Basic question about terminal (the name that shows up after opening)

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Just curious as to why every time I open Terminal, there is a different name preceding ~John$

Here are some examples:
wks50633:~John$
iMac:~John$
Brooke-PC:~John$
localhost:~John$

What is the name, and why does it change?

 

[boast]

the hostname of the computer. It changes because a different DHCP server assigns it a different name.

 

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the hostname of the computer. It changes because a different DHCP server assigns it a different name.

Thanks.

 

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wait, so the DHCP thing changed the hostname to teh-pwnerer ? Does it just have a big list of names to randomly assign to computers?

 

[boast]

The DHCP gets the name from the DNS, which maintains the records of all the IPs and hostnames. The DHCP can also update DNS with a hostname on behalf of the client.

Does it just have a big list of names to randomly assign to computers?

The DNS would have a list of A records for assigning hostnames to IPs.