Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!uunet!munnari.oz.au!cs.mu.OZ.AU!cs.mu.oz.au!kre From: kre@cs.mu.oz.au (Robert Elz) Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip Subject: Re: name handling in DNS resolvers Message-ID: Date: 23 May 91 00:03:50 GMT References: <9105171533.AA01010@asylum.asylum.sf.ca.us> <1991May20.194934.9282@iggy.GW.Vitalink.COM> Sender: news@cs.mu.OZ.AU Organization: Comp Sci, University of Melbourne, Australia Lines: 30 enag@ifi.uio.no (Erik Naggum) writes: >I've been alerted to the precise meaning of "illegal", OK, I will avoid using that too, though I really don't see the need to be that pedantic, I think we all know what is meant. >I didn't think we talked about user interfaces. I think that's exactly what we've been talking about - what names the users can use in various applications to refer to various hosts. >I don't think I'd want to use a mailer which had that much "intelligence", >but that's my opinion. Basically, to satisfy user expectations, you want the same names to work for all applications, if you can telnet to x.y and have it reach some particular host, you want ftp to x.y in the same environment to reach exactly the same place, and what's more, mail to x.y to do the same (allowing for MX records that may direct mail to a particular host for delivery, but the overall effect is the same). If you don't want your mail user agent completing partial domain names for you, then logically you also don't want your telnet client doing it either, or your ftp client, or ... and you just use fully qualified names all the time. That's OK, if that's what you want, and the question of how abbreviated names should work will be irrelevant to you. It will still be relevant to lots of other people though. kre