Binary rewriting means changing the semantics of a program without having the source code at hand, and is used for emulation, optimization, observation, and hardening. A binary recompiler is a software system that takes executable binaries as input, analyzes their structure, applies transformations and optimizations, and outputs new optimized executable binaries.

"Binary Recompilation and Combined Compiler/Architecture Enhancements Studies". umich.edu. University of Michigan. Archived from the original on 2012-07-23. [University of Michigan]