path: root/docbook/wsdg_src/WSDG_chapter_env_intro.xml

<!-- WSDG Chapter Introduction -->
<!-- $Id$ -->

<chapter id="ChapterIntroduction">
  <title>Introduction</title>

  <section id="ChIntroIntro">
    <title>Introduction</title>
    <para>
	This chapter will provide you with information about Wireshark
	development in general.
    </para>
  </section>

  <section id="ChIntroWhatIs">
    <title>What is <application>Wireshark?</application></title>
    <para>
	Well, if you want to start Wireshark development, you might already
	know what Wireshark is doing. If not, please have a look at the
	<ulink url="&WiresharkUsersGuidePage;">Wireshark User's Guide</ulink>,
	which will provide a lot of general information about it.
    </para>

  </section>

  <section id="ChIntroPlatforms">
    <title>Platforms Wireshark runs on</title>
    <para>
      Wireshark currently runs on most UNIX platforms and various Windows
      platforms. It requires GTK+, GLib, libpcap and some other libraries in
	  order to run.
    </para>
    <para>
	As Wireshark is developed in a platform independent way and uses libraries
	(such as the GTK+ GUI library) which are available for a lot of different platforms,
        it's thus available on a wide variety of platforms.
    </para>
    <para>
      If a binary package is not available for your platform, you should
      download the source and try to build it. Please report your experiences
	  to <ulink url="mailto:&WiresharkDevMailList;">&WiresharkDevMailList;</ulink>.
    </para>
    <para>
      Binary packages are available for at least the following platforms:
    </para>

	<section><title>Unix</title>
	<para>
	<itemizedlist>
	<listitem><para>Apple Mac OS X</para></listitem>
	<listitem><para>BeOS</para></listitem>
	<listitem><para>FreeBSD</para></listitem>
	<listitem><para>HP-UX</para></listitem>
	<listitem><para>IBM AIX</para></listitem>
	<listitem><para>NetBSD</para></listitem>
	<listitem><para>OpenBSD</para></listitem>
	<listitem><para>SCO UnixWare/OpenUnix</para></listitem>
	<listitem><para>SGI Irix</para></listitem>
	<listitem><para>Sun Solaris/Intel</para></listitem>
	<listitem><para>Sun Solaris/Sparc</para></listitem>
	<listitem><para>Tru64 UNIX (formerly Digital UNIX)</para></listitem>
	</itemizedlist>
	</para>
	</section>

	<section><title>Linux</title>
	<para>
	<itemizedlist>
	<listitem><para>Debian GNU/Linux</para></listitem>
	<listitem><para>Ubuntu</para></listitem>
	<listitem><para>Gentoo Linux</para></listitem>
	<listitem><para>IBM S/390 Linux (Red Hat)</para></listitem>
	<listitem><para>Mandrake Linux</para></listitem>
	<listitem><para>PLD Linux</para></listitem>
	<listitem><para>Red Hat Linux</para></listitem>
	<listitem><para>Rock Linux</para></listitem>
	<listitem><para>Slackware Linux</para></listitem>
	<listitem><para>Suse Linux</para></listitem>
	</itemizedlist>
	</para>
	</section>

	<section><title>Microsoft Windows</title>
    <para>
	Thanks to the Win32 API, development on all Windows platforms will be
	done in a very similar way. All Windows platforms referred to as Win32,
	Win or Windows may be used with the same meaning.
	Older Windows versions are no longer supported by Wireshark.
	As Windows CE differs a lot compared to the other Windows platforms
	mentioned, Wireshark will not run on Windows CE and there are no plans to
	support it.
	</para>
	<para>
	Also the 64 bit Windows version are now supported by Wireshark. Although
	not all libraries are made 64 bit ready yet, basic operations are all
	available.
	</para>
	<para>
	<itemizedlist>
	<listitem><para>Windows Server 2000</para></listitem>
	<listitem><para>Windows XP</para></listitem>
	<listitem><para>Windows Server 2003</para></listitem>
	<listitem><para>Windows Vista</para></listitem>
	<listitem><para>Windows 7</para></listitem>
	<listitem><para>Windows Server 2008</para></listitem>
	</itemizedlist>
    </para>
	</section>

