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boston.conman.org.atom.xml - sfeed_tests - sfeed tests and RSS and Atom files |
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git clone git://git.codemadness.org/sfeed_tests (git://git.codemadness.org) |
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Log |
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Files |
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README |
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LICENSE |
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--- |
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boston.conman.org.atom.xml (60119B) |
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--- |
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1 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> |
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2 <feed xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"> |
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3 |
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4 <title>The Boston Diaries</title> |
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5 <updated>2023-02-24T08:41:07Z</updated> |
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6 <id>http://boston.conman.org/</id> |
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7 |
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8 <link |
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9 rel = "self" |
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10 type = "application/atom+xml" |
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11 hreflang = "en-US" |
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12 href = "http://boston.conman.org/index.atom" |
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13 title = "The Boston Diaries" |
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14 /> |
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15 |
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16 <link |
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17 rel = "alternate" |
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18 type = "text/html" |
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19 hreflang = "en-US" |
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20 href = "http://boston.conman.org/" |
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21 title = "The Boston Diaries" |
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22 /> |
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23 |
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24 <author> |
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25 <name>Sean Conner</name> |
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26 <email>sean@conman.org</email> |
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27 <uri>http://www.conman.org/people/spc/</uri> |
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28 </author> |
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29 |
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30 <generator uri="http://boston.conman.org/about/" version="mod_blog v52, CGILIB 6.12.0, Lua 5.4.3, This is GDBM version 1.8.0, as of May 19, 1999.">mod_blog</generator> |
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31 <rights>© 1999-2023 by Sean Conner. All Rights Reserved</rights> |
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32 |
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33 <entry> |
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34 <id>tag:boston.conman.org,2023-02-23:/2023/02/23.1</id> |
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35 <title type="text">A breakdown of the triple-star pointer</title> |
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36 <updated>2023-02-24T00:44:41Z</updated> |
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37 <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" hreflang="en-US" href="https://boston.conman.org/2023/02/23.1" /> |
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38 <link rel="alternate" type="text/gemini" hreflang="en-US" href="gemini://gemini.conman.org/boston/2023/02/23.1" /> |
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39 <link rel="alternate" type="text/plain" hreflang="en-US" href="gopher://gopher.conman.org/0Phlog:2023/02/23.1" /> |
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40 <category term="programming"/> |
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41 <category term="C programming"/> |
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42 <category term="char ***"/> |
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43 <category term="pointer to a pointer to a pointer"/> |
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44 <category term="C"/> |
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45 |
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46 <content type="html"><P>I few days ago I read “<A CLASS="external" HREF="https://dorinlazar.ro/220710-trying-to-modernize-goaccess.en/">Lessons learnt while trying to modernize some C code</A>” |
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47 (via <A CLASS="external" HREF="https://lobste.rs/s/r8b8d1/lessons_learnt_while_trying_modernize">Lobsters</A>) |
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48 and one of the problems of C stated stood out to me: “Avoid constructs like <CODE>char ***</CODE>. I thought it was a joke, but people do |
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49 pass around <CODE>char ***</CODE> and it’s insane—almost impossible to comprehend why |
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50 do you need a pointer to a pointer to a pointer.” |
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51 Yes, |
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52 it happens, |
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53 but come on! |
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54 That doesn't happen often enough to complain about!</P> |
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55 |
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56 <P>And then I found one <A CLASS="external" HREF="https://github.com/spc476/mod_blog/blob/8eb3f660edd5a35c09616d058307e5a166052c99/src/blog.c#L335">in my own code</A>!</P> |
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57 |
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58 <P>Sigh.</P> |
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59 |
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60 <P>Okay, |
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61 at least I can explain why I needed a <CODE>char ***</CODE>. |
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62 It's not insane, |
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63 and it's not impossible to comprehend why. |
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64 I'll start with <CODE>char *'</CODE>. |
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65 In C, |
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66 that means “string” |
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67 (the exceptions are just that—exceptions). |
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68 We can replace <CODE>char *</CODE> with <CODE>typedef char *cstring</CODE> which gets rid of one “*”, |
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69 leaving effectively <CODE>cstring **</CODE>.</P> |
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70 |
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71 <P>Now, |
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72 when you see <CODE>char **</CODE>, |
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73 say in <CODE>int main(int argc,char **argv)</CODE>, |
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74 it generally has the meaning of an array of strings: |
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75 <CODE>int main(int argc,char *argv[])</CODE>. |
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76 Sometimes it could mean just a pointer to a pointer, |
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77 but I'm using the “array of strings” meaning in my code. |
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78 Translated using the custom type I defined above, |
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79 <CODE>char **</CODE> becomes becomes <CODE>cstring []</CODE> and |
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80 <CODE>char ***</CODE> becomes <CODE>cstring *[]</CODE>—a pointer to an array of strings. |
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81 And this idiom, |
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82 when it happens, |
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83 usually means the callee is going to allocate the memory for the array of strings and return it via the pointer. |
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84 Which is exactly what the function I wrote does.</P> |
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85 |
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86 <P>So when I expect a <CODE>char ***</CODE> here, |
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87 what I'm asking for is a pointer to an array of strings |
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88 (aka character pointers or character arrays). |
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89 The only thing insane about this is the syntax, |
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90 and maybe the semantics |
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91 (pointers and arrays are near enough the same that it's dangerous) |
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92 but I've been working with C long enough that I just kind of accept it.</P> |
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93 |
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94 <P>Now, |
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95 just don't ask about <CODE>char ****</CODE>—that's just silly talk!</P> |
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96 </content> |
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97 </entry> |
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98 <entry> |
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99 <id>tag:boston.conman.org,2023-02-16:/2023/02/16.1</id> |
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100 <title type="text">I guess now Bunny can add “upholsterer” to her list of hobbies</title> |
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101 <updated>2023-02-22T04:57:24Z</updated> |
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102 <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" hreflang="en-US" href="https://boston.conman.org/2023/02/16.1" /> |
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103 <link rel="alternate" type="text/gemini" hreflang="en-US" href="gemini://gemini.conman.org/boston/2023/02/16.1" /> |
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104 <link rel="alternate" type="text/plain" hreflang="en-US" href="gopher://gopher.conman.org/0Phlog:2023/02/16.1" /> |
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105 <category term="daily life"/> |
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106 <category term="repairs"/> |
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107 <category term="upholstry"/> |
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108 |
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109 <content type="html"><P>A few weeks ago, |
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110 the top arm coverings of my office chair basically crumbled and fell off.</P> |
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111 |
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112 <DIV CLASS="pf"> |
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113 |
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114 <IMG SRC="/2023/02/16/naked-chair.jpg" WIDTH="400" HEIGHT="300" ALT="[Picture of a chair with arms, but the arms are missing a cover.] Black always makes things slimmer. Only in this case, it is slimmer without the rubber covering." TITLE="Black always makes things slimmer. Only in this case, it is slimmer without the rubber covering."> |
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115 |
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116 </DIV> |
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117 |
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118 <P>The old coverings were some combination of rubber and plastic and I guess over time, |
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119 they just became brittle or dried out, |
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120 and fell apart. |
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121 This exposed the underlying hard plastic frame underneath. |
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122 It wouldn't be that bad actually, |
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123 except for all the square holes, |
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124 used to both lessen the amount of hard plastic required, |
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125 and to give the old covers something to grip onto.</P> |
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126 |
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127 <DIV CLASS="pf"> |
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128 |
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129 <IMG SRC="/2023/02/16/naked-arm.jpg" WIDTH="400" HEIGHT="300" ALT="[Closeup of an uncovered arm on the office chair showing a surface with cutouts to save material, but makes it uncomfortable to use as an arm rest.] It's a combination arm rest and cheese grater!" TITLE="It's a combination arm rest and cheese grater!"> |
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130 |
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131 </DIV> |
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132 |
