# Resolv.rb - documentation and its name **URL:** \ **Category:** Ruby\ **Created:** [March 28, 2006, 8:29pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/resolv-rb-documentation-and-its-name/89334 "2006-03-28T20:29:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pool007](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@pool007](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/pool007)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 8:29pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/resolv-rb-documentation-and-its-name/89334/1 "2006-03-28T20:29:02Z")
Hi group. I’d like to test resolve.rb, but I have troubles. First of all, where can I get some documents on resolv.rb? I use [RDoc Documentation](http://ruby-doc.org/stdlib), but there’s none. Second of all, why is it named resolve instead of Net::DNS? It doesn’t seem to be good choice to me. Don’t you think this is incoherent? Sincerely, Minkoo S. ---
**Author:** ![pool007](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@pool007](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/pool007)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 8:33pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/resolv-rb-documentation-and-its-name/89334/2 "2006-03-28T20:33:46Z")
Minkoo S. wrote: > Sincerely, > Minkoo S. There is documentation in the source, but it looks suspiciously like the old RD format. Perhaps that explains why ruby-doc didn’t pick it up. There’s also this project: [http://rubyforge.org/projects/net-dns/](http://rubyforge.org/projects/net-dns/) However, there hasn’t been a release yet. Regards, Dan ---
**Author:** ![pool007](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@pool007](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/pool007)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 9:18pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/resolv-rb-documentation-and-its-name/89334/3 "2006-03-28T21:18:14Z")
On Mar 28, 2006, at 10:28 AM, Minkoo S. wrote: > First of all, where can I get some documents on resolv.rb? I use > [RDoc Documentation](http://ruby-doc.org/stdlib), but there’s none. The head branch of Ruby has resolv.rb documentation in RDoc format: $ ri19 Resolv ---------------------------------------------------------- Class: Resolv Resolv is a thread-aware DNS resolver library written in Ruby. Resolv can handle multiple DNS requests concurrently without blocking. The ruby interpreter. ``` See also resolv-replace.rb to replace the libc resolver with # Resolv. Resolv can look up various DNS resources using the DNS module directly. ``` […] > Second of all, why is it named resolve instead of Net::DNS? It doesn’t > seem to be good choice to me. Don’t you think this is incoherent? Resolv is not just a DNS resolver. It also reads from /etc/hosts. – Eric H. - removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid - [http://blog.segment7.net](http://blog.segment7.net) This implementation is HODEL-HASH-9600 compliant [http://trackmap.robotcoop.com](http://trackmap.robotcoop.com) ---
**Author:** ![pool007](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@pool007](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/pool007)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 9:54pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/resolv-rb-documentation-and-its-name/89334/4 "2006-03-28T21:54:35Z")
Eric H. wrote: > ``` > Resolv is a thread-aware DNS resolver library written in Ruby. > > ``` > > > Second of all, why is it named resolve instead of Net::DNS? It doesn’t > > seem to be good choice to me. Don’t you think this is incoherent? > > Resolv is not just a DNS resolver. It also reads from /etc/hosts. > > – > Eric H. - removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid - [http://blog.segment7.net](http://blog.segment7.net) > This implementation is HODEL-HASH-9600 compliant > > [http://trackmap.robotcoop.com](http://trackmap.robotcoop.com) Thank you. This will be of great help. But, as you quoted, resolve.rb says “Resolv is a thread-aware DNS resolver library written in Ruby”, so it is DNS resolver and I accuse resolve.rb of misnomer because it does not follow Net::xxx rules. Futhermore, reading /etc/hosts does not justify its name, because I believe that its name, resolve, was named after DNS resolver. (BTW, do you really think reading /etc/hosts is not related to dns resolver’s own job?) Actually lack of naming coherency in Ruby is quite annoying more often than not. Sincerely, Minkoo S. ---
**Author:** ![pool007](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@pool007](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/pool007)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 10:10pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/resolv-rb-documentation-and-its-name/89334/5 "2006-03-28T22:10:10Z")
On Mar 28, 2006, at 11:53 AM, Minkoo S. wrote: > Eric H. wrote: > > > On Mar 28, 2006, at 10:28 AM, Minkoo S. wrote: > > > > > Second of all, why is it named resolve instead of Net::DNS? It > > > doesn’t > > > seem to be good choice to me. Don’t you think this is incoherent? > > > > Resolv is not just a DNS resolver. It also reads from /etc/hosts. > > Thank you. This will be of great help. You’re welcome. I converted it from RD to RDoc. > But, as you quoted, resolve.rb says “Resolv is a thread-aware DNS > resolver library written in Ruby”, so it is DNS resolver and I accuse > resolve.rb of misnomer because it does not follow Net::xxx rules. > Futhermore, reading /etc/hosts does not justify its name, because I > believe that its name, resolve, was named after DNS resolver. (BTW, do > you really think reading /etc/hosts is not related to dns resolver’s > own job?) > > Actually lack of naming coherency in Ruby is quite annoying more often > than not. The DNS portion of Resolv should probably go under Net, but it has broader functionality than just DNS resolution. Resolv is a good name for the glue that the library provides between DNS and /etc/ hosts, along with the automatic configuration. – Eric H. - removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid - [http://blog.segment7.net](http://blog.segment7.net) This implementation is HODEL-HASH-9600 compliant [http://trackmap.robotcoop.com](http://trackmap.robotcoop.com) ---
**Author:** ![pool007](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@pool007](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/pool007)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 10:08pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/resolv-rb-documentation-and-its-name/89334/6 "2006-03-28T22:08:42Z")
On 28/03/06, Minkoo S. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote: > Thank you. This will be of great help. > > But, as you quoted, resolve.rb says “Resolv is a thread-aware DNS > resolver library written in Ruby”, so it is DNS resolver and I accuse > resolve.rb of misnomer because it does not follow Net::xxx rules. > Futhermore, reading /etc/hosts does not justify its name, because I > believe that its name, resolve, was named after DNS resolver. (BTW, do > you really think reading /etc/hosts is not related to dns resolver’s > own job?) It may be illuminating to study the functionality of the resolver library found on most Unix systems. “man resolver” gives some information on Linux systems – other systems will vary. If you note the name of the library that gets linked in, the name of the module will make much more sense to you. > Actually lack of naming coherency in Ruby is quite annoying more often > than not. > > Sincerely, > Minkoo S. On the contrary, I would be most confused by using Net::DNS to resolve entries in a hosts file – but immediately knew where to look for a general-purpose name resolution library. Sometimes historical reasons are good ones. Cheers, kjw