  </section>

  <section id="ChIntroDevelopment">
    <title>
	Development and maintenance of <application>Wireshark</application>
    </title>
    <para>
      Wireshark was initially developed by Gerald Combs. Ongoing development
      and maintenance of Wireshark is handled by the Wireshark core developers,
      a loose group of individuals who fix bugs and provide new functionality.
    </para>
    <para>
      There have also been a large number of people who have contributed
      protocol dissectors and oher improvements to Wireshark, and it is
      expected that this will continue.  You can find a list of the people who
      have contributed code to Wireshark by checking the About dialog box of
      Wireshark, or have a look at the <ulink url="&WiresharkAuthorsPage;"/>
      page on the Wireshark web site.
    </para>
    <para>
	The
	communication between the developers is usually done through the developer
	mailing list, which can be joined by anyone interested in the development
	activities. At the time this document was written, more than 500 persons were
	subscribed to this mailing list!
    </para>
    <para>
	It is strongly recommended to join the developer mailing list, if you
	are going to do any Wireshark development. See
	<xref linkend="ChIntroMailingLists"/> about the different Wireshark
	mailing lists available.
    </para>

	<section><title>Programming language(s) used</title>
    <para>
	Almost any part of Wireshark is implemented in plain ANSI C.
    </para>
    <para>
	The typical task for a new Wireshark developer is to extend an existing,
	or write a new dissector for a specific network protocol. As (almost) any
	dissector is written in plain old ANSI C, a good knowledge about ANSI C
	will be sufficient for Wireshark development in almost any case.
    </para>
    <para>
	So unless you are going to change the build process of Wireshark
	itself, you won't come in touch with any other programming language than
	ANSI C (such as Perl or Python, which are used only in the Wireshark build
	process).
    </para>
    <para>
	Beside the usual tools for developing a program in C (compiler, make, ...),
	the build process uses some additional helper tools (Perl, Python, Sed,
	...), which are needed for the build process when Wireshark
	is to be build and installed from the released source packages. If Wireshark
	is installed from a binary package, none of these helper tools are needed on
	the target system.
	</para>
	</section>


	<section><title>Open Source Software</title>
    <para>
      Wireshark is an open source software (OSS) project, and is released under
      the <ulink url="&GPLWebsite;">GNU General Public License</ulink> (GPL).
	  You can freely use Wireshark on any number of computers you like, without
	  worrying about license keys or fees or such. In addition, all source
	  code is freely available under the GPL. Because of that, it is very easy
	  for people to add new protocols to Wireshark, either as plugins, or built
	  into the source, and they often do!
    </para>
    <para>
	  You are welcome to
      modify Wireshark to suit your own needs, and it would be appreciated
      if you contribute your improvements back to the Wireshark community.
    </para>
    <para>
      You gain three benefits by contributing your improvements back to the
      community:
      <itemizedlist>
	<listitem>
	  <para>
	    Other people who find your contributions useful will appreciate
	    them, and you will know that you have helped people in the
	    same way that the developers of Wireshark have helped you and other
	    people.
	  </para>
	</listitem>
	<listitem>
	  <para>
	    The developers of Wireshark might improve your changes even more,
		as there's always room for improvement. Or they may implement some
		advanced things on top of your code, which can be useful for yourself
		too.
	  </para>
	</listitem>
	<listitem>
	  <para>
	    The maintainers and developers of Wireshark will maintain your
	    code as well, fixing it when API changes or other changes are
	    made, and generally keeping it in tune with what is happening
	    with Wireshark. So if Wireshark is updated (which is done often),
		you can get a new Wireshark version from the website and your changes
		will already be included without any effort for you.
	  </para>
	</listitem>
      </itemizedlist>
    </para>
    <para>
      The Wireshark source code and binary packages for some platforms are all
      available on the download page of the Wireshark website:
      <ulink url="&WiresharkDownloadPage;">&WiresharkDownloadPage;</ulink>.
    </para>