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133 <P>Resting my arms on the bare arm rests is uncomfortable—it's not exactly cutting into my skin, |
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134 but I can feel the square holes which is unpleasant, |
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135 and left a square pattern on my arms. |
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136 My idea was to take some foam and wrap some cloth type material around it and the plastic frame. |
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137 But it was Bunny who made the new covers from material lying about Chez Boca.</P> |
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138 |
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139 <DIV CLASS="pf"> |
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140 |
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141 <IMG SRC="/2023/02/16/new-sleeve.jpg" WIDTH="400" HEIGHT="300" ALT="[Picture of a new arm cover for an office chair.] Grab a strobe black light, turn up the techo, and we can have a rave!" TITLE="Grab a strobe black light, turn up the techo, and we can have a rave!"> |
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142 |
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143 </DIV> |
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144 |
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145 <P>It's basically a tube of cloth wrapping the foam, with some extra material folded back onto itself to form some flaps to go around the ends of the arm rests. |
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146 Here I am demonstrating how it works with my fingers.</P> |
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147 |
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148 <DIV CLASS="pf"> |
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149 |
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150 <IMG SRC="/2023/02/16/flap.jpg" WIDTH="400" HEIGHT="300" ALT="[Picture demonstrating the flap on the new arm covers to hold it onto the chair.] Makes for a lousy puppet. Maybe with some googly eyes?" TITLE="Makes for a lousy puppet. Maybe with some googly eyes?"> |
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151 |
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152 </DIV> |
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153 |
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154 <P>The material has some stretch ability, |
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155 which helps to keep it on the arm rests.</P> |
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156 |
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157 <DIV CLASS="pf"> |
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158 |
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159 <IMG SRC="/2023/02/16/clothed-chair.jpg" WIDTH="400" HEIGHT="300" ALT="[Picture of a chair with arms, now with the new arm covers.] Is it not nifty?" TITLE="Is it not nifty?"> |
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160 |
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161 </DIV> |
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162 |
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163 <P>It adds a nice bit of color to the chair, |
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164 and it's a lot more confortable than the old covering. |
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165 Nice job indeed!</P> |
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166 </content> |
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167 </entry> |
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168 <entry> |
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169 <id>tag:boston.conman.org,2023-02-13:/2023/02/13.1</id> |
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170 <title type="text">The Nile is nice this time of year</title> |
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171 <updated>2023-02-15T20:49:44Z</updated> |
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172 <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" hreflang="en-US" href="https://boston.conman.org/2023/02/13.1" /> |
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173 <link rel="alternate" type="text/gemini" hreflang="en-US" href="gemini://gemini.conman.org/boston/2023/02/13.1" /> |
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174 <link rel="alternate" type="text/plain" hreflang="en-US" href="gopher://gopher.conman.org/0Phlog:2023/02/13.1" /> |
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175 <category term="daily life"/> |
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176 <category term="glasses"/> |
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177 <category term="new glasses"/> |
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178 <category term="Flexons"/> |
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179 <category term="eye glasses"/> |
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180 <category term="spectacles"/> |
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181 <category term="denial"/> |
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182 <category term="The Nile"/> |
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183 |
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184 <content type="html"><P>On Friday, |
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185 February 3<SUP>rd</SUP>, |
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186 I broke <A CLASS="local" HREF="/2004/05/10.1">my glasses</A>. |
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187 I was out and someone complemented me on my shades. |
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188 I pointed out that they were just clip on shades, |
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189 but I went further to show that my glasses were flexible. |
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190 That's when I snapped off the left arm of my glasses at the hinge. |
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191 In retrospect, |
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192 I should not have done that.</P> |
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193 |
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194 <P>But they were nineteen years old. |
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195 And it was clear to Bunny that I needed new glasses anyway. |
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196 As she keeps pointing out, |
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197 my glasses would slowly creep down my face, |
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198 but that was only to keep things in focus. |
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199 It had nothing to do with my eye sight changing.</P> |
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200 |
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201 <P>Nope.</P> |
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202 |
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203 <P>But now I had no excuse. |
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204 The next day I picked out new frames |
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205 (<A CLASS="external" HREF="https://www.flexon.com/">Flexon</A>, |
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206 same manufactorer as my old ones). |
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207 One of the store employees tried to fix my existing pair of glasses with tape, |
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208 and all I can say about that—it was an attempt. |
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209 The employee also managed to knock off the nose pad on the left side of my glasses |
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210 (sigh) |
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211 so now the glasses were even less stable on my face than before. |
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212 I did manage to get an appointment for an eye exam on Monday the 6<SUP>th</SUP>.</P> |
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213 |
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214 <P>Monday, |
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215 and I go for the exam. |
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216 Things were going well until the end, |
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217 when the doctor pointed out that it was time for me to get progressive lenses. |
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218 Or, |
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219 you know, |
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220 bifocals.</P> |
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221 |
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222 <P>No! |
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223 I am not that old! |
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224 I don't need bifocals! |
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225 I'm still only … um … oh … <I>mumblety-mum</I> years old.</P> |
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226 |
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227 <P>Man, |
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228 the Nile is a nice place, |
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229 isn't it?</P> |
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230 |
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231 <P>I could expect the new glasses to be ready in seven to ten days.</P> |
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232 |
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233 <P>Eight days of my old glasses falling off my face |
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234 (and constantly adjusting them when they don't), |
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235 and my new glasses are ready. |
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236 With “progressive” lenses. |
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237 I have up to 30 days to decide if I like them, |
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238 and if I don't, |
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239 I can get … sigh … <EM>bifocals</EM>.</P> |
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240 |
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241 <DIV CLASS="pf"> |
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242 |
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243 <IMG SRC="/2023/02/13/glasses.jpg" WIDTH="400" HEIGHT="300" ALT="[Picture of me with my new glasses] Pay no attention to all the white hair—we're here for the glasses" TITLE="Pay no attention to all the white hair—we're here for the glasses"> |
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244 |
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245 </DIV> |
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246 |
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247 <P>The progressive lenses are <EM>weird</EM>. |
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248 Parts of my peripheral vision are blurry. |
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249 If I move my head back and forth, |
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250 surfaces along the bottom of my glasses undulate in an unnerving manner. |
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251 Sometimes when I tilt my head, |
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252 it feels like |
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253 (to borrow a movie term) |
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254 a zoom-in but with improper focusing. |
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255 It's trippy, |
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256 but without the side effects of a bad drug trip.</P> |
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257 |
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258 <P>We'll see if I can get used to them.</P> |
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259 |
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260 <P>Oh, |
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261 and one more amusing fact about my new glasses—the lenses are so think at the edges, |
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262 that the arms don't fold down all the way.</P> |
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263 </content> |
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264 </entry> |
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265 <entry> |
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266 <id>tag:boston.conman.org,2023-02-04:/2023/02/04.1</id> |
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267 <title type="text">Notes about an overheard conversation while driving home</title> |
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268 <updated>2023-02-05T00:48:40Z</updated> |
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269 <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" hreflang="en-US" href="https://boston.conman.org/2023/02/04.1" /> |
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270 <link rel="alternate" type="text/gemini" hreflang="en-US" href="gemini://gemini.conman.org/boston/2023/02/04.1" /> |
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271 <link rel="alternate" type="text/plain" hreflang="en-US" href="gopher://gopher.conman.org/0Phlog:2023/02/04.1" /> |
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272 <category term="overheard conversations"/> |
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273 <category term="driving"/> |
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274 <category term="around the bus"/> |
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275 |
