# Preface

## Purpose of This Guide

This Agent Development Kit Programmer's Guide provides a detailed explanation of how to create your own SNMP agent or SMUX subagent to support your private Management Information Base (MIB). A set of application programming interfaces (APIs) are also provided for generating SNMP traps.

Use this manual to understand:

- How to build your own SNMP agent or SMUX subagent

- The Agent Development Kit APIs

- Source code components built for you by the Agent Development Kit code generator/MIB compiler

- The Agent Development Kit directory structure

## Who Should Read This Guide

This guide is particularly helpful for programmers responsible for building an SNMP agent or SMUX subagent to support a private MIB.

## How This Guide Is Organized

The Agent Development Kit Programmer's Guide is organized as follows:

- Chapter 1, "Getting Started," explains the post-installation steps to prepare for using the Agent Development Kit.

- Chapter 2, "Agent Development Kit Overview," explains the agent/manager model, the structure of the SNMP agents built using the Agent Development Kit, and the Agent Development Kit directory structure.

- Chapter 3, "Tools and Functions," describes the tools and APIs provided for building and testing an SNMP agent.

- Chapter 4, "Developing an SNMP Agent," explains the steps you need to build an agent to support your private MIB.

- Chapter 5, "Generated Access Function Templates," describes the access function skeletons and other source code components generated for you by the Agent Development Kit code generator/MIB compiler.

### Online Document Considerations

This book, Agent Development Kit Programmer's Guide, is designed primarily as an online, hypertext guide. If you are reading this as a paper publication, note that to get full use from this guide you should install and access it as an online document via a Web browser that supports HTML 3.0. Netscape Navigator 2.02 or Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 or later are recommended. (Information on how to install the online documentation is available in the BEA Manager Release Notes.

### Opening this Guide in a Web Browser

To access the interactive version of this document, open the following HTML file in a Web browser:

>     $RELEASE_ROOT/DOCS/MGR/20/AGCON/INDEX.HTM

Note: The online documentation requires a Web browser that supports HTML 3.0. Netscape Navigator 2.02 or Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 or later are recommended.

Figure 1 shows the online guide with the clickable navigation bar and table of contents.

> Figure 1 Agent Development Kit Programmer's Guide Displayed in Netscape Web Browser

### Printing from a Web Browser

You can print a hardcopy version of this document, one file at a time, from the Web browser. Before you print, make sure that the chapter or appendix you want is displayed and selected in your browser. (To select a file, click anywhere inside the frame you want to print. If your browser offers a Print Preview feature, you can use it to verify which file you are about to print.)

### How to Print the Complete Book

A PDF version of this online help is available in the following location:

`$RELEASE_ROOT/DOCS/MGR/20/PDF/AGKIT.PDF`

To print the documentation, open a PDF file in an Adobe Acrobat Reader and choose the file print option.

If you do not have a reader, you can download one from the Adobe Web site at `http://www.adobe.com/`.

### Documentation Conventions

The following documentation conventions are used throughout this manual.

Convention | Item
--- | ---
boldface text | Indicates terms defined in the glossary.
Ctrl+Tab | Indicates that you must press two or more keys sequentially.
italics | Indicates emphasis or book titles.
`monospace text` | Indicates code samples, commands and their options, data structures and their members, data types, directories, and file names and their extensions. Monospace text also indicates text that you must enter from the keyboard. Examples: `#include <iostream.h> void main ( ) the pointer psz` `chmod u+w *` `\tux\data\ap` `.doc` `tux.doc` `BITMAP` `float`
`monospace boldface text` | Identifies significant words in code. Example: `void` `commit``( )`
`monospace italic text` | Identifies variables in code. Example: `String` `expr`
UPPERCASE TEXT | Indicates device names, environment variables, and logical operators. Examples: LPT1 SIGNON OR
`{ }` | Indicates a set of choices in a syntax line. The braces themselves should never be typed.
`[ ]` | Indicates optional items in a syntax line. The brackets themselves should never be typed. Example: `buildobjclient [-v] [-o name ] [-f` `file-list``]... [-l` `file-list``]...`
`|` | Separates mutually exclusive choices in a syntax line. The symbol itself should never be typed.
`...` | Indicates one of the following in a command line: That an argument can be repeated several times in a command line That the statement omits additional optional arguments

- That you can enter additional parameters, values, or other information

  The ellipsis itself should never be typed.

  Example:

  `buildobjclient [-v] [-o name ] [-f` `file-list``]... [-l` `file-list``]...`

`.
.
.`

Indicates the omission of items from a code example or from a syntax line. The vertical ellipsis itself should never be typed.

## Related Documentation

The following sections list the documentation provided with the Agent Development Kit, and other publications related to BEA Manager technology.

### Agent Development Kit Documentation

The Agent Development Kit documentation consists of the following items:

- Agent Development Kit Programmer's Guide

- BEA Manager Installation Guide

- BEA Manager Release Notes

### Additional Documentation

Readers of this guide should also consult the following BEA Manager documentation:

- Agent Integrator Reference Manual

### Other Related Publications

A comprehensive list of relevant publications can be found in Appendix A, "SNMP Information," in the Agent Integrator Reference Manual.

## Contact Information

The following sections provide information about how to obtain support for the documentation and software.

### Documentation Support

If you have questions or comments on the documentation, you can contact the BEA Information Engineering Group by e-mail at docsupport@beasys.com. (For information on how to contact Customer Support, refer to the section "Customer Support.")

### Customer Support

If you have any questions about this version of BEA Agent Development Kit, or if you have problems installing and running BEA Agent Development Kit, contact BEA Customer Support through BEA WebSupport at `www.beasys.com`. You can also contact Customer Support by using the contact information provided on the Customer Support Card, which is included in the product package.

When contacting Customer Support, be prepared to provide the following information:

- Your name, e-mail address, phone number, and fax number

- Your company name and company address

- Your machine type and authorization codes

- The name and version of the product you are using

- A description of the problem and the content of pertinent error messages