	</section>

  </section>

  <section id="ChIntroReleases">
    <title>Releases and distributions</title>
    <para>
	The officially released files can be found at: <ulink
	url="&WiresharkDownloadPage;"/>.  A new Wireshark version is released after
	significant changes compared to the last release are completed or a
	serious security issue is encountered. The typical release schedule is
	about every 4-8 weeks (although this may vary).
    </para>
    <para>
	There are two kinds of distributions: binary and source; both have their
	advantages and disadvantages.
    </para>

	<section id="ChIntroReleaseBinary">
    <title>Binary distributions</title>
    <para>
	Binary distributions are usually easy to install (as simply starting
	the appropriate file is usually the only thing to do). They are available
	for the following systems:
	<itemizedlist>
	<listitem>
    <para>
	Windows (.exe file). The typical Windows end user is used to get a setup.exe
	file which will install all the required things for him.
    </para>
	</listitem>
	<listitem>
    <para>
	Win32 U3 (.u3 file). Special distribution for U3 capable USB memory sticks.
    </para>
	</listitem>
	<listitem>
    <para>
	Win32 PAF (.paf.exe file). Another Windows end user method is to get a portable
	application file which will install all the required things for him.
    </para>
	</listitem>
	<listitem>
    <para>
	Debian (.deb file). A user of a Debian Package Manager (DPKG) based system
	obtains a .deb file from which the package manager checks the
	dependencies and installs the software.
    </para>
	</listitem>
	<listitem>
    <para>
	Red Hat (.rpm file). A user of a Red Hat Package Manager (RPM) based system
	obtains an .rpm file from which the package manager checks the
	dependencies and installs the software.
    </para>
	</listitem>
	<listitem>
    <para>
	MAC OS X (.dmg file). The typical MAC OS X end user is used to get a .dmg
	file which will install all the required things for him. The other
	requirement is to have the X11.app installed.
    </para>
	</listitem>
	<listitem>
    <para>
	Solaris. A Solaris user obtains a file from which the package manager
	(PKG) checks the dependencies and installs the software.
    </para>
	</listitem>
	</itemizedlist>
	However, if you want to start developing with Wireshark, the binary
	distributions won't be too helpful, as you need the source files, of
	course.
    </para>
    <para>
	For details about how to build these binary distributions yourself,
	e.g. if you need a distribution for a special audience, see
	<xref linkend="ChSrcBinary"/>.
    </para>
	</section>

	<section id="ChIntroReleaseSource">
	<title>Source code distributions</title>
    <para>
	It's still common for UNIX developers to give the end user a source
	tarball and let the user compile it on their target machine (configure,
	make, make install). However, for different UNIX (Linux) distributions
	it's becoming more common to release binary packages (e.g. .deb or .rpm
	files) these days.
    </para>
    <para>
	You should use the released sources if you want to build Wireshark from
	source on your platform for productive use. However, if you going to
	develop changes to the Wireshark sources, it might be better to use the
	latest SVN sources. For details about the different ways to get the
	Wireshark source code see <xref linkend="ChSrcObtain"/>.
    </para>
    <para>
	Before building Wireshark from a source distribution, make sure you have
	all the tools and libraries required to build. The following chapters will
	describe the required tools and libraries in detail.
    </para>
	</section>
  </section>

