text: ## Algorithms
  
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  Finding an algorithm Posted by geoffrey2312 on 10 Nov 2008 at 11:23 AM
  Right, first off I am not an advanced programmer and am self taught in what I do know so please keep that in mind.
  
  is it possible to reverse engineer an algorithm, if I had an output code based on multiple events and had all of these events logged and also had multiple instances of this code and the events. Would it be possible to:
  
  a) Write a program that takes all of the data I have collected (output code and input data) and work out the algorithm used to create that code.
  
  b) Use the algorithm with my own input data to create my own codes.
  
  And how would I go about writing a program to do this?
  Re: Finding an algorithm Posted by Malcolm_McLean on 11 Nov 2008 at 11:14 AM
  : Right, first off I am not an advanced programmer and am self taught
  : in what I do know so please keep that in mind.
  :
  : is it possible to reverse engineer an algorithm, if I had an output
  : code based on multiple events and had all of these events logged and
  : also had multiple instances of this code and the events. Would it be
  : possible to:
  :
  : a) Write a program that takes all of the data I have collected
  : (output code and input data) and work out the algorithm used to
  : create that code.
  :
  : b) Use the algorithm with my own input data to create my own codes.
  :
  : And how would I go about writing a program to do this?
  :
  
  It's harder than you might imagine.
  
  Say input is 2, 3 then 5, 4 then 3, 3 and output is 5, 9, 6. Any human will instnatly twig that the operation must be addition. However it is almost impossible to get a computer to think in a flexible way.
  
  Re: Finding an algorithm Posted by geoffrey2312 on 12 Nov 2008 at 7:34 AM
  
  : Say input is 2, 3 then 5, 4 then 3, 3 and output is 5, 9, 6. Any
  : human will instnatly twig that the operation must be addition.
  : However it is almost impossible to get a computer to think in a
  : flexible way.
  :
  :
  :
  Basically as a struggling student I was going go have a go at putting free electricity into the meter. I have all the slips for the last few years and in each there is a code you put in to the machine. I imagine the code is an algorithm based on the amount, time, date, card no. and maybe the shop. I have religiously purchased electricity from my local shop and saved all these receipts.
  
  I know that this is morally wrong but when I have finished studying and am actually earning money I will happily pay my way. Until then its shoestring budget and a short course in electricianing
  
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explanation: The document is a forum thread from a programming discussion board. It contains a question posted by a user named geoffrey2312 about reverse engineering an algorithm from input and output data. The user asks if it is possible to write a program to deduce the algorithm and use it to generate new codes. There are two responses, one from Malcolm_McLean explaining the difficulty of the task and another from geoffrey2312 providing additional context about the specific application.
distilabel_metadata.content: Evaluate the user given text extract and determine if it contains a math question and optionally and answer to this question.
  
  Output rules:
  
  1. Briefly describe the document and mention if it contains a question or a question and answer.
  2. Finalize the output with: Label: no-question,question,question-and-answer,multiple-question,multiple-question-and-answer
distilabel_metadata.role: system
distilabel_metadata.content: ## Algorithms
  
  Moderators: None (Apply to moderate this forum)
  Number of threads: 402
  Number of posts: 786
  
  This Forum Only
  
  Finding an algorithm Posted by geoffrey2312 on 10 Nov 2008 at 11:23 AM
  Right, first off I am not an advanced programmer and am self taught in what I do know so please keep that in mind.
  
  is it possible to reverse engineer an algorithm, if I had an output code based on multiple events and had all of these events logged and also had multiple instances of this code and the events. Would it be possible to:
  
  a) Write a program that takes all of the data I have collected (output code and input data) and work out the algorithm used to create that code.
  
  b) Use the algorithm with my own input data to create my own codes.
  
  And how would I go about writing a program to do this?
  Re: Finding an algorithm Posted by Malcolm_McLean on 11 Nov 2008 at 11:14 AM
  : Right, first off I am not an advanced programmer and am self taught
  : in what I do know so please keep that in mind.
  :
  : is it possible to reverse engineer an algorithm, if I had an output
  : code based on multiple events and had all of these events logged and
  : also had multiple instances of this code and the events. Would it be
  : possible to:
  :
  : a) Write a program that takes all of the data I have collected
  : (output code and input data) and work out the algorithm used to
  : create that code.
  :
  : b) Use the algorithm with my own input data to create my own codes.
  :
  : And how would I go about writing a program to do this?
  :
  
  It's harder than you might imagine.
  
  Say input is 2, 3 then 5, 4 then 3, 3 and output is 5, 9, 6. Any human will instnatly twig that the operation must be addition. However it is almost impossible to get a computer to think in a flexible way.
  
  Re: Finding an algorithm Posted by geoffrey2312 on 12 Nov 2008 at 7:34 AM
  
  : Say input is 2, 3 then 5, 4 then 3, 3 and output is 5, 9, 6. Any
  : human will instnatly twig that the operation must be addition.
  : However it is almost impossible to get a computer to think in a
  : flexible way.
  :
  :
  :
  Basically as a struggling student I was going go have a go at putting free electricity into the meter. I have all the slips for the last few years and in each there is a code you put in to the machine. I imagine the code is an algorithm based on the amount, time, date, card no. and maybe the shop. I have religiously purchased electricity from my local shop and saved all these receipts.
  
  I know that this is morally wrong but when I have finished studying and am actually earning money I will happily pay my way. Until then its shoestring budget and a short course in electricianing
  
  ## Recent Jobs
  
  Official Programmer's Heaven Blogs
  Web Hosting | Browser and Social Games | Gadgets
  
  Popular resources on Programmersheaven.com
  Assembly | Basic | C | C# | C++ | Delphi | Flash | Java | JavaScript | Pascal | Perl | PHP | Python | Ruby | Visual Basic
  © Copyright 2011 Programmersheaven.com - All rights reserved.
  Reproduction in whole or in part, in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.
  Violators of this policy may be subject to legal action. Please read our Terms Of Use and Privacy Statement for more information.
  Operated by CommunityHeaven, a BootstrapLabs company.
distilabel_metadata.role: user
distilabel_metadata.raw_output_q_a_detector_0: The document is a forum thread from a programming discussion board. It contains a question posted by a user named geoffrey2312 about reverse engineering an algorithm from input and output data. The user asks if it is possible to write a program to deduce the algorithm and use it to generate new codes. There are two responses, one from Malcolm_McLean explaining the difficulty of the task and another from geoffrey2312 providing additional context about the specific application.
  
  Label: question-and-answer