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276 <content type="html"><P>“Why the convoluted way home?” <!-- me --> </P> |
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277 |
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278 <P>“Are you driving?” </P> |
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279 |
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280 <P>“No. I'm just curious.” </P> |
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281 |
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282 <P>“Because you told me to go around.” </P> |
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283 |
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284 <P>“I told you to get into the other lane to go around <EM>the bus!</EM>” </P> |
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285 |
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286 <P>“No, |
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287 you just told me to go around.” </P> |
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288 |
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289 <P>“The bus.” </P> |
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290 |
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291 <P>“Around. |
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292 Besides, |
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293 this way, I don't have to take a left turn.” </P> |
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294 |
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295 <P>“Pththththththth.” </P> |
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296 |
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297 <P>“Argument of last resort, I see.” </P> |
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298 </content> |
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299 </entry> |
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300 <entry> |
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301 <id>tag:boston.conman.org,2023-01-24:/2023/01/24.2</id> |
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302 <title type="text">Notes on a seriously first world problem</title> |
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303 <updated>2023-01-25T01:46:31Z</updated> |
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304 <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" hreflang="en-US" href="https://boston.conman.org/2023/01/24.2" /> |
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305 <link rel="alternate" type="text/gemini" hreflang="en-US" href="gemini://gemini.conman.org/boston/2023/01/24.2" /> |
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306 <link rel="alternate" type="text/plain" hreflang="en-US" href="gopher://gopher.conman.org/0Phlog:2023/01/24.2" /> |
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307 <category term="smart TVs"/> |
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308 <category term="foreign language interface"/> |
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309 <category term="modern technology"/> |
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310 <category term="first world problem"/> |
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311 |
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312 <content type="html"><P>“채널 하나 둘 셋 …” </P> |
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313 |
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314 <P>“Why is the TV speaking Korean?” </P> |
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315 |
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316 <P>“채널 하나 둘 넷 …” </P> |
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317 |
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318 <P>“I don't know. |
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319 It just started happening!” </P> |
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320 |
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321 <P>“채널 하나 둘 다섯 … ” </P> |
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322 |
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323 <P>“Let me see … wait! |
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324 The configuration menu is also in Korean!” </P> |
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325 |
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326 <P>“당연하지 …” </P> |
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327 |
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328 <P>“I guess we're just going to have to learn Korean.” </P> |
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329 |
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330 <P>“무아하하하하 …” </P> |
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331 </content> |
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332 </entry> |
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333 <entry> |
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334 <id>tag:boston.conman.org,2023-01-24:/2023/01/24.1</id> |
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335 <title type="text">Notes on an overheard conversation about “Muskrat Love” as it played on satellite radio</title> |
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336 <updated>2023-01-25T02:01:00Z</updated> |
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337 <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" hreflang="en-US" href="https://boston.conman.org/2023/01/24.1" /> |
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338 <link rel="alternate" type="text/gemini" hreflang="en-US" href="gemini://gemini.conman.org/boston/2023/01/24.1" /> |
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339 <link rel="alternate" type="text/plain" hreflang="en-US" href="gopher://gopher.conman.org/0Phlog:2023/01/24.1" /> |
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340 <category term="overheard conversations"/> |
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341 <category term="Captain and Tennille"/> |
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342 <category term="the Bionic Watermelon"/> |
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343 |
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344 <content type="html"><P>“If you would have asked me who sang that, |
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345 I wouldn't have been able to answer.” </P> |
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346 |
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347 <P>“Wow! |
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348 Captain and Tennille! |
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349 That takes me back.” </P> |
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350 |
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351 <P>“Me too.” </P> |
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352 |
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353 <P>“Do you want to know what else the Captain and Tennille reminds me of?” </P> |
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354 |
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355 <P>“What?” </P> |
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356 |
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357 <P>“The Bionic Watermelon.” </P> |
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358 |
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359 <P>“What?” </P> |
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360 |
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361 <P>“<A CLASS="external" HREF="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCYbjzHVLQI">The Bionic Watermelon</A>.” </P> |
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362 |
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363 <P>“You are weird, sir.” </P> |
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364 |
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365 </content> |
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366 </entry> |
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367 <entry> |
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368 <id>tag:boston.conman.org,2023-01-23:/2023/01/23.1</id> |
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369 <title type="text">A few small differences</title> |
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370 <updated>2023-01-24T10:08:02Z</updated> |
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371 <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" hreflang="en-US" href="https://boston.conman.org/2023/01/23.1" /> |
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372 <link rel="alternate" type="text/gemini" hreflang="en-US" href="gemini://gemini.conman.org/boston/2023/01/23.1" /> |
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373 <link rel="alternate" type="text/plain" hreflang="en-US" href="gopher://gopher.conman.org/0Phlog:2023/01/23.1" /> |
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374 <category term="programming"/> |
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375 <category term="library design"/> |
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376 <category term="DNS"/> |
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377 <category term="mDNS"/> |
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378 |
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379 <content type="html"><P>I received the following patch for <A CLASS="external" HREF="https://github.com/spc476/SPCDNS/">my <ABBR TITLE="Domain Name Service">DNS</ABBR> library</A>:</P> |
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380 |
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381 <BLOCKQUOTE CITE="https://github.com/spc476/SPCDNS/pull/13#issue-1550568965" TITLE="Mdns mods by oviano · Pull Request #13 · spc476/SPCDNS"> |
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382 |
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383 <P>I am hoping to use this library to encode and decode <ABBR TITLE="multicast Domain Name Service">mDNS</ABBR> queries and |
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384 responses. It seems that the <ABBR TITLE="multicast Domain Name Service">mDNS</ABBR> is mostly the same as unicast <ABBR TITLE="Domain Name Service">DNS</ABBR>, except |
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385 for a few small differences which I aim to add to this <ABBR TITLE="Pull Request">PR</ABBR> as I encounter |
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386 them.</P> |
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387 |
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388 <P CLASS="cite"><CITE><A CLASS="external" HREF="https://github.com/spc476/SPCDNS/pull/13#issue-1550568965">Mdns mods by oviano · Pull Request #13 · spc476/SPCDNS</A></CITE></P> |
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389 </BLOCKQUOTE> |
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390 |
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391 |
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392 <P>Those “few small differences” turn out not to be so small.</P> |
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393 |
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394 <P>The main <ABBR TITLE="Request For Comment">RFC</ABBR>s for <ABBR TITLE="multicast Domain Name Service">mDNS</ABBR> appear to be <A CLASS="external" HREF="https://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc6762.txt"><ABBR TITLE="Request For Comment">RFC</ABBR>-6762</A> and <A CLASS="local" HREF="https://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc6763.txt"><ABBR TITLE="Request For Comment">RFC</ABBR>-6763</A> and to support them in full requires breaking changes to my library. |
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395 The first are a bunch of flags, |
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396 defined in <ABBR TITLE="Request For Comment">RFC</ABBR>-6762 and it affects pretty much the entire codebase. |
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397 The first deals with “Questions Requesting Unicast Responses.” |
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398 Most flags are defined in the header section, |
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399 but for this, |
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400 it's “the top bit in the class field of a <ABBR TITLE="Domain Name Service">DNS</ABBR> question as the unicast-response bit.” |
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401 And because <ABBR TITLE="multicast Domain Name Service">mDNS</ABBR> specifically allows multiple questions, |
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402 it's seems like it could be set per-question, |
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403 and not per the request as a whole, |
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404 as the <ABBR TITLE="Request For Comment">RFC</ABBR> states: “[w]hen this bit is set in a |
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405 question, it indicates that the querier is willing to accept unicast |
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406 replies in response to this specific query, as well as the usual |
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407 multicast responses.” |
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408 To me, |
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409 that says, |
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410 “each resource record needs a flag for a unicast reponse.” |
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411 The other bit the “outdated cache entry” bit. |
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412 which again applies to individual resource records and not to the request as a whole. |
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413 And again, |
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414 to me, |
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415 that says, |
