2 // Fraunhofer Institut fuer offene Kommunikationssysteme (FOKUS)
3 // Kompetenzzentrum fuer Satelitenkommunikation (SatCom)
4 // Stefan Bund <g0dil@berlios.de>
6 // This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
7 // it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
8 // the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
9 // (at your option) any later version.
11 // This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
12 // but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
13 // MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
14 // GNU General Public License for more details.
16 // You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
17 // along with this program; if not, write to the
18 // Free Software Foundation, Inc.,
19 // 59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.
21 /** \mainpage SENF: The Simple and Extensible Network Framework
23 The SENF Simple and Extensible Network Framework aims to be a complete set of libraries to
24 facilitate the development of network applications focusing on network protocols on the layers
25 below the application layer. However, the framework includes many general purpose utilities and
26 will be expedient to use well beyond its primary objective.
30 The main goals of this library are (in no particular order):
32 \li modular framework design
33 \li utilizing the power of modern C++
34 \li very low overhead for frequently called members
38 \section start Getting started
40 To get started using this library, begin by checking out the code from the <a
41 href="http://developer.berlios.de/svn/?group_id=7489">BerliOS SVN repository</a>. You may find
42 help on using the library at '\ref senf_usage'. If you are interested in SENF, feel free to subscribe
43 to the <a href="http://developer.berlios.de/mail/?group_id=7489">SENF mailing lists</a>. If you
44 want to contribute, read the docs and \e please adhere to the \ref senf_conventions.
46 \see \ref senf_usage\n
47 <a href="../../Examples/doc/html/index.html">Examples</a>
50 /** \page senf_usage Using the SENF framework
52 The SENF Framework is a collection of loosely coupled modules. The libraries are heavily object
53 oriented and template based. For compatibility reasons, the libraries are therefore built
54 together with every project making use of the framework.
56 When starting a new project based on the SENF framework, it is advisable, to make use of the
57 SENFSCons build environment and use SVN to manage the code repository. This is the
58 configuration, described in this documentation.
60 \see \ref senf_build \n
61 \ref senf_components \n
65 \section senf_preliminaries Preliminaries
67 Before starting the development, make sure to fulfill the following requirements:
69 \li GNU g++, version at least 3.4
70 \li The Boost libraries (http://www.boost.org)
71 \li The SCons build tool (http://www.scons.org)
73 If you want to build the documentation, you additionally need
75 \li Doxygen (http://www.doxygen.org)
76 \li The \c dia diagram editor (http://www.gnome.org/projects/dia/)
77 \li HTML \c tidy (http://tidy.sourceforge.net/)
78 \li The \c xsltproc XSLT processor (http://xmlsoft.org/XSLT/xsltproc2.html)
79 \li The \c graphviz library (http://www.graphviz.org)
82 The library is only tested with gcc-3.4 and 4.0 on Linux. On other POSIX platforms with a BSD
83 Socket API, the library should be usable, possibly with some tweaking (except for the Scheduler,
84 which relies on \c epoll)
87 /** \page senf_build Building the framework
89 This procedure will test building the complete framework including the unit tests and the
90 Sniffer test application. This build is \e not needed to use the framework since every project
91 will include the full SENF source code itself (via Subversion).
93 After you have successfully built the library tests, you can continue to setup your own project
96 \see \ref senf_components \n
99 \section senf_checkout Getting the code
101 To access the code, check out the code from the BerliOS repository. Change to your development
102 directory and use the following subversion command
105 $ svn checkout http://svn.berlios.de/svnroot/repos/senf/trunk senf
108 This will create a new directory \c senf within the current directory. For further documentation
109 on the use of Subversion, see the \c svn manpage or the subversion homepage at
110 http://subversion.tigris.org. A very good introduction and reference to subversion is available
111 at http://svnbook.red-bean.com.
113 \section senf_compile Building
115 To build the library, execute all unit tests and build the Sniffer test application, use
122 in the \c senf directory. This assumes, that you want to build the library with your default gcc
123 and requires the boost libraries to be available in the system include paths. If this is not the
124 case, you can take a look at <tt>SConfig.template</tt> file. Copy this file to <tt>SConfig</tt>
125 and comment out all the variables you don't want to change (The \e values in the template file
126 are just arbitrary examples).
