Re: bug in hostname

[Bruno Haible]

Jim Meyering wrote:
> > But OTOH, I didn't follow compatibility with Linux /bin/hostname in two
> > points:
> >   - When the machine has multiple long names (i.e. some aliases),
> >     my "hostname -f" prints them all, one per line. Linux "/bin/hostname -f"
> >     prints only the first one, but has an extra option "-a":
> >     "/bin/hostname -a" prints the names except the first one, all in one
> >     line, each followed by a space.
> >   - "hostname -i" surrounds the IP address with brackets in my
> > implementation, whereas it does not in the Linux /bin/hostname.
>
> Wouldn't it be better to remain compatible with the
> Linux /bin/hostname?

I don't know. Now is a good opportunity to correct things that the Linux
/bin/hostname does wrong. Maybe a networking guru can tell

  - whether there is a semantic difference between the first hostname and
    the other ones ("aliases")?

  - why some programs expect IP addresses with brackets and some don't?

Bruno