Editing Symbolics (section)

==Networking==
Genera also featured the most extensive networking interoperability software seen to that point. A [[local area network]] system called [[Chaosnet]] had been invented for the Lisp Machine (predating the commercial availability of [[Ethernet]]). The Symbolics system supported Chaosnet, but also had one of the first [[Internet protocol suite|TCP/IP]] implementations. It also supported [[DECnet]] and IBM's [[Systems Network Architecture|SNA]] network protocols. A Dialnet protocol used phone lines and [[modem]]s. Genera would, using hints from its distributed ''[[namespace]]'' [[database]] (somewhat similar to [[Domain Name System]] (DNS), but more comprehensive, like parts of Xerox's Grapevine), automatically select the best protocol combination to use when connecting to network service. An application program (or a user command) would only specify the name of the host and the desired service. For example, a host name and a request for "Terminal Connection" might yield a connection over TCP/IP using the [[Telnet]] protocol (although there were many other possibilities). Likewise, requesting a file operation (such as a Copy File command) might pick [[Network File System (protocol)|NFS]], [[File Transfer Protocol|FTP]], NFILE (the Symbolics network file access protocol), or one of several others, and it might execute the request over TCP/IP, Chaosnet, or whatever other network was most suitable.