Subject: Re: [idn] IDNA in real life

From: Dan Oscarsson <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 06 Feb 2002 11:16:49 +0100

Mats wrote:

>>
>> Windows 2000 does allow host names with non-ASCII characters.
>> And it's DNS server uses UTF-8 based domain names following
>> RFC 1035.
>
>It is hard to argue that UTF-8 follows the current standard for DNS and
>domain names.

RFC 1035 allows any octet value in labels, this includes all needed for
UTF-8.
So it is allowed and required to be handled by current servers.
All values outside the ASCII range is compared binary, so you have do
agree on case and form to use just like in IDNA to make it work.

Characters outside the ASCII range is not allowed in some systems
concept of "host names", but DNS itself may not restrict them.

So using UTF-8 follows the current DNS standard.

>
>I'll buy you a beer at appropriate IETF meeting if the first version of
>Server Windows ("based on NT technology") released after published RFC's
>on IDN will not allow you to enter native hostnames in local character
>set!

As they already allow you to enter hostnames in local character set,
that
is already fullfilled. Exactely how they are going to introduce ACE
while
retaining their current UTF-8 scheme without breaking therir current
implementation will be interesting to see.

   Dan