129 /** \page senf_components The SENF modules
131 The framework is made up of several modular components. When using the library, it is possible
132 to selectively choose to use only a subset of the implemented modules.
134 \see \ref senf_build \n
137 \section libPPI libPPI: Packet Processing Infrastructure
139 The Packet Processing Infrastructure implements a modular framework for implementing packet
140 oriented network applications. The library provides a larget set of pre-defined modules as well
141 as the necessary helpers to implement application specific processing modules.
143 \see <a href="../../PPI/doc/html/index.html">libPPI API reference</a>
145 \section libSocket libSocket: C++ abstraction of the BSD socket API
147 This library provides a high performance and object oriented abstraction of the standard socket
148 API. It utilizes a flexible and extensible policy based design. The library provides predefined
149 types for the important socket types (UDP and TCP sockets etc) including raw and packet sockets.
151 \see <a href="../../Socket/doc/html/index.html">libSocket API reference</a>
153 \section libPackets libPackets: Network packet manipulation
155 This library provides a very flexible infrastructure to parse, create and otherwise manipulate
156 packetized network data. Included is a library of several protocol parsers covering the basic
157 IPv4 and IPv6 network protocols down to the Ethernet layer.
159 \see <a href="../../Packets/doc/html/index.html">libPackets API reference</a>
161 \section libScheduler libScheduler: Asynchronous event handling
163 The scheduler library provides an object oriented interface to the standard UNIX \c select type
164 event dispatcher. It is based on the high performance \c epoll system call. It provides support
165 for read/write events as well as simple timer based events.
167 \see <a href="../../Scheduler/doc/html/index.html">libScheduler API reference</a>
169 \section libUtils libUtils: Collection of arbitrary utilities
171 This library is used be most all of the other modules for miscellaneous tools and utilities. We
174 \li Simple functions to manage daemon processes
175 \li Standard exception classes
176 \li senf::intrusive_refcount to simplify the implementation of classes usable with
178 \li boost::bind extensions
179 \li An interface to the \c g++ demangler integrated with type_info
180 \li Typedefs and rudimentary methods to simplify handling high-resolution time values
182 \see <a href="../../Utils/doc/html/index.html">libUtils API reference</a>
184 \section senfscons SENFSCons, the SENF build environment
186 SENF relies on SCons (http://www.scons.org) to build. To further simplify the common tasks, SENF
187 includes a library of custom routines and builders comprising a very concise build
188 environment. Included are a number of templates to help bootstrapping a new project or
191 \see <a href="../../senfscons/doc/html/index.html">SENFSCons reference</a>
194 /** \page senf_svnsetup Setting up a new project using SENF
196 The preferred way to use SENF in a new project is to rely on Subversion and make use of the
197 SENFSCons build environment. The following sections will describe, how this setup works.
199 \see \ref senf_build \n
200 \ref senf_components \n
203 \section svnext Setting up the project repository
205 The most seamless integration is possible if you rely on Subversion to manage the new
206 project. Subversion does support 'external repositories'. This allows to import code from a
207 foreign repository into the checkout without importing it into your repository. The code will
208 always stay at the remote repository, updates are automatically available.
210 First setup a new empty repository as described for example in the Subversion book at
211 http://svnbook.red-bean.com or as mandated by your site policy. We will call the project 'Foo'
212 and assume, that the project has been checked out into the 'Foo' directory.
214 You now have to decide, which modules you want to use. Every module resides in it's own
215 subdirectory in the SENF repository. Instead of directly checking out the code, we will use \c
216 svn:externals. This will instruct \c svn to automatically check out the needed directories from
217 the BerliOS SENF repository. Change to the 'Foo' directory and type
220 $ svn propedit svn:externals .
223 The default editor (probably VI) will be started with the current value of the svn:externals
224 property (which will probably be empty). Now add all the modules you want plus \c senfscons and
225 possibly \c doclib (if you want to build the documentation). You will almost certainly need the
226 \c Utils module, since all other modules depend on it.
