[ih] internet-history Digest, Vol 13, Issue 4

[Ian Peter]

Thanks everyone for the range of responses re the origins of ping. To
summarise:

Yes, the origins were sonar.

The definitive reference would be http://ftp.arl.mil/~mike/ping.html.

Although earlier origins can be traced to the work of Mike Muss, Dave
Crocker makes a good point that the act of packaging, releasing and
popularising should not be underestimated (otherwise we had better
reevaluate our history of web, internet protocols and just about
everything!).

Thanks for the responses!

Ian Peter
Senior Partner
Ian Peter and Associates Pty Ltd
P.O Box 10670  Adelaide St
Brisbane 4000
Australia
Tel +614 1966 7772
Email ian.peter at ianpeter.com
www.ianpeter.com
www.internetmark2.org
www.nethistory.info (Winner, Top100 Sites Award, PCMagazine Spring 2005)
 

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> Today's Topics:
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>    1. Re: internet-history Digest, Vol 13, Issue 1 (David P. Reed)
>    2. Re: internet-history Digest, Vol 13, Issue 1 (Dave Crocker)
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> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Message: 1
> Date: Mon, 13 Mar 2006 17:12:17 -0500
> From: "David P. Reed" <dpreed at reed.com>
> Subject: Re: [ih] internet-history Digest, Vol 13, Issue 1
> To: Bob Braden <braden at ISI.EDU>
> Cc: internet-history at postel.org
> Message-ID: <4415EE41.40302 at reed.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
> 
> If I were a betting man, the term "ping" came from it's use 
> in sonar contexts, to refer to a signal intended to be echoed.
> 
> I have no direct evidence or memory of the first use, but the 
> fact that BBNers were in an acoustics-centric technical 
> milieu suggests that "ping" made a perfect analogy for 
> probing via echoes.
> 
> I wouldn't be surprised if the term ping was used for probing 
> via echoes in NCP and PARC's PUP protocols (predecessors of 
> Internet Protocol and ICMP).
> 
> Bob Braden wrote:
> > Mike Muuss performed an invaluable service in writing the original 
> > Unix Ping program, but he did not "invent" the ping function.
> >
> > For example, a simple grep for "Ping" in the online IENs finds the 
> > following quote from IEN 145, "Internet Meeting Notes 14,15 
> May 1980",
> > 29 May 1980, written by Jon Postel:
> >
> > "V.  GATEWAY PROTOCOLS AND HOSTS
> >
> >      Jim Mathis presented his procedure for routing.  The 
> main points are
> >      first pick any gateway, second refine the chance to 
> the best gateway
> >      and third detect the failure of that gateway should it occur.
> >
> >       o  Pick a Prime gateway
> >       o  Poll it at a slow rate
> >       o  Send to the Prime gateway
> >       o  Accept and act on a Redirect message
> >       o  Ping gateway in use if higher level protocol complains
> >       o  Periodically change the Prime gateway
> >
> >      Does this procedure get unstable in high load?
> >
> >      IENs 109 and 131 should be reviewed by host IP implementors."
> >
> > Note that "Ping" was apparently a synonym for "poll" here.  So the 
> > term was already in use in 1980.  Unfortunately, I don't 
> remember when 
> > it first arose.
> >
> > One more minor correction: Dave Mills did indeed supply the 
> mnemonic 
> > expansion of PING, but it was "Packet INternet Groper"  (groper, as 
> > in, a person who can't keep his hands to himself! ;-), not grouper.)
> >
> > Bob Braden
> >
> >
> >
> >   
> 
> 
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> Message: 2
> Date: Mon, 13 Mar 2006 15:39:38 -0800
> From: Dave Crocker <dhc2 at dcrocker.net>
> Subject: Re: [ih] internet-history Digest, Vol 13, Issue 1
> To: internet-history at postel.org
> Message-ID: <441602BA.2010405 at dcrocker.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
> 
> 
> > Mike Muuss performed an invaluable service in writing the original 
> > Unix Ping program, but he did not "invent" the ping function.
> 
> 
> Indeed the value of (finally) packaging earlier invention(s) 
> into a usable -- or, more importantly, successful -- system 
> is rather substantial and frequently under-rated.
> 
> The Web and Unix are often cited as other examples.
> 
> Packaging into a usable system is its own brand of invention, 
> and the earlier, more basic, work tends to be useless without 
> it. Look at how long the web's constructs languished after 
> invention, until brought together with the right mixture of 
> power and ease of use.
> 
> d/
> -- 
> 
> Dave Crocker
> Brandenburg InternetWorking
> <http://bbiw.net>
> 
> 
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> End of internet-history Digest, Vol 13, Issue 4
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