# mars-nwe NCP dispatch redesign notes This file collects design notes for a possible cleanup of the internal NCP handoff path. It is intentionally separate from `TODO.md`: the TODO file should track concrete bugs and endpoint audit follow-ups, while this file describes a larger architecture direction that can be implemented gradually. The goal is not to rewrite MARS-NWE at once. The goal is to make the current handoff behavior explicit, reduce ambiguity around magic return values, and make future endpoint work easier to audit against the Novell/Micro Focus SDK, WebSDK, and NDK Core Protocols PDF. ## Current problem The current NCP path grew around several cooperating processes and handlers: - `nwconn.c` owns the connection/session side and receives most packets first. - `nwbind.c` handles bindery, queue, some server-management, and some final reply construction. - Other modules such as semaphore, message, namespace, AFP, file, salvage, and queue code implement individual protocol families or backend actions. - Some calls are handled completely in `nwconn.c`. - Some calls are forwarded to `nwbind.c` by returning `-1` from the `nwconn.c` dispatcher. - Some calls are forwarded with saved request state by returning `-2`, so that `nwconn.c` can do post-processing after `nwbind.c` has replied. - Some forwarded paths mutate request payloads before handoff. - Some code paths build responses locally, while other paths rely on the target process to build the final completion code and payload. This works, but it is hard to reason about while auditing endpoint layouts. The same looking value can mean different things depending on which file it appears in. For example, `return(-1)` in the relevant `nwconn.c` dispatcher path means "forward this request to `nwbind`". A disabled `return(-1)` inside a `#if 0` block in `nwbind.c` does not have that forwarding meaning and should not be copied into active code. The visible symptoms are: - endpoint documentation must follow a handoff across files before it can say the request or reply layout is known; - missing endpoints are difficult to distinguish from forwarded endpoints; - request parsing, backend behavior, reply encoding, and process routing are often mixed in one switch block; - byte order differences are easy to miss because parsing and reply writing are open-coded in different places; - disabled future stubs can look like active dispatch behavior; - `TODO.md` can become a dumping ground for architectural observations that are not immediate endpoint bugs. ## Desired shape A cleaner long-term structure would have one small internal NCP dispatch layer: ```text wire packet -> NCP envelope parser -> NcpContext -> endpoint lookup -> endpoint handler / provider -> reply encoder -> central reply sender ``` This does not need to be a general-purpose message bus. A full message bus would probably be too large and too abstract for this code base. A typed internal NCP context plus explicit dispatch results would be enough. The important separation is: 1. decode the packet envelope; 2. identify the endpoint; 3. decode the endpoint request body; 4. execute the backend operation; 5. encode the endpoint reply body; 6. send the response from one well-defined place. ## Proposed NCP context Introduce, in a later functional cleanup, a small context object that represents one NCP request while it moves through the server. The exact field names should fit the existing code style, but the conceptual shape would be: ```c typedef struct { int connection; uint16_t request_type; /* 0x2222, 0x3333, 0x5555, ... */ uint8_t function; /* top-level NCP function */ int has_subfunction; uint8_t subfunction; /* grouped calls such as 23/x, 32/x, 87/x */ const uint8_t *request; int request_len; uint8_t *reply; int reply_cap; int reply_len; uint8_t completion; uint8_t connection_status; uint32_t flags; } NcpContext; ``` The context should not replace all old globals in one patch. It can start as a thin wrapper around the existing request and response buffers, then gradually become the preferred handler interface. The useful property is that endpoint documentation can point to a stable model: - `function` and `subfunction` identify the endpoint; - `request` and `request_len` are the bytes after the already-decoded envelope; - `reply` and `reply_len` are the bytes before the common NCP response envelope; - `completion` is set once by the handler or by central error handling. ## Replace magic return values with named results The current `0`, `-1`, and `-2` convention should be made explicit before any larger refactor. The first step can be documentation-only or macro-only: ```c #define NCP_LOCAL_DONE 0 #define NCP_FORWARD_NWBIND -1 #define NCP_FORWARD_NWBIND_POST -2 ``` A later cleanup can replace those with an enum: ```c typedef enum { NCP_DISPATCH_DONE, NCP_DISPATCH_FORWARD_BIND, NCP_DISPATCH_FORWARD_BIND_POST, NCP_DISPATCH_NOT_IMPLEMENTED, NCP_DISPATCH_BAD_REQUEST, NCP_DISPATCH_INTERNAL_ERROR } NcpDispatchResult; ``` The important rule is that the meaning must be scoped. A named result returned from a `nwconn.c` dispatcher may request process handoff. A return statement in `nwbind.c` should not silently inherit that meaning unless the function is explicitly part of the same dispatch interface. ## Endpoint table as audit index first Before replacing switch statements, add an endpoint inventory table as a non-invasive audit aid. It can be compiled only for debug builds or kept as a source-level documentation table. Conceptual form: ```c typedef struct { uint16_t request_type; uint8_t function; int has_subfunction; uint8_t subfunction; const char *name; const char *provider; uint32_t flags; } NcpEndpointDoc; ``` Example entries: ```c { 0x2222, 23, 1, 109, "Change Queue Job Entry old", "nwbind/queue", NCPDOC_FORWARDED }, { 0x2222, 32, 1, 0, "Open Semaphore old", "sema", NCPDOC_LOCAL }, { 0x2222, 33, 0, 0, "Negotiate Buffer Size", "nwconn", NCPDOC_LOCAL }, ``` This table would help with the ongoing endpoint audit: - SDK/PDF/WebSDK listed and implemented; - SDK/PDF/WebSDK listed and forwarded; - SDK/PDF/WebSDK listed but disabled as a future stub; - SDK/PDF/WebSDK listed but absent from the current compatibility target; - later NetWare 4.x/OES/MOAB endpoint, not part of the default NetWare 3.x compatibility target. The first version should not drive runtime dispatch. It should only make review and missing-endpoint checks less error-prone. ## Handler structure For newly touched endpoint families, prefer the following logical split even if it remains in one C function at first: ```text request decode -> validation -> backend operation -> reply encode ``` For complex endpoints this could become explicit helper functions: ```c static int decode_foo(NcpContext *ctx, FooRequest *out); static int exec_foo(NcpContext *ctx, const FooRequest *req, FooReply *reply); static void encode_foo(NcpContext *ctx, const FooReply *reply); ``` This is especially useful for endpoint families where the audit has already found old/new layout differences: - 16-bit old queue job numbers versus newer 32-bit job numbers; - big-endian versus little-endian SDK notation; - old short replies versus newer long replies; - connection-side prehandling that inserts or rewrites fields; - bindery or queue paths that build final replies in a different process. Small endpoints do not need three separate helper functions if that would make the code noisier. The rule is that request bytes and reply bytes should be easy to identify and compare with the SDK documents. ## Make handoff explicit Forwarded calls should say exactly what is handed off. A good comment should answer: - which bytes are forwarded; - whether the subfunction byte is preserved or stripped; - whether `nwconn.c` mutates the request before forwarding; - whether `nwbind.c` or another provider builds the final reply; - whether `nwconn.c` expects post-processing after the provider reply. Examples of handoff cases that need this clarity: - Queue calls where `nwconn.c` expands paths or inserts job file handles before `nwbind.c` sees the request. - Quota/bindery prehandling where the destination handler receives an already transformed request. - Semaphore and message groups that are grouped in the SDK but routed through local helper modules. - Direct lifecycle calls such as End Of Job and Logout where local cleanup and final success reply are split across files. The preferred future style is not "`nwbind` must do the rest" but something like: ```text Forward to nwbind with the original subfunction byte and payload unchanged. No nwconn post-processing is expected; nwbind builds the completion-only reply. ``` or: ```text Forward to nwbind after saving the original request. nwbind validates bindery state and returns the bindery result; nwconn then performs the file-handle post-processing in handle_after_bind(). ``` ## Response building rule Every endpoint audit should identify the reply builder, not only the request parser. A handler is not fully documented until the response path is known. For each endpoint family, record: - completion-only reply; - fixed-size payload reply; - variable-length payload reply; - provider-built reply; - `nwconn.c` post-processed reply; - intentionally unsupported reply status. Long-term, response