[mythtv-users] Re: Why only numeric IP addresses work?

[Grant Edwards]

On Tue, Oct 12, 2004 at 02:37:58PM -0700, Jarod Wilson wrote:

> No, its not the point you're trying to make. However, I'd like to repeat that 
> as a general rule, any server machine should have a static IP.

Probably true, but that doesn't mean it's a good idea to use IP
addresses of servers instead of names when configuraing
applications.

> I agree that it would be nice if in the setup configuration
> dialog you could put in a host name. However, while you and I
> may both have DNS records for our internal networks, I fancy
> most Myth users don't.

If somebody doesn't have DNS configured, they _they_ can type
in dotted-quad addresses and the system will work just fine
even if the application is calling gethostbyname().  

I don't see why other peoples lack of networking savvy should
prohibit me from doing things the right way.

> In fact, many users run on a stand-alone box, so they never
> change things from pointing to 127.0.0.1.  And I never even
> thought twice about simply inputting my master backend's IP 
> address. In short, its just not a feature in high demand, so
> if you want it sooner than later, I'm guessing you get to
> write the code, which I have a feeling the developers would
> tell you is reasonable expectation. :-)

Absolutely.  If Myth is actually parsing dotted quad strings
and setting up an inet_addr stuct, all that's required is to
rip out a couple dozen lines of code and replace it with a
single call to gethostbyname().  That illustrates _my_ point:
why would anybody go to all the extra work required to
explicitly _not_allow_ hostnames?

-- 
Grant Edwards
grante at visi.com