From: DJ Vollkasko (DJ_Vollkasko_at_gmx.net)
Date: Thu Jul 08 2004 - 00:03:04 PDT
>Date: Thu, 8 Jul 2004 00:23:31 +0200
>From: Paul Guyot <pguyot_at_kallisys.net>
>Subject: Re: [NTLK] Zero Configuration Networking (Zeroconf)/Rendezvous
>
>Aux environs du 3/07/04 à 14:43 +0200, sous le titre "Re: [NTLK] Zero
>Configuration Networking (Zeroconf)/Ren", DJ Vollkasko prit sa plus
>belle plume pour écrire les mots suivants:
> >Does it also hold promises for us? I think a cross-platform standard in the
> >connectivity area would be very sweet... Running on all kinds of desktops
> >and our green buddies would rock, wouldn't it?
>
>Apparently, you are a little bit confused by Apple Marketese.
Uh, how'd you found out?! ;=}
>Zeroconf is three-layered
>1) LocalLink
>2) Multicast DNS
>3) DNS Service discovery.
>
>The Newton already does #2 and #3, with Dock TCP/IP from the DCL
>project, that exports these features. Multicast DNS is made available
>in any Newton application by latest NIE Patch (and Dock TCP/IP).
>
>There is no promise. It's just here. Now. Actually, it has been there
>for several weeks.
Okay okay, I have to admit that while (a) I am in your fanclub, I (b)
haven't got much focus on the DCL developments because (c) I'm still on old
Win95 and 180 MHz and will be for a while (can't (d) afford anything newer).
> >Admitted, but the news
>
>There is no news. This is pure Apple Marketese.
>They just wrote a Java wrapper around their code, but this wrapper
>doesn't bring *anything* at all compared to what already existed
>(jRendezvous & Java mDNS).
>
>Actually, I may be a little bit negative here. There are some
>advantage of their code (which is yet to be really released and which
>will only be available in Tiger in *9* months), but it's complex and
>explaining this would be too long here. You can consider for now that
>this Java wrapper doesn't bring anything at all.
I will consider it thus.
> >Well, making it public might amend some things... Hoepfully.
>
>Apple's mDNSResponder has been open source for a long time.
>
>Being open source doesn't mean that things improve. The DCL also has
>been open source for a long time. Still, many users are writing us
>asking for this or that feature, which we cannot implement because we
>are lacking time.
Who isn't? ;=} And there's just too few coders on the Newton, too many
nobrainers like me, though.
Which makes me wonder - what happens to the two to three people a month who
pop up on NTLK, saysing they discovered Newton and want to dabble at
developing and then are rarely heard of again?
Maybe there should be better developer-to-developer coaching for starting
coders. Is there a active Newton developer forum or mailing list? How about
starter's guides? There is a page at the Wiki
http://tools.unna.org/wikiwikinewt/index.php/DevelopmentResources, but it's
not much good - too few ressources listed.
> > > >It would seem to me as a good idea to get this technology onto the
> Newton,
> > > >too, if only via a Waba adaptation of the Java Code. What do you think?
>[...]
>
>mDNSResponder is Apple's C code to provide multicast dns and dns
>service discovery. This code doesn't run on NewtonOS.
>Their Java wrapper is a bit of Java code to talk to a process (a
>daemon) based on their native C code that doesn't run on NewtonOS.
Right, okay, point proven.
>Porting mDNSResponder to NewtonOS is difficult and would be
>completely stupid since we already have a Multicast DNS and a DNS
>Service Discovery implementation working on our platform.
>
>Implementing a Waba wrapper around Apple's mDNSResponder is
>_completely_ useless if mDNSResponder doesn't run on the Newton. Plus
>I highly doubt that the connection between their Java wrapper and
>mDNSResponder daemon is possible on the Newton's architecture, it is
>way too much Unix-like.
>
>Implementing a Waba wrapper for the implementation we have on the
>Newton is doable but would be striclty useless because nobody wrote a
>program on the Newton to take advantage of the Zeroconf APIs exported
>by Dock TCP/IP, I doubt that anyone will with Waba APIs. I also doubt
>that our wrapper could be made compatible with Apple's. Waba is very
>limited in respect of communications and threads (compared to Java).
Okay, I get it. -- Didn't want to upset you. No offense meant.
> >Okay, you kung fu is better than my kung fu as concerns these matters, so I
> >take it this whole thing is of no value for us?
>
>Apple's Marketese is of no value for us indeed.
I was just asking. I know that DCL is doing a lot of cool things and will
be doing even more wonderful stuff in the future (gotta add cold fission to
the wishlist ;=} ), but when I read that this Apple think will be available
for about all desktop platforms, I was just wondering if that wouldn't
maybe save having to develop and port that stuff to all platforms. I wanted
an appraisal if this is good or not, and it seems I got one.
Thanks,
'Kasko
-- This is the NewtonTalk list - http://www.newtontalk.net/ for all inquiries Official Newton FAQ: http://www.chuma.org/newton/faq/ WikiWikiNewt for all kinds of articles: http://tools.unna.org/wikiwikinewt/
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