Automatic selection of IPv4 vs IPv6 sockets when using DNS names
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- Dominant language
- TypeScript
- Stars
- 552
- Forks
- 154
- PR merge metrics
- No merged PRs in 30d
Description
This supersedes https://github.com/JKRhb/node-red-contrib-coap/issues/15.
Currently, the API of node-coap requires you to select whether you want to create a v4 or a v6 socket; this property is inherited from the dgram.socket APIs. However, when connecting via a DNS name, this should be automatically selected based on the DNS records that are found. If I send something to coap://lamp1a/lamp/dimming, and lamp1a returns an AAAA record, the API of node-coap should be able to auto-select a v6 socket. Manually selecting v4/v6 should only be a thing for listening sockets, not for sending sockets.
That said, the NodeJS dgram.createSocket API doesn't seem to comprehend this. I am not sure how this should be solved in NodeJS, especially since the socket.send API allows to supply a hostname. It seems to me that DNS lookups and connection management should be handled outside of the dgram API.
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start by reading the NodeJS dgram.createSocket and socket.send APIs linked in the issue, then inspect the current node-coap sending path to see where socket-family selection occurs. Define the expected behavior for DNS names with A and AAAA records, including how sending and listening sockets differ, before identifying tests that can verify completion.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- node.js, typescript
- Domain
- networking
- Issue type
- Feature
- Difficulty
- 5/5
- Estimated time
- Over a week
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Needs clarification
- Newbie friendliness
- 25/100