<box begindoc>**This is automatically generated documentation.**  Edit after the "[[#COMMENTS|COMMENTS]]" heading; changes to the main body will be lost.</box>

====== Element Documentation ======

how to write Click element documentation

===== DESCRIPTION =====

Documentation for a Click element is automatically generated from formatted
comments in its header files. This manual page describes how to write one
of these formatted comments.

Click element documentation syntax is based on Perl-style PODs; see
//perlpod//(1)
for more information. However, not all POD constructs are usable in element
documentation at the moment; and Click element documentation is
line-oriented, not paragraph-oriented.

===== COMMAND QUICK REFERENCE =====

These are the sectioning commands and the sections they correspond to,
listed in the conventional order.

 ? ''=c''
 ! SYNOPSIS
 ? ''=s'' //category//
 ! NAME (one-line summary)
 ? ''=io''
 ! INPUTS AND OUTPUTS
 ? ''=processing''
 ! PROCESSING TYPE
 ? ''=d''
 ! DESCRIPTION
 ? ''=n''
 ! NOTES
 ? ''=e''
 ! EXAMPLES
 ? ''=h'' //name// //type//
 ! ELEMENT HANDLERS
 ? ''=a''
 ! SEE ALSO
 ? ''=head1'' //text//
 ! other heading

These are the other commands used in element documentation.

 ? ''=head2'' //text//
 ! subheading
 ? ''=over'' //amount//
 ! begin item list
 ? ''=item'' //text//
 ! add item
 ? ''=back''
 ! end item list
 ? ''=for'' //format//
 ! selective formatting
 ? ''=begin'' //format//
 ! selective formatting
 ? ''=end'' //format//
 ! selective formatting
 ? ''=deprecated'' //new-element//
 ! element is deprecated

These are the formatting commands, used inside ordinary text.

 ? ''B%%<%%''//text//''>''
 ! boldface
 ? ''I%%<%%''//text//''>''
 ! italics
 ? ''U%%<%%''//text//''>''
 ! underlined (if possible)
 ? ''P%%<%%''//text//''>''
 ! plain text (i.e., no automatic links)
 ? ''C%%<%%''//text//''>''
 ! code (fixed-width)
 ? ''F%%<%%''//text//''>''
 ! filename (italics)
 ? ''L%%<%%''//text//|//link//''>''
 ! hyperlink
 ? ''N<>''
 ! line break
 ? ''E%%<%%''//name//''>''
 ! entity
 ? ''V%%<%%''//text//''>''
 ! hide text

And these are the category keywords, used in the summary section to
categorize elements.

 ? ''basicsources''
 ! Basic Sources and Sinks
 ? ''classification''
 ! Basic Classification and Selection
 ? ''basictransfer''
 ! Basic Packet Transfer
 ? ''counters''
 ! Counters
 ? ''timestamps''
 ! Timestamps
 ? ''basicmod''
 ! Basic Packet Modification
 ? ''storage''
 ! Packet Storage
 ? ''aqm''
 ! Active Queue Management
 ? ''scheduling''
 ! Packet Scheduling
 ? ''shaping''
 ! Traffic Shaping
 ? ''information''
 ! Information Elements
 ? ''netdevices''
 ! Network Devices
 ? ''comm''
 ! Host and Socket Communication
 ? ''ethernet''
 ! Ethernet
 ? ''arp''
 ! ARP
 ? ''ip''
 ! IPv4
 ? ''iproute''
 ! IPv4 Routing
 ? ''icmp''
 ! ICMP
 ? ''nat''
 ! Network Address Translation
 ? ''tcp''
 ! TCP
 ? ''udp''
 ! UDP
 ? ''app''
 ! Applications
 ? ''traces''
 ! Trace Manipulation
 ? ''ipmeasure''
 ! TCP/IP Measurement
 ? ''aggregates''
 ! Aggregates
 ? ''ip6''
 ! IPv6
 ? ''ipsec''
 ! IPsec
 ? ''crc''
 ! CRCs
 ? ''paint''
 ! Paint Annotations
 ? ''annotations''
 ! Annotations
 ? ''debugging''
 ! Debugging
 ? ''control''
 ! Control
 ? ''smpclick''
 ! Multithreaded Click
 ? ''test''
 ! Regression Tests

===== COMMENT SYNTAX =====

Each piece of documentation is stored in a single block comment
%%'%%''%%/%%*...%%*%%/'''. Two kinds of block comment are recognized:

      /*
      =c
      ElementName(...)
      ... and so on ...
      */
  
      /*
       * =c
       * ElementName(...)
       * ... and so on ...
       */

In the first form, commands and normal text MUST begin in the first column
of each line. In the second form, commands and normal text MUST begin in
the fourth column of each line, immediately following the initial star and
spaces %%'%%'' * '''. Indented lines are treated as verbatim text, as in
POD.

