Wireshark · Ethereal-dev: Re: [Ethereal-dev] Proposing a generic tool for protocol decoder development process

[Guy Harris <gharris@xxxxxxxxx>]

neha mundra wrote:

>      We have prepared a prototype which automates the process of 
> generating decoders from the protocol description specified in XML. The 
> tool has been tested successfully for HTTP,SMTP and POP3 protocol decoders.
>      Your opinion,interest and suggestion about this tool would be of 
> high regard to us. Please do comment.   

It would be interesting to see a description of the XML-based language 
you have for describing protocols.  You also might want to look at the 
NetPDL language that Analyzer uses, as per the mail from Ulf Lamping and me.

Note that the Ethereal dissectors for HTTP and SMTP, at least, do 
various stateful operations, such as reassembling HTTP headers and 
entity bodies that cross TCP segment boundaries, and determining whether 
data in an SMTP data stream is commands or data (I also have a version 
that handles STARTTLS, which I need to test and check in when it's 
finished); can your XML-based language allow those sorts of operations 
(which might require a way to include C code in the protocol description)?

Note also that many protocols are themselves specified in a language 
(ASN.1, ONC RPC or DCE RPC IDL, etc.); many of Ethereal's dissectors for 
those protocols are generated from the specifications for those 
languages, so a single language for all protocol descriptions is 
probably not what's desired.