hostname

hostname
sitename

   1. (Or "sitename").  The unique name by which a computer is
   known on a {network}, used to identify it in {electronic
   mail}, {Usenet} {news}, or other forms of electronic
   information interchange.

   On the {Internet} the hostname is an {ASCII} string,
   e.g. "foldoc.doc.ic.ac.uk" which, consists of a local part
   (foldoc) and a {domain} name (doc.ic.ac.uk).  The hostname is
   translated into an {Internet address} either via the {hosts
   file}, {NIS} or by the {Domain Name System} (DNS) or
   {resolver}.  It is possible for one computer to have several
   hostnames (aliases) though one is designated as its
   {canonical} name.

   It is often possible to guess a hostname for a particular
   institution.  This is useful if you want to know if they
   operate network services like {anonymous FTP}, {World-Wide
   Web} or {finger}.  First try the institution's name or obvious
   abbreviations thereof, with the appropriate {domain} appended,
   e.g. "mit.edu".  If this fails, prepend "ftp." or "www." as
   appropriate, e.g. "www.data-io.com".  You can use the {ping}
   command as a quick way to test whether a hostname is valid.

   The folklore interest of hostnames stems from the creativity
   and humour they often display.  Interpreting a sitename is not
   unlike interpreting a vanity licence plate; one has to
   mentally unpack it, allowing for mono-case and length
   restrictions and the lack of whitespace.  Hacker tradition
   deprecates dull, institutional-sounding names in favour of
   punchy, humorous, and clever coinages (except that it is
   considered appropriate for the official public gateway machine
   of an organisation to bear the organisation's name or
   acronym).  Mythological references, cartoon characters, animal
   names, and allusions to SF or fantasy literature are probably
   the most popular sources for sitenames (in roughly descending
   order).  The obligatory comment is Harris's Lament: "All the
   good ones are taken!"

   See also {network address}.

   2. {Berkeley} {Unix} command to set and get the application
   level name used by the host.

   {Unix manual page}: hostname(1).

   (1995-02-16)