A Linux binary that queries itself while it runs

Farid Zakaria built a Linux executable that stores its own code, symbols and application data as rows inside a SQLite database. Deploying a change means writing a row instead of shipping a new binary. The live process can be queried and audited with ordinary SQL while it runs.

His Self-Executing Linux Format hands the file to an interpreter through binfmt_misc. The interpreter reads a segments table to map code into memory and jump to the entry point. The running program finds its own path through argv[0], then queries itself for the rest.

The payoff shows up in his demo webserver, which keeps its routes, visits and presses as tables inside the same binary it runs from. It reports 13 segments, 179 symbols, 105 relocations, 3 routes and 103 visits. Zakaria can read or update any of that data by transaction, with no restart.

Zakaria says the format buys him ACID deployments, sqldiff diffs between versions for an audit trail, and single-file distribution over scp. What he doesn't say is how a public-facing version would stop an untrusted request from reaching those same writable tables.