sending should become centralized enough that endpoint code only encodes payload bytes and a completion code. This reduces off-by-one reply length bugs and makes the logs easier to normalize. ## Provider boundaries A clean design would treat the existing modules as providers instead of hidden fallback paths: ```text nwconn connection/session, packet IO, top-level envelope ncpdispatch endpoint lookup, handoff policy, common errors nwbind bindery database and bindery-backed services queue queue metadata and print/backend adapter sema semaphore state message station/message/broadcast state namespace path, directory handle, name-space operations file file handle and read/write/open/close operations salvage deleted-file scan/recover/purge backend AFP AFP metadata and AFP namespace adapter ``` This is a design target, not a demand to move files immediately. The important part is that future code should avoid making `nwbind` a catch-all sink for unrelated NCPs just because it already has an IPC path. ## Provider boundary versus process boundary A provider boundary is not the same thing as a Unix process boundary. This is an important distinction because splitting every NCP family into a separate process would make the server harder to debug and could introduce new ordering, locking, and reply-ownership bugs. The preferred rule is: ```text first define logical providers; only later promote the few large stateful providers to separate processes. ``` A logical provider can start as an ordinary C module called from the existing process path. It becomes valuable as soon as the dispatch table can say "this endpoint belongs to the queue provider" or "this endpoint belongs to the connection-local provider", even if no new process exists yet. A process split should be treated as an implementation detail that is only justified when the provider has enough independent state and lifecycle to benefit from isolation. This keeps the redesign incremental: ```text now: nwconn switch -> existing local code or nwbind handoff first cleanup: nwconn switch -> provider-named helper/module later, only where useful: nwconn/dispatcher -> IPC -> provider process ``` ### Good process candidates #### Bindery Bindery is already a natural service boundary. It owns long-lived server state: objects, properties, sets, security, password/login/key handling, and object lookup. Keeping bindery behind a clear provider boundary is appropriate, and the existing `nwbind` process can remain that boundary while the dispatch layer is cleaned up. The main cleanup is not to remove `nwbind`, but to stop treating it as a generic catch-all for unrelated forwarded requests. A future endpoint table should mark true bindery calls as `bindery`, and queue or management calls should not be classified as bindery merely because their current implementation lives in `nwbind.c`. #### Queue / possible `nwqueue` Queue management is the strongest candidate for a future separate process after bindery. Queue handling has its own domain state: - queue objects and queue metadata; - queue job lifecycle; - queue server attach/detach state; - service, finish, and abort state; - job position and priority; - client-rights transitions during job servicing; - queue directories and spool/job files. That is large enough to deserve a logical `queue` provider even before any runtime split. A future `nwqueue` process can be considered once request/reply ownership and bindery access are explicit. The first step should only be a provider split: ```text 0x2222/23 queue subfunctions -> queue provider queue provider -> bindery provider/library for object/security/property checks queue provider -> file/path helpers for queue job files ``` A real `nwqueue` process should not be created by simply moving the current queue cases out of `nwbind.c`. It needs an explicit contract for: - which process owns the final NCP reply; - how queue calls read bindery objects and properties; - how queue job files are opened and handed back to the connection process; - how connection cleanup affects attached queue servers and in-service jobs; - how old 16-bit job-number calls and newer 32-bit job-number calls are kept compatible. Until those contracts are clear, `nwqueue` should remain a design target, not an immediate functional change. ### Possible but risky process candidates #### File and volume subsystem The file/volume/name-space area is large and stateful, so it can look like a candidate for a separate process. It owns or touches directory handles, file handles, locks, trustee evaluation, volume information, name spaces, salvage and purge operations, and Unix