Java Glossary : hosts

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hosts
A file used in Windows to provide shortcuts for DNS to IP lookup. In Windows 95/98/ME it lives in C:\Windows\hosts.. In Windows NT/2000/XP, it is in C:\WINNT\system32\drivers\etc\hosts. The hosts. file needs to contain at least one entry: 127.0.0.1 localhost to let you access server apps on the local machine. You can maintain the file with a text editor, or for more automated error-free maintenance use TweakDun.

There are two reason to put an entry into the hosts. file.

  1. Because the name is not known to the DNS lookup system. It is a local name, or an IP without an official domain name.
    127.0.0.1 localhost
    192.168.2.1 router
  2. For speed. Hosts. lookup is faster than asking a DNS server on the net, e.g.
    24.87.56.253 mindprod.com
    The problem is, if the IP changes, the hosts file will not be automatically updated. You have manually update it or semi-automatically update it with TweakDUN.
DNS ¤ IP ¤ localhost ¤ TweakDUN

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You can get a fresh copy of this page from: or possibly from your local J: drive mirror:
http://mindprod.com/jgloss/hosts.html J:\mindprod\jgloss\hosts.html