Architecture

🏗️ Architecture — Universe Plugin System

Overview

NetTool uses the Universe Architecture — a modular plugin system where each tool is a self-contained "civilization" that can be added without modifying existing code.

┌─────────────────┐     config.json     ┌──────────────────┐
│   WPF UI        │ ──────────────────► │   Go Engine      │
│                 │                     │                  │
│  ToolRegistry   │ ◄────────────────── │  Command         │
│  ITool modules  │   stdout JSON line  │  Dispatcher      │
│  Nested tabs    │                     │  (switch/case)   │
└─────────────────┘                     └──────────────────┘

Core Interfaces

ITool (C#)

public interface ITool
{
    string Name { get; }           // Display name
    string Icon { get; }           // Emoji icon
    string Description { get; }    // Short description
    string Group { get; }          // "Web", "Network", "Discovery"
    int Order { get; }             // Sort order within group
    ToolViewModelBase ViewModel { get; }
    FrameworkElement CreateView();  // Factory for UI panel
}

ToolViewModelBase (C#)

Base class for all tool ViewModels:

• OnStart() — called when user clicks Start
• OnEngineOutput(string line) — parse JSON from engine
• OnEngineExited(int exitCode) — cleanup
• RunEngine(string command, string configJson) — launch engine process
• AddLog(string message) — append to log panel

ToolRegistry (C#)

ToolRegistry.Register(new YourTool());  // 1 line to add

Adding a New Tool

Step 1: Go Engine Command

Create engine/cmd_yourtool.go:

func runYourTool(configPath string) {
    // Read config, do work, emit JSON lines to stdout
}

Step 2: Register in dispatcher

Add to engine/main.go switch:

case "yourtool":
    runYourTool(configPath)

Step 3: WPF Module (4 files)

Modules/YourTool/
├── YourTool.cs        ← ITool implementation
├── YourViewModel.cs   ← extends ToolViewModelBase
├── YourPanel.xaml      ← UI layout
└── YourPanel.xaml.cs   ← code-behind (minimal)

Step 4: Register (1 line)

In ShellViewModel.cs:

ToolRegistry.Register(new YourTool());

Done! Tab appears automatically in the correct group.

JSON Protocol

Engine → UI communication via JSON Lines on stdout:

{"key": "value", "latency_ms": 12.5}

Engine writes diagnostic info to stderr (not parsed by UI).

Group System

Group	Icon	Tools
Web	🌐	Load Test, HTTP Headers, SSL Checker, WebSocket
Network	🔧	Ping, Traceroute
Discovery	🔍	DNS, Port Scanner, IP Scanner, GeoIP, Whois

Groups are rendered as nested tabs: outer left sidebar + inner top tabs.