Declarations and Statements

The Bro scripting language supports the following declarations and statements.

Declarations

Name	Description
module	Change the current module
export	Export identifiers from the current module
global	Declare a global variable
const	Declare a constant
type	Declare a user-defined type
redef	Redefine a global value or extend a user-defined type
function/event/hook	Declare a function, event handler, or hook

Statements

Name	Description
local	Declare a local variable
add, delete	Add or delete elements
print	Print to stdout or a file
for, while, next, break	Loop over each element in a container object (for), or as long as a condition evaluates to true (while).
if	Evaluate boolean expression and if true, execute a statement
switch, break, fallthrough	Evaluate expression and execute statement with a matching value
when	Asynchronous execution
event, schedule	Invoke or schedule an event handler
return	Return from function, hook, or event handler

Declarations

Declarations cannot occur within a function, hook, or event handler.

Declarations must appear before any statements (except those statements that are in a function, hook, or event handler) in the concatenation of all loaded Bro scripts.

module

The “module” keyword is used to change the current module. This affects the scope of any subsequently declared global identifiers.

Example:

module mymodule;

If a global identifier is declared after a “module” declaration, then its scope ends at the end of the current Bro script or at the next “module” declaration, whichever comes first. However, if a global identifier is declared after a “module” declaration, but inside an export block, then its scope ends at the end of the last loaded Bro script, but it must be referenced using the namespace operator (::) in other modules.

There can be any number of “module” declarations in a Bro script. The same “module” declaration can appear in any number of different Bro scripts.

export

An “export” block contains one or more declarations (no statements are allowed in an “export” block) that the current module is exporting. This enables these global identifiers to be visible in other modules (but not prior to their declaration) via the namespace operator (::). See the module keyword for a more detailed explanation.

Example:

export {
    redef enum Log::ID += { LOG };

    type Info: record {
        ts: time &log;
        uid: string &log;
    };

    const conntime = 30sec &redef;
}

Note that the braces in an “export” block are always required (they do not indicate a compound statement). Also, no semicolon is needed to terminate an “export” block.

global

Variables declared with the “global” keyword will be global.

If a type is not specified, then an initializer is required so that the type can be inferred. Likewise, if an initializer is not supplied, then the type must be specified. In some cases, when the type cannot be correctly inferred, the type must be specified even when an initializer is present. Example:

global pi = 3.14;
global hosts: set[addr];
global ciphers: table[string] of string = table();

Variable declarations outside of any function, hook, or event handler are required to use this keyword (unless they are declared with the const keyword instead).

Definitions of functions, hooks, and event handlers are not allowed to use the “global” keyword. However, function declarations (i.e., no function body is provided) can use the “global” keyword.

The scope of a global variable begins where the declaration is located, and extends through all remaining Bro scripts that are loaded (however, see the module keyword for an explanation of how modules change the visibility of global identifiers).

const

A variable declared with the “const” keyword will be constant.

Variables declared as constant are required to be initialized at the time of declaration. Normally, the type is inferred from the initializer, but the type can be explicitly specified. Example:

const pi = 3.14;
const ssh_port: port = 22/tcp;

The value of a constant cannot be changed. The only exception is if the variable is a global constant and has the &redef attribute, but even then its value can be changed only with a redef.

The scope of a constant is local if the declaration is in a function, hook, or event handler, and global otherwise.

Note that the “const” keyword cannot be used with either the “local” or “global” keywords (i.e., “const” replaces “local” and “global”).

type

The “type” keyword is used to declare a user-defined type. The name of this new type has global scope and can be used anywhere a built-in type name can occur.

The “type” keyword is most commonly used when defining a record or an enum, but is also useful when dealing with more complex types.

Example:

type mytype: table[count] of table[addr, port] of string;
global myvar: mytype;

redef

There are three ways that “redef” can be used: to change the value of a global variable (but only if it has the &redef attribute), to extend a record type or enum type, or to specify a new event handler body that replaces all those that were previously defined.

If you’re using “redef” to change a global variable (defined using either const or global), then the variable that you want to change must have the &redef attribute. If the variable you’re changing is a table, set, or pattern, you can use += to add new elements, or you can use = to specify a new value (all previous contents of the object are removed). If the variable you’re changing is a set or table, then you can use the -= operator to remove the specified elements (nothing happens for specified elements that don’t exist). If the variable you are changing is not a table, set, or pattern, then you must use the = operator.

Examples:

redef pi = 3.14;

If you’re using “redef” to extend a record or enum, then you must use the += assignment operator. For an enum, you can add more enumeration constants, and for a record you can add more record fields (however, each record field in the “redef” must have either the &optional or &default attribute).