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416 “each resoure record needs a flag to invalidate previously cached values.” |
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417 |
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418 <P>How to handle this … well, |
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419 one way would be to a Boolean field to each resource record type to hide protocol details |
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420 (which was the point in this library frankly). |
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421 But that can break existing code as the new fields will need initialization:</P> |
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422 |
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423 <PRE CLASS="language-C" TITLE="C"> |
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424 dns_question_t domain; |
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425 |
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426 domain.name = host; |
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427 domain.type = RR_A; |
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428 domain.class = CLASS_IN; |
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429 domain.uc = true; /* we want unicast reply */ |
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430 |
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431 /* and the other flag */ |
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432 |
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433 dns_a_t addr; |
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434 |
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435 addr.name = host; |
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436 addr.type = RR_A; |
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437 addr.class = CLASS_IN; |
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438 addr.ttl = 0; |
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439 addr.ic = true; /* invalidate cache data */ |
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440 addr.address = address; |
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441 </PRE> |
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442 |
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443 |
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444 <P>and document that the <VAR>uc</VAR> and <VAR>ic</VAR> fields are for <ABBR TITLE="multicast Domain Name Service">mDNS</ABBR> use; |
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445 if you aren't using <ABBR TITLE="multicast Domain Name Service">mDNS</ABBR>, |
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446 then they should be set to <CODE>false</CODE>.</P> |
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447 |
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448 <P>Another approach is to leak protocol details and require the user to do something like:</P> |
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449 |
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450 <PRE CLASS="language-C" TITLE="C"> |
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451 /* We're making a query and want a unicast reply */ |
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452 dns_question_t domain; |
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453 |
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454 domain.name = host; |
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455 domain.type = RR_A; |
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456 domain.class = CLASS_IN | UNICAST_REPLY; |
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457 |
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458 /* We're replying to a query and want to invalidate this record */ |
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459 dns_a_t addr; |
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460 |
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461 addr.name = host; |
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462 addr.type = RR_A; |
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463 addr.class = CLASS_IN | INVALIDATE_CACHE; |
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464 addr.ttl = 0; |
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465 addr.address = address; |
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466 </PRE> |
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467 |
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468 |
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469 <P>And that's a less-breaking change, |
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470 but on the decoding side, |
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471 I still need some form of flag in the structure to indicate these flags were set because otherwise data is lost.</P> |
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472 |
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473 <P>I'm not sure which approach is best. |
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474 The first does a better job of hiding the <ABBR TITLE="Domain Name Service">DNS</ABBR> protocol details, |
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475 but breaks more code. |
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476 The second is less breaking, |
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477 as I could ignore any cache flags on encoding, |
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478 but it leaks details of <ABBR TITLE="Domain Name Service">DNS</ABBR> encoding to user code. |
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479 I tend to favor the first but I really dislike the breaking aspect of it. |
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480 And That's just the first <ABBR TITLE="Request For Comment">RFC</ABBR>.</P> |
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481 |
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482 <P>The other <ABBR TITLE="Request For Comment">RFC</ABBR> utilizes what I consider to be an implementation detail of the <ABBR TITLE="Domain Name Service">DNS</ABBR> protocol to radically alter how I handle text resource records. |
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483 The <ABBR TITLE="Request For Comment">RFC</ABBR> that defined modern <ABBR TITLE="Domain Name Service">DNS</ABBR>, |
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484 <A CLASS="local" HREF="https://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1035.txt"><ABBR TITLE="Request For Comment">RFC</ABBR>-1035</A>, |
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485 describes the format for a text resource record, |
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486 but is silent as to semantics.</P> |
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487 |
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488 <P>Individual resource records come with a 16-bit length, |
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489 so in theory, |
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490 a resource record could be up to 65535 bytes in size, |
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491 but it's rare to get a record that size. |
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492 The base type of a text resource record is a “string.” |
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493 and <ABBR TITLE="Request For Comment">RFC</ABBR>-1035 defines a “string” as one byte for the length, |
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494 followed by that many bytes as the contents. |
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495 The length of a “string” is defined as one byte, |
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496 which limits the length of 255 bytes in size. |
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497 This means, |
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498 in practice, |
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499 that a text resource record can contain several “strings.” |
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500 |
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501 <P>How SPCDNS handles this now is that I assume a text resource record only has one value—a string:</P> |
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502 |
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503 <PRE CLASS="language-C" TITLE="C"> |
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504 typedef struct dns_txt_t /* RFC-1035 */ |
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505 { |
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506 char const *name; |
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507 dns_type_t type; |
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508 dns_class_t class; |
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509 TTL ttl; |
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510 size_t len; |
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511 char const *text; |
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512 } dns_txt_t; |
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513 </PRE> |
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514 |
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515 |
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516 <P>When encoding such a record, |
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517 I break the given string into as few <ABBR TITLE="Domain Name Service">DNS</ABBR> “strings” as possible. |
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518 Give this a 300 byte string, |
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519 and you get two <ABBR TITLE="Domain Name Service">DNS</ABBR> “strings” encoded, |
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520 one being 255 byte long, and the other one 45 bytes long. |
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521 Upon decoding, |
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522 all the strings in a single text resource record are concatenated into a single string. |
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523 As I said, |
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524 <ABBR TITLE="Domain Name Service">DNS</ABBR>-1035 doesn't go into the semantics of a text resource record, |
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525 and I did what I felt was best.</P> |
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526 |
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527 <P><ABBR TITLE="Request For Comment">RFC</ABBR>-6763 uses the <ABBR TITLE="Domain Name Service">DNS</ABBR> “string” encoding for semantic information:</P> |
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528 |
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529 <PRE CLASS="language-data" TITLE="data"> |
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530 Apple TV - Office._airplay._tcp.local. 10 IN TXT ( |
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531 "acl=0" |
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532 "btaddr=00:00:00:00:00:00" |
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533 "deviceid=A8:51:AB:10:21:AE" |
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534 "fex=1d9/St5/FbwooQ" |
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535 "features=0x4A7FDFD5,0xBC157FDE" |
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536 "flags=0x18644" |
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537 "gid=F014C3FF-1420-4374-81DE-237CD6892579" |
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538 "igl=1" |
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539 "gcgl=1" |
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540 "model=AppleTV14,1" |
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541 "protovers=1.1" |
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542 "pi=c6fe9e6e-cec2-44c8-9c66-8994c6ad47" |
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543 "depsi=4A342DB4-3A0C-47A6-9143-9F6BF83F0EDD" |
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544 "pk=5ab1ac3988a6a358db0a6e71a18d31b8d525ec30ce81a4b7b20f2630449f6591" |
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545 "srcvers=670.6.2" |
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546 "osvers=16.2" |
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547 "vv=2" |
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548 ) |
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549 </PRE> |
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550 |
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551 |
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552 <P>I have to admit, |
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553 this is ingenious—each <ABBR TITLE="Domain Name Service">DNS</ABBR> “string” here defines a name/value pair. |
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554 But I did not see this use at all.</P> |
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555 |
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556 <P>I wonder how much code out there dealing with <ABBR TITLE="Domain Name Service">DNS</ABBR> packets (not specifically <ABBR TITLE="multicast Domain Name Service">mDNS</ABBR>) |
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557 would treat these records:</P> |
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558 |
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559 <PRE CLASS="language-DNS" TITLE="DNS"> |
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560 IN TXT "v=spf1 +mx +ip4:71.19.142.20/32 -all" |
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561 IN TXT "google-site-verification=<SPAN CLASS="cut">XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX</SPAN>" |
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562 </PRE> |
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563 |
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564 |
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565 <P>the same way as:</P> |
