[ih] DNS origins?

[Toerless Eckert]

Well, the domain element ordering coming out of the USA with
the likes of rfc822 was of course horribly wrong and even had a prime minister quit:

https://spaf.cerias.purdue.edu/~spaf/Yucks/V0/msg00141.html

(still one of the best classic email jokes)

Not sure if one can pinpoint a single place of origin of structured
"domain-names" leading to DNS, probably the DNS authors would
know best what influenced them most. 1982 was a bit before my time.

When i started managing email at my university a few years later,
the passed around sendmail.cf one had to fiddle with (including
left<->right ordering to deal with he UK) did look from
as if a lot of networks had all type of structured addresses
without them necessarily relying on DNS, e.g.: possible predecessors ?
X.400 was also written in 1982 and nobody liked its native
address represntation but was using 'domain' style syntax in
X.400 applications.

John Quartermans The Matrix might have some useful historical info too.

Chers
    Toerless

On Wed, Jun 09, 2021 at 12:29:31PM -0700, Dave Crocker via Internet-history wrote:
> On 6/9/2021 11:17 AM, Barbara Denny via Internet-history wrote:
> >   I remember thoughts about DNS were  developed enough by summer of 1983 that  I was asked to prepare a talk about DNS and packet radio at what I believe was the last packet radio meeting.  Unfortunately I don't remember what I used to learn about DNS so I could prepare my thoughts. I remember this is where I met Jon Postel but I don't remember if Paul Mockepetris was there.
> 
> 
> Some additions about timeline:
> 
> 
> I had nothing to do with the creation of any aspect of the DNS.
> 
> 
> However RFC 822, defining Internet mail format -- with relatively small
> modifications from RFC 733 --as published August 1982. It included support
> for domain name, which is to say support for the dotted name notation in a
> host reference.
> 
> SMTP also added domain name support, at the same time. (duh.  Written by
> Jon.)
> 
> I do not remember the details of how the directive to add this support in
> RFC 822 developed nor how I was told of the syntax.  822 was developed
> through group discussion, over email.  I don't even recall a face-to-face
> meeting for it.  SMTP definitely did have f2f sessions.
> 
> I only recall one discussion with Jon, concerning the handling of domain
> names in SMTP, where I was confused that it always passed the entire domain
> name, rather than stripping off the right-hand field, as the message
> transited a hop.  I had not yet understood that this was not a source route.
> 
> So I believe the general concept of the administrative/semantic hierarchy --
> distinct from the distributed operational query mechanism -- was fully set
> by Fall of 1982.  (I'm not saying the latter wasn't but that I don't know
> anything about that part of the design timeline.)
> 
> d/
> 
> -- 
> Dave Crocker
> Brandenburg InternetWorking
> bbiw.net
> -- 
> Internet-history mailing list
> Internet-history at elists.isoc.org
> https://elists.isoc.org/mailman/listinfo/internet-history

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