Which metaphor best describes the domain name system to a young child?

Which metaphor best describes the domain name system to a young child?

• A. A weather forecast
• B. The domain name system is like a phone book for the internet.
• C. The library catalog
• D. A calendar

Answer: (B)

Think about how we find websites: we remember a friendly name, and the system turns that name into the address computers need. The domain name system does exactly that, like a phone book for the internet. You look up a domain name—like a web address—and it gives you the IP address, the actual numbers the computers use to connect. That translation from a easy-to-remember name into a machine-friendly address is what makes this metaphor fit so well. Other ideas miss that look-up of a name to an address: a weather forecast talks about weather, not how to reach a site; a library catalog helps you find a book but not how to reach its online location; a calendar is about dates, not addresses. So a phone book captures the essential idea of turning names into numbers to reach the right computer.

Think about how we find websites: we remember a friendly name, and the system turns that name into the address computers need. The domain name system does exactly that, like a phone book for the internet. You look up a domain name—like a web address—and it gives you the IP address, the actual numbers the computers use to connect. That translation from a easy-to-remember name into a machine-friendly address is what makes this metaphor fit so well. Other ideas miss that look-up of a name to an address: a weather forecast talks about weather, not how to reach a site; a library catalog helps you find a book but not how to reach its online location; a calendar is about dates, not addresses. So a phone book captures the essential idea of turning names into numbers to reach the right computer.