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

[Olaf van der Spek <olafvdspek@xxxxxxxxx>]

On Thu, 17 Mar 2005 02:51:43 -0800 (PST), neha mundra
<neha_pict@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Hi, 
>      We are Computer Engineering students studying in the final year .The
> concept of our final year project is as follows ...
>             Network Analyzer vendors including Ethereal are working on
> enhancing features of their products like increasing the range of protocols
> that the analyser decodes.This entails the incorporation of a new decoder to
> support each new protocol. Developing a protocol decoder from scratch is a
> cumbersome task.As a solution,we propose a generic tool to develop protocol
> decoders,by identifying and exploiting characteristic patterns accross
> protocols.
>  
>      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.    

This sounds very interesting. Is it meant for decoding individual
packets or for decoding entire (TCP) streams?