path: root/doc/proto_tree

$Id: proto_tree,v 1.7 1999/11/30 05:49:14 guy Exp $

The Ethereal Protocol Tree
==========================

Up until version 0.6.3 of Ethereal, the protocol tree that is displayed
in the middle pane of the Ethereal GUI had been created by having
the protocol dissection routines add strings to a GTK+ tree. This
GUI container was not easily manipulated; the print routines had to
reach inside what should be an opaque GUI structure and pull out the
data. The tree of strings also did not lend itself to filtering on the
data available in the tree.

Mostly to solve the display filter problem, I decided to have the protocol
dissection routines put their data into a logical tree instead of a
GUI tree. This tree structure would provide a generic way for multiple
routines, like the dissection routines, the display filter routines,
and the print routines, to retrieve data about the protocol fields. The
GUI routines would then be modified to draw the GUI tree based on the
data in the logical tree. By structuring this logical tree well, with
well-defined field types, Ethereal can have a very powerful display
filter option. No longer would display filters be limited to the ability
of the BPF compiler (libpcap or wiretap), but would have access to the
full range of C field types available within Ethereal.

In Ethereal 0.7.6, I decided to extend the information that the
programmer must provide about each field. I was frustrated by the way
in which the original proto_tree code handled bitfields. By providing
a small amount of extra info, bitfields can now be added very easily
to the proto_tree. In addition, filtering on bitfields now works
more naturally.

The protocol tree, or proto_tree, is a GNode, the N-way tree structure
available within GLIB. Of course the protocol dissectors don't care
what a proto_tree really is; they just pass the proto_tree pointer as an
argument to the routines which allow them to add items and new branches
to the tree.

When a packet is selected in the packet-list pane, a new logical protocol
tree (proto_tree) is created. The pointer to the proto_tree (in this
case, 'protocol tree'), is passed to the top-level protocol dissector,
and then to all subsequent protocol dissectors for that packet, and then
the GUI tree is drawn via proto_tree_draw().

Programming for the proto_tree
==============================
The logical proto_tree needs to know detailed information about the
protocols and fields about which information will be collected from the
dissection routines. By strictly defining (or "typing") the data that can
be attached to a proto tree, searching and filtering becomes possible.
This means that the for every protocol and field (which I also call
"header fields", since they are fields in the protocol headers) which
might be attached to a tree, some information is needed.

Every dissector routine will need to register its protocols and fields
with the central protocol routines (in proto.c). At first I thought I
might keep all the protocol and field information about all the
dissectors in one file, but decentralization seemed like a better idea.
That one file would have gotten very large; one small change would have
required a re-compilation of the entire file. Also, by allowing
registration of protocols and fields at run-time, loadable modules of
protocol dissectors (perhaps even user-supplied) is feasible.

To do this, each protocol should have a register routine, which will be
called when Ethereal starts.  The code to call the register routines is
generated automatically; to arrange that a protocol's register routine
be called at startup:

	the file containing a dissector's "register" routine must be
	added to "DISSECTOR_SOURCES" in "Makefile.am";
 
	the "register" routine must have a name of the form
	"proto_register_XXX";
  
	the "register" routine must take no argument, and return no
	value;
 
	the "register" routine's name must appear in the source file
	either at the beginning of the line, or preceded only by "void "
	at the beginning of the line (that'd typically be the
	definition) - other white space shouldn't cause a problem, e.g.:
 
void proto_register_XXX(void) {
 
	...
 
}
 
and
 
void
proto_register_XXX( void )
{
 
	...
 
}
 
	and so on should work.

For every protocol or field that a dissector wants to register, a variable of
type int needs to be used to keep track of the protocol. The IDs are
needed for establishing parent/child relationships between protocols and
fields, as well as associating data with a particular field so that it
can be stored in the logical tree and displayed in the GUI protocol
tree.

Some dissectors will need to create branches within their tree to help
organize header fields. These branches should be registered as header
fields. Only true protocols should be registered as protocols. This is
so that a display filter user interface knows how to distinguish
protocols from fields.

A protocol is registered with the name of the protocol and its
abbreviation.

