README for Net::PcapUtils 0.01

This module provides some code to abstract away some of the messier parts of using the Net::Pcap library. The idea is to be able to write "one-liner" type scripts for packet capture without getting bogged down in the initialisation code. This makes it possible to write very compact Perl scripts involving packet capture.

To use Net::PcapUtils, the latest version of the Net::Pcap module is required (at the time of writing, this was version 0.03).

Net::PcapUtils provides three functions that are described below:

• Net::PcapUtils::loop(\&callback_fn, [optional args]);

                Capture packets and execute callback function for evey
                packet received.

        - Net::PcapUtils::next($pcap_t);

                Return the next packet and packet header from an open
                network interface.

        - Net::PcapUtils::open([optional args]);

                Open a network interface for packet capture and return
                a packet capture descriptor.

If none of the optional arguments are declared, then a reasonable set of defaults are assumed. See the Net::PcapUtils manpage for more details.

I hope you enjoy Net::PcapUtils.

8/4/99
Tim Potter
tpot@acsys.anu.edu.au