On 5/19/05, John H. Robinson, IV <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Todd Walton wrote: > > Depending on what you mean by "network". I don't think of it as a > > network because it doesn't route anything. You take one message and > > send it to one person. > > You send one TCP packet to one system. Is TCP/IP not a network?
No. TCP/IP is a protocol used by the majority of networks. I suppose email *could* be a network. But generally, I think of a "network" as consisting of more than two nodes (webopedia disagrees) and as having some sort of routing capability. Perhaps email meets that. Network is variously defined as ==== m-w.com: a system of computers, terminals, and databases connected by communications lines whatis.com: a network is a series of points or nodes interconnected by communication paths webopedia.com: a group of two or more computer systems linked together en.wikipedia.com: a system for communication among two or more computers Wikipedia also says that email is: "a method of composing, sending, and receiving messages over electronic communication systems. Most e-mail systems today use the Internet." Implying that the network is something other than the email, something that the email is using. That's my two cents. The question may seem unimportant, but it strikes my fancy. What's a good general definition of "network"? One that matches the way that people use it. -todd -- [email protected] http://www.kernel-panic.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/kplug-list
