Occasionally, there comes a need to “look under the hood” of the code in a JAR file. While java is a compiled language, it isn’t quite machine code, but rather exists in a psuedo-code form to be used by the Java Virtual Machine’s JIT (Just in Time) compiler.
A lot can be learned from looking at other source code, unfortunately when using decompiled code you don’t get the original variable names or javadoc, but you can often better understand the API’s and performance issues in particular code.
I’m personally fond of DJ Decompiler, but I list several here for your use:
- DJ Decompiler
- JD-Eclipse
- JADclipse (Eclipse Plugin)
- Cavaj
Cheers!