Visualizing binary files
Summary
A personal exploration of visualizing binary data, starting from colorized hex dumps (bine/xxd-like) to ASCII block visualization and then a simple technique to render binary files as portable grayscale images (PGM). The post discusses tradeoffs (speed vs. color richness), the use of a Python ncurses-based TUI, and examples including visualizing an EXE and a tarball; it also highlights practical considerations and usability notes.