I see a lot about source codes being leaked and I’m wondering how it that you could make something like an exact replica of Super Mario Bros without the source code or how you can’t take the finished product and run it back through the compilation software?
It can, but it would just be the assembly instructions.
Usually we use high level programming languages when developing software, you’d make the cat class, the dog class, both inheriting from the animal class etc. to make our job easier.
When you compile the code, all the cute stuff gets removed, and the resulting code gets optimized as much as possible, which means you can’t get back to the nice cat and dog code anymore.
A bit like a painter uses thousands of brush strokes to make a painting, it would be very hard to figure out which ones he made to make that specific painting, even if you have access to the painting.