Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uwm.edu!psuvax1!psuvm!SEARN!ERIC From: ERIC@SEARN.BITNET (Eric Thomas) Newsgroups: bit.listserv.nodmgt-l Subject: Re: :routtab tableformat for NJEF Message-ID: Date: 8 Feb 90 10:14:33 GMT Sender: Node Management Discussion Reply-To: Node Management Discussion Lines: 28 Approved: NETNEWS@PSUVM Gateway In-Reply-To: Your message of Wed, 7 Feb 90 20:22:31 PST I think you have to be reasonable. One thing is to include in BITEARN NODES information which is needed for a particular OS only but which cannot be added locally into the file, eg node numbers for JES. It is another thing entirely to start putting purely local information into BITEARN NODES. Let's say GENROUTS were to make NJEF routing tables with, for instance, the string '*linkname*' in lieu of the LIN identification. How many lines of code does it take to make a FORTRAN program that will read a file where each record contains a linkname and the associated LIN, and then read the output of GENROUTS and replace all the *linkname* with the corresponding value? Let's put the problem another way. Let's say that I'm the techrep of a new node running software XYZ, which needs routing tables but which is not supported by GENROUTS, and requires the specification of the colour of the cable going from my communication controller to my modem in the routing tables. I would already be VERY grateful if the GENROUTS developers took time to write the code to create a routing table that contains everything except the colour of the cable. I would gladly spend some of my time to write the necessary additional software, and send it to whomever might need it. And I would find it normal that the BITEARN NODES specifications are not changed for my system, since it is not an absolute requirement for the information to be there (that is unfortunately not the case of JES node numbers), and since other sites obviously do not care about the colour of my modem cables. To summarize, let's try to keep whatever is local local. Eric