[ On Tue, January 19, 1999 at 10:02:29 (+0000), Ronald Khoo wrote: ]
> Subject: Re: HEADS UP: nsswitch about to go `live' in NetBSD-current
>
> It depends upon your definition of "common usage".  My preferred definition
> would be "what the reference implementation does", which, according to
> http://www.isc.org/bog-4.9.4/bog-sh-7.html#sh-7.3 (latest HTML version
> available at the reference site :-) is:
> 
>         If DNS available, use DNS only, else use files

This isn't something that should be determined at run-time -- it's an
installation option -- if you don't have DNS then you never have it, but
if you do have DNS then not having it is an error (hopefully temporary).

I've not put anything in /etc/hosts in ages, and I always use only
"lookup bind" in /etc/resolv.conf -- most of my systems are useless if
DNS isn't available anyway.  I do use IP numbers everywhere the system
needs to know something before DNS is available and everwhere that
compromising the IP number (by spoofing DNS, etc.) would adversely
affect the systme, just as the experts have been advising since time
immemorial.  Perhaps NetBSD should be configured by default as if it was
paying heed to such advice.

-- 
							Greg A. Woods

+1 416 218-0098      VE3TCP      <gwoods@acm.org>      <robohack!woods>
Planix, Inc. <woods@planix.com>; Secrets of the Weird <woods@weird.com>