Re: [idn] I fear I cannot use IDN in the next 10 years

[Dave Crocker <dhc@dcrocker.net>]

At 09:26 PM 10/4/2001, Eric A. Hall wrote:
> > For the same reasons people have been repeating on this list for the
> > past year. UTF-8 is the "native" encoding for a very small number of
> > people.
>
>Looking out the rear-view mirror, this is true. Looking out the
>front-windshield, this is not true.


no doubt your base of experience permits you to speak with such 
certitude.  those of us who have worked on Internet technology for less 
time, say only 20 or 30 years, find that such predictions are usually 
wrong.  sometimes right, but usually wrong.

However, in this case, it does not matter.

The physics of upgrading a large, infrastructure-critical service dictate a 
text-based encoding scheme.  Even better is that the performance (and 
storage) are not affected by the choice between UTF-8 or ACE.

It simply has no effect on significant system performance issues, other 
than transparency to the existing system... if an ACE is used.  UTF-8, on 
the other hand, will nicely break the existing system.

d/

ps.  please remember that "the system" is quite a bit more than the DNS 
servers.

----------
Dave Crocker  <mailto:dcrocker@brandenburg.com>
Brandenburg InternetWorking  <http://www.brandenburg.com>
tel +1.408.246.8253;  fax +1.408.273.6464