How to protect a RAPID code?

simone

Is it possible to protect RAPID code?

That is, create protected routines that can be called but not accessible.
Thank you!!

Tompanhuhu

Accessible from flexpendant? 

Sure make the module "READONLY" or "NOVIEW". 

MODULE MyTopSecretModule (READONLY)
    !TOP SECRET CODE HERE
ENDMODULE

MODULE MyTopSecretModule (NOVIEW)
    !TOP SECRET CODE HERE
ENDMODULE

It will still be accessible with robotstudio. 

simone

Hello Tompanhuhu, thank you for the answer, with readonly or noview is clear

How to create and protect a code/routine that can be called in Rapid, but after not accessible with flexpendant, robotstudio, ...? thank you!!

  

mandolas

Hi...

The only efficient way I know is by encrypting the code.

If that's your intention, I can help you. Contact me by email and we can talk.

Good job!

Tompanhuhu

Honestly i don't understand why people think their code is so top-notch special they are afraid someone else might read it? 

Lucky for me i got the tools to decrypt modules so I can do my work even if they are encrypted, but in the beginning the pain was real when encrypted modules were full of bugs. 

mandolas

Hi...

Tompanhuhu ... decrypting the code without the owner's permission may violate the terms of service or intellectual property laws.

Good job!

mandolas

Tompanhuhu said:

Honestly i don't understand why people think their code is so top-notch special they are afraid someone else might read it? 

Lucky for me i got the tools to decrypt modules so I can do my work even if they are encrypted, but in the beginning the pain was real when encrypted modules were full of bugs. 

To clarify my point of view...

A genuine willingness to cooperate in solving a partner's problem should not be confused with the obligation to cede the company's intellectual capital. There is a fundamental distinction between assisting in resolving a flaw and handing over business intelligence so that third parties can reap the benefits of that work.

When developing a high value-added solution, encryption becomes an indispensable measure to protect the business's interests. Major industry leaders, such as ABB, protect their modules precisely to ensure that the know-how remains an exclusive asset, thus guaranteeing the maintenance of their market niche.

Neglecting the protection of this knowledge paves the way for the business's own collapse. If a competitor or third party accesses the ready-made solution, they eliminate the cost of the time and research that were originally invested. This allows them to offer the same end result at a much more affordable price, destroying the competitiveness of the one who actually created the solution. Therefore, protecting the core of the work is not a lack of collaboration, but a vital strategy to prevent the competitive advantage built with so much effort from being used to bring down the creator himself. Good job!

Tompanhuhu

I see your point.
But my 'mini rant' is often people working on a custom solution billing the customer hourly and is so insecure they think the customer will call somebody else they feel the need to protect their own interest even if the customer paid for all the development. 

It's just code. Go to github and you'll find the sourcecode for projects multiple times more complex and impressive than someone's little pallettizer macro. 

Just my opinion, if your company's success is dependent on some lines of rapid code, i feel sorry for you.

mandolas

Hi...

I agree, and I'll add a point about technical competence.

There's a huge difference between consulting a reference and relying on ready-made solutions from GitHub due to an inability to develop your own logic. If a professional reaches the point of depending on ready-made code, it exposes a serious technical weakness.

Furthermore, resorting to password cracking or 'decryption' to solve vulnerabilities—simply because you lack the knowledge to diagnose and create a solution from scratch—is not a sign of skill, but rather a lack of mastery over the process.

The true value of an expert lies in the autonomy to create the correct solution to the problem, not in the ability to copy or reverse engineer out of necessity.

Good job!

Tompanhuhu

I understand the point you want to make about the importance of technical understanding and the ability to build your own solutions – we agree on that.

At the same time, I think it becomes problematic to equate the use of references, open source or existing code with a lack of competence. In professional contexts, it is often about balancing quality, time, cost and customer value. Knowing when and how to reuse proven solutions is also a form of expertise.

For me, the value of an expert lies not only in being able to write everything from scratch, but in understanding the overall architecture, risks, maintenance, responsibility and business context. Being able to build yourself and being able to assess, adapt and take responsibility for existing code are not opposites.

I thought it was a good solution ABB had previously with its CD KEY MAKER software where you could license-lock your software to a specific robot system. The threshold for locking your code became higher than running encode.exe and your code was actually protected from "copy to another robot". 

But I have no understanding of people continuing to encrypt their gripper functions and other cell-specific logic.

lemster68

Many years ago I had licensed an option that I wrote with the CD Key Maker.  Today, it is known as Robotware Add-Ins.