gethostby* different in libc6

[Carey Evans <c.evans@clear.net.nz>]

I've discovered that gethostbyname and gethostbyaddr behave
differently under libc5 and libc6.  I'm wondering if either has a bug,
and why there is a difference anyway.

Here's what happens:

Given the following lines respectively in host.conf and nsswitch.conf:

order hosts,bind
hosts: files dns

two nameservers in resolv.conf:

domain clear.net.nz
nameserver 203.97.33.1
nameserver 203.97.37.1

and a PPP link up to my ISP, libc5 and libc6 seem to work the same.
If the link is down, gethostbyname fails in both cases, but h_errno
gives a different error.

libc5: TRY_AGAIN
libc6: HOST_NOT_FOUND

If nsswitch.conf contains the line "hosts: dns", libc6 gethostbyname
gives TRY_AGAIN.

I would prefer not to be told that www.debian.org, for example, is
authoritatively known not to exist, especially if there was just a
temporary problem with the name servers.  Should I report this as a
bug against libc6?

-- 
                Carey Evans  <*>  c.evans@clear.net.nz

	    "Lies, damn lies, and computer documentation."


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