[e2e] Are we doing sliding window in the Internet?

[Detlef Bosau]

Ian McDonald wrote:
>>
> You'll find that Linux is probably the most RFC compliant
> implementation of TCP. However Linux isn't perfect and the developers
> do as they want.
>
> I think the bigger issue is that there are academics in one corner and
> implementors in another and usually they are not the same people and
> often don't even talk to each other.


No.

I basically disagree.

Sounds similar to a paper last year which I criticized and the answer 
was: "You can publisch results yourself!"

Correctness is not proven by acclamation. And if some implementation is 
buggy or not standard compliant this is not healed by a large number of 
implementors who do something wrong.

Last year, I had some look at some networking code in the BSD kernel and 
much of it reminded me of code, I´ve seen in the NS2. And there have 
been comments with names. With authors. And from that I guess, that many 
of the "academics" have done a great deal of implementation work, 
particularly in the field of TCP.

In addition, computer science is an engineering discipline. And in 
engineering, you _first_ do research, _then_ you test your protocols, 
_then_ you write the standards if the tests yield convincing results and 
further implmentations are to follow the standards.

Period.

The other way round is some kind of trial and error.

I think, we all remember the well known fortune cookie "If builders 
built buildings like programmers write programs, any woodpecker that 
came along would destroy human civilization." That directly applies here.

I pesonally find it difficult to have always the "state of the art" i.e. 
the actual standards of TCP in mind, but this my problem and I have to 
deal with it. However, TCP is not a meritocratic or implmentocratic or 
commerciocratic election and the winner is M$ for today and Linux for 
tommorrow and afterwards it´s Novell, and then I once again see one of 
these funny "TCP probing" papers where some guys propose a sophisticated 
test suite which standards they follow, if any.

I strongly believe in sound scientific work and standards which are 
based on that. And from that, implementations are simply to follow the 
standards - no ifs and buts.

We have learned this in any other field of enginieriung but computer 
science. However, it´s necessary for computer science to achieve 
maturity to catch up with other disciplines here. And I say this from my 
own experience in professional life, because other engineers often 
ridicule about CS or even take it not seriously - for exactly this reason.

Detlef

> Linux is a meritocracy so if
> people from this list were to go over to the netdev mailing list and
> make a reasonable argument then it will get listened to.
>
> Ian