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566 |
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567 <PRE CLASS="language-DNS" TITLE="DNS"> |
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568 IN TXT ( |
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569 "v=spf1 +mx +ip4:71.19.142.20/32 -all" |
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570 "google-site-verification=<SPAN CLASS="cut">XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX</SPAN>" |
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571 ) |
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572 </PRE> |
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573 |
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574 |
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575 <P>The first returns two text resource records, |
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576 each consisting of a single <ABBR TITLE="Domain Name Service">DNS</ABBR> “string,” |
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577 the second one text resource record but with two <ABBR TITLE="Domain Name Service">DNS</ABBR> “strings.” |
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578 My gut feeling is “not many would deal with the second format” but I can't know that for sure.</P> |
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579 |
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580 <P>And changing how I deal with text resource records in SPCDNS would be a major breaking change.</P> |
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581 |
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582 <P>This is one change I really don't know how to approach.</P> |
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583 </content> |
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584 </entry> |
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585 <entry> |
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586 <id>tag:boston.conman.org,2023-01-19:/2023/01/19.1</id> |
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587 <title type="text">The good news? Somebody wants to use my blogging engine. The bad news? Somebody wants to use my blogging engine</title> |
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588 <updated>2023-01-20T05:58:02Z</updated> |
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589 <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" hreflang="en-US" href="https://boston.conman.org/2023/01/19.1" /> |
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590 <link rel="alternate" type="text/gemini" hreflang="en-US" href="gemini://gemini.conman.org/boston/2023/01/19.1" /> |
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591 <link rel="alternate" type="text/plain" hreflang="en-US" href="gopher://gopher.conman.org/0Phlog:2023/01/19.1" /> |
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592 <category term="mod_blog"/> |
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593 <category term="blogging"/> |
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594 <category term="documentation"/> |
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595 <category term="program assumptions"/> |
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596 <category term="assumptions in mod_blog"/> |
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597 |
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598 <content type="html"><P>Over the 23 year history of <CODE><A CLASS="external" HREF="https://github.com/spc476/mod_blog">mod_blog</A></CODE>, |
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599 I've given up on the notion of anyone other than me using it. |
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600 There was only one other person who used it for just a few months before deciding blogging wasn't for him <!-- it was Mark --> and that was way back in 2002. |
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601 So it was completely by surprise that I recently received <A CLASS="external" HREF="https://github.com/spc476/mod_blog/issues/1">a bug report</A> on it.</P> |
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602 |
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603 <P>Oh my … someone else is trying to use it.</P> |
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604 |
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605 <P>I never did fully document it. |
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606 And there are, |
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607 as I'm finding, |
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608 an amazing number of things I'm assuming about the environment, |
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609 such as:</P> |
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610 |
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611 <UL> |
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612 |
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613 <LI><P>That it's running under <A CLASS="external" HREF="https://httpd.apache.org/">Apache</A>. |
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614 I do make use of the environment variable <CODE>$DOCUMENT_ROOT</CODE>, |
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615 which technically is Apache specific |
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616 (per the <ABBR TITLE="Common Gateway Interface">CGI</ABBR> RFC “<A CLASS="external" HREF="https://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc3875.txt">The Comman Gateway Interface Version 1.1</A>” as it's not documented there) |
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617 and, |
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618 as I found out over the years, |
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619 the variables <CODE>$REDIRECT_REMOTE_USER</CODE> and <CODE>$REDIRECT_BLOG_CONFIG</CODE>. |
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620 Other web servers might not define those, |
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621 or might work differently. |
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622 I don't know, |
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623 I only have ever used <CODE>mod_blog</CODE> with Apache.</P></LI> |
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624 |
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625 <LI><P>How to configure Apache to run <CODE>mod_blog</CODE>. |
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626 I wanted to hide the fact that I'm running a <ABBR TITLE="Common Gateway Interface">CGI</ABBR> program to drive my blog, |
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627 not for “security-through-obscurity” reasons, |
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628 but for “easy to understand and modify the <ABBR TITLE="Uniform Resource Locator">URL</ABBR>” reasons. |
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|
629 I think <ABBR TITLE="Uniform Resource Locator">URL</ABBR>s like <CODE>https://boston.conman.org/2023/01/19.1</CODE> looks much nicer than <CODE>https://boston.conman.org/boston.cgi?2023/01/19.1</CODE> |
|
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630 (and nevermind the hideousness of <CODE>https://boston.conman.org/cgi-bin/boston.cgi?year=2023&amp;month=1&amp;day=19&amp;entry=1</CODE> that it could have been). |
|
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631 The other benefit is that if I ever do get around to making <CODE>mod_blog</CODE> an actual Apache module |
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632 (which was my original intent) |
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633 <A CLASS="external" HREF="https://www.w3.org/Provider/Style/URI.html">links won't break</A>.</P> |
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634 |
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635 <P>As such, |
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636 I use Apache's <CODE><A CLASS="external" HREF="https://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.4/mod/mod_rewrite.html#rewriterule">RewriteRule</A></CODE> to map all requests through <CODE>mod_blog</CODE>. |
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637 The code base also assumes this as it relies upon the environment variable <CODE>$PATH_INFO</CODE> always being set, |
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638 which isn't a given, |
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639 depending upon how a <ABBR TITLE="Common Gateway Interface">CGI</ABBR> program is referenced via the web.</P></LI> |
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640 |
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641 <LI><P>The environment variable <CODE>$BLOG_CONFIG</CODE> is set to the configuration file. |
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642 The configuration file can be either specified via the command line or stored in the environment variable. |
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643 I added the environment to avoid having to embed the location in the executable or to expose the location in the query portion of a <ABBR TITLE="Uniform Resource Locator">URL</ABBR>. |
|
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644 And again, |
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645 this comes back to the previous point—how to configure this under Apache (<CODE><A CLASS="external" HREF="https://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.4/mod/mod_env.html#setenv">SetEnv</A></CODE> is the answer). |
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646 I also have it set in my own environment |
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647 (command line) |
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648 as it makes it easy to test. |
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649 It also makes it easy to fix spelling mistakes on the server as I can directly edit the files, |
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650 which leads into the next point.</P></LI> |
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651 |
|
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652 <LI><P>All the files used by <CODE>mod_blog</CODE> are readable and writable by the program. |
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653 My blog is, |
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654 as far as I can tell, |
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655 unique in that I can send in posts via email, |
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656 in addition to a web page. |
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657 Email support, |
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658 for me, |
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659 was non-negotiable. |
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660 I get to use my preferred editor for writing, |
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661 and by posting it via email, |
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662 everything is handled automatically. |
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663 I'm not aware of any other blogging system set up this way, |
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664 and this is only viable because I run my own email server on the same box as my webserver.</P> |
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665 |
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666 <P>The issue becomes one of permissions. |
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667 The web server runs as its own user. |
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668 Email is delivered as the user of the recipient. |
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669 Both can add new posts. |
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|
670 I solved that issue my making <CODE>mod_blog</CODE> always run under my userid |
|
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671 (it's “setuid” for the technically proficient). |
|
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672 This means I don't have to make a bunch of files world writable on my server. |
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673 I can make edits on the files directly as me. |
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674 I can add entries via the web, |
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675 email, |
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676 or as a file from the command line |
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677 (which <CODE>mod_blog</CODE> also supports).</P></LI> |
|
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678 |
|
|
|
679 </UL> |
|
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680 |
|
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681 <P>And that's just off the top of my head. |
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682 There's probably more assumptions made that I'm just not thinking of. |
|
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683 It's issues like these where one can spend 90% of the time writing 90% of the code, |
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684 and then spend another 90% of the time writing the final 10% of the code and documentation.</P> |
|
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685 |
|
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686 <P>I'm also amused by the timing. |
|
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687 Back in August, |
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688 I removed a ton of optional code that I never used, |
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689 and because no one else was using <CODE>mod_blog</CODE>, |
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690 it was just sitting there untested. |
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691 And now someone wants to use the code.</P> |
