[db-wg] missing data

In message <afed0e34-a686-5d1d-6e8c-ea6e95adf0fc at ripe.net>, 
Anand Buddhdev <anandb at ripe.net> wrote:

>On 05/11/2020 14:12, Ronald F. Guilmette via db-wg wrote:
>> Can someone (anyone) please explain to me why the following file does not
>> exist?
>> 
>> ftp://ftp.ripe.net/pub/zones/185.in-addr.arpa-RIPE
>> 
>> Who is responsible for generating the files in this directory?  What is the
>> process by which they are generated?  What went wrong and who is going to
>> fix it?
>
>The files in https://ftp.ripe.net/pub/zones/ are generated by the RIPE
>NCC's reverse DNS provisioning system. The files published there are
>"zonelet" files. They are meant to contain reverse DNS delegation
>information for address space registered in the RIPE Database, but whose
>parent zone operator is another RIR. For example, 192.in-addr.arpa is
>operated by ARIN, but there are various address ranges in 192/8
>registered in the RIPE Database. So we publish the DNS information in
>the "192.in-addr.arpa-RIPE" file. ARIN fetches this file periodically to
>import the data in it into 192.in-addr.arpa.
>
>In contrast, 185/8 has been assigned to RIPE NCC by the IANA. So RIPE
>NCC operates 185.in-addr.arpa. We have no reason to publish a zone file
>for it on our FTP/HTTPS server.

I submit to you that it would be more convenient and more consistant if
you did do so anyway.

>You can query this zone's name servers
>directly if you want to see delegation information.
>...
>dig 185.in-addr.arpa axfr @pri.authdns.ripe.net > 185.in-addr.arpa.zone

So let me see if understand this...

In order for me to fetch a full set of -all- RIPE-generated reverse DNS
delegation information, I must use some combination of dig/axfr -and-
also and separately, FTP to fetch your "zonelets", yes?

Do I need to explain why this is more complicated and entirely less
convenient to script than just doing one or the other?

Sigh.

So I guess I now have to work out for myself, by a process of deduction,
which /8 blocks are -not- represented by zonelet files on your FTP server
so that I can then know which ones I have to do dig/axfr on.

(I wonder eternally why life has to be so complicated.  Today is no
different.)