Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!watmath!att!att!linac!pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!julius.cs.uiuc.edu!apple!claris!outpost.UUCP!peirce From: peirce@outpost.UUCP (Michael Peirce) Newsgroups: comp.protocols.appletalk Subject: Re: LocalTalk v. AppleTalk Message-ID: Date: 17 Nov 90 17:11:55 GMT Reply-To: peirce@outpost.UUCP Organization: Peirce Software Lines: 26 X-Mailer: uMail - Mac Release: 0.1.4 In article <3449@uakari.primate.wisc.edu>, bin@primate.wisc.edu (Brain in Neutral) writes: > > Just what is the distinction between LocalTalk and AppleTalk, anyway? > > This is something that has puzzled me for some time. I notice that > Inside AppleTalk doesn't define *either* term in its glossary... AppleTalk refers to the whole protocol suite. LocalTalk refers to the built in hardware found in all Macs. AppleTalk runs on top of LocalTalk Link Access Protocol when you use the LocalTalk hardware as well as EtherTalk LAP (for Ethernet) and TokenTalk LAP (for Token Ring). Of course, this is current usage. In old AppleTalk documentation they never use the word LocalTalk, but rather use AppleTalk to refer to both the protocol suite and the hardware. Once other hardware became available for running AppleTalk, the old fuzzy names didn't work. -- michael P.S. Then there was the pre-AppleTalk name for AppleTalk: AppleBus, but that's another story... -- Michael Peirce -- {apple,decwrl}!claris!outpost!peirce -- Peirce Software -- Suite 301, 719 Hibiscus Place -- Macintosh Programming -- San Jose, California 95117 -- and Consulting -- (408) 244-6554