User guide

Chapter 4. Tool Reference
4.1. Introduction
This chapter will provide you with information about the various tools needed for Wireshark devel-
opment.
None of the tools mentioned in this chapter is needed to run Wireshark, they are only needed to
build it.
Most of these tools have their roots on UNIX like platforms, but Win32 ports are also available.
Therefore the tools are available in different "flavours":
• UNIX (or Win32 Cygwin): the tools should be commonly available on the supported UNIX
platforms, and for Win32 platforms by using the Cygwin UNIX emulation
• Win32 native: some tools are available as native Win32 tools, no special emulation is required
Warning!
Unless you know exactly what you are doing, you should strictly follow the re-
commendations given in Chapter 2, Quick Setup!
The following sections give a very brief description of what a particular tool is doing, how it is used
in the Wireshark project and how it can be installed and tested.
Don't expect a lot of documentation regarding these tools in this document. If you need further doc-
umentation of a specific tool, you should find lot's of useful information on the web, as these tools
are commonly used. You can also try to get help for the UNIX based tools with toolname -
-help or read the manpage man toolname.
You will find explanations of the tool usage for some of the specific development tasks in
Chapter 3, Work with the Wireshark sources.
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