In "Nmap," February 2007, InstantDoc ID 94848, we used the nmap port scanner to sweep the network to quickly find whether antivirus clients were installed and listening on their management port. Nmap performs the port-scanning job admirably. To get the most from nmap, let's now look at nmap's XML output feature and how custom Extensible Style Language Transformations (XSLT) program code lets you tailor the output exactly as you want it.
A Flexible Output Format
Command-line tools tend to offer more flexibility than their GUI counterparts simply because command-line tools were likely developed to be used with programs and scripts, which means you can customize these tools based on your own particular environment. Nmap is no exception--its robust command-line parameters let you fine-tune how you wish to run the tool. For example, you can choose your preferred output format from among the following formats: -oN (normal), -oX (XML), -oG (grepable), or -oS (scriptkiddie). (Yes, the last one is a joke--but it exists.) . . .
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