228 For example, if you want to use the \c Scheduler and \c Socket module, the file will look like
231 senfscons http://svn.berlios.de/svnroot/repos/senf/trunk/senfscons
232 Utils http://svn.berlios.de/svnroot/repos/senf/trunk/Utils
233 Scheduler http://svn.berlios.de/svnroot/repos/senf/trunk/Scheduler
234 Socket http://svn.berlios.de/svnroot/repos/senf/trunk/Socket
237 exit the editor and the property will be set. Now run
243 and the code will be checked out into the corresponding directories.
245 \section senf_new_conf Configuring SENFSCons
247 To set up the build environment, copy the <tt>senfscons/SConstruct.template</tt> to
248 <tt>SConstruct</tt> in the project root. The default setup of this file is to build all
249 subdirectories (using the \c SConscript files of the subdirectories). You can add additional
250 global targets and configuration parameters here.
252 If you want to use a non-default compiler or the boost library is not installed in the system
253 directories, you will have to copy <tt>senfscons/SConfig.template</tt> to <tt>SConfig</tt> in
254 the project root and edit it there. You should \e never add \c SConfig to the repository since
255 it should only contain local settings necessary for building on your local system. You should
256 therefore add \c SConfig to the list of files ignored by Subversion in the project root. In the
260 $ svn propedit svn:ignore .
263 and add \c SConfig as a new line to the property.
265 \section new_build Building the project
267 You should now be able to build your project using
273 If you have not changed the \c SConstruct file, this will build all modules you have imported
274 into your project. To build and execute the unit tests, use
280 you can also build only a subdirectory by changing to it and running
286 \see <a href="../../senfscons/doc/html/index.html">SENFSCons reference</a> \n
287 <a href="http://www.scons.org/documentation.php">SCons documentation</a> \n
288 <a href="http://svnbook.red-bean.com">Subversion online book</a> \n
289 <a href="http://subversion.tigris.org">Subversion Homepage</a>
292 /** \page senf_overview Introduction to the framework
294 The SENF framework is relatively complex and makes use of advanced features of the C++
295 language. To make the most efficient use of the framework, you should have at least a basic
296 understanding of C++ templates and the standard library concepts.
298 The library implementation at places makes heavy use of advanced template techniques and relies
299 on some very advanced template libraries from Boost. The aim was however for the \e external
300 interface of the library to be as simple as possible without sacrificing important functionality
301 or adversely impacting the runtime performance.
303 As already mentioned several times, the library relies on Boost (http://www.boost.org) as a
304 generic library of high quality reusable C++ components. It also makes frequent use of the
305 standard library. It is designed, to integrate well into both libraries and to use the same
308 \section senf_startup Getting starting developing with SENF
310 To introduce the framework and it's general structure, a simple example application is provided
311 in the SENF repository in the \c Sniffer module. Peruse this example to get a first look at how
314 When building a network Application with SENF, you will use several modules:
316 \li Use the <a href="../../Socket/doc/html/index.html">Socket library</a> for network
317 communication needs. This library includes support for raw and packet sockets to allow low
318 level network access.
319 \li Use the <a href="../../Scheduler/doc/html/index.html">Scheduler library</a> to coordinate
320 the asynchronous event processing. This drastically reduces the number of threads needed in
321 your application and will greatly enhance the overall responsiveness.
322 \li To interpret low level network packets, use the <a
323 href="../../Packets/doc/html/index.html">Packets library</a>. This library will provide
324 efficient and convenient access to all protocol fields. It supports parsing as well as
325 modifying and creating packets. It has default support for the most important internet
326 protocols and is highly extensible with new protocols.
327 \li Go over the <a href="../../Utils/doc/html/index.html">Utils library</a>. It contains small
328 helpers to simplify tasks like daemonization, exception handling, debugging and so on.
330 The simplest way to get started is: copy the Sniffer application and start to modify it.
332 \see <a href="../../Examples/doc/html/index.html">Examples</a> \n
333 \ref senf_components \n
334 \ref senf_svnsetup \n
337 \section senf_conventions Coding Conventions
339 Here we have laid down the coding conventions used throughout the SENF framework. Please ad here
340 to these conventions when changing or adding code. If you use emacs, you can use the C++ IDE for
341 emacs from http://g0dil.de which greatly simplifies following these conventions.
