Retrieving class methods, imported function calls, and published properties.
Decompiling Delphi 7 applications is generally:
DeDe is a legendary, historical tool specifically built during the heyday of Delphi 5, 6, and 7.
Delphi objects store pointers to virtual methods in VMTs located at consistent offsets. Decompilers traverse these VMTs to reconstruct class hierarchies and method dispatch tables. borland delphi 7 decompiler
IDA Pro is not Delphi-specific but remains the industry standard for binary analysis. When combined with Hex-Rays decompiler and Delphi-specific scripts, it can produce pseudo-C code from Delphi binaries. This approach requires significant expertise in assembly language and manual effort to recognize and reconstruct Delphi-specific constructs such as VCL calls and exception handling.
Load your unpacked binary into or DeDe . Navigate to the "Forms" tab. Here, you can view the application's exact visual layout and components.
No tool will give you original Delphi 7 source perfectly, but IDR is the current best—capable of turning a compiled EXE back into a rebuildable project after a few hours of manual cleanup. broken function signatures
Note down the names of components and their event handlers (e.g., btnSubmitClick ). Step 3: Map the Event Handlers to Assembly
Run the EXE in (with Delphi helper scripts). Set breakpoints on known RTL functions ( System::LStrCmp , TControl::Click ). Trace the logic live. This gives you execution flow, but not static source code.
IDR's most significant advantage over earlier tools is its specialized optimization for the VCL framework. Unlike general-purpose disassemblers, IDR understands Delphi's class structures, can accurately identify methods and their parameters, and can reconstruct DFM form files that store the visual layout of Delphi applications. This gives you execution flow
implementation
Dhrake is a collection of scripts specifically designed to facilitate Delphi binary analysis within Ghidra. The workflow integrates IDR with Ghidra to address three major obstacles encountered when reverse engineering Delphi executables: missing symbol names, broken function signatures, and the cumbersome process of creating structures for Delphi classes and virtual method tables.
Delphi 7 binaries rely on a distinct runtime architecture that leaves significant digital footprints:
A decompiler exploits these to:
| Use case | Tool | |----------|------| | Recover form + event map from a simple Delphi 7 EXE | | | Attempt full source reconstruction (for learning) | IDR + manual rewrite | | Quick DFM extraction | Resource Hacker | | Deep analysis with control flow graph | Ghidra + Delphi plugin | | Legacy support (old projects) | DeDe (if IDR fails) |