Host 20070128

Host is a complete and powerful command-line based DNS query and testing tool. The project has many of the same basic features as other similar tools such as nslookup and dig, but it has more extensive testing and test automation features. Host also has a much more standard (i.e. Unix-based) command-line user interface.
Main features:
- Major overhaul of the entire code.
- Very rigid error checking, with more verbose error messages.
- Zone listing section completely rewritten.
- It is now possible to do recursive listings into delegated zones.
- Maintain resource record statistics during zone listings.
- Maintain count of hosts during zone listings.
- Check for various extraneous conditions during zone listings.
- Check for illegal domain names containing invalid characters.
- Verify that certain domain names represent canonical host names.
- Perform TTL consistency checking during zone listings.
- Exploit multiple server addresses if available.
- Option to exploit only primary server for zone transfers.
- Option to exclude info from names that do not reside in a zone.
- Implement timeout handling during connect and read.
- Write resource record output to optional log file.
- Special MB tracing by recursively expanding MR and MG records.
- Special mode to check SOA records at each nameserver for a zone.
- Special mode to check reverse mappings of host addresses.
- Extended syntax allows multiple arguments on command line or stdin.
- Configurable default options in HOST_DEFAULTS environment variable.
- Implement new resource record types from RFC 1183 and 1348.
- Basic experimental NSAP support as defined in RFC 1637.
- Implement new resource record types from RFC 1664 and 1712.
- Implement new resource record types from RFC 1876 and 1886.
- Code is extensively documented.
Enhancements:
- This release introduces some minor bugfixes and cleanup to the address/hostname verification (host -A) code.