User guide

2.2. Win32: Step-by-Step Guide

A quick setup guide for Win32 with recommended configuration.

Warning!

Unless you know exactly what you are doing, you should strictly follow the re-

commendations!

2.2.1. Install Microsoft C compiler and Platform SDK

You need to install:

1. C compiler: Download(474MB) and install "Visual C++ 2005 Express Edition"

2. Platform SDK : Download(420MB) and install Platform SDK Server 2003 R2

Install MSVC the usual way. Don't forget to install vcvars32.bat or call it manually before building

Wireshark. vcvars32.bat will set some required environment (e.g. the PATH) settings.

Other Microsoft C compiler variants possible!

It's possible to compile Wireshark with a wide range of Microsoft C compiler variants,

for details see Section 4.4, “Microsoft compiler toolchain (Win32 native)”!

Don't use cygwin's gcc!

Using cygwin's gcc is not recommended and will certainly not work (at least without a

lot of advanced tweaking). For further details on this topic, see Section 4.3, “GNU

compiler toolchain (UNIX or Win32 Cygwin)”.

XXX - mention the compiler and PSDK web installers - which significantly reduce download size -

and find out the required components

XXX - how to get the right PATH settings?

Why this is recommended: While this is a huge download, the 2005 express edition is the only free

(as in beer) version that includes the Visual Studio integrated debugger.

2.2.2. Install Cygwin

Download the cygwin installer and start it.

At the "Select Packages" page, you'll need to select some additional packages, which are not in-

stalled by default. Navigate to the required Category/Package row and click on the "Skip" item in

the "New" column so it shows a version number for:

• Archive/unzip

• Devel/bison

• Devel/flex

• Interpreters/perl

Quick Setup