Gentoo Archives: gentoo-doc-cvs

From: "Sven Vermeulen (swift)" <swift@g.o>
To: gentoo-doc-cvs@l.g.o
Subject: [gentoo-doc-cvs] gentoo commit in xml/htdocs/doc/en/handbook: index.xml
Date: Fri, 23 Sep 2011 18:47:33
Message-Id: 20110923184705.6772A20035@flycatcher.gentoo.org
1 swift 11/09/23 18:47:05
2
3 Modified: index.xml
4 Log:
5 Support request in bug #232358, hopefully aiding some confused users in picking the right architecture but without introducing information that becomes outdated quickly.
6
7 Revision Changes Path
8 1.78 xml/htdocs/doc/en/handbook/index.xml
9
10 file : http://sources.gentoo.org/viewvc.cgi/gentoo/xml/htdocs/doc/en/handbook/index.xml?rev=1.78&view=markup
11 plain: http://sources.gentoo.org/viewvc.cgi/gentoo/xml/htdocs/doc/en/handbook/index.xml?rev=1.78&content-type=text/plain
12 diff : http://sources.gentoo.org/viewvc.cgi/gentoo/xml/htdocs/doc/en/handbook/index.xml?r1=1.77&r2=1.78
13
14 Index: index.xml
15 ===================================================================
16 RCS file: /var/cvsroot/gentoo/xml/htdocs/doc/en/handbook/index.xml,v
17 retrieving revision 1.77
18 retrieving revision 1.78
19 diff -u -r1.77 -r1.78
20 --- index.xml 4 Sep 2011 17:53:42 -0000 1.77
21 +++ index.xml 23 Sep 2011 18:47:05 -0000 1.78
22 @@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
23 <?xml version='1.0' encoding="UTF-8"?>
24 <!DOCTYPE guide SYSTEM "/dtd/guide.dtd">
25
26 -<!-- $Header: /var/cvsroot/gentoo/xml/htdocs/doc/en/handbook/index.xml,v 1.77 2011/09/04 17:53:42 swift Exp $ -->
27 +<!-- $Header: /var/cvsroot/gentoo/xml/htdocs/doc/en/handbook/index.xml,v 1.78 2011/09/23 18:47:05 swift Exp $ -->
28
29 <guide>
30 <title>Gentoo Handbook</title>
31 @@ -19,8 +19,8 @@
32
33 <license/>
34
35 -<version>0.51</version>
36 -<date>2009-06-14</date>
37 +<version>2</version>
38 +<date>2011-09-23</date>
39
40 <chapter>
41 <title>The Gentoo Handbook Effort</title>
42 @@ -64,12 +64,176 @@
43
44 </body>
45 </section>
46 +<section>
47 +<title>Architectures</title>
48 +<body>
49 +
50 +<p>
51 +Gentoo Linux is available for many architectures. But what exactly is an
52 +architecture?
53 +</p>
54 +
55 +<p>
56 +An <b>architecture</b> is a family of CPUs (processors) who support the same
57 +instructions. The two most prominent architectures in the desktop world are the
58 +<e>x86</e> architecture and the <e>x86_64</e> architecture (for which Gentoo
59 +uses the <e>amd64</e> notation). But many other architectures exist, such as
60 +<e>sparc</e>, <e>ppc</e> (the PowerPC family), <e>mips</e>, <e>arm</e>, ...
61 +</p>
62 +
63 +<p>
64 +A distribution as versatile as Gentoo supports many architectures. For that
65 +reason, you'll find that our Gentoo Handbooks are offered for many of the
66 +supported architectures. However, that might lead to some confusion as not all
67 +users are aware of the differences. Some are only aware of the
68 +CPU type or name that their system is a part of (like i686 or Intel Core
69 +i7). Below you will find a quick summary of the supported architectures and the
70 +abbreviation used in Gentoo. However, most people that do not know the
71 +architecture of their system are mostly interested in <e>x86</e> or
72 +<e>amd64</e>.
73 +</p>
74 +
75 +<note>
76 +The table below gives a high-level overview of the supported architectures. The
77 +example set of CPUs or systems is nothing more than an example. If you are
78 +still not certain which architecture to pick, please read the first section of
79 +the Gentoo Handbook's second chapter (<e>Choosing the Right Installation
80 +Medium</e>) as this will elaborate on the supported platforms.
81 +</note>
82 +
83 +<table>
84 +<tr>
85 + <th>Architecture</th>
86 + <th>Description</th>
87 + <th>Sample set of CPUs or systems</th>
88 +</tr>
89 +<tr>
90 + <ti>x86</ti>
91 + <ti>
92 + A 32-bit architecture used by CPUs that are often said to be "Intel
93 + compatible". It was, until recently, the most popular architecture for
94 + desktop PCs. Gentoo offers builds for i486 (supports all families) and
95 + i686 (supports Pentium and higher or compatible).
96 + </ti>
97 + <ti>i486, i686, Intel Core, AMD Athlon, Intel Atom</ti>
98 +</tr>
99 +<tr>
100 + <ti>x86_64<br />(amd64)</ti>
101 + <ti>
102 + A 64-bit architecture that is compatible with the x86 architecture. It was
103 + first used by AMD (under the AMD64 name) and Intel (under the EM64T name)
104 + and is now the most prominent architecture for medium and high-end desktop
105 + PCs. It is also commonly found in the server segment.
