Hi,
Thanks for your responses. I think I would go for option#1 as a short
term solution and option#3 for long term as I want my changes to be
finally included in Wireshark. I have another query regarding option#1.
When I send customers a custom Wireshark Installer, do I also need to
have a version numbering different from official Wireshark builds? Is
there somewhere I have to let customers/people know that is our
"private" build as opposed to what has been offcially released by
Wireshark (like in the About box or something)?
Thanks for your help in advance.
Regards,
#3 is probably the "best" if you're willing to share the source and
think
the code would be of use to others.
Advantages:
- Less work for you in the long run.
> - Each time a new release of Wireshark comes out with changes that
you want, you'd need to release a newer >version of your "custom"
Wireshark. Or if you don't do this, would complicate things for users
that are frequent
Wireshark users and DO want a version installed with the latest
changes.
> - Periodically changes are made that affect ALL (or a large number)
of dissectors. If that happens someone else >would most likely update
your dissector so it continues to function. Without checking in, you'll
need to figure out why >your dissector doesn't compile anymore with
newer releases.
- Your changes will be reviewed by someone who knows more about
Wireshark
than you do. If you've done >something badly (that will potentially
cause crashes, weird errors, will cause you headaches in the long run)
you have a
good chance of getting feedback to help with this.
- You have contributed back to the community, which is kind of a major
point of this project.
- Once your code is checked in you can just direct people to download
the
latest Wireshark instead of your own >private version. (though initially
you may have to just distribute a custom build - though you can generate
one
automatically here using the buildbot)
Downsides:
- As you say, may take longer overall to push changes to Wireshark -
possibly especially a problem if you expect >them to be updated
frequently.
People here tend to be fairly responsive, and won't waste your time.
But
if you've written something badly, you >probably will be forced to
rewrite it (which may slow you down in the short term, but be good in
the long term)
#2 is a mixed bag. Distributing code as plugins are probably more
"legal"
if you weren't willing/allowed to distribute >the sources, but that's
not a problem for you. However, plugins tend to be problematic to
maintain.
There tend to be frequent changes in Wireshark that will break existing
plugins (so you'd potentially end up having to >compile a plugin for
each version of Wireshark that you want your dissectors to be compatible
with), and a lot of the >maintainers here aren't exactly a fan of them.
Don't expect a lot of support on getting them to work. I'd probably
stick with either #1 if this is just some really simple project and
you're going to be distributing to a few people for >limited use, or #3
if you want to do things "right" and save yourself work in the long run.
Why not go for #1 AND #3?
Make a bug report with your dissector(s) and while waiting for
review/commit distribute a
Custom version.
/Anders
