Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!bnrgate!bnr.ca!aruigrok
From: aruigrok@bnr.ca (Adrian C Ruigrok)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.appletalk
Subject: Re: Interpoll crashes: followup
Message-ID: <370@bnrgate.UUCP>
Date: 15 Jan 90 15:08:02 GMT
Sender: news@bnrgate.UUCP
Organization: Bell-Northern Research
Lines: 27
References:<354@bnrgate.UUCP> <1383@smurf.ira.uka.de>

In article <1383@smurf.ira.uka.de> urlichs@smurf.ira.uka.de writes:
> < One of the last packets I received was a NBP Lookup-Reply with one of 
the 
> < entries being node 0.  So does this illegal value of a node number 
kill 
> < Interpoll.
> But if you really have a node zero, that's somewhat understandable. That 
node
> number is forbidden by law and/or system crashes. (You experienced 
these...)
> 
> Find out which machine sends such responses, shut it down, and fire the
> programmer who caused this kind of behavior.

You are quite correct!
I realize that the Macintosh in question should not ever be thinking it 
has a socket on node 0 (especially since all the other sockets are 
advertising a correct node in the same NBP packet) but that really is not 
the point.  Even if this is not a valid response, should Interpoll crash.  
I think not.  Since its purpose is to detect problems like this, it is not 
very useful if it crashes before you can figure out what is going on.

As always, the programmer that wrote this did not expect us to change the 
network from benieth him.  And it was that that caused the break.  It 
would be a lot easier if we could all see the future.  God!  If we fired everyone whose program screwed up 2 years later who would be left? ;-)

Adrian