Re: hosts file format (was Re(2): [MacPerl] CGI.s on local Mac)

[William McAuliff <womc3@adamsapple.com>]

Eric,

This is excerpted from the Open Transport 1.2 Technical Information file,
included a part of OS 8.

=============================

Local Hosts file support

Open Transport TCP/IP supports a Hosts file that may be used to supplement
and/or customize the Domain Name Resolver's initial cache of information.
The Hosts file is normally stored in the Preferences folder in the active
System Folder. When Open Transport TCP/IP is initialized, it reads the
Hosts file (if any). As in MacTCP, the supported Hosts file features follow
a subset of the Domain Name System Master File Format (RFC 1035).

Open Transport TCP/IP is more stringent regarding the content and format of
the Hosts file than was MacTCP, which permitted violation of the FQDN
requirement for <domain-name>. For instance, the format:

charlie              A      128.1.1.1

which was acceptable to the MacTCP DNR, is no longer permitted because of
the use of domain search lists in Open Transport/TCP ("charlie" could
potentially exist in any or all of the configured domains). To accomplish
the same effect, use this format instead:

charlie              CNAME  myhost.mydomain.edu
myhost.mydomain.edu  A      128.1.1.1

This associates the local alias charlie with the fully qualified domain
name myhost.mydomain.edu, and resolves it to the address 128.1.1.1. Use of
local aliases is limited to CNAME entries; NS and A entries must use fully
qualified domain names.

You can create a Hosts file with any text editor or word processor (the
Hosts file must be stored in text format).  If you use a Hosts file, keep
it as short as possible, and include only entries that will be accessed
frequently. This reduces the memory required to cache the DNS information
and minimizes the need to maintain and update Hosts files as system
information changes.

Open Transport TCP/IP automatically uses a Hosts file stored the
Preferences folder of the active System Folder. If no Hosts file is found
in the Preferences folder, Open Transport TCP/IP searches the active System
Folder for a Hosts file. You can specify a particular Hosts file to use
with a specific configuration. For example, one Hosts file might be set up
for a user connecting via Ethernet, and another set up for when that user
connects via modem.

For additional information about the Hosts file design of the Open
Transport Domain Name Resolver, see the document "Apple Open Transport
Reference Q&A." The latest version of the Q&A is in the Open Transport
Extras Folder and is available on the Internet at
ftp://seeding.apple.com/ess/public/opentransport/.


===========================================

>>What is the format of the hosts file please? I configured the TCP
>>manually but
>>no hosts file exist I want to create it.
>
>Sorry for the off-topic post, but I can't find any docs on
>format for the hosts file either.  And none of the formats
>I've tried work.  Anyone know where I can find it?  If not
>do you know a better place for me to ask?
>
>-Eric
>
>
>
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Best regards,
Bill McAuliff, webmaster
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