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Wireshark-dev: [Wireshark-dev] Informing user of incomplete dissection

From: Mike Morrin <morrinmike@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sat, 5 Mar 2016 13:55:21 +1300
I have a dissector which does not yet dissect all of the possible information elements of a protocol.

What should the dissector do when it recognises that an IE cannot be handled?
  • Ignoring the un-dissected octets leaves the user with a false sense of believing the dissection was complete
  • DISSECTOR_ASSERT is much too invasive.
  • Expert info, would seem to be the best option, but I recall that it was intended to be used for providing information about the captured packets, rather than about dissector deficiencies.
What is the generally accepted solution?

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