Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!ginosko!gem.mps.ohio-state.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!pt.cs.cmu.edu!f.word.cs.cmu.edu!eht
From: eht@f.word.cs.cmu.edu (Eric Thayer)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next
Subject: host name resolution under 1.0
Message-ID: <6251@pt.cs.cmu.edu>
Date: 24 Sep 89 19:30:41 GMT
Reply-To: eht@f.word.cs.cmu.edu (Eric Thayer)
Organization: Carnegie-Mellon University, CS/RI
Lines: 24
Keywords:

What am I doing wrong?  I have a resolv.conf file:

domain CS.CMU.EDU
nameserver 128.2.w.x
nameserver 128.2.y.z

where 128.2.w.x is my primary nameserver (w.x stands for the last two parts
of a real address) and 128.2.y.z is a nameserver which takes over when
128.2.w.x is down.

Shouldn't it be possible to abbreviate names like F.WORD.CS.CMU.EDU as
F.WORD given the above resolv.conf file?  In fact, shouldn't it even
be possible to abbreviate names like HARRISBURG.ANDREW.CMU.EDU as
HARRISBURG.ANDREW given this resolv.conf (given of course that
HARRISBURG.ANDREW.CS.CMU.EDU doesn't exist).  Names like Q.CS.CMU.EDU
you can abbreviate as Q, but it appears that if the abbreviation contains
a dot, it is assumed to be a complete name.

I'd like to avoid using a host table, but it looks like I'm going to have to
use one if I want to use abbreviated names.

-- 
Eric H. Thayer      School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon
(412) 268-7679      5000 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15213