Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!hao!ames!ucbcad!ucbvax!decvax!eagle_snax!geoff
From: geoff@eagle_snax.UUCP ( R.H. coast near the top)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip.ibmpc
Subject: Re: Sunday Afternoon Observations
Message-ID: <220@eagle_snax.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 10-Nov-87 07:11:11 EST
Article-I.D.: eagle_sn.220
Posted: Tue Nov 10 07:11:11 1987
Date-Received: Thu, 12-Nov-87 19:39:11 EST
References: <8711082123.aa13795@Louie.UDEL.EDU>
Lines: 37
Summary: plug for book

In article <8711082123.aa13795@Louie.UDEL.EDU>, BRACKENRIDGE@C.ISI.EDU (Billy) writes:
> 
> STANDARD "SOCKETS" IS A MYTH:
> 
This is like saying "standard SNA is a myth". Standard SNA is whatever
IBM says it is. To date, standard sockets are whatever Berkeley says
they are.
> 
> Both FTP and Network Research provide substantial manuals for their
> sockets interface. Both begin their manuals with a suggestion that
> the reader should have a complete set of Berkeley Unix documentation
> and that these manuals should be considered a supplement to that
> documentation. If there were a standard sockets interface, they
> wouldn't have to write manuals.

That is, if there were any decent books generally available on how to
program network applications with sockets. The whole subject gets 42 pages
in the current SunOS docubox, which is scarcely adequate (I don't
count the "man" pages). For the PC-NFS Toolkit we came up with a book
which not only DOESN'T suggest you read the Berkeley Unix documentation but
has become a popular reference for some of the Unix hackers in-house.

In large measure this whole problem has arisen because IBM/Microsoft
spurned the whole notion of standard language bindings for DOS.  Since
none of us enjoy tweaking segregs in indosx calls (I hope!), we went
ahead and imported what was most familiar. Guess what: it isn't a perfect
fit. This shouldn't be a surprise. Had there been a standardized C language
binding to NETBIOS, we'd probably have chosen to build on that, extending
it as little as possible to provide adequate access to the Internet suite..

If you really don't like sockets, the answer may be to skip DOS and move
straight on to OS/2..... |-)
-- 
Geoff Arnold, Sun Microsystems     | "What is appropriate for the master is not
SPD at ECD (home of PC-NFS)        | appropriate for the novice. You must
UUCP:{ihnp4,decwrl...}!sun!garnold | understand Tao before transcending struc-
ARPA:garnold@sun.com               | ture."      [The Tao of Programming, p.39]