Examples:

redef enum color += { Blue, Red };
redef record MyRecord += { n2:int &optional; s2:string &optional; };

If you’re using “redef” to specify a new event handler body that replaces all those that were previously defined (i.e., any subsequently defined event handler body will not be affected by this “redef”), then the syntax is the same as a regular event handler definition except for the presence of the “redef” keyword.

Example:

redef event myevent(s:string) { print "Redefined", s; }

function/event/hook

For details on how to declare a function, event handler, or hook, see the documentation for those types.

Statements

Statements (except those contained within a function, hook, or event handler) can appear only after all global declarations in the concatenation of all loaded Bro scripts.

Each statement in a Bro script must be terminated with a semicolon (with a few exceptions noted below). An individual statement can span multiple lines.

Here are the statements that the Bro scripting language supports.

add

The “add” statement is used to add an element to a set. Nothing happens if the specified element already exists in the set.

Example:

local myset: set[string];
add myset["test"];

break

The “break” statement is used to break out of a switch, for, or while statement.

delete

The “delete” statement is used to remove an element from a set or table, or to remove a value from a record field that has the &optional attribute. When attempting to remove an element from a set or table, nothing happens if the specified index does not exist. When attempting to remove a value from an “&optional” record field, nothing happens if that field doesn’t have a value.

Example:

local myset = set("this", "test");
local mytable = table(["key1"] = 80/tcp, ["key2"] = 53/udp);
local myrec = MyRecordType($a = 1, $b = 2);

delete myset["test"];
delete mytable["key1"];

# In this example, "b" must have the "&optional" attribute
delete myrec$b;

event

The “event” statement immediately queues invocation of an event handler.

Example:

event myevent("test", 5);

fallthrough

The “fallthrough” statement can be used as the last statement in a “case” block to indicate that execution should continue into the next “case” or “default” label.

For an example, see the switch statement.

for

A “for” loop iterates over each element in a string, set, vector, or table and executes a statement for each iteration (note that the order in which the loop iterates over the elements in a set or a table is nondeterministic). However, no loop iterations occur if the string, set, vector, or table is empty.

For each iteration of the loop, a loop variable will be assigned to an element if the expression evaluates to a string or set, or an index if the expression evaluates to a vector or table. Then the statement is executed.

If the expression is a table or a set with more than one index, then the loop variable must be specified as a comma-separated list of different loop variables (one for each index), enclosed in brackets.

Note that the loop variable in a “for” statement is not allowed to be a global variable, and it does not need to be declared prior to the “for” statement. The type will be inferred from the elements of the expression.

Currently, modifying a container’s membership while iterating over it may result in undefined behavior, so do not add or remove elements inside the loop.

A break statement will immediately terminate the “for” loop, and a next statement will skip to the next loop iteration.

Example:

local myset = set(80/tcp, 81/tcp);
local mytable = table([10.0.0.1, 80/tcp]="s1", [10.0.0.2, 81/tcp]="s2");

for (p in myset)
    print p;

for ([i,j] in mytable) {
    if (mytable[i,j] == "done")
        break;
    if (mytable[i,j] == "skip")
        next;
    print i,j;
}

if

Evaluates a given expression, which must yield a bool value. If true, then a specified statement is executed. If false, then the statement is not executed. Example:

if ( x == 2 ) print "x is 2";

However, if the expression evaluates to false and if an “else” is provided, then the statement following the “else” is executed. Example:

if ( x == 2 )
    print "x is 2";
else
    print "x is not 2";

local

A variable declared with the “local” keyword will be local. If a type is not specified, then an initializer is required so that the type can be inferred. Likewise, if an initializer is not supplied, then the type must be specified.

Examples:

local x1 = 5.7;
local x2: double;
local x3: double = 5.7;

Variable declarations inside a function, hook, or event handler are required to use this keyword (the only two exceptions are variables declared with const, and variables implicitly declared in a for statement).

The scope of a local variable starts at the location where it is declared and persists to the end of the function, hook, or event handler in which it is declared (this is true even if the local variable was declared within a compound statement or is the loop variable in a “for” statement).

next

The “next” statement can only appear within a for or while loop. It causes execution to skip to the next iteration.

print

The “print” statement takes a comma-separated list of one or more expressions. Each expression in the list is evaluated and then converted to a string. Then each string is printed, with each string separated by a comma in the output.

Examples:

print 3.14;
print "Results", x, y;

By default, the “print” statement writes to the standard output (stdout). However, if the first expression is of type file, then “print” writes to that file.

If a string contains non-printable characters (i.e., byte values that are not in the range 32 - 126), then the “print” statement converts each non-printable character to an escape sequence before it is printed.

For more control over how the strings are formatted, see the fmt function.

return

The “return” statement immediately exits the current function, hook, or event handler. For a function, the specified expression (if any) is evaluated and returned. A “return” statement in a hook or event handler cannot return a value because event handlers and hooks do not have return types.

