Re: [idn] Re: Alternative Solutions

["Maynard Kang" <maynard@pobox.org.sg>]

> > >Server-side ACE - ACE transformation takes place at server end
> >
> > If the transformation is done at the server, then the data travel from
the
> > client as binary.  How is that different from your second alternative?
> >
> > For that matter, why bother with an ACE transformation at that point?
> >
> > Please clarify.
>
> There are a number of reasons, including:
> - ACE domain can be used after the DNS, such as web & mail (part of the
> argument for using ACE)
> - ACE domain could be used for administration purposes, for sys admins to
> configure and edit zone files, etc.
> - will be able to transition to the "long-term" protocol extension
solution
> easily

Web & Mail involve the application layer. A DNS server-side ACE approach
would require that web and mail applications communicate in binary (ok,
8-bit, "binary" sounds a little ASCII-bigoted), and neither of these
applications are perfectly capable of doing this.

I always thought it has been established that the IDN problem does not lie
with the DNS protocol or RFC 1034/35, but rather, that the applications
will balk and die upon seeing "binary" data in places where it is not
supposed to appear.

maynard