[Info-vax] An alternative history of computing

[Simon Clubley]

On 2021-07-25, Arne Vajhøj <arne at vajhoej.dk> wrote:
> On 7/25/2021 8:41 PM, Simon Clubley wrote:
>> 
>> Those lower levels exist to provide services to the higher application
>> levels. There is an expected set of core functionality at application
>> level in order for a protocol to be useful and you can't call something
>> open if you can't implement that expected set of functionality using the
>> public standards.
>
> But you can implement whatever functionality you want.
>
> It may just not be compatible with somebody elses
> proprietary implementation.
>
> Let us take TCP/IP and database access protocol. Let
> us assume that Oracle's protocol is a closed while
> PostgreSQL's protocol is open. Then you can implement
> a PostgreSQL compatible database server or a PostgreSQL
> client, but you can't do the same for Oracle.
>
> And that means absolutely nothing for whether
> TCP/IP is open or not.
>

But they are not considered to be part of the core TCP/IP stack.

Everything that ships as part of a TCP/IP stack (including SSH,
Telnet, FTP, SMTP, etc) has a public specification that goes
with it.

However, not everything that ships as part of the DECnet stack
on VMS has a public specification that goes with it.

(And don't forget in addition that the public CTERM specification
is missing the VMS specific bits.)

Simon.

-- 
Simon Clubley, clubley at remove_me.eisner.decus.org-Earth.UFP
Walking destinations on a map are further away than they appear.