Here is how the frame "protocol" is registered.

	int proto_frame;

        proto_frame = proto_register_protocol (
                /* name */      "Frame",
                /* abbrev */    "frame" );


A header field is also registered with its name and abbreviation, but
information about the its data type is needed. It helps to look at
the header_field_info struct to see what information is expected:

struct header_field_info {
	char				*name;
	char				*abbrev;
	enum ftenum			type;
	int				display;
	void				*strings;
	guint				bitmask;
	char				*blurb;

	int				id;	  /* calculated */
	int				parent;
	int				bitshift; /* calculated */
};

name
----
A string representing the name of the field. This is the name
that will appear in the graphical protocol tree.

abbrev
------
A string with an abbreviation of the field. We concatenate the
abbreviation of the parent protocol with an abbreviation for the field,
using a period as a separator. For example, the "src" field in an IP packet
would have "ip.addr" as an abbreviation. It is acceptable to have
multiple levels of periods if, for example, you have fields in your
protocol that are then subdivided into subfields. For example, TRMAC
has multiple error fields, so the abbreviations follow this pattern:
"trmac.errors.iso", "trmac.errors.noniso", etc.

The abbreviation is the identifier used in a display filter.

type
----
The type of value this field holds. The current field types are:

	FT_NONE,
	FT_BOOLEAN,
	FT_UINT8,
	FT_UINT16,
	FT_UINT24,
	FT_UINT32,
	FT_INT8,
	FT_INT16,
	FT_INT24,
	FT_INT32,
	FT_DOUBLE,
	FT_ABSOLUTE_TIME,
	FT_RELATIVE_TIME,
	FT_STRING,
	FT_ETHER,
	FT_BYTES,
	FT_IPv4,
	FT_IPv6,
	FT_IPXNET

Some of these field types are still not handled in the display filter
routines, but the most common ones are. The FT_UINT* variables all
represent unsigned integers; the number on the end represent how many
bits are used to represent the number.

display
-------
The display field has a couple of overloaded uses. This is unfortunate,
but since we're C as an application programming language, this sometimes
makes for cleaner programs. Right now I still think that overloading
this variable was okay.

For integer fields (FT_UINT*), this variable represents the base in
which you would like the value displayed. The acceptable bases are:
	BASE_DEC,
	BASE_HEX,
	BASE_OCT,
	BASE_BIN

For FT_BOOLEAN fields that are also bitfields, 'display' is used
to tell the proto_tree how wide the parent bitfield is. With integers
this is not needed since the type of integer itself (FT_UINT8, FT_UINT16,
FT_UINT24, FT_UINT32) tells the proto_tree how wide the parent bitfield is.

Additionally, BASE_NONE is used for 'display' as a NULL-value. That is,
for non-integers and non-bitfield FT_BOOLEANs, you'll want to use BASE_NONE
in the 'display' field.

It is possible that in the future we will record the endianness of
integers. If so, it is likely that we'll use a bitmask on the display field
so that integers would be represented as BEND|BASE_DEC or LEND|BASE_HEX.
But that has not happened yet.

strings
-------
Some integer fields need labels to represent the true value of a field.
A value_string structure is a way to map values to strings.

typedef struct _value_string {
  guint32  value;
  gchar   *strptr;
} value_string;

For FT_UINT* fields, the 'string' field is a pointer to an array of
such value_string structs. (Note: before Ethereal 0.7.6, we had
separate field types like FT_VALS_UINT8 which denoted the use of value_strings.
Now, the non-NULLness of the pointer lets the proto_tree know that
a value_string is meant for this field).

FT_BOOLEANS have a default map of 0 = "False", 1 (or anything else) = "True".
Sometimes it is useful to change the labels for boolean values (e.g.,
to "Yes"/"No", "Fast"/"Slow", etc.).  For these mappings, a struct called
true_false_string is used. (This struct is new as of Ethereal 0.7.6).

typedef struct true_false_string {
	char	*true_string;
	char	*false_string;
} true_false_string;

It's two fields are pointers to the string representing truth, and
the string representing falsehood. For FT_BOOLEAN fields that need a
true_false_string struct, the 'strings' field is a pointer to that struct.

bitmask
-------
If the field is not a bitfield, then bitmask should be set to 0.
If it is a bitfield, then the bitmask is the mask which will
leave only the bits needed to make the field when ANDed with a value.
The proto_tree routines will calculate 'bitshift' automatically
from 'bitmask', by finding the first set bit in the bitmask.

blurb
-----
This is a string giving a sentence or two description of the field.
It is meant to provide a more detailed description of the field than the
name alone provides. This information will be used in the man page, and
in a future GUI display-filter creation tool. We might also add tooltips
to the labels in the GUI protocol tree, in which case the blurb would
be used as the tooltip text.