343 \subsection senf_conventions_file_naming File Naming
345 Files should be named according to the main class they define. A single header file should
346 define only one main class. Exceptions to this rule are OK.
349 This simplifies finding the implementation/header for a given class and also reduces the
350 size of each single file.
352 The implementation is divided into a number of different files:
354 <table class="glossary"> <tr><td>\c .h</td><td>C public header</td></tr>
356 <tr><td>\c .hh</td><td>C++ public header</td></tr>
358 <tr><td>\c .ih</td><td>C++ internal header used only by the implementation. This header will
359 probably be included indirectly by the public header but is not meant to be perused by the
360 library user</td></tr>
362 <tr><td>\c .c</td><td>C implementation</td></tr>
364 <tr><td>\c .cc</td><td>C++ implementation of non-inline non-template functions and
367 <tr><td>\c .ct</td><td>C++ implementation of non-inline template functions and members</td></tr>
369 <tr><td>\c .cci</td><td>C++ implementation of inline non-template functions and
372 <tr><td>\c .cti</td><td>C++ implementation of inline template functions and members</td></tr>
374 <tr><td>\c .mpp</td><td>Special include file used for external iteration by the
375 Boost.Preprocessor library</td></tr> </table>
378 There are two part's to this: First, separating the implementation of inlines and templates
379 out of the header file makes the header file much easier to read. This is important, since
380 the header file will be used as a reference by the developers.
382 Separating inline from non-inline members is used together with the \c prefix_ convention
383 below to ensure the correct placement of inline vs non-inline members in the source
384 code. The C++ language requires, that inline members must be included into \e every
385 compilation unit, non-inline members however must be included \e only in one compilation
386 unit. Placing the inline members into a separate file allows to automate this: Simply moving
387 an implementation from one of the inline files into one of the non-inline files will change
388 the type of implementation accordingly.
390 \subsection senf_conventions_type_naming Type Naming
392 SENF prefers the use of the CapitalziedLettersToSeparateWords convention for class names. In
393 this case, class names must start with a capital letter. There are some exceptions to this rule:
394 Types which define new basic data types to be used like other built-in types may be named using
395 lowercase letters plus underscores. Also, if a type or class is directly related to some other
396 library (STL or Boost) which uses the underscore convention, it might be more sensible to follow
397 this convention. This is open to debate.
400 Naming types with capital letters nicely gives a visual clue, that a symbol is a type
401 name. This can also be used by the editor to highlight type names correctly. Additionally,
402 this convention is compact and does not add additional or repeated overhead.
404 \subsection senf_conventions_impl Implementation
406 Only in very few places, SENF allows the use of inline implementations (not to be confused with
407 inline functions). An \e implementation is inline, if it is written directly into the class
408 definition in the header file. Again there are exceptions to this rule but they are very few:
409 \li When defining simple exception classes, the 'what()' member may be defined inline if it
410 returns a string constant.
411 \li It may be OK to use inline implementations for one-line implementations in internal
413 \li The Packet library allows inline implementations for the definition of parsers since doing
414 so outside the declaration just gets to verbose and parsers definitions are quite length but
415 very simple and straight forward.
418 Implementing members inline inside the class declaration makes the declaration much harder
419 to read. Since the declaration in the header file will be used as a reference by the
420 developer, the header files should be as readable as possible.
422 Every function or method implementation in one of the implementation files must \e always be
423 prefixed with \c prefix_. This symbol is defined at the beginning of the file and undefined at
424 the end. The symbol must be defined to be \c inline in the \c .cti and \c .cci files and must be
425 defined empty in the \c .cc and \c .ct files.
428 Together with splitting inlines and non-inlines into separate files, this allows to
429 automatically include the inline definitions at the right places. See above.
437 // c-file-style: "senf"
438 // indent-tabs-mode: nil
439 // ispell-local-dictionary: "american"