Message for Bind-users

[Jim Reid]

>>>>> "Kevin" == Kevin Darcy <kcd at daimlerchrysler.com> writes:

    >> Eric A. Hall wrote:
    >> You are certainly free to use whatever characters you want
    >> to. Just don't post here complaining that your applications are
    >> no longer working. I have seen many brave fools try to use
    >> underscores, and then things like DHCP, SMTP and the other
    >> services that enforce the naming rules just stop working.

    Kevin> So, the rules exist to prevent people from causing
    Kevin> incompatibilities. And the incompatibilities happen because
    Kevin> of blind enforcement of the rules.  Sounds circular to me.

No. The rules exist because the protocols demand them. [That's pretty
much the dictionary definition of the word protocol: "I'll agree to do
X if you do Y".] People are free to obey or disobey those rules, just
as they're able to obey or disobey the law. If they don't obey those
rules, they run into problems when they try to interwork with
something that does follow them. The protocol rules define the
boundaries that implementations are expected to comply with.

Incompatibilties happen because (in some cases) protocols are
ambiguous or, in this case, implementations don't comply to the
protocol. Whingeing at BIND because it checks for illegal hostnames is
just wrong IMHO. It's strange how nobody seems to think that this is
the fault of the people who gave their hosts illegal names even though
it's been documented for years what consititues a legal hostname.