  <section id="ChIntroAutomated">
    <title>Automated Builds (Buildbot)</title>
    <para>
	The Wireshark Buildbot automatically rebuilds Wireshark on every
	change of the source code repository and indicates problematic changes.
	This frees the developers from repeating (and annoying) work, so time can
	be spent on more interesting tasks.
    </para>
	<section>
	<title>Advantages</title>
	<itemizedlist>
	<listitem><para>
	Recognizing (cross platform) build problems - early. Compilation problems
	can be narrowed down to a few commits, making a fix much easier.
	</para></listitem>
	<listitem><para>
	"Health status" overview of the sources. A quick look at: <ulink
	url="http://buildbot.wireshark.org/trunk/" /> gives a good "feeling" if
	the sources are currently "well".
	On the other hand, if all is "red", an update of a personal source tree
	might better be done later ...
	</para></listitem>
	<listitem><para>
	"Up to date" binary packages are available.
	After a change was committed to the repository, a binary package /
	installer is usually available within a few hours at: <ulink
	url="http://www.wireshark.org/download/automated/" />.
	This can be quite helpful, e.g. a bug reporter can easily verify a bugfix
	by installing a recent build.
	</para></listitem>
	<listitem><para>
	Automated regression tests. In particular, the fuzz tests often indicate
	"real life" problems that are otherwise hard to find.
	</para></listitem>
	</itemizedlist>
	</section>
	<section>
	<title>What does the Buildbot do?</title>
    <para>
	The Buildbot will do the following (to a different degree on the different
	platforms):
	<itemizedlist>
	<listitem><para>
	checkout from the source repository
	</para></listitem>
	<listitem><para>
	build
	</para></listitem>
	<listitem><para>
	create binary package(s) / installer
	</para></listitem>
	<listitem><para>
	create source package (and check completeness)
	</para></listitem>
	<listitem><para>
	run regression tests
	</para></listitem>
	</itemizedlist>
	Each step is represented at the status page by a rectangle, green if it
	succeeded or red if it failed. Most steps provide a link to the corresponding
	console logfile, to get additional information.
    </para>
    <para>
	The Buildbot runs on a platform collection that represents the different
	"platform specialties" quite well:
	<itemizedlist>
	<listitem><para>
	Windows XP x86 (Win32, little endian, VS 9)
	</para></listitem>
	<listitem><para>
	Windows XP x86-64 (Win64, little endian, VS 9)
	</para></listitem>
	<listitem><para>
	Ubuntu x86-64 (Linux, little endian, gcc)
	</para></listitem>
	<listitem><para>
	Solaris SPARC (Solaris, big endian, gcc)
	</para></listitem>
	<listitem><para>
	Mac OS-X PPC (BSD, big endian, gcc)
	</para></listitem>
	<listitem><para>
	Mac OS-X x86 (BSD, little endian, gcc)
	</para></listitem>
	</itemizedlist>
	Each platform is represented at the status page by a single column, the
	most recent entries are at the top.
    </para>
	</section>
  </section>

  <section id="ChIntroHelp">
    <title>Reporting problems and getting help</title>
	<para>
      If you have problems, or need help with Wireshark, there are several
      places that may be of interest to you (well, beside this guide of
	  course).
	</para>

        <section id="ChIntroHomepage"><title>Website</title>
    <para>
        You will find lot's of useful information on the Wireshark homepage at
        <ulink url="&WiresharkWebSite;">&WiresharkWebSite;</ulink>.
        </para>
        </section>

        <section id="ChIntroWiki"><title>Wiki</title>
    <para>
        The Wireshark Wiki at <ulink
        url="&WiresharkWikiSite;">&WiresharkWikiSite;</ulink> provides a wide range
        of information related to Wireshark and packet capturing in general.
        You will find a lot of information not part of this developer's guide. For
        example, there is an explanation how to capture on a switched network,
        an ongoing effort to build a protocol reference and a lot more.
        </para>
        <para>
        And best of all, if you would like to contribute your knowledge on a
        specific topic (maybe a network protocol you know well), you can edit the
        wiki pages by simply using your webbrowser.
        </para>
        </section>

	<section id="ChIntroFAQ"><title>FAQ</title>
    <para>
	The "Frequently Asked Questions" will list often asked questions and
	the corresponding answers.
	</para>
	<para>
	Before sending any mail to the mailing lists below, be sure to read the
	FAQ, as it will often answer the question(s) you might have. This will save
	yourself and others a lot of time (keep in mind that a lot of people are
	subscribed to the mailing lists).
    </para>
	<para>
	You will find the FAQ inside Wireshark by clicking the menu item
	Help/Contents and selecting the FAQ page in the upcoming dialog.
    </para>
    <para>
	An online version is available at the Wireshark website:
	<ulink url="&WiresharkFAQPage;">&WiresharkFAQPage;</ulink>. You might
	prefer this online version, as it's typically more up to date and the HTML
	format is easier to use.
    </para>
	</section>

