Wireshark · Ethereal-dev: [Ethereal-dev] Time stamp FT_ values

[Guy Harris <gharris@xxxxxxxxx>]

On Fri, Jun 18, 2004 at 05:04:12PM +0200, Thomas Anders wrote:
> With the attached patch (against CVS) packet-pktc.c displays the Security
> Parameter Lifetime as a relative time string rather than raw seconds,
> thereby making it more readable, hopefully.

Checked in.

We have an FT_RELATIVE_TIME type; however:

	1) it displays the value as seconds, rather than
	   days/hours/minutes/seconds;

	2) it's not supported by "proto_tree_add_item()".

This raises some questions:

	1) Is there any reason *not* to display time intervals as
	   days/hours/minutes/seconds rather than as a raw number of
	   seconds?

	2) Would it make sense to have a 4-byte FT_RELATIVE_TIME be
	   interpreted as a number of seconds and an 8-byte
	   FT_RELATIVE_TIME be interpreted as something like a
	   seconds/microseconds time stamp?

	3) Would it make even more sense to do something such as the
	   above, but to have the "base" value for the field be an
	   indication of the units of the time?

	4) Would it make more sense still to combine that units
	   indication with an indication of whether an 8-byte value is a
	   seconds/fractions time stamp or an 8-byte number?