This talk presents the Open Markets Initiative (OMI) as a research platform built around a protocol-driven approach to dissector generation. OMI has produced over four million lines of Lua dissectors for real-world binary exchange protocols. The core idea is that the protocol binary data model itself, not the dissector, is the primary artifact. Once the protocol is captured in a structured, reusable form, multiple classes of tooling can be generated from it, with Wireshark dissectors as a key output.

We will examine several classes of exchange protocols and show how OMI’s generator differs from earlier iterations of code generation tools, “generations of generators.” Instead of emitting code from message templates, flat schemas or other domain specific languages, our binary data models encode protocol semantics, constraints, and structural variation explicitly. This allows families of related protocols to share definitions, makes version evolution tractable, and produces dissectors that are both predictable and auditable. Using real examples, we’ll show how generator design choices directly affect correctness, maintainability, and crowd contribution.

The entire electronic trading industry benefits from the open-source Wireshark and dissector ecosystem. Many exchange protocols are underspecified, implicitly defined, or guarded by information barriers. OMI turns reverse-engineering knowledge into shared specifications that can be reviewed, improved, and extended collaboratively. That process has led to a rapid expansion of accurate, production-grade dissectors, many of which are now relied on as primary analysis tools in the electronic-trading ecosystem.

The session is aimed at attendees interested in protocol modeling, code generation, advanced dissector design, and the ways open tooling can transform opaque binary systems into observable, debuggable infrastructure.