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692 |
|
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|
693 <P>Heh.</P> |
|
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694 |
|
|
|
695 <P>But also, gulp! |
|
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|
696 I've got 23 years of experience with the code, |
|
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697 so I know all the ins and outs of using it. |
|
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|
698 Documenting this? |
|
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699 So someone else can use this? |
|
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|
700 Good lord!</P> |
|
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|
701 </content> |
|
|
|
702 </entry> |
|
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|
703 <entry> |
|
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|
704 <id>tag:boston.conman.org,2023-01-16:/2023/01/16.1</id> |
|
|
|
705 <title type="text">The other SFTP that never was</title> |
|
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|
706 <updated>2023-01-17T02:44:59Z</updated> |
|
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|
707 <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" hreflang="en-US" href="https://boston.conman.org/2023/01/16.1" /> |
|
|
|
708 <link rel="alternate" type="text/gemini" hreflang="en-US" href="gemini://gemini.conman.org/boston/2023/01/16.1" /> |
|
|
|
709 <link rel="alternate" type="text/plain" hreflang="en-US" href="gopher://gopher.conman.org/0Phlog:2023/01/16.1" /> |
|
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|
710 <category term="RFC-913"/> |
|
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|
711 <category term="Simple File Transfer Protocol"/> |
|
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|
712 <category term="SFTP"/> |
|
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|
713 <category term="Internet protocols"/> |
|
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|
714 |
|
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|
715 <content type="html"><P>For reasons, |
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|
716 I'm doing some research into the history of <ABBR TITLE="File Transport Protocol">FTP</ABBR> when I come across an <ABBR TITLE="Request For Comments">RFC</ABBR> for SFTP. |
|
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|
717 Only this isn't the <A CLASS="external" HREF="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SSH_File_Transfer_Protocol" TITLE="Secure File Transport Protocol">SFTP</A> that is used today, |
|
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|
718 but instead the <A CLASS="external" HREF="https://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc913.txt">Simple File Transfer Protocol</A> from 1984. |
|
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|
719 Unlike <ABBR TITLE="Trivial File Transport Protocol">TFTP</ABBR>, |
|
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|
720 it uses <ABBR TITLE="Transmission Control Protocol">TCP</ABBR>, |
|
|
|
721 and unlike <ABBR TITLE="File Transport Protocol">FTP</ABBR>, |
|
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|
722 it only uses a single network connection.</P> |
|
|
|
723 |
|
|
|
724 <P>But this bit is why I'm writing about this:</P> |
|
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|
725 |
|
|
|
726 <BLOCKQUOTE> |
|
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|
727 |
|
|
|
728 <H4>Random Access</H4> |
|
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|
729 |
|
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|
730 <P>Pro: Wouldn't it be nice if (WIBNIF) SFTP had a way of |
|
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|
731 accessing parts of a file?</P> |
|
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|
732 |
|
|
|
733 <P>Con: Forget it, this is supposed to be SIMPLE file transfer. |
|
|
|
734 If you need random access use real <ABBR TITLE="File Transport Protocol">FTP</ABBR> (oops, real <ABBR TITLE="File Transport Protocol">FTP</ABBR> doesn't |
|
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|
735 have random access either – invent another protocol?).</P> |
|
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|
736 |
|
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|
737 <P>Resolution: I have not made any provision for Random Access.</P> |
|
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|
738 |
|
|
|
739 </BLOCKQUOTE> |
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|
740 |
|
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|
741 <P>That “other protocol” would take several more years to be invented, |
|
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|
742 and then take over the networking world.</P> |
|
|
|
743 </content> |
|
|
|
744 </entry> |
|
|
|
745 <entry> |
|
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|
746 <id>tag:boston.conman.org,2023-01-12:/2023/01/12.1</id> |
|
|
|
747 <title type="text">It's probably a good thing some malformed URLs are considered “valid”</title> |
|
|
|
748 <updated>2023-01-13T04:01:30Z</updated> |
|
|
|
749 <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" hreflang="en-US" href="https://boston.conman.org/2023/01/12.1" /> |
|
|
|
750 <link rel="alternate" type="text/gemini" hreflang="en-US" href="gemini://gemini.conman.org/boston/2023/01/12.1" /> |
|
|
|
751 <link rel="alternate" type="text/plain" hreflang="en-US" href="gopher://gopher.conman.org/0Phlog:2023/01/12.1" /> |
|
|
|
752 <category term="testing"/> |
|
|
|
753 <category term="debugging"/> |
|
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|
754 <category term="URLs"/> |
|
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|
755 <category term="malformed URLs"/> |
|
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|
756 |
|
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|
757 <content type="html"><P>It seems it's all too easy to generate <A CLASS="local" HREF="/2023/01/11.1">double slashes in the path component</A> of a <ABBR TITLE="Uniform Resource Locator">URL</ABBR>, |
|
|
|
758 because I received via email a report that my |
|
|
|
759 <A CLASS="local" HREF="/bostondiaries.rss">current</A> |
|
|
|
760 <A CLASS="local" HREF="/index.atom">feed</A> |
|
|
|
761 <A CLASS="local" HREF="/index.json">files</A> |
|
|
|
762 all had that issue.</P> |
|
|
|
763 |
|
|
|
764 <P>Sigh.</P> |
|
|
|
765 |
|
|
|
766 <P>I made a change a few months ago in how I internally store the base <ABBR TITLE="Uniform Resource Locator">URL</ABBR> of my blog. |
|
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|
767 It used to be that I did not store the trailing slash |
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|
768 (so that <CODE>"https://boston.conman.org/"</CODE> would be stored as <CODE>"https://bost.conman.org"</CODE>) |
|
|
|
769 so I had code to keep adding it back in when generating links. |
|
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|
770 I changed the code to store the tailing slash, |
|
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|
771 but missed one section of code because I don't subscribe to any of my feed files and didn't notice the issue.</P> |
|
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|
772 |
|
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|
773 <P>I also fixed an actual crashing bug. |
|
|
|
774 All I have to say about that is that web robots are quite good at generating <A CLASS="local" HREF="/2019/07/09.1">really garbage requests</A> using a <A CLASS="external" HREF="https://www.iana.org/assignments/http-methods/http-methods.xhtml">variety of methods</A>—it's like free <A CLASS="external" HREF="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuzzing">fuzz testing</A>! |
|
|
|
775 Woo hoo! |
|
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|
776 <EM>Sob!</EM> </P> |
|
|
|
777 </content> |
|
|
|
778 </entry> |
|
|
|
779 <entry> |
|
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|
780 <id>tag:boston.conman.org,2023-01-11:/2023/01/11.1</id> |
|
|
|
781 <title type="text">It's apparently a valid URL, despite it being malformed in my opinion</title> |
|
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|
782 <updated>2023-01-11T21:35:07Z</updated> |
|
|
|
783 <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" hreflang="en-US" href="https://boston.conman.org/2023/01/11.1" /> |
|
|
|
784 <link rel="alternate" type="text/gemini" hreflang="en-US" href="gemini://gemini.conman.org/boston/2023/01/11.1" /> |
|
|
|
785 <link rel="alternate" type="text/plain" hreflang="en-US" href="gopher://gopher.conman.org/0Phlog:2023/01/11.1" /> |
|
|
|
786 <category term="URLs"/> |
|
|
|
787 <category term="parsing URLs"/> |
|
|
|
788 <category term="WhatWG living standard"/> |
|
|
|
789 <category term="bug"/> |
|
|
|
790 |
|
|
|
791 <content type="html"><P>I've had a <A CLASS="local" HREF="/2023/01/02.1">few</A> <A CLASS="local" HREF="/2023/01/08.1">posts</A> make it to the front page of <A CLASS="external" HREF="https://lobste.rs/">Lobsters</A>. |
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|
|
792 Lobsters supports <A CLASS="external" HREF="https://www.w3.org/TR/webmention/">webmention</A>, |
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|
793 yet I never received a webmention for those two posts. |
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|
794 I checked the logs and yes, |
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|
|
795 they were received but I rejected them with a “bad request.” |
|
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|
796 It took a bit of sleuthing, |
|
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|
797 but I found the root cause—the <ABBR TITLE="Uniform Resource Locator">URL</ABBR> of my post was, |
|
|
|
798 accoring to my code, |
|
|
|
799 invalid. |
|
|
|
800 Lobsters was sending in a <ABBR TITLE="Uniform Resource Locator">URL</ABBR> of the form <CODE>https://boston.conman.org//2023/01/02.1</CODE>—notice the two slashes in front of the path. |
|
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|
801 My code was having none of that.</P> |
|
|
|
802 |
|
|
|
803 <P>I'm not sure why Lobsters was sending a <ABBR TITLE="Uniform Resource Locator">URL</ABBR> of that form as <A CLASS="local" HREF="/2022/12/14.1">previous</A> <A CLASS="local" HREF="/2022/12/21.1">webmentions</A> worked fine, |
|
|
|
804 but when I checked <A CLASS="external" HREF="https://lobste.rs/domains/boston.conman.org">previous submissions to Lobsters</A> I saw some of the links had a double slash in the path portion. |
|
|
|
805 As it's considered valid by the <A CLASS="external" HREF="https://url.spec.whatwg.org/#urls">What Working Group? “living standard,”</A> |
|
|
|
806 I ended up having to accept what I consider a malformed <ABBR TITLE="Uniform Resource Locator">URL</ABBR>.</P> |
|
|
|
807 |
|
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|
808 <P>Sigh.</P> |
|
|
|
809 </content> |
|
|
|
810 </entry> |
|
|
|
811 <entry> |
|
|
|
812 <id>tag:boston.conman.org,2023-01-09:/2023/01/09.1</id> |
|
|
|
813 <title type="text">An epiphany about bloated web pages might be the result of a dumb network</title> |
|
|
|
814 <updated>2023-01-17T06:30:14Z</updated> |
|
|
|
815 <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" hreflang="en-US" href="https://boston.conman.org/2023/01/09.1" /> |
|
|
|
816 <link rel="alternate" type="text/gemini" hreflang="en-US" href="gemini://gemini.conman.org/boston/2023/01/09.1" /> |
|
|
|
817 <link rel="alternate" type="text/plain" hreflang="en-US" href="gopher://gopher.conman.org/0Phlog:2023/01/09.1" /> |
|
|
|
818 <category term="networks"/> |
|
|
|
819 <category term="dumb networks"/> |
|
|
|
820 <category term="smart networks"/> |
|
|
|
821 <category term="Internet"/> |
|
|
|
822 <category term="telephony"/> |
|
|
|
823 <category term="the web"/> |
|
|
|
824 <category term="C2 Wiki"/> |
|
|
|
825 <category term="John Carmack quote"/> |
|
|
|
826 |
|
|
|
827 <content type="html"><P>I was scared by an epiphany I had the other day when I read a quote by <A CLASS="external" HREF="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Carmack">John Carmack</A>. |
|
|
|
828 But before I get to the quote and the ephiphany, |
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|
829 I need to give some background to understand where I was, |
|
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|
830 and where I am.</P> |
|
|
|
831 |
|
|
|
832 <P>First, |
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|
833 for the years I was working for The Corporation |
|
|
|
834 (and later, |
|
|
|
835 The Enterprise), |
|
|
|
836 I was in essense, |
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|
|
837 working in telephony networking, |
|
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|
838 and I was never a fan of telephony networking |
|
|
|
839 (the <A CLASS="local" HREF="/2012/01/31.1">Protocol Stack From Hell</A> notwithstanding).</P> |
|
|
|
840 |
|
|
|
841 <P>Basically, |
|
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|
842 the paradigm in telephony is a “smart network” and a “dumb edge.” |
|
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|
843 All the “intelligence” of an application on telephony is on the network side of things—the “edge” here being the device the end user interacts with. |
|
|
|
844 In the old days, |
|
|
|
845 this was an on-off switch, |
|
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|
846 a microphone and a speaker. |
|
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|
847 Later models this device included a tone generator. |
|
|
|
848 So any features needed to be handled on the network side because the end user device |
|
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|
849 (the “edge”) |
|
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|
850 was incapable of doing much at all. |
|
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|
851 If a person wants a new feature, |
|
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|
852 they have to get it implemented on the entire network, |
