IP4 padding came up recently: the ip command interprets 10.2 as
10.2.0.0, whereas most things (golang libraries, ping, ...) interpret
it as 10.0.0.2. The latter interpretation accords with what I learned
40y ago.
10.2 is ambiguous. In a network context, it means, typically,
10.2.0.0/16 (though your mileage may vary).
In a host context, it means 10.0.0.2. It's this confusion that has lead to many efforts
to outright kill this notation.
But, I find myself wondering: where was the first use of the IP4 zero
padding convention?
I know that it was around in the late 80s on TOPS-20 TCP/IP at Stanford, and in 4.2BSD (4.1c?). It may have also been in use at MIT. It's usage pre-dates my 1984 joining of the internet...
Warner