Field Registration
------------------
Protocol registration is handled by creating an instance of the
header_field_info struct (or an array of such structs), and
calling the registration function along with the registration ID of
the protocol that is the parent of the fields. Here is a complete example:

	static int proto_eg = -1;
	static int hf_field_a = -1;
	static int hf_field_b = -1;

	static hf_register_info hf[] = {

		{ &hf_field_a,
		{ "Field A",	"proto.field_a", FT_UINT8, BASE_HEX, NULL,
			0xf0, "Field A represents Apples" }},

		{ &hf_field_b,
		{ "Field B",	"proto.field_a", FT_UINT16, BASE_DEC, VALS(vs),
			0x0, "Field B represents Bananas" }}
	};

	proto_eg = proto_register_protocol("Example Protocol", "proto");
	proto_register_field_array(proto_eg, hf, array_length(hf));

Be sure that your array of hf_register_info structs is declared 'static',
since the proto_register_field_array() function does not create a copy
of the information in the array... it uses that static copy of the
information that the compiler created inside your array. Here's the
layout of the hf_register_info struct:

typedef struct hf_register_info {
	int			*p_id;	/* pointer to parent variable */
	header_field_info	hfinfo;
} hf_register_info;

Also be sure to use the handy array_length() macro found in packet.h
to have the compiler compute the array length for you at compile time.

Adding Items and Values to the Protocol Tree
--------------------------------------------
A protocol item is added to an existing protocol tree with one of a
handful of proto_tree_add_item*() funtions.

Subtrees can be made with the proto_item_add_subtree() function:

	item = proto_tree_add_item(....);
	new_tree = proto_item_add_subtree(item, tree_type);

Subtree types are integers, assigned by
"proto_register_subtree_array()".  To register subtree types, pass an
array of pointers to "gint" variables to hold the subtree type values to
"proto_register_subtree_array()":

	static gint ett_eg = -1;
	static gint ett_field_a = -1;

	static gint *ett[] = {
		&ett_eg,
		&ett_field_a,
	};

	proto_register_subtree_array(ett, array_length(ett));

in your "register" routine, just as you register the protocol and the
fields for that protocol.

There are now 4 functions that the programmer can use to add either
protocol or field labels to the proto_tree:

	proto_item*
	proto_tree_add_item(tree, id, start, length, value);

	proto_item*
	proto_tree_add_item_format(tree, id, start, length,
		value, format, ...);

	proto_item*
	proto_tree_add_item_hidden(tree, id, start, length, value);

	proto_item*
	proto_tree_add_text(tree, start, length, format, ...);

proto_tree_add_item()
---------------------
The first function, proto_tree_add_item, is used when you wish to do no
special formatting. The item added to the GUI tree will contain the name
(as passed in the proto_register_*() function) and any value. If your
field does have a value, it is passed after the length variable (notice
the ellipsis in the function prototype).

Now that the proto_tree has detailed information about bitfield fields,
you an use proto_tree_add_item() with no extra processing to add bitfield
values to your tree.  Here's an example. Take the Format Identifer (FID)
field in the Transmission Header (TH)  portion of the SNA protocol. The
FID is the high nibble of the first byte of the TH. The FID would be
registered like this:

	name		= "Format Identifer"
	abbrev		= "sna.th.fid"
	type		= FT_UINT8
	display		= BASE_HEX
	strings		= sna_th_fid_vals
	bitmask		= 0xf0

The bitmask contains the value which would leave only the FID if bitwise-ANDed
against the parent field, the first byte of the TH.