    <section id="ChIntroOtherSources"><title>Other sources</title>
    <para>
	If you don't find the information you need inside this book, there are
	various other sources of information:
	<itemizedlist>
	<listitem>
	<para>
    the file <filename>doc/README.developer</filename> and
	all the other README.xxx files in the source code - these are various
	documentation files on different topics
	</para>
	<note><title>Read the README!</title>
	<para>
	The README.developer is packed full with all kinds of details relevant
	to the developer of Wireshark source code. It advices you around common
	pitfalls, shows you basic layout of dissector code, shows details of the
	API's available to the dissector developer, etc.  
	</para>
	</note>
	</listitem>
	<listitem>
	<para>
    the Wireshark source code
	</para>
	</listitem>
	<listitem>
	<para>
    tool documentation of the various tools used
	(e.g. manpages of sed, gcc, ...)
	</para>
	</listitem>
	<listitem>
	<para>
    the different mailing lists: see <xref linkend="ChIntroMailingLists"/>
	</para>
	</listitem>
	<listitem>
	<para>
    ...
	</para>
	</listitem>
	</itemizedlist>
    </para>
    </section>

	<section id="ChIntroMailingLists"><title>Mailing Lists</title>
    <para>
      There are several mailing lists available on specific Wireshark topics:
      <variablelist>
	<varlistentry><term><command>wireshark-announce</command></term>
	  <listitem>
	    <para>
	      This mailing list will inform you about new program
		  releases, which usually appear about every 4-8 weeks.
	    </para>
	  </listitem>
	</varlistentry>
	<varlistentry><term><command>wireshark-users</command></term>
	  <listitem>
	    <para>
	      This list is for users of Wireshark. People post
	      questions about building and using Wireshark, others (hopefully)
		  provide answers.
	    </para>
	  </listitem>
	</varlistentry>
	<varlistentry><term><command>wireshark-dev</command></term>
	  <listitem>
	    <para>
	      This list is for Wireshark developers. People post questions about
		  the development of Wireshark, others (hopefully) provide answers.
		  If you want to start developing a protocol dissector, join this list.
	    </para>
	  </listitem>
	</varlistentry>
	<varlistentry><term><command>wireshark-bugs</command></term>
	  <listitem>
	    <para>
	      This list is for Wireshark developers. Every time a change to the bug
		  database occurs, a mail to this mailing list is generated.
		  If you want to be notified about all the changes to the bug
		  database, join this list. Details about the bug database can be
		  found in <xref linkend="ChIntroBugDatabase"/>.
	    </para>
	  </listitem>
	</varlistentry>
	<varlistentry><term><command>wireshark-commits</command></term>
	  <listitem>
	    <para>
	      This list is for Wireshark developers. Every time a change to the SVN
		  repository is checked in, a mail to this mailing list is generated.
		  If you want to be notified about all the changes to the SVN
		  repository, join this list. Details about the SVN repository can be
		  found in <xref linkend="ChSrcSVNServer"/>.
	    </para>
	  </listitem>
	</varlistentry>
      </variablelist>
      You can subscribe to each of these lists from the Wireshark web site:
      <ulink url="&WiresharkWebSite;">&WiresharkWebSite;</ulink>.  Simply
      select the <command>mailing lists</command> link on the left hand
      side of the site. The lists are archived at the Wireshark web site
      as well.
	<tip><title>Tip!</title>
	<para>
	You can search in the list archives to see if someone previously asked the same
	question and maybe already got an answer. That way you
	don't have to wait until someone answers your question.
	</para>
	</tip>
    </para>
	</section>

	<section id="ChIntroBugDatabase"><title>Bug database (Bugzilla)</title>
	<para>
	The Wireshark community collects bug reports in a Bugzilla database at
	<ulink url="&WiresharkBugsSite;">&WiresharkBugsSite;</ulink>.
	This database is filled with manually filed bug reports, usually after some
	discussion on wireshark-dev, and automatic bug reports from the buildbot tools.
	</para>
	</section>

