in defense of nslookup

[Joseph S D Yao]

On Wed, Aug 07, 2002 at 12:24:34PM +0100, Simon Waters wrote:
...
> > The whole reason why we have tools to choose from is because people don't
> > agree.
> 
> Assuming you mean "tools" plural - I disagree.

Thus supporting the meta-principle ...  ;-)

> There are lots of reasons you have multiple tools, not just
> because people disagree.

Absolutely.

> The question remains is when, if ever, is nslookup the
> appropriate tool?

...

> If it is the tool of choice for client lookup problems, and I
> remain to be convinced, it is for a dearth of more appropriate
> tools for the task, and not because it is well designed or well
> written for that purpose.
...

It is NEVER the tool of choice for DNS problems.  Since that is this
mailing list's universe of discourse, it is no wonder that we have
people deprecating it here.  Yet, for people who do NOT understand DNS
and zone files, and yet who want to use SOMETHING on a system where DNS
has already been set up and works perfectly, the simple output of
'nslookup' is superior.  There are still some nasty underpinnings that
must be changed.  This is usually transparent given the assumptions
above.

> When you have a hammer everything looks like a snail.

Only if you're a snail darter.  ;-)

-- 
Joe Yao				jsdy at center.osis.gov - Joseph S. D. Yao
OSIS Center Systems Support					EMT-B
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