filesystem mapping. However, this area is also tightly coupled to connection state and existing file descriptor ownership. Moving it behind IPC too early could create more problems than it solves. The safer path is: ```text first: file/volume/name-space provider modules inside the current process model later: consider a process split only after handle ownership is explicit ``` A file provider boundary is useful for documentation and dispatch cleanup. A separate file process is optional and should be considered high-risk. #### Accounting Accounting is a maybe. It has a separate protocol domain, but in many setups it may be small enough to stay as an in-process provider. A process boundary only makes sense if accounting grows into a real persistent service with charges, holds, notes, audit records, and recovery behavior that should be isolated from connection handlers. ### Poor process candidates #### Semaphore Semaphore calls should have a clean provider boundary, but a dedicated process is probably overkill. The old semaphore group is small: open, examine, wait, signal, and close. It needs shared state, but not necessarily a standalone process. A `sema` provider module with clear request/reply ownership should be enough unless later testing shows that cross-connection semaphore state cannot be managed safely in the existing process model. #### Connection lifecycle and session-local calls Connection lifecycle operations should stay with `nwconn` or a connection-local provider. Calls such as Logout, End Of Job, watchdog handling, buffer negotiation, and connection-state cleanup are fundamentally tied to the session that received the packet. Moving them into another process would make cleanup ordering and error handling harder. #### Simple server-management calls Simple management and information calls should not become their own process. Examples include login-status queries, server description strings, server time, console-privilege checks, and small broadcast/control helpers. These can be represented as a `servermgmt` provider for dispatch clarity, but they should stay in-process unless a specific call requires an existing backend service. ### Suggested provider map The endpoint audit table should be able to use provider names like these: ```text local packet/session-local handling in nwconn bindery object/property/security/login backend queue queue objects, jobs, queue servers, spool/job lifecycle filesystem file, directory, volume, namespace, trustee, salvage helpers semaphore semaphore state and old 0x2222/32 calls message station messaging and broadcast helpers servermgmt small server-management and information calls accounting account status, charges, holds, notes AFP AFP namespace and metadata helpers unknown documented but not yet mapped ``` Only some providers should ever become processes: ```text already process-like: bindery / nwbind likely future process: queue / possible nwqueue maybe, high risk: filesystem usually in-process: semaphore, message, servermgmt, accounting, AFP helpers ``` The practical design rule is: ```text Use provider names everywhere in documentation and endpoint tables. Use new processes only where shared state, isolation, and lifecycle justify the extra IPC complexity. ``` ## Future NetWare 4.x directory, LDAP, and storage direction NetWare 4.x support should not be added by letting `nwbind` grow into a second large catch-all service. The long-term directory design should keep the legacy Bindery, the future NDS compatibility layer, and the LDAP protocol frontend as separate logical layers above one shared directory store. The intended naming model is: ```text libflaim persistent embedded database engine libdirectory shared internal directory API/library used by nwbind, nwnds, nwdirectory, and setup/provisioning tools owns the mars-nwe object model, schema helpers, indexes, ACL/auth primitives, and persistence glue above libflaim directory core/store the data model and persistent store exposed through libdirectory persists its data through libflaim nwdirectory mars-nwe service name for the integrated tinyldap-derived LDAP service owns LDAP/LDAPS/StartTLS protocol handling uses wolfSSL only at the LDAP network/TLS edge calls the directory core/store, not Bindery or NDS packet handlers nwnds future NetWare 4.x/NDS compatibility layer owns NDS/NCP directory semantics, contexts, tree-oriented operations, NetWare-specific rights/auth behavior, and later compatibility glue calls the directory core/store directly nwbind legacy NetWare 2.x/3.x Bindery compatibility layer maps Bindery objects, properties, sets, security, and login-visible