	<section id="ChIntroReportProblems"><title>Reporting Problems</title>
	<note><title>Note!</title>
	<para>
	Before reporting any problems, please make sure you have installed the
	latest version of Wireshark. Reports on older maintainance releases are
	usually met with an upgrade request.
	</para>
	</note>
    <para>
	If you report problems, provide as much
	information as possible. In general, just think about what
	you would need to find that problem, if someone else sends you such a
	problem report. Also keep in mind that people compile/run Wireshark on a lot of different
	platforms.
    </para>
    <para>
      When reporting problems with Wireshark, it is helpful if you supply the
      following information:
      <orderedlist>
	<listitem>
	  <para>
	    The version number of Wireshark and the dependent libraries linked with
		it, e.g. GTK+, etc. You can obtain this with the command
	    <command>wireshark -v</command>.
	  </para>
	</listitem>
	<listitem>
	  <para>
	    Information about the platform you run Wireshark on.
	  </para>
	</listitem>
	<listitem>
	  <para>
	    A detailed description of your problem.
	  </para>
	</listitem>
	<listitem>
	  <para>
		If you get an error/warning message, copy the text of that message (and
		also a few lines before and after it, if there are some), so others may
		find the build step where things go wrong.
		Please don't give something like: "I get a warning when compiling x"
		as this won't give any direction to look at.
	  </para>
	</listitem>
      </orderedlist>
    </para>
	<note><title>Don't send large files!</title>
	<para>
	Do not send large files (>100KB) to the mailing lists, just place a note
	that further data is available on request. Large files will only annoy a
	lot of people on the list who are not interested in your specific problem.
	If required, you will be asked for further data by the persons who really
	can help you.
	</para>
	</note>
	<note><title>Don't send confidential information!</title>
	<para>
	If you send captured data to the mailing lists, or add it to your bug report,
	be sure it doesn't contain any sensitive or confidential information,
	such as passwords.  Visibility of such files can be limited to certain
	groups in the Bugzilla database though. 
	</para>
	</note>
  </section>

  <section><title>Reporting Crashes on UNIX/Linux platforms</title>
    <para>
      When reporting crashes with Wireshark, it is helpful if you supply the
      traceback information (besides the information mentioned in
	  <xref linkend="ChIntroReportProblems"/>).
    </para>
	  <para>
	    You can obtain this traceback information with the following commands:
	    <programlisting>
<![CDATA[
$ gdb `whereis wireshark | cut -f2 -d: | cut -d' ' -f2` core >& bt.txt
backtrace
^D
$
]]>
		</programlisting>
	    <note>
	      <para>
		Type the characters in the first line verbatim! Those are
		back-tics there!
	      </para>
	    </note>
	    <note>
	      <para>
		backtrace is a <command>gdb</command> command. You should
		enter it verbatim after the first line shown above, but it will not be
		echoed. The ^D
		(Control-D, that is, press the Control key and the D key
		together) will cause <command>gdb</command> to exit. This will
		leave you with a file called
		<filename>bt.txt</filename> in the current directory.
		Include the file with your bug report.
	      </para>
	    </note>
	    <note>
	      <para>
		If you do not have <command>gdb</command> available, you
		will have to check out your operating system's debugger.
	      </para>
	    </note>
	  </para>
	  <para>
	    You should mail the traceback to the
		<ulink url="mailto:&WiresharkDevMailList;">&WiresharkDevMailList;</ulink>
	    mailing list, or attach it to your bug report.
	  </para>
  </section>

  <section><title>Reporting Crashes on Windows platforms</title>
    <para>
	The Windows distributions don't contain the symbol files (.pdb), because
	they are very large. For this reason it's not possible to create
	a meaningful backtrace file from it. You should report your crash just
	like other problems, using the mechanism from
	<xref linkend="ChIntroReportProblems"/>.
    </para>
  </section>
  </section>

</chapter>
<!-- End of WSDG Chapter Introduction -->