Perl DNS Resolver Module
========================

Copyright (c) 1997 Michael Fuhr.  All rights reserved.  This program is free
software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as
Perl itself. 

  *** THIS VERSION OF Net::DNS IS FOR TESTING AND STILL CONTAINS BUGS ***

Please see the BUGS section for more information.


DESCRIPTION
===========

Net::DNS is a Perl interface to the DNS resolver.  It allows the
programmer to perform any type of DNS query from a Perl script.  For
details and examples, please read the Net::DNS manual page.

To read about the latest features, see the Changes file.  To find out
what's planned for future versions, see the TODO file.

As of version 0.02, Net::DNS is written entirely in Perl.  Version 0.01
was written mostly in C and used the system's resolver.  The Perl
version runs quite a bit slower, but considering that the network can
be a serious bottleneck when making DNS queries, the speed difference
may not really matter in most cases.  However, future versions may
contain some C for those who wish to link against libresolv or libbind.

The author invites feedback on the module, particularly at this early
stage of its development.  If there's something you'd like to have added,
please let me know.  If you find a bug, please send me the information
described in the BUGS section below.

You can get the latest version of Net::DNS from one of the following
sites:

    http://www.perl.org/CPAN/modules/by-module/Net/
    http://www.dimensional.com/~mfuhr/perldns/


REQUIREMENTS
============

Net::DNS requires the following:

    Perl 5.003
    IO-1.15

Net::DNS may work with earlier versions of the above, but the author
hasn't tested this.  The latest versions can be obtained from the
Comprehensive Perl Archive Network (CPAN):

    http://www.perl.org/CPAN/

Some of the demonstration scripts may require additional modules.  See
demo/README for details.


INSTALLATION
============

Please install any modules mentioned in the REQUIREMENTS section above.
If you don't, Net::DNS won't work.  When you run "perl Makefile.PL",
Perl should complain if any of the required modules are missing.

To build this module, run the following commands:

    perl Makefile.PL
    make
    make test
    make install


RUNNING TESTS
=============

There aren't many tests in this version.  Part of the problem is
creating a test suite to work on systems both with and without
Internet connectivity.  Future versions of this module will have
more tests but will probably require some site-specific configuration
before running them.

The author does run additional tests against customized zone data
on a private nameserver, but these tests aren't included in the
distribution.


DEMONSTRATION SCRIPTS
=====================

There are a few demonstration scripts in the demo/ directory.  See
demo/README for more info.

The author would be happy to include any contributed scripts in
future versions of this module.  All I ask is that they be documented
(preferably using POD) and that the contributor's name and contact
information be mentioned somewhere.


BUGS
====

The module is still in its early stages and is sure to contain a
few bugs.  See the TODO and Changes files for more info.

If you find a bug, please report it to the author along with the
following information:

    * version of Perl
    * version of Net::DNS
    * version of IO
    * operating system type and version
    * version of nameserver (if known)
    * exact text of error message or description of problem
    * the shortest possible program that exhibits the problem
    * the specific queries you're making, if the data is available
      to Internet nameservers

If I don't have access to a system similar to yours, I may ask you
to insert some debugging lines and report back on the results.
The more help and information you can provide, the better.


AUTHOR
======

Michael Fuhr
mfuhr@dimensional.com
http://www.dimensional.com/~mfuhr/

$Id: README,v 1.6 1997/05/29 21:49:20 mfuhr Exp $