The code to add the FID to the tree would be;

	guint8 th_0 = pd[offset];
	proto_tree_add_item(bf_tree, hf_sna_th_fid, offset, 1, th_0);

Note: we do not do *any* manipulation of th_0 in order to ge the FID value.
We just pass it to proto_tree_add_item(). The proto_tree already has
the information about bitmasking and bitshifting, so it does the work
of masking and shifting for us! This also means that you no longer
have to crate value_string structs with the values bitshifted. The
value_string for FID looks like this, even though the FID value is
actually contained in the high nibble. (You'd expect the values to be
0x0, 0x10, 0x20, etc.)

/* Format Identifier */
static const value_string sna_th_fid_vals[] = {
	{ 0x0,	"SNA device <--> Non-SNA Device" },
	{ 0x1,	"Subarea Node <--> Subarea Node" },
	{ 0x2,	"Subarea Node <--> PU2" },
	{ 0x3,	"Subarea Node or SNA host <--> Subarea Node" },
	{ 0x4,	"?" },
	{ 0x5,	"?" },
	{ 0xf,	"Adjaced Subarea Nodes" },
	{ 0,	NULL }
};

The final implication of this is that display filters work the way you'd
naturally expect them to. You'd type "sna.th.fid == 0xf" to find Adjacent
Subarea Nodes. The user does not have to shift the value of the FID to
the high nibble of the byte ("sna.th.fid == 0xf0") as was necessary
before Ethereal 0.7.6.

proto_tree_add_item_format()
----------------------------
The second function, proto_tree_add_item_format(), is used when the
dissector routines wants complete control over how the field and value
will be represented on the GUI tree. The caller must pass include the
name of the protocol or field; it is not added automatically as in
proto_tree_add_item().

proto_tree_add_item_hidden()
----------------------------
The third function is used to add fields and values to a tree, but not
show them on a GUI tree. The caller may want a value to be included in a
tree so that the packet can be filtered on this field, but the
representation of that field in the tree is not appropriate. An example
is the token-ring routing information field (RIF). The best way to show the
RIF in a GUI is by a sequence of ring and bridge numbers. Rings are
3-digit hex numbers, and bridges are single hex digits:

	RIF: 001-A-013-9-C0F-B-555

In the case of RIF, the programmer should use a field with no value and
use proto_tree_add_item_format() to build the above representation. The
programmer can then add the ring and bridge values, one-by-one, with
proto_tree_add_item_hidden() so that the user can then filter on or
search for a particular ring or bridge. Here's a skeleton of how the
programmer might code this.

	char *rif;
	rif = create_rif_string(...);

	proto_tree_add_item_format(tree, hf_tr_rif_label,..., "RIF: %s", rif);

	for(i = 0; i < num_rings; i++) {
		proto_tree_add_item_hidden(tree, hf_tr_rif_ring, ..., ring[i]);
	}
	for(i = 0; i < num_rings - 1; i++) {
		proto_tree_add_item_hidden(tree, hf_tr_rif_ring, ..., bridge[i]);
	}

The logical tree has these items:

	hf_tr_rif_label, text="RIF: 001-A-013-9-C0F-B-555", value = NONE
	hf_tr_rif_ring,  hidden, value=0x001
	hf_tr_rif_bridge, hidden, value=0xA
	hf_tr_rif_ring,  hidden, value=0x013
	hf_tr_rif_bridge, hidden, value=0x9
	hf_tr_rif_ring,  hidden, value=0xC0F
	hf_tr_rif_bridge, hidden, value=0xB
	hf_tr_rif_ring,  hidden, value=0x555

GUI or print code will not display the hidden fields, but a display
filter or "packet grep" routine will still see the values. The possible
filter is then possible:

	tr.rif_ring eq 0x013

proto_tree_add_text()
---------------------
The fourth function, proto_tree_add_text(), is used to add a label to the GUI tree.
It will contain no value, so it is not searchable in the display filter process.
This function was needed in the transition from the old-style proto_tree to this
new-style proto_tree so that Ethereal would still decode all protocols w/o being
able to filter on all protocols and fields. Otherwise we would have had to
cripple Ethereal's functionality while we converted all the old-style proto_tree
calls to the new-style proto_tree calls.