Import Binary Module

Enterprise Architect (Professional and Corporate editions) allows for certain types of binary modules to be reverse-engineered. To import a binary module, right-click the target package in the Project View window and select the " Code Engineering | Binary Module " command.

Currently the permitted types are as follows:

• Java Archive (.jar).
• .Net PE file (.exe, .dll). Native Windows DLL and Exe files are not supported. Only PE files containing .Net assembly data.
• Intermediate Language file (.il).

Enterprise Architect will create the necessary packages and diagrams during the import process

When importing .Net files, the option is available to import via reflection or disassembly. The choice to let EA decide what the best method is may result in both types being used. The reflection based importer relies on a .Net program, and requires the .Net runtime environment to be installed. The disassembler based importer relies on a native Windows program called Ildasm.exe which is a tool provided with the MS .Net SDK. The SDK may be downloaded from the Microsoft website.

A choice of import methods is available because some files are not compatible with reflection (such as mscorlib.dll) and may only be opened using the disassembler. However, the reflection-based importer is generally much faster.