behavior onto the shared directory core/store where possible ``` In this model, `nwdirectory` is not a separate design from tinyldap. It is the mars-nwe integration name for the tinyldap-derived LDAP directory service, so that the installed binary/module follows the existing `nw*` naming scheme. The upstream tinyldap code can provide the LDAP protocol implementation, but the project-facing component should be named `nwdirectory`. `libdirectory` is the important internal boundary. It should be a real shared API/library, not just a documentation label, because both `nwbind` and future `nwnds` need directory data without speaking LDAP to each other. The library can start small, but it should provide the common operations that legacy Bindery, NDS compatibility, LDAP, and setup code all need: ```c dir_open_store(); dir_close_store(); dir_txn_begin(); dir_txn_commit(); dir_txn_abort(); dir_object_create(); dir_object_delete(); dir_object_lookup_by_id(); dir_object_lookup_by_name(); dir_object_search(); dir_attr_get(); dir_attr_set(); dir_attr_delete(); dir_acl_check(); dir_auth_verify(); dir_schema_get(); ``` The exact function names are placeholders, but the ownership rule is important: NetWare protocol handlers should call a directory API, not encode LDAP requests to reach local server state. If `nwdirectory` later runs as a separate process, `libdirectory` can either remain the shared embedded store library or define the internal IPC contract. In both cases the protocol layers still depend on the directory API, not on LDAP text/protocol behavior. `nwnds` should remain a separate layer because LDAP is only one protocol view of the directory. NDS has NetWare-specific semantics that should not be forced into the LDAP frontend. Conversely, LDAP clients should not be required to pass through the NDS/NCP compatibility handler just to reach the directory database. The preferred relationship is sibling frontends above one core: ```text +----------------------+ | directory core/store | | backed by libflaim | +----------+-----------+ ^ +---------------+---------------+ | | nwdirectory nwnds tinyldap-based LDAP/LDAPS NetWare 4.x/NDS semantics frontend, wolfSSL TLS edge NCP/NDS compatibility layer ^ ^ | | LDAP clients NetWare/NDS clients ``` The legacy Bindery service should also move toward this shared store over time: ```text NetWare 3.x client -> Bindery NCP -> nwbind -> directory core/store -> libflaim LDAP client -> LDAP/LDAPS -> nwdirectory -> directory core/store -> libflaim NetWare 4.x client -> NDS/NCP -> nwnds -> directory core/store -> libflaim ``` That means `nwbind` should become a compatibility mapping over directory objects and attributes instead of maintaining a completely separate long-term identity truth. This is especially important once NetWare 4.x/NDS support exists, because Bindery compatibility can then be implemented as a legacy view of the same underlying users, groups, properties, and rights data. The internal path should not be: ```text nwbind -> LDAP protocol -> nwdirectory -> directory store nwnds -> LDAP protocol -> nwdirectory -> directory store ``` Using LDAP as the mandatory internal storage API would mix protocol concerns into server internals, make old Bindery behavior harder to preserve, and add needless encoding/search semantics between tightly coupled modules. LDAP should remain an external protocol frontend. `nwbind`, `nwnds`, and `nwdirectory` should all use `libdirectory`, or a clearly defined IPC protocol modeled after the same directory API, to reach the directory store. FLAIM should therefore be treated as the long-term persistent storage engine for the directory core, not as an LDAP-only database. `libdirectory` owns the schema, object model, indexes, transactions, ACL checks, and authentication primitives that the protocol/provider layers need. `nwdirectory` exposes those objects through LDAP; `nwnds` exposes them through NDS semantics; `nwbind` exposes them through legacy Bindery calls. A separate setup/provisioning tool should own initial population of this store. The proposed project-facing name is `nwsetup`, matching the `nw*` naming scheme. Its job is not to be another protocol server. It should create or migrate the initial directory database through `libdirectory` directly: ```text nwsetup -> libdirectory -> libflaim ``` Examples of setup-owned work: - create an empty directory store; - initialize the base tree, root/container objects, and default schema; - create initial admin/server/service objects; - create Bindery compatibility objects and properties needed by NetWare 2.x/3.x clients; - import or migrate an existing mars-nwe