Windows installer from python source code without access to source code

[Thomas Passin]

On 3/31/2023 10:14 AM, jkn wrote:
> On Friday, March 31, 2023 at 1:09:12 PM UTC+1, Chris Angelico wrote:
>> On Fri, 31 Mar 2023 at 23:01, Jim Schwartz <jsc... at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>>>
>>> I want a windows installer to install my application that's written in
>>> python, but I don't want the end user to have access to my source code.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Is that possible using python? I was using cx-freeze, but that has the
>>> source code available. So does pyinstaller. I think gcc does, too.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Does anyone know of a way to do this?
>>>
>> Fundamentally no, it's not. Python code will always be distributed as
>> some form of bytecode. The only way to make it available without
>> revealing anything is to put it on a server and let people access it
>> without running it themselves.
>>
>> But why is that a problem? Copyright law protects you from people
>> stealing your code and making unauthorized changes to it, and if
>> you're not worried about them making changes, there's no reason to
>> hide the source code (whatever you distribute would be just as
>> copiable). Are you concerned that people will see your bugs? We all
>> have them.
>>
>> ChrisA
> 
> The OP is asking for source code not to be available, not bytecode.
> There are obfuscating tools like PyArmor you might want to have a look at.

The byte code can be decompiled, though, so the attempt to hide the code 
won't be completely successful if someone wants to make the effort.  The 
same is true, e.g., about Java.  The class files don't include the 
source, but they can be decompiled.