[Guy Harris <gharris@xxxxxxxxx>]

Jeetendra Singh wrote:
> Are there any plans to formalize the release of an ethereal library?

At some point we'd like to do that.

However, we *KNOW* that there are aspects of the API exposed to 
dissectors that have significant problems, so I, at least, would 
*STRONGLY* oppose formalizing the current API exposed to dissectors, as 
it'd tie our hands too tightly.  I'm not at all certain that the API 
exposed to applications is what we'd ultimately want, either.

> It seems thus the power of ethereal's dissector integration, display
> filter definition and XMLised output can be used to provide more value
> add rather than just displaying them on a GUI.

Yes, we know - but exposing what we have *now* is not an unmitigated good.

Note also that the filtering and XMLized output are available from 
Tethereal as well.