Bindery database when that becomes practical; - set initial passwords/secrets using the same authentication primitives that `nwbind`, `nwnds`, and `nwdirectory` will use at runtime; - validate or repair indexes before the server starts. `nwsetup` should not fill the database by acting as an LDAP client to `nwdirectory`. LDAP import/export can be useful for interoperability later, but the local bootstrap path should avoid requiring a running LDAP server and should not make LDAP the canonical internal representation. Kerberos should not be part of this initial design. Classic NetWare 4.x/NDS compatibility should focus on native NDS-style authentication and directory semantics. If a later eDirectory/NMAS compatibility effort ever needs Kerberos, it should be considered a separate future authentication-provider topic, not a requirement for the `nwdirectory`/`nwnds`/`nwbind` split. The migration path should be conservative: 1. add the design boundary and naming notes first; 2. import or integrate tinyldap under the project-facing `nwdirectory` name; 3. keep wolfSSL confined to the LDAP/LDAPS/StartTLS network edge; 4. introduce `libdirectory` before making Bindery depend on it; 5. add `nwsetup` as the direct bootstrap/provisioning tool for the initial libflaim-backed directory store; 6. map selected `nwbind` objects/properties to `libdirectory` only after the legacy behavior is documented; 7. add `nwnds` later as an NDS semantic layer, not as an LDAP wrapper; 8. only then consider replacing private Bindery persistence with libflaim-backed directory storage. This keeps the future NetWare 4.x work aligned with the provider/process split: `nwdirectory`, `nwnds`, and `nwbind` may be separate processes or modules, but they should not be separate sources of truth for identity and directory data. ## Transport split for future TCP/IP support Future TCP/IP support should be introduced as a transport code/library split, not as a new daemon. The transport layer is below the NCP dispatcher: it owns wire IO, peer addressing, framing, and transport-specific discovery or watchdog behavior. It does not own Bindery, Queue, Directory, File, Semaphore, or other NCP provider semantics. The intended source-level split is: ```text src/nwtransport.c common transport API and helpers transport-neutral peer/session descriptors dispatch to the selected transport implementation src/nwipx.c existing IPX-specific implementation ipxAddr_t conversion and compatibility helpers IPX socket send/receive SAP/RIP, IPX watchdog, and IPX broadcast behavior where applicable src/nwtcp.c later TCP/IP implementation TCP listener/session/framing code IPv4/IPv6 peer address handling no SAP/RIP assumptions src/nwconn.c NCP session logic request decode, dispatch handoff, reply construction should gradually use transport-neutral peer/session data src/nwserv.c process supervision and connection lifecycle uses the transport layer for listener and peer management ``` These files should be linked into the existing `nwserv`/`nwconn` process model. `nwtransport` is a boundary in the code, not an `nwtransport` process. Creating a separate transport daemon would add an IPC hop for every NCP packet, complicate disconnect/error handling, and make TCP stream ownership harder without adding a clear NetWare service boundary. The long-term direction is to remove raw IPX assumptions from higher layers. Today, the connection path still exposes `ipxAddr_t` in important places. A future cleanup should introduce a transport-neutral peer descriptor, for example conceptually: ```c typedef enum { NW_TRANSPORT_IPX, NW_TRANSPORT_TCP } NwTransportKind; typedef struct { NwTransportKind kind; union { ipxAddr_t ipx; struct { unsigned char addr[16]; unsigned short port; unsigned char family; } tcp; } u; } NwTransportPeer; ``` The exact structure should follow the existing mars-nwe style, but the ownership rule is the important part: NCP providers should not care whether a request came from IPX or TCP/IP. They should see a connection/session and an NCP request, not a raw network address type. The transport API can start small. Useful conceptual operations are: ```c nwtransport_peer_equal(); nwtransport_peer_to_string(); nwtransport_recv(); nwtransport_send(); nwtransport_close_peer(); nwtransport_peer_kind(); ``` As with the NCP context design, these names are placeholders. The first implementation can wrap the existing IPX behavior and leave TCP stubs out until there is a real TCP/IP target. The goal is to stop new code from spreading `ipxAddr_t` into providers that should remain transport-independent. IPX-specific behavior must remain isolated. SAP/RIP, IPX