Appendix A.  Module Characteristics

 Module

 Status

 Misc.

Accepts

Returns

Name

Stage

U

s

i

n

g

L

I

N

K

U

t

i

l

i

t

y

S

e

r

v

e

r

A

s

s

e

r

t

A

l

e

r

t

E

n

a

b

l

e

C

o

m

m

a

n

d

C

o

n

d

i

t

i

o

n

s

A

s

s

e

r

t

s

A

l

e

r

t

s

C

o

m

m

a

n

d

s

cache

Beta

Y

I

G

D

D

Y

Y

Y

console

Alpha

Y

E

G

Y

netflow

Alpha

Y

E

S

Y

C

Y

C

Y

Y

servant

Beta

Y

I

G

Y

Y

D

Y

Y

Y

simple

Sample

E

G

D

Y

snmptrap

Alpha

Y

E

S

Y

Y

Y

syslog

Alpha

E

S

Y

Y

Y

translate

Alpha

E

G

tree

Beta

Y

I

G

D

Y

Alpha

Beta

Sample

Yes

Internal

Extern

General

Special

Yes

Data

Control

Yes

Column

Description

Name

Module name---also default skill name. 

Stage

Alpha and Beta indicates the general stage of development.

Sample means it has no real intended purpose other than as a sample for developers.

Using

This columns indicates which modules the author is actually using in an application.

Link

Internal modules are statically linked into nb. 

External modules are dynamically loaded.  Modules linked internal are also provided as external modules.  This supports testing and use of prior versions.

Utility

General purpose modules can be used for a wide range of applications.

Special purpose modules are designed to collect data using a specific protocol, or interface to a specific tool or application.

Server

These modules don’t get enabled until NodeBrain enters a server mode after processing all arguments.

Assert

Accepts ASSERT command with Data or Control values.

Alert

Accepts ALERT command with Data or Control values.  Any module that accepts ASSERT commands also accepts ALERT commands, but most don’t make a distinction.  So we only designate this column when ALERT is treaded differently than ASSERT.

Enable

Accepts ENABLE and DISABLE commands.

Command

Accepts expert commands “context:text”

Conditions

Returns values when used as a cell expression “context(arguments)”

Asserts

Asserts value to the expert context.

Alerts

Alerts the expert context.

Commands

Generates any command to the interpreter within the expert context.