The top-level domain (TLD) you mentioned, XN—4DBRK0CE, is a result of the conversion process known as punycode. Punycode is a method used for converting domain names with specific characters from the Internationalized Domain Names (IDNS) system that are not supported in the ASCII-based Domain Name System (DNS). This process is important because DNS only allows “a-z”, “0-9”, and “-”.
The term “XN—” is a prefix added to the ASCII string that the Unicode string translates to. The characters following the prefix “XN—” is the punycode representation of the Unicode characters in the domain name.
Now, the TLD you provided is in punycode and translates to “.שובו” which is the Hebrew representation.
Hebrew, being a non-Latin script, has its own unique Unicode identifiers. This is where the punycode process becomes essential, as it converts these unique Unicode characters into characters that the ASCII-based DNS can recognize. Thus, IDNs are a crucial advancement in the DNS because they allow non-English speakers to use and benefit from the Internet in their native languages without facing the language barrier that existed previously.
Internationalized domain names, particularly those with right-to-left directional scripts like Arabic, Hebrew, etc., present special challenges for domain system operations. Yet, it is crucial to have them for maintaining the worldwide reach and inclusivity of the internet.
Israel Internet Association (ISOC-IL) is responsible for managing such Hebrew domain names. It is the official regulatory authority delegated by ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). They have been managing the country’s national domain “.il” since 1994, and in 2010 they introduced the Hebrew TLD “.ישראל” (i.e., .israel in English) along with offering Hebrew IDNs.
However, it is essential to note that the use of non-Latin script TLDs is still in a phase of adaptation and worldwide acceptance, primarily due to most systems being traditionally oriented towards Latin-alphabet domain names.
Sources:
1. Input from: Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)
2. Beijen, Herman (2021). “Internationalized Domain Names: Challenges and Opportunities”.
3. Israel Internet Association (ISOC-IL)
4. ICANN Laboratory.
5. Hoffman, P., & Sullivan, A. (2003). “RFC 3490 – Internationalizing Domain Names in Applications (IDNA)”.
6. Faltstrom, P. (2003). “RFC 3492 – Punycode: A Bootstring encoding of Unicode for Internationalized Domain Names in Applications (IDNA)”.