broadcast, and the existing IPX watchdog behavior are compatibility details of the IPX transport or its immediate `nwserv` integration. TCP/IP should not be forced to emulate IPX SAP/RIP internally. If TCP/IP later needs discovery or service advertisement, that should be designed as a TCP/IP-specific mechanism rather than hidden behind old IPX-only assumptions. The intended relationship is therefore: ```text IPX client -> nwipx -> nwtransport -> nwconn -> NCP dispatcher -> providers TCP client -> nwtcp -> nwtransport -> nwconn -> NCP dispatcher -> providers ``` The provider/process rule still applies: ```text Provider boundary does not imply process boundary. Transport boundary does not imply process boundary either. ``` Good future cleanup sequence: 1. document the current IPX ownership in `nwserv.c` and `nwconn.c`; 2. add `nwtransport.c`/transport headers as wrappers around existing IPX paths; 3. move IPX-only helpers into `nwipx.c` without behavior changes; 4. gradually replace raw `ipxAddr_t` use in session-neutral code with a transport-neutral peer/session descriptor; 5. keep NCP providers and the endpoint audit table transport-independent; 6. add `nwtcp.c` only after the IPX wrapper boundary is stable. This keeps TCP/IP support compatible with the broader redesign: transport IO is separated from NCP semantics, but the existing `nwserv`/`nwconn` process model remains intact. ## Logging connection The dispatch redesign also supports the desired log cleanup. If every request has a context, logs can consistently include: ```text INFO NCP 23/109 DISPATCH type=0x2222 fn=0x17 sub=0x6d provider=nwbind/queue INFO NCP 32/0 REPLY type=0x2222 fn=0x20 sub=0x00 result=0x00 len=4 WARN NCP 23/130 LAYOUT-MISMATCH sdk="32-bit JobNumber" code="16-bit parser" ``` The logging cleanup should still reuse existing mars-nwe logging functions. Do not add a second logging subsystem just to support the dispatch cleanup. ## Migration plan ### Phase 1: Name the existing conventions Low risk. No behavior change. - Add named constants or comments for the current `0`, `-1`, and `-2` dispatcher results. - Keep existing control flow unchanged. - Update comments so `return(-1)` is never described ambiguously outside the exact dispatcher where it is meaningful. ### Phase 2: Add an endpoint audit table Low risk. Mostly documentation/debug. - Add a table of known endpoints by request type, function, and subfunction. - Mark provider, generation bucket, and implementation state. - Use it to compare SDK/PDF/WebSDK coverage against actual handlers. - Do not switch runtime dispatch to the table yet. ### Phase 3: Introduce a thin `NcpContext` Moderate risk if kept small. - Wrap existing request and reply buffers without changing ownership. - Use the context only in newly audited or newly implemented handlers. - Keep old handlers callable until they are touched for another reason. ### Phase 4: Convert small endpoint families first Moderate risk, easy to test. Good candidates: - `0x2222/32` old Semaphore calls; - direct calls such as End Of Job, Logout, and Negotiate Buffer Size; - small message/station groups once their handoff has been audited. Avoid converting queue and bindery first because they have more process coupling and more old/new layout variants. ### Phase 5: Move runtime dispatch to tables gradually Higher risk. Do this only after enough endpoint families have stable audit coverage and tests. - Keep switch wrappers during the transition. - Convert one family at a time. - Preserve exact completion codes and reply lengths. - Add targeted smoke tests for any family whose dispatch path changes. ## Non-goals This redesign should not: - change protocol behavior merely to match a cleaner abstraction; - remove NetWare 1.x/2.x/3.x compatibility paths; - enable NetWare 4.x/OES/MOAB-only endpoints by default; - replace existing mars-nwe path, bindery, queue, AFP, trustee, or salvage backends with parallel databases; - add a large external message bus dependency; - rewrite all handlers in one patch; - turn documentation-only endpoint audit patches into functional refactors. ## Practical rule for future patches For the ongoing endpoint documentation pass, keep doing the conservative thing: 1. enumerate SDK/PDF/WebSDK/include endpoints for the family; 2. compare them with actual `case` labels and forwarded destination handlers; 3. document missing, disabled, implemented, and later-generation slots; 4. document request parser/handoff and response builder; 5. record real layout differences, but do not change behavior in the same patch. Functional cleanup should come later in small patches with tests.