===== COMMANDS =====

Commands are lines that begin with %%'%%''=''' and a lower-case letter.
There are two kinds of commands, those that start new sections and those
that occur within sections. There is also a set of formatting
commands -- for turning text bold, for example -- that occurs inside normal
text; they are described in the next section.

==== Section Commands ====

 ? ''=s'' [//category//]
 ! Begin the summary section. This should contain a very short, one-line summary of the element's function. For example, for a //Queue//(n) element:    
     =s storage    stores packets in a FIFO queue
 The summary text should generally be a verb phrase.      The optional //category// specifies one or more element categories into which this element fits, separated by commas. Specifying meaningful categories helps a lot; documentation tools use categories to divide elements into manageable groups. Use existing categories, defined by the list of category keywords above in the Command Quick Reference, or create your own. 
 ? ''=c''
 ! Begin the synopsis section. This section is mandatory.     The ''=c'' section gives the element's name and any of its configuration arguments. For example:    
     =c    IPEncap(PROTOCOL, SADDR, DADDR)
    Configuration arguments should be specified as all-upper-case words. The description section will use those upper-case words to talk about the arguments. Use brackets to show that an argument is optional:    
     =c    UDPIPEncap(SADDR, SPORT, DADDR, DPORT [, CHECKSUM?])
    Do not use anything more complicated than brackets. If an element has complex syntax, either use upper-case words and talk about the syntax more in the description section, or give multiple lines:    
     =c    ControlSocket(tcp, PORTNUMBER [, READONLY?])    ControlSocket(unix, PORTNUMBER [, READONLY?])
 %%(%%'tcp' and 'unix' are lowercase because they should be typed verbatim.) 
 ? ''=io''
 ! Begin the inputs and outputs section. This section mentions how many inputs and outputs the element has. It is usually quite short; for example:    
     =io    None
 This section is optional, and most elements don't bother to have one; they mention inputs and outputs in the description section.
 ? ''=processing''
 ! Begin the processing type section. This section mentions the processing types of the element's input and output ports. It is usually quite short; for example:    
     =processing    Push inputs, pull outputs
 This section is optional. Documentation processing tools will generate a ''=processing'' section from the element's **processing**%%(%%) method, if possible.
 ? ''=d''
 ! Begin the description section. This section tells how the element should be used. It is usually the longest section. When mentioning configuration arguments, use the upper-case words given in the ''=c'' section.
 ? ''=n''
 ! Begin the notes section.
 ? ''=e''
 ! Begin the examples section.
 ? ''=h'' //handlername// //type//
 ! Begin a handler description. Use this section to describe any special handlers that the element installs. //Handlername// should be the name of the handler, and //type// its type (either %%'%%''read-only''', %%'%%''write-only''', or %%'%%''read/write''%%'%%). The following text should describe that handler. For example:    
     =h capacity read/write    Returns or sets the queue's capacity.
 
 ? ''=a'' [//text//]
 ! Begin the "see also" section. Use this section to mention other relevant elements and programs, when appropriate. The more references, the better. For example:    
     =a RED, FrontDropQueue
 The optional //text// is just part of the body of the section.     The references in this section should be either manual page references, like %%'%%''tcpdump(1)''', or text references, like 'RFC 959: File Transfer Protocol'. However, the first paragraph in the section is special; there, you can just give element names without %%'%%''(n)''' suffixes.    If one of these references occurs in some other section, it will be formatted like a link. For example, in    
     =d    This element is like Queue.    =a Queue
 the mention of %%'%%''Queue''' in the description section will be formatted like a link. 
 ? ''=head1'' //sectionname//
 ! Begin a section other than those listed. //Sectionname// is the name of the section.

==== Other Commands ====

 ? ''=head2'' //text//
 ! Produce a subheading with //text// as the text.
 ? ''=over'' //amount//
 ! Begin a list of items that is indented by //amount// characters. (Some translators may ignore //amount//.)
 ? ''=item'' //text//
 ! Add an item to the latest list opened by ''=over''. It is illegal to use ''=item'' outside of any ''=over'' list. The text of the item is //text//. If you are creating a bulleted list, use %%'%%''*''' as the text; if you are creating a numbered list, use %%'%%''1.''', %%'%%''2.''', and so forth.
 ? ''=back''
 ! Close the latest list opened by ''=over''.
 ? ''=for'' //format//
 ! Output the next paragraph only when generating documentation in //format//. Valid //format//s include 'html', 'man', and 'roff'. The paragraph ends at the next command or blank line, and it consists of text in the given format, not element documentation. For example, this code includes a picture in HTML mode:    
     =for html    <p>Here is a pretty picture:    <img src="pretty.gif"></p>     Back to B<normal text> here.
 