Examples:

function my_func(): string
{
    return "done";
}

event my_event(n: count)
{
    if ( n == 0 ) return;

    print n;
}

There is a special form of the “return” statement that is only allowed in functions. Syntactically, it looks like a when statement immediately preceded by the “return” keyword. This form of the “return” statement is used to specify a function that delays its result (such a function can only be called in the expression of a when statement). The function returns at the time the “when” statement’s condition becomes true, and the function returns the value that the “when” statement’s body returns (or if the condition does not become true within the specified timeout interval, then the function returns the value that the “timeout” block returns).

Example:

global X: table[string] of count;

function a() : count
      {
      # This delays until condition becomes true.
      return when ( "a" in X )
            {
            return X["a"];
            }
      timeout 30 sec
            {
            return 0;
            }
      }

event bro_init()
      {
      # Installs a trigger which fires if a() returns 42.
      when ( a() == 42 )
          print "expected result";

      print "Waiting for a() to return...";
      X["a"] = 42;
      }

schedule

The “schedule” statement is used to raise a specified event with specified parameters at a later time specified as an interval.

Example:

schedule 30sec { myevent(x, y, z) };

Note that the braces are always required (they do not indicate a compound statement).

Note that “schedule” is actually an expression that returns a value of type “timer”, but in practice the return value is not used.

switch

A “switch” statement evaluates a given expression and jumps to the first “case” label which contains a matching value (the result of the expression must be type-compatible with all of the values in all of the “case” labels). If there is no matching value, then execution jumps to the “default” label instead, and if there is no “default” label then execution jumps out of the “switch” block.

Here is an example (assuming that “get_day_of_week” is a function that returns a string):

switch get_day_of_week()
    {
    case "Sa", "Su":
        print "weekend";
        fallthrough;
    case "Mo", "Tu", "We", "Th", "Fr":
        print "valid result";
        break;
    default:
        print "invalid result";
        break;
    }

A “switch” block can have any number of “case” labels, and one optional “default” label.

A “case” label can have a comma-separated list of more than one value. A value in a “case” label can be an expression, but it must be a constant expression (i.e., the expression can consist only of constants).

Each “case” and the “default” block must end with either a break, fallthrough, or return statement (although “return” is allowed only if the “switch” statement is inside a function, hook, or event handler).

Note that the braces in a “switch” statement are always required (these do not indicate the presence of a compound statement), and that no semicolon is needed at the end of a “switch” statement.

when

Evaluates a given expression, which must result in a value of type bool. When the value of the expression becomes available and if the result is true, then a specified statement is executed.

In the following example, if the expression evaluates to true, then the “print” statement is executed:

when ( (local x = foo()) && x == 42 )
    print x;

However, if a timeout is specified, and if the expression does not evaluate to true within the specified timeout interval, then the statement following the “timeout” keyword is executed:

when ( (local x = foo()) && x == 42 )
    print x;
timeout 5sec {
    print "timeout";
}

Note that when a timeout is specified the braces are always required (these do not indicate a compound statement).

The expression in a “when” statement can contain a declaration of a local variable but only if the declaration is written in the form “local var = init” (example: “local x = myfunction()”). This form of a local declaration is actually an expression, the result of which is always a boolean true value.

The expression in a “when” statement can contain an asynchronous function call such as lookup_hostname (in fact, this is the only place such a function can be called), but it can also contain an ordinary function call. When an asynchronous function call is in the expression, then Bro will continue processing statements in the script following the “when” statement, and when the result of the function call is available Bro will finish evaluating the expression in the “when” statement. See the return statement for an explanation of how to create an asynchronous function in a Bro script.

while

A “while” loop iterates over a body statement as long as a given condition remains true.

A break statement can be used at any time to immediately terminate the “while” loop, and a next statement can be used to skip to the next loop iteration.

Example:

local i = 0;

while ( i < 5 )
    print ++i;

while ( some_cond() )
    {
    local finish_up = F;

    if ( skip_ahead() )
        next;

    if ( finish_up )
        break;

    }

compound statement

A compound statement is created by wrapping zero or more statements in braces { }. Individual statements inside the braces need to be terminated by a semicolon, but a semicolon is not needed at the end (outside of the braces) of a compound statement.

A compound statement is required in order to execute more than one statement in the body of a for, while, if, or when statement.

Example:

if ( x == 2 ) {
    print "x is 2";
    ++x;
}

Note that there are other places in the Bro scripting language that use braces, but that do not indicate the presence of a compound statement (these are noted in the documentation).

null statement

The null statement (executing it has no effect) consists of just a semicolon. This might be useful during testing or debugging a Bro script in places where a statement is required, but it is probably not useful otherwise.

Example:

if ( x == 2 )
    ;