Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!usc!bbn.com!diamond.bbn.com!mlandau
From: mlandau@bbn.com (Matthew Landau)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: Re: Determining EXACTLY whose server you're talking to
Message-ID: <14204@diamond.BBN.COM>
Date: 11 Jun 90 12:40:26 GMT
References: <14201@diamond.BBN.COM> <1990Jun11.094038.13239@eng.umd.edu>
Sender: news@bbn.com
Distribution: comp
Lines: 37

stripes@eng.umd.edu (Joshua Osborne) writes:
>In article <14201@diamond.BBN.COM> I wrote:

[Some stuff about trying to identify exactly whose X server is on the
 other end of that XOpenDisplay...]

>Or you could ask your friendly nameserver, not knowing the enviroment you
>work in I don't know if you keep your HINFO records up to date, but...

In retrospect, it appears my original message wasn't as clear as it
should have been about one thing.

The reason I'm worry about any of this in the first place, instead of 
just fixing my own server and forgetting about it, is that working on 
commercial software which is sold by my employer to lots of people 
running different versions of X in different environments.  I am trying 
to make sure my *product* doesn't tweak the nastier bugs out there and
crash someone's X server if I can avoid it.

Commercial software almost by definition necessitates a least common
denominator solution -- you can't simply tell X11 vendors or customers 
"Go fix your server", nor can you (sanely) get into the business of 
providing bug-fixed servers yourself, nor can you assume/depend on
customers having up-to-date nameservers (or any nameservers at all),
so you end up having to fall back on "something that works correctly
most of the time, without the software using having to do anything".

That's why it would have been nice to be able to *rely* on getting 
more information back from the server than is currently possible.
[Yup, I've read der Mouse's argument that it's never enough, and you
get into issues of patch level, revision date, etc.  Well, what can
I say?  Some information seems better than no information...]
--
 Matt Landau		    Takes more than combat gear to make a man,
 mlandau@bbn.com	      Takes more than a license for a gun.
			    Confront your enemies - avoid them when you can.
			      A gentleman will walk but never run.