On Tue, 13 Jun 2000, Dan Kappus wrote:
> What's the difference, really? Is there a reason for there to be two different
> categories? I'm a bit stuck on this part in my reading of the spec. Can
> someone clarify the why here?
History, and lack of foresight on my part. Smail 3 has routers and
directors; I copied the style. In the beginning they were very different
(directors could direct only to local transports; routers only to remote
ones; the set of "generic" options was different, etc). Evolution has
brought them much closer together; I say in my course (and have said in
a previous thread, and will say in the book) that one day the difference
between them might be abolished. This will simplify things (code and
documentation) a lot. I wish I'd thought of it at the start. However, it
will need some careful planning. The concept of local_domains is still
important for other things (relay checking, routing to "self") and so
must somehow be preserved.
If this ever happens, it won't be for some time. Also, I would probably
do some tidying/merging of existing routers/directors.
--
Philip Hazel University of Cambridge Computing Service,
ph10@??? Cambridge, England. Phone: +44 1223 334714.
