Ethereal-dev: Re: [Ethereal-dev] Q931 ethereal code

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From: Guy Harris <gharris@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sat, 21 Aug 2004 00:59:42 -0700
Rami AlHasan wrote:

I would be grateful if anyone can describe to me the meaning of the dissesctor tables, which is used at the parsing of the single-octet IE and Variable-length IE of the Q931 protocol dissector. I did not understans what does this code segment do?

It lets other dissectors request that they be handed the contents of particular information elements - in effect, it lets you extend the Q.931 dissector without changing the dissector.

Is it a must to do this?

That depends on whether any dissectors do that. None of the dissectors that come with Ethereal do that, but some people might have private add-ons that do.

what is the effect of ignoring this portion of the code?

If you ignore it, you don't know all the things you can do with the Q.931 dissector.

Please in other words what makes this condition happen and we enter this If statement?

What makes it happen is dissectors that register in one of those dissector table for a particular IE number or a particular Q.931 codeset and network traces that contain Q.931 packets using that IE number or codeset.