Decompiling DEX to Java

The DEX code, as we know, is compiled from Java, which is a pretty semantic, easy-to-read language, and I'm sure some of you are wondering by now whether it's possible to decompile the DEX code back into Java? Well, the good news is that this is possible, of course, depending on the quality of the decompiler you are using and the complexity of the DEX code. This is because unless you understand how the DEX code actually works, you will always be at the mercy of your DEX decompiler. There are many ways to thwart the popular decompilers such as reflection and non-standard DEX opcode variants, so if you're hoping that this recipe means you can call yourself an Android reverse engineer even though you are unable to read the DEX code, you are mistaken!

With that said, most DEX code in Android applications are pretty stock standard, and decompilers, such as the one we are about to use, can handle an average DEX file.

Getting ready

Before we start, you will need to grab a few...