BCIT
                  Forensic Programming (COMP 7615)
                      Instructor: Robert Slade

                            Assignment 1

Tool review and comparison

Pick a type of forensic programming tool and choose two or three tools
of the same type.  (Two hex editors, three sector editors, two in-
circuit emulators [ICE], etc.)  (Information resources, such as books
and Web sites, may be chosen, but students should research the items
in question, in advance, to ensure suitability.  Choice of information
resources as assignment subjects requires approval of the instructor.) 
Review the tools that you have chosen.  Include assessments of
availability (including price), ease of use (including installation,
help systems, and noting particularly suitability to the task of
forensic programming), compatibility (with a range of targets and
systems), documentation, and performance (in terms of forensic
information obtainable).

Provide details of you reviews of the selected tools, as well as a
comparison of the various tools in regard to forensic programming. 
Note that you need not simply make a decision on the "best" of the
tools that you have chosen: give a reasonable assessment of the
strengths and weaknesses of each.

In this assignment, bear in mind that the instructor has been
reviewing books and software for a long time.  Promotional fluff will
*not* be accepted.  Submissions may state personal preferences, but
should concentrate on suitability to task and user audience, bearing
in mind that forensic evidence and procedures may be required to be
explained, under adversarial questioning, to a non-specialist judge
and jury.

Marks:

    structure and presentation
    explanation of tools
    review of tools
    comparison of tools
    summary assessment

Total                                                      /

Due in class 5, 20020806