|
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|
853 or it's effectively not supported at all |
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|
854 (because there's not much one can do with an on-off switch, |
|
|
|
855 speaker, |
|
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|
856 microphone and a tone generator).</P> |
|
|
|
857 |
|
|
|
858 <P>Contrast this with the Internet—it's a “dumb network” with a “smart edge”—all the network has to do is sling packets back and forth, |
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|
859 not concerning itself with the contents. |
|
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|
860 The “edge” in this case is (was?) a general purpose computer that can be programmed to do just about anything. |
|
|
|
861 So if a person wants a new feature, |
|
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|
862 all that's needed is a program on at least two endpoints and said feature exists—there's no need to inform the rest of the network of it, |
|
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|
863 as long as the “dumb network” can do its job and sling the data between the two endpoints. |
|
|
|
864 Want an alternative to the web? |
|
|
|
865 <A CLASS="external" HREF="https://gemini.circumlunar.space/">Just do it</A>. |
|
|
|
866 Want an alternative to <ABBR TITLE="Internet Relay Chat">IRC</ABBR>? |
|
|
|
867 <A CLASS="external" HREF="https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-aim-1949607">Just</A> |
|
|
|
868 <A CLASS="external" HREF="https://www.jabber.org/">do</A> |
|
|
|
869 <A CLASS="external" HREF="https://www.signal.org/">it</A>.</P> |
|
|
|
870 |
|
|
|
871 <P>Second, |
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|
872 I have always had a hard time understanding why people keep insisting on writing bespoke web browsers in JavaScript that just show text, |
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|
873 when the user is already using a web browser has already been written to display text. |
|
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|
874 The poster child for this |
|
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|
875 (in my opinion) |
|
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|
876 is the <A CLASS="external" HREF="https://wiki.c2.com/">Portland Pattern Repository</A>, |
|
|
|
877 a large repository of programming wisdom, |
|
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|
878 that, |
|
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|
879 for whatever reason, |
|
|
|
880 Ward Cunningham |
|
|
|
881 (creator of the site) |
|
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|
882 felt that a normal web browser wasn't good enough to browse a text-only website and thus demands the latest and greatest in JavaScript conformance to view text. |
|
|
|
883 He's free to do so, |
|
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|
884 but I find it annoying that I can no longer read a site I enjoyed |
|
|
|
885 (and even contributed to), |
|
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|
886 just because I haven't updated my browser for the past twenty minutes. |
|
|
|
887 I'm not even asking to participate in editing the site any more, |
|
|
|
888 I just want to <EM>read</EM> it!</P> |
|
|
|
889 |
|
|
|
890 <P>And finally we get to the John Carmack quote:</P> |
|
|
|
891 |
|
|
|
892 <BLOCKQUOTE CITE="https://twitter.com/id_aa_carmack/status/1350672098029694998"> |
|
|
|
893 |
|
|
|
894 <P>It is amusing to consider how much of the world you could serve |
|
|
|
895 something like Twitter to from a single beefy server if it really |
|
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|
896 was just shuffling tweet sized buffers to network offload cards. |
|
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|
897 Smart clients instead of web pages could make a very large |
|
|
|
898 difference.</P> |
|
|
|
899 |
|
|
|
900 <P CLASS="cite"><CITE><A CLASS="external" HREF="https://twitter.com/id_aa_carmack/status/1350672098029694998">John Carmack Tweet</A></CITE></P> |
|
|
|
901 |
|
|
|
902 </BLOCKQUOTE> |
|
|
|
903 |
|
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|
904 <P>Oh crap.</P> |
|
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905 |
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906 <P>“Smart clients”—“smart edge.” </P> |
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907 |
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908 <P>“Web pages”—“data.” </P> |
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909 |
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910 <P>My dislike of the Portland Pattern Repository just got ran over by my liking of dumb networks and smart edges.</P> |
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911 |
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912 <P>Ward Cunningham wants a smarter edge to view his site |
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913 (and to “improve server performance” if you read the comments in the web page returned from the site) |
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914 and I can't begrudge him that—<EM>I</EM> like smart edges! |
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915 It makes more sense to me than a smart network. |
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916 But at the same time, |
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917 I want a web site to just return text to a “dumb browser,” |
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918 even if the browser I'm using is not particularly dumb.</P> |
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919 |
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920 <P>Do we, |
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921 in fact, |
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922 have too much intelligence in web servers? |
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923 Do we want to push all the intelligence to the client? |
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924 Do I have to reconcile my love of simple web clients and intelligent web servers with my love of the dumb network and smart edges? |
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925 (And to spell it out—the “network” in this analogy is the web server and the “edge” is the web browser) |
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926 Where does the simplicity need to reside?</P> |
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927 </content> |
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928 </entry> |
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929 <entry> |
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930 <id>tag:boston.conman.org,2023-01-08:/2023/01/08.1</id> |
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931 <title type="text">Today's date happens more frequently on Sunday than any other day of the week</title> |
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932 <updated>2023-01-08T05:25:22Z</updated> |
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933 <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" hreflang="en-US" href="https://boston.conman.org/2023/01/08.1" /> |
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934 <link rel="alternate" type="text/gemini" hreflang="en-US" href="gemini://gemini.conman.org/boston/2023/01/08.1" /> |
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935 <link rel="alternate" type="text/plain" hreflang="en-US" href="gopher://gopher.conman.org/0Phlog:2023/01/08.1" /> |
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936 <category term="frequency of dates on days of weeks"/> |
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937 <category term="somebody's birthday"/> |
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938 |
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939 <content type="html"><P><A CLASS="local" HREF="/2018/01/08.1">Five years ago</A>, |
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940 I posted that January 8<SUP>th</SUP> is less like to occur on Monday. |
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941 At the time, |
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942 I just accepted it, |
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943 but when I recently came across that post a few days ago, |
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944 I figured I should actually see if that's true. |
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945 I ran the numbers from 1583 |
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946 (the first full year under the Gregorian calendar) to now:</P> |
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947 |
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948 <TABLE> |
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949 <CAPTION>Number of times January 8<SUP>th</SUP> fell on a day of the week, since 1583</CAPTION> |
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950 <TBODY> |
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951 <TR><TD>Sunday</TD> <TD CLASS="num">65</TD></TR> |
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952 <TR><TD>Friday</TD> <TD CLASS="num">64</TD></TR> |
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953 <TR><TD>Tuesday</TD> <TD CLASS="num">64</TD></TR> |
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954 <TR><TD>Wednesday</TD> <TD CLASS="num">63</TD></TR> |
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955 <TR><TD>Thursday</TD> <TD CLASS="num">62</TD></TR> |
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956 <TR><TD>Saturday</TD> <TD CLASS="num">62</TD></TR> |
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957 <TR><TD>Monday</TD> <TD CLASS="num">61</TD></TR> |
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958 </TBODY> |
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959 </TABLE> |
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960 |
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961 |
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962 <P>What are the odds I'd find this result on a Sunday? |
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963 <SPAN CLASS="comments">[High, given your results. —Editor]</SPAN> |
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964 <SPAN CLASS="comments">[Har har. —Sean]</SPAN> |
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965 I was expecting the results to be nearly equal. |
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966 I also find it funny that the actual average, |
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967 63, |
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968 happens on Wednesday, |
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969 the most average day of the week |
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970 (you see, Wednesday being in the middle of the week and the average is … oh bother!). |
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971 I wonder what causes this?</P> |
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972 </content> |
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973 </entry> |
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974 <entry> |
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975 <id>tag:boston.conman.org,2023-01-06:/2023/01/06.1</id> |
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976 <title type="text">“The street finds its own uses for things.”</title> |
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977 <updated>2023-01-09T03:18:26Z</updated> |
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978 <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" hreflang="en-US" href="https://boston.conman.org/2023/01/06.1" /> |
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979 <link rel="alternate" type="text/gemini" hreflang="en-US" href="gemini://gemini.conman.org/boston/2023/01/06.1" /> |
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980 <link rel="alternate" type="text/plain" hreflang="en-US" href="gopher://gopher.conman.org/0Phlog:2023/01/06.1" /> |
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981 <category term="Gemini"/> |
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982 <category term="toxic Gemini community"/> |
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983 <category term="naysayers"/> |
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984 <category term="Gemini support"/> |
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985 <category term="William Gibson quote"/> |
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986 |
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987 <content type="html"><P>There's a little bit of pushback on the whole <A CLASS="external" HREF="https://codeberg.org/bacardi55/gemini-mentions-rfc">Gemini mentions</A> concept. |
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988 Sandra wrote:</P> |
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989 |
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990 <BLOCKQUOTE CITE="gemini://idiomdrottning.org/gem-mentions" TITLE="Gemini mention, an ongoing discussion"> |
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991 |
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992 <P>I had Atom and was pretty happy with that and people were like |
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993 “why don’t you implement Gemini too” and I did and it was a bee and |
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994 a half because back then almost no Gemini server supported different |
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995 languages for different pages without serious hoops and then gmisub |
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996 and then broken redirects and then dir traversal and then this and |
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997 then that and then the other and after a while it’s all hacking and |
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998 no writing.</P> |
