Re: inetd enhancements - config syntax

[Mouse <mouse%Rodents-Montreal.ORG@localhost>]

>> That should be true only if you specify a listening address with no
>> command.  If it works that way when a command is given on the same
>> line, that's a bug that needs fixing.
> There is no bug, and it is working correctly in the way you
> described.  To avoid potential misunderstandings in the future, it
> may be a good idea to update the man page to make it explicitly clear

> [...current wording...]
> To avoid the need to repeat listen addresses over and over again,
> listen addresses are inherited from line to line, and the listen
> address can be changed without defining a service by including a line
> containing just a listen-addr followed by a colon.

Someone changed it since I last touched it, then; that is not my
wording from 1996.  The wording I committed (which as far as I'm
concerned you're welcome to reuse, in whole or part) was

+For Internet services, the first field of the line may also have a host
+address specifier prefixed to it, separated from the service name by a
+colon.  If this is done, the string before the colon in the first field
+indiciates what local address
+.Nm
+should use when listening for that service, or the single character
+.Dq \&*
+to indicate
+.Dv INADDR_ANY ,                                                    
+meaning
+.Sq all local addresses . 
+To avoid repeating an address that occurs frequently, a line with a
+host address specifier and colon, but no further fields, causes the
+host address specifier to be remembered and used for all further lines
+with no explicit host specifier (until another such line or the end of
+the file).  A line
+.Dl *:
+is implicitly provided at the top of the file; thus, traditional
+configuration files (which have no host address specifiers) will be
+interpreted in the traditional manner, with all services listened for
+on all local addresses.
+.Pp

I don't know what led to this wording being replaced.  (Oops, I just
now noticed the typo "indiciates" in the above.)  I agree the wording
you quote sounds as though it works the way you outlined.  It's total
speculation, but, perhaps someone intended to change the code but ended
up changing only the manpage?

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