Re: Project proposal -GSoC

[David Fifield <david () bamsoftware com>]

On Mon, May 17, 2010 at 01:40:05AM +0530, kirubakaran S wrote:
> HI dev,
>    I am kirubakaran. I am participating in GSoC and assigned
> to develop script selection and argument passing features in zenmap.
> Based on the guidelines given by david (my mentor) I changed my project
> proposal and added some screen shots(simulated).
>
> The link to my document is
>  http://docs.google.com/View?id=dwn8dz7_25cfgrnphn

Thank you putting in the time to revise your proposal. I think we still
have some design work to do for the user interface.

As we discussed, the script selection is going to be a part of the
profile editor, replacing the very lame interface that's now under the
"Scripting" tab. (Screenshot: http://docs.google.com/File?id=dwn8dz7_43dkgpwt6h_b)
Your new screenshots, though, show different functions happening in
different popup windows.

Script match preview http://docs.google.com/File?id=dwn8dz7_44fsgz7mhr_b
Script selection     http://docs.google.com/File?id=dwn8dz7_46fjtt25hg_b
Script arguments     http://docs.google.com/File?id=dwn8dz7_47gs6645c7_b

I want all these user interface elements to be unified. Let me give you
an example: We might have decided, in the profile editor, not to provide
a command line entry, and only let the user manipulate checkboxes and
text fields. Then the user might have clicked a "Show Nmap command"
button to get a popup showing the command that was generated. But
instead, we show the command line all the time, and it is updated live
as the user changes things; no special action is needed to see it. This
is much better in every way.

In the same way, there should not be a separate "script preview" window.
Instead, provide a box in the main interface where the user can type in
their script specification, and then show the list of scripts that
match in the same window. The end goal of the script selection interface
is to generate a text string that is a script specification, so it can
be inserted into the command line. A preview of what scripts are going
to be run by that specification will be a side effect of generating that
string.

You write: "When the user wants to execute scripts press 'Run scripts'
button." There must not be a "Run scripts" button, because we already
have a button to do that, labeled "Scan." The script selection must not
duplicate functions that Zenmap already does. Remember that script
selection is just one part of generating an Nmap command line. Users are
also going to want to set timing option, change the scan type, and lots
of other things; the script selection can't take over everything.

I think this project needs to be taken one small step at a time. I would
like you to design an interface mockup that is exactly like the current
crap interface, with two additions: A scrolling list of script names
parsed from script.db, and a panel that shows the arguments for a script
that you click on in the scrolling list. Please include actual script
names and arguments in your mockup, don't just leave the panels blank.

Kirubakaran has seen this already, but here's one of my brainstorming
ideas for the interface. Even this doesn't do everything that I've asked
for above, so don't take it as a specification or anything. It is pretty
close to what I have asked for in the previous paragraph, though.

David Fifield
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