[Guy Harris <gharris@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Fri, Jul 07, 2000 at 10:49:51AM +0100, Neil Hunter wrote:
> At the end of the day almost anything is possible given that its written in
> C.

Precisely.

> What I was trying to understand was the "correct" mechanism for layering the
> protocol dissectors in Ethereal.

There *is* no single "correct" mechanism; Anything Goes - you do
whatever is necessary to make the dissector handle the protocol in
question.  There's no Procrustean-bed single correct mechanism in
Ethereal onto which all protocol dissectors must be made to fit, even if
that means beheading them or stretching them on the rack....

The dissector-table stuff, for example, may be a convenient mechanism to
use, but you're not *obliged* to use it.