Bug 272728 - inet(3) still mentions the VAX
Summary: inet(3) still mentions the VAX
Status: Closed FIXED
Alias: None
Product: Documentation
Classification: Unclassified
Component: Manual Pages (show other bugs)
Version: Latest
Hardware: Any Any
: --- Affects Many People
Assignee: freebsd-bugs (Nobody)
URL:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2023-07-26 06:36 UTC by Elizabeth Myers
Modified: 2023-08-10 13:39 UTC (History)
4 users (show)

See Also:


Attachments

Note You need to log in before you can comment on or make changes to this bug.
Description Elizabeth Myers 2023-07-26 06:36:40 UTC
I noticed this in the inet(4) manpage:

> When four parts are specified, each is interpreted as a byte of data and
> assigned, from left to right, to the four bytes of an Internet address.
> Note that when an Internet address is viewed as a 32-bit integer quantity
> on the VAX the bytes referred to above appear as “d.c.b.a”.  That is, VAX
> bytes are ordered from right to left."

A fascinating bit of historical trivia, but I'm afraid the VAX died before I was born, and I'm already in my 30's ;p. I don't think FreeBSD has even supported the VAX, ever, so this feels a little antique.

I would suggest changing it to little-endian, or just omitting the last two sentences entirely.

I realise this is a very minor bug, but it's still aesthetic and this should be updated.
Comment 1 Mina Galić freebsd_triage 2023-07-26 09:03:06 UTC
weird, i can't see that in any mention of VAX in any version of inet(4) on https://man.freebsd.org 

actually, the last release i see mentioning VAX in inet.4 is 5.1

base 4d721ca3aea80d74a1cad58d6c0cf9c1e6fbf717 removed it

so i don't know what you're reading your man pages on, but, you gotta move on 😅
Comment 2 Tom Hukins 2023-07-26 16:27:37 UTC
Although the original report mentions inet(4), the text cited appears in inet(3) and still exists in the main branch.
Comment 3 Mina Galić freebsd_triage 2023-07-26 16:37:38 UTC
reopening and fixing the title.
the description still mentions inet(4), but as long as we are using bugzilla, we'll have to live with not being able to edit certain things
Comment 4 commit-hook freebsd_committer freebsd_triage 2023-08-01 17:27:47 UTC
A commit in branch main references this bug:

URL: https://cgit.FreeBSD.org/src/commit/?id=89c762c815dae64a39221956070af549b11ceb80

commit 89c762c815dae64a39221956070af549b11ceb80
Author:     Ed Maste <emaste@FreeBSD.org>
AuthorDate: 2023-08-01 17:20:12 +0000
Commit:     Ed Maste <emaste@FreeBSD.org>
CommitDate: 2023-08-01 17:23:42 +0000

    inet.3: remove mention of VAX endianness

    Machine endianness is not very important in understanding the inet*
    functions; the endianness of the VAX is especially so.

    PR:             272728
    Sponsored by:   The FreeBSD Foundation

 lib/libc/net/inet.3 | 11 -----------
 1 file changed, 11 deletions(-)
Comment 5 commit-hook freebsd_committer freebsd_triage 2023-08-10 13:39:16 UTC
A commit in branch stable/13 references this bug:

URL: https://cgit.FreeBSD.org/src/commit/?id=8ae81fa9c4bc162bf505b80ef6e389d4e87ef6ec

commit 8ae81fa9c4bc162bf505b80ef6e389d4e87ef6ec
Author:     Ed Maste <emaste@FreeBSD.org>
AuthorDate: 2023-08-01 17:20:12 +0000
Commit:     Ed Maste <emaste@FreeBSD.org>
CommitDate: 2023-08-10 13:38:36 +0000

    inet.3: remove mention of VAX endianness

    Machine endianness is not very important in understanding the inet*
    functions; the endianness of the VAX is especially so.

    PR:             272728
    Sponsored by:   The FreeBSD Foundation

    (cherry picked from commit 89c762c815dae64a39221956070af549b11ceb80)

 lib/libc/net/inet.3 | 11 -----------
 1 file changed, 11 deletions(-)