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999 |
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1000 <P>…</P> |
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1001 |
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1002 <P>I really, really don’t wanna implement this and that means either |
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1003 there’s a non-zero amount of grumpy grognards who don’t wanna do it |
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1004 (in which case you’re gonna have to use the other methods anyway, |
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1005 like Cosmos), so there’s no point in doing it, or I’m gonna get |
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1006 dragged kicking and screaming into doing it which I really hope does |
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1007 not happen.</P> |
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1008 |
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1009 <P>I think bacardi55 is cool and I haven’t wanted to say anything about |
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1010 the project out of the “if you can’ [sic] say anything nice…” principle |
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1011 but then it seemed as if it were picking up steam and getting |
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1012 implemented.</P> |
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1013 |
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1014 <P CLASS="cite"><CITE><A CLASS="external" HREF="gemini://idiomdrottning.org/gem-mentions">Gemini mention, an ongoing discussion</A></CITE></P> |
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1015 |
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1016 </BLOCKQUOTE> |
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1017 |
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1018 <P>I'm not familiar with the “was a bee and a half” idiom, |
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1019 but I suspect it means something like “annoying,” |
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1020 given the context. |
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1021 And if supporting Gemini was “annoying” then why even continue with it? |
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1022 The issues brought up, |
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1023 like the lack of per-page language support, |
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1024 were found by people trying to use Gemini, |
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1025 finding issues, |
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1026 and solving the issues. |
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1027 It would have been easy for most of the issues to be ignored, |
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1028 thanks to Gemini's “simplicity of implementatin <SPAN LANG="de" TITLE="above all">über alles</SPAN>.” |
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1029 That would not have been a good idea long term, |
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1030 and thus, |
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1031 Gemini gets complex.</P> |
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1032 |
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1033 <P>And Gemini mentions aren't mandatory, |
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1034 just like not every website supports <A CLASS="external" HREF="https://www.w3.org/TR/webmention/">webmentions</A>. |
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1035 Don't like it? |
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1036 Don't bother with it. |
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1037 Taken to the limit, |
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1038 “I really hope does not happen” applied to Gemini means Gemini doesn't exist |
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1039 (and there are plenty of people who questioned the concept of Gemini).</P> |
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1040 |
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1041 <P>And as bacardi55 said:</P> |
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1042 |
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1043 <BLOCKQUOTE CITE="gemini://gmi.bacardi55.io/gemlog/2022/02/28/why-did-i-work-on-gemini-mention/" TITLE="Why did I work on gemini mention"> |
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1044 |
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1045 <P>The main reason I "jumped" into this "issue" can be reduced to one sentence: I did it for <EM>me</EM> :)</P> |
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1046 |
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1047 <P CLASS="cite"><CITE><A CLASS="external" HREF="gemini://gmi.bacardi55.io/gemlog/2022/02/28/why-did-i-work-on-gemini-mention/">Why did I work on gemini mention</A></CITE></P> |
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1048 |
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|
1049 </BLOCKQUOTE> |
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1050 |
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1051 <P>If others find it useful, |
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1052 so be it. |
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1053 <!-- And at times, I find the Gemini community to be rather toxic. I'm trying to avoid that myself. --> |
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1054 As William Gibson said: “The street finds its own uses for things.” |
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|
1055 Besides, |
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1056 given my past experience with the Gemini community<!-- who tend to crucify those that do the actual programming -->, |
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1057 I think there will be only two sites supporting Gemini mentions.</P> |
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|
1058 </content> |
|
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|
1059 </entry> |
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1060 <entry> |
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|
1061 <id>tag:boston.conman.org,2023-01-04:/2023/01/04.1</id> |
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|
1062 <title type="text">Thoughts on an implementation of Gemini mentions</title> |
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1063 <updated>2023-01-04T21:09:54Z</updated> |
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1064 <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" hreflang="en-US" href="https://boston.conman.org/2023/01/04.1" /> |
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1065 <link rel="alternate" type="text/gemini" hreflang="en-US" href="gemini://gemini.conman.org/boston/2023/01/04.1" /> |
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|
1066 <link rel="alternate" type="text/plain" hreflang="en-US" href="gopher://gopher.conman.org/0Phlog:2023/01/04.1" /> |
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|
1067 <category term="programming"/> |
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1068 <category term="Gemini mentions"/> |
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1069 |
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|
1070 <content type="html"><P>The <A CLASS="local" HREF="/2023/01/02.2">other day</A> I didn't have much to say about the <A CLASS="external" HREF="https://codeberg.org/bacardi55/gemini-mentions-rfc">Gemini Mentions</A> proposal. |
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|
1071 Now that I've implemented it for my Gemini site |
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1072 (the <A CLASS="site" HREF="gemini://gemini.conman.org/extensions/GLV-1/handlers/mention.lua">code</A> has been upated extensively since the other day), |
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|
1073 <A CLASS="external" HREF="gemini://gmi.bacardi55.io/gemlog/2023/01/03/gemini-mention-coincidence/">I have more thoughts</A>.</P> |
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1074 |
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1075 <P>First, having the location locked to <CODE>/.well-known/mention</CODE> works fine for single-user sites, |
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|
1076 but it doesn't work that well for sites that host multiple users under a single domain. |
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1077 Alice who has pages under <CODE>gemini://example.com/alice/</CODE> and want to participate with Gemini mentions. |
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1078 So might Dave under <CODE>gemini://example.com/dave/</CODE>. |
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1079 Bob, |
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1080 who has pages under <CODE>gemini://example.com/bob/</CODE> doesn't care, |
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1081 nor does Carol, |
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1082 under <CODE>gemini://example.com/carol/</CODE>. |
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1083 How to manage <CODE>gemini://example.com/.well-known/mentions</CODE> where half the users want it, |
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1084 and the other half don't? |
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|
1085 Having the ability to specify individual endpoints, |
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1086 say with a <ABBR TITLE="Common Gateway Interface">CGI</ABBR> script, |
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|
1087 would at least let Alice and Dave participate without having to bug the <CODE>example.com</CODE> admin to install a service under a single location.</P> |
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1088 |
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|
1089 <P>Second, |
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1090 not every person may want to have every page to receive a mention. |
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|
1091 I know I don't—I want to restrict mentions to the blog portion of my Gemini site. |
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1092 The proposal only states that “a capsule owner MUST implement a basic endpoint: <CODE>/.well-known/mention</CODE>,” |
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|
1093 but it says nothing about limiting what pages can be the target of a mention. |
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1094 I suppose having a link to <CODE>/.well-known/mentions</CODE> on a page could indicate that page can receive mentions, |
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|
1095 but the implication is that the endpoint link doesn't have to be mentioned at all. |
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1096 For now, |
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1097 I just filter requests to my blog entries and for other pages I return a “bad request.” </P> |
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1098 |
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|
1099 <P>Third, |
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|
1100 I'm still unsure about sending a single <ABBR TITLE="Uniform Resource Indicator">URI</ABBR>. |
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1101 My implementation does scan the given <ABBR TITLE="Uniform Resource Indicator">URI</ABBR> for links to my blog, |
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1102 and will grab the first link that matches a blog entry from the <ABBR TITLE="Uniform Resource Indicator">URI</ABBR> |
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|
1103 (and ignores other links to my Gemini site—see point above). |
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1104 Sending in two links, |
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1105 as in a <A CLASS="external" HREF="https://www.w3.org/TR/webmention/">webmention</A> provides some form of check on the request.</P> |
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1106 |
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1107 <P>Fourth, |
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1108 I don't check for the “RE:” in the link text as I don't think it's needed. |
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1109 The specification implies it has to be “RE:” |
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1110 (in all caps), |
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1111 but I can see “Re:” and “re:” being used as well, |
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1112 because humans are going to human and be lazy |
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1113 (or trollish and use “rE:” just to mess with people; or not include it at |
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1114 all).</P> |
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1115 |
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1116 <P>I also did a <A CLASS="site" HREF="gemini://gemini.conman.org/extensions/GLV-1/handlers/mention.lua">second implemenation</A> that addresses all these points |
|
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|
1117 (and the <A CLASS="site" HREF="gemini://gemini.conman.org/extensions/GLV-1/handlers/gemmention.lua">code</A> for this version is very similar to the other one). |
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|
1118 I guess I'll see which one becomes more popular.</P> |
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1119 </content> |
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1120 </entry> |
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1121 |
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1122 |
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1123 </feed> |
|