Re: where is /etc/hosts supposed to come from?
Vincent Lefevre <vincent@vinc17.org> writes:
> When I compile Mutt or any other portable software (e.g. conforming to
> POSIX), I don't mind if such software isn't integrated with the Debian
> system. I just want it work according to the POSIX spec. If it doesn't
> because the system configuration doesn't comply to POSIX, then the
> system (configuration) is broken.
I don't think POSIX says what you think it says, but I could be wrong.
Could you cite the exact section that says that systems are required by
POSIX to be configured in the manner that you describe? getaddrinfo does
not place such a restriction; AI_CANONNAME is allowed to fail. Note the
use of the word "attempt" and the note:
Since different implementations use different conceptual models, the
terms ``canonical name'' and ``alias'' cannot be precisely defined for
the general case. However, Domain Name System implementations are
expected to interpret them as they are used in RFC 1034.
I don't believe there's any requirement anywhere in POSIX that the return
value of uname -n be registered in DNS. In fact, the POSIX definition of
the uname utility specifically says "the name of this node within an
implementation-defined communications network." Implementation-defined
means you cannot depend on it to be anything in particular without
additional information about the implementation you're using.
--
Russ Allbery (rra@debian.org) <http://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/>
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