Xref: utzoo comp.dcom.lans:1518 comp.protocols.tcp-ip:3930 comp.protocols.iso:106
Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!sco!timon
From: timon@sco.COM (timon)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.lans,comp.protocols.tcp-ip,comp.protocols.iso
Subject: TLI transport specific addresses
Keywords: TLI transport independence
Message-ID: <297@scolex>
Date: 29 Jun 88 19:03:34 GMT
Organization: The Santa Cruz Operation, Inc.
Lines: 29


		a puzzle for the net:

AT+T chose not to define an addressing scheme for their
TLI library.  Instead they require the user program to pass
to the transport a pointer to an undefined address structure.
This requires that the user program know what address structure
the transport is expecting, and therefore makes each user
program transport specific.

This seems to make their interface completely unportable.  They 
claim to have designed TLI to allow application programs to be 
completely independent of the transport.  I don't see how this 
can work if each and every user program must have hard-coded 
dependencies based on a particular transport's addressing scheme.

- Why did they fall short here (aside from being lazy)?  

- Is at+t working on a standard for this?  Is any other group/vender?

- Are standards/conventions emerging for particular transports 
  (tcp/ip, osi tp4, netbios)?


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Timon Sloane	
The Santa Cruz Operation		timon@sco.com
					{uunet | decvax!microsof}!sco!timon
					(408) 458-1422