DNS and WINS integration does not enable efficient DNS "reverse lookup." Both the DNS server and the host being located are involved when a reverse lookup is requested for a WINS client since the DNS server does a NetBIOS node adapter status lookup to resolve this IP address to a name. If DNS dynamic update was a released RFC and was used instead of WINS integration, reverse lookup would be more efficient and involve only the DNS servers.
Non-Microsoft-based hosts do not register in WINS and therefore can not "dynamically register" in DNS. If true DNS dynamic update was supported by Microsoft's DNS server, non-Microsoft-based hosts, that supported dynamic DNS, would be able to register in the Microsoft DNS and Microsoft-based hosts could dynamically register in non-Microsoft DNS that supported the DNS dynamic update standard.
WINS registration is not secure and it would be difficult to make it secure. The IETF is working to complete a standard for adding security to DNS dynamic update. The DNS security standard in not scheduled to enter IETF standards track until the fourth quarter of 1996.
Though DNS dynamic update is not yet an IETF standard, some implementations already exist. Microsoft has chosen to wait until this is standardized in order to minimize impact on our customers if changes were made before the standard was released.
While WINS is actually based on IETF standards (RFC 1001, 1002), its NetBIOS "roots" have resulted in very limited acceptance by IETF and the UNIX community. The DNS and WINS integration is not standards based and is therefore not accepted.
There is currently no way to programmatically query the DNS database other than gethostbyname(). It is currently not possible to do things such as programmatically query the DNS for an MX record.