4.3BSD hostname case insensitivity

[David Elliott]

In 4.3BSD, the code to get the host table entries using the hostname
(gethostbyname()) first takes the characters in the hostname and
turns them all into lower case. (This applies to the database version
of gethostbyname() and to the code used when the nameserver is not
running. I didn't check the nameserver code.)

We have had customer complaints saying that they need to be able to
have case-sensitivity in hostnames.

Is there any reason that one of the following could not be done?

	1. Allow case-sensitivity in hostnames by removing the upper/lower
	   case conversion.

	2. Change the routines to understand either case. That is, have
	   hostname "MyHoSt" be the same as "myhost".

Is there a definitive document describing exactly what a hostname can be
and what it means (please, no replies referring to include files; I know
what they say about length and so forth)?

			David Elliott
			MIPS Computer Systems, Inc.
			decwrl!mips!dce