Nmap Development mailing list archives

Re: Nmap XML HowTo


From: "Amit Kumar Saha" <amitsaha.in () gmail com>
Date: Thu, 10 May 2007 17:42:37 +0530

Hi Fyodor,

Hi Amit.  I think the HOWTO is a great idea!  And version 0.1 is a
good start.

Thanks.

Maybe instead of designing a command-line utility specifically for
Nmap XML, you can demonstrate in your HOWTO how to use existing
generic XML command-line utilities to parse Nmap output.  I think many
Nmap users (including me to some extent) fall back on Nmap grepable
output because we grew up with command-line tools like awk, sed, cut,
etc. for parsing plaintext.  But parsing Nmap XML output using
command-line XML tools to grab fields with XPath and the like can lead
to command-lines which are shorter, easier to write, and a hundred
times easier to read than a big string of piped sed/awk/etc.

I am currently playing with XMLStarlet, proposed by Dirk. I should be
able to put up something soon.


But I do see the value in other sorts of special-purpose Nmap XML
command-line utilities (and/or libraries).  They could do things like
take 2 Nmap XML output files and produce an XML file describing the
differences.  Tools like UMIT or PBNJ or simpler cron jobs could all
share such a common utility/library.

This will be the next thing on my mind and lets us see what Adriano
says about its application to Umit.

Cheers,

-- 
Amit Kumar Saha

GSM :+91 9903140286
http://amitsaha.in.googlepages.com

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