path: root/contrib/libpcap/README.Win32

Under Win32, libpcap is integrated in the WinPcap packet capture system.
WinPcap provides a framework that allows libpcap to capture the packets
under Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows NT 4, Windows 2000
and Windows XP.
WinPcap binaries and source code can be found at http://winpcap.polito.it:
they include also a developer's pack with all the necessary to compile
libpcap-based applications under Windows.

How to compile libpcap with Visual Studio
-----------------------------------------

In order to compile libpcap you will need:

- version 6 (or higher) of Microsoft Visual Studio
- The November 2001 (or later) edition of Microsoft Platform
Software Development Kit (SDK), that contains some necessary includes
for IPv6 support. You can download it from http://www.microsoft.com/sdk
- the latest WinPcap sources from http://winpcap.polito.it/install

The WinPcap source code already contains a recent (usually the latest
stable) version of libpcap. If you need to compile a different one,
simply download it from www.tcpdump.org and copy the sources in the
winpcap\wpcap\libpcap folder of the WinPcap distribution. If you want to
compile a libpcap source retrieved from the tcpdump.org Git, you will
have to create the scanner and the grammar by hand (with lex and yacc)
or with the cygnus makefile, since The Visual Studio project is not able
to build them.

Open the project file winpcap\wpcap\prj\wpcap.dsw with Visual Studio and
build wpcap.dll. wpcap.lib, the library file to link with the applications,
will be generated in winpcap\wpcap\lib\. wpcap.dll will be generated in
winpcap\wpcap\prj\release or winpcap\wpcap\prj\debug depending on the type
of binary that is being created.

How to compile libpcap with Cygnus
----------------------------------

To build wpcap.dll, cd to the directory WPCAP/PRJ of the WinPcap source code
distribution and type "make". libwpcap.a, the library file to link with the
applications, will be generated in winpcap\wpcap\lib\. wpcap.dll will be
generated in winpcap\wpcap\prj.

Remember, you CANNOT use the MSVC-generated .lib files with gcc, use
libwpcap.a instead.

"make install" installs wpcap.dll in the Windows system folder.