make source code or compiled output difficult for humans to understand, while preserving its original functionality. It is commonly applied to protect intellectual property, hide sensitive logic, or deter reverse engineering and tampering in applications such as proprietary software, mobile apps, and web scripts. Methods include renaming variables to meaningless names, inserting dead code, and restructuring control flow.
Developers should learn obfuscation when building commercial or security-sensitive software where protecting code from unauthorized analysis or theft is critical, such as in mobile apps (e.g., Android APKs), JavaScript for web applications, or proprietary algorithms. It is also useful in malware analysis to understand evasion techniques, though ethical use is emphasized to safeguard legitimate assets rather than conceal malicious intent.