 ? ''=begin'' //format// ... ''=end'' //format//
 ! This is like ''=for'', but can encompass multiple paragraphs. It outputs text in between the ''=begin'' command and the ''=end'' command only when generating documentation in //format//.
 ? ''=deprecated'' //new-element//
 ! This command notes that the element has been deprecated in favor of //new-element//. It does not result in any output.

===== TEXT =====

Each line that doesn't begin with %%'%%''=''' and a lower-case letter is
treated as text. (Unless it starts with a space or tab; see verbatim text,
below.) This text is formatted nicely, and perhaps even justified. You can
use several formatting commands inside normal text; they consist of an
uppercase letter, followed by %%'%%''<''', some text, and %%'%%''>'''. The
commands are:

 ? ''B%%<%%''//text//''>''
 ! Print //text// in **boldface**.
 ? ''I%%<%%''//text//''>''
 ! Print //text// in //italic//.
 ? ''R%%<%%''//text//''>''
 ! Print //text// in roman. Useful inside ''B%%<%%...>'' and so forth, or to prevent words from being highlighted.
 ? ''C%%<%%''//text//''>''
 ! Print //text// like source code, in a constant-width font.
 ? ''F%%<%%''//text//''>''
 ! Print //text// like a filename. By default, filenames appear in italics.
 ? ''L%%<%%''//text//|//link//''>''
 ! Print //text// as a hyperlink with destination //link//. This usually just comes out as //text//.
 ? ''N<>''
 ! Put a line break here.
 ? ''E%%<%%''//name//''>''
 ! Print the HTML-style entity named //name//. There are six entities: ''E%%<%%lt>'' is '<', ''E%%<%%gt>'' is '>', ''E%%<%%amp>'' is '&', ''E%%<%%solid>'' is '%%/%%', ''E%%<%%verbar>'' is '%%|%%', ''E%%<%%star>'' is '%%*%%', and ''E%%<%%eq>'' is '='. This is useful for typing one of these characters in a context that would seem like a command or formatting command.
 ? ''V%%<%%''//text//''>''
 ! Do not print //text//.

===== VERBATIM TEXT =====

Lines that start with a space or tab character are printed out
verbatim -- that is, without any changes, and with the line breaks and
indentation you specified. You can't use formatting commands
in verbatim text. Verbatim text is useful for showing example code; for
example:

    This code
       q :: Queue;
       ... -> RED(5, 50, 0.02) -> q -> ...
    adds RED dropping to q.

===== EXAMPLES =====

  /* =c
   * Align(MODULUS, OFFSET)
   * =s modification
   * aligns packet data
   * =d
   * Aligns packet data. Each input packet is aligned so that
   * its first byte is OFFSET bytes off from a MODULUS-byte
   * boundary. This may involve a packet copy.
   *
   * MODULUS I<must> be 2, 4, or 8.
   * =n
   * The click-align(1) tool will insert this element 
   * automatically wherever it is required.
   * =e
   *   ... -> Align(4, 0) -> ...
   * =a AlignmentInfo, click-align(1) */

  /* =c
   * Counter([TYPE])
   * =s measurement
   * measures packet count and rate
   * =d
   * Passes packets unchanged from its input to its output,
   * maintaining statistics information about packet count and
   * rate if TYPE is "packets", or byte count and byte rate if
   * TYPE is "bytes". The default TYPE is "packets".
   * =h count read-only
   * Returns the number of packets/bytes that have passed through.
   * =h rate read-only
   * Returns the recent arrival rate (measured by exponential
   * weighted moving average) in packets/bytes per second.
   * =h reset write-only
   * Resets the count and rate to zero.
   */

===== SEE ALSO =====

//perlpod//(1),
//click//(1),
//click//(5)

===== AUTHOR =====

Eddie Kohler, kohler@cs.ucla.edu\\
Robert Morris, rtm@lcs.mit.edu\\
[[http://www.pdos.lcs.mit.edu/click/|http://www.pdos.lcs.mit.edu/click/]]


===== COMMENTS =====