106 + </ti>
107 + <ti>
108 + AMD Athlon 64, AMD Opteron, AMD Sempron processors, AMD Phenom,
109 + Intel Pentium 4, Pentium Core i3, i5, i7
110 + </ti>
111 +</tr>
112 +<tr>
113 + <ti>ia64</ti>
114 + <ti>
115 + A 64-bit architecture designed by Intel and used in their Intel Itanium
116 + processor series. This architecture is <e>not</e> compatible with x86 or
117 + x86_64 (aka amd64) and is mostly found in medium and high-end server series.
118 + </ti>
119 + <ti>
120 + Intel Itanium
121 + </ti>
122 +</tr>
123 +<tr>
124 + <ti>sparc</ti>
125 + <ti>
126 + The SPARC architecture is best known by its most common producers, Sun (now
127 + Oracle) and Fujitsu. It is used in server systems although a few
128 + workstations exist as well. In Gentoo, only SPARC64 compatible CPUs are
129 + supported.
130 + </ti>
131 + <ti>
132 + E3000, Blade 1000, Ultra 2
133 + </ti>
134 +</tr>
135 +<tr>
136 + <ti>ppc</ti>
137 + <ti>
138 + A 32-bit architecture used by many Apple, IBM and Motorola processors. They
139 + are most commonly found in embedded systems.
140 + </ti>
141 + <ti>
142 + Apple OldWorld, Apple NewWorld, generi Pegasos, Efika, older IBM iSeries and
143 + pSeries
144 + </ti>
145 +</tr>
146 +<tr>
147 + <ti>ppc64</ti>
148 + <ti>
149 + The 64-bit variant of the PPC architecture, popular in both embedded as well
150 + as high-end performance servers.
151 + </ti>
152 + <ti>
153 + IBM RS/6000s, IBM pSeries, IBM iSeries
154 + </ti>
155 +</tr>
156 +<tr>
157 + <ti>alpha</ti>
158 + <ti>
159 + The Alpha architecture is a 64-bit architecture developed by Digital
160 + Equipment Corporation (DEC). It is still in use by some mid-range and
161 + high-end servers, but the architecture is slowly being faded out.
162 + </ti>
163 + <ti>
164 + ES40, AlphaPC, UP1000, Noname
165 + </ti>
166 +</tr>
167 +<tr>
168 + <ti>PA-RISC<br />(hppa)</ti>
169 + <ti>
170 + Referred to as HPPA, the PA-RISC architecture is an instruction set
171 + developed by Hewlett-Packard and was used in their mid- and high-end server
172 + series until about 2008 (after which HP started using Intel Itanium)
173 + </ti>
174 + <ti>
175 + HP 9000, PA-8600
176 + </ti>
177 +</tr>
178 +<tr>
179 + <ti>mips</ti>
180 + <ti>
181 + Developed by MIPS Technologies, the MIPS architecture entails multiple
182 + subfamilies (called revisions) such as MIPS I, MIPS III, MIPS32, MIPS64 and
183 + moer. MIPS is most common in embedded systems.
184 + </ti>
185 + <ti>
186 + MIPS32 1074K, R16000
187 + </ti>
188 +</tr>
189 +<tr>
190 + <ti>arm</ti>
191 + <ti>
192 + This 32-bit architecture is a very popular architecture for embedded and
193 + small systems. Subarchitectures range from ARMv1 to ARMv7 (Cortex) and are
194 + often found in smartphones, tablets, handheld consoles, end-user GPS
195 + navigation systems, etc.
196 + </ti>
197 + <ti>
198 + StrongARM, Cortex-M
199 + </ti>
200 +</tr>
201 +</table>
202 +
203 +</body>
204 +</section>
205 </chapter>
206 <chapter>
207 <title>View the Handbook</title>
208 <section>
209 <body>
210
211 +<p>
212 +Assuming that you know (or at least have an idea) which architecture your system
213 +is using, you can now select your choice of handbook.
214 +</p>
215 +
216 <table>
217 <tr>
218 <th>Format</th>
219 @@ -254,35 +418,16 @@
220 <p>
221 The goal of the Gentoo Handbook is to create a coherent document that describes
222 every possible aspect of Gentoo Linux. It combines already existing guides in
223 -one consistent book so that the same document is used for every possible
224 -architecture, every install, every user. This not only makes it easier for us to
225 -maintain, but also for the user to see that the differences are slim, and that
226 -other architectures are not seen as a separate entities.
227 -</p>
228 -
229 -<p>
230 -It also allows us to elaborate about difficult points and give more examples. We
231 -aren't forced to write all documentation into a single displayed page anymore
232 -making the documentation read more fluently.
233 -</p>
234 -
235 -</body>
236 -</section>
237 -<section>
238 -<title>Status</title>
239 -<body>
240 -
241 -<p>
242 -At this time, the fourth part on <uri link="handbook-x86.xml?part=4">Gentoo
243 -Network Configuration</uri> is finished and officially available. This part
244 -contains an in-depth coverage of the networking configuration options for the
245 -now stable baselayout.
246 +one consistent book, targeting a specific architecture, so that the entire
247 +document can be used as a single resource for installing and administering
248 +Gentoo Linux.
249 </p>
250
251 <p>
252 -If you are interested in the development of the Handbook, please use <mail
253 -link="gentoo-doc@g.o">the gentoo-doc mailinglist</mail> for all
254 -feedback.
255 +Many parts of the different Gentoo Handbooks (different by architecture) are
256 +copied across all handbooks (actually, it is written once and duplicated
257 +automatically) to make sure that the general information and quality of the
258 +documentation remains consistent.
259 </p>
260
261 </body>
262 @@ -307,9 +452,12 @@
263 <body>
264
265 <p>
266 -Everything is possible, but we have opted not to do this for several reasons.
267 +Everything is possible, but we have opted to only do this on a per-architecture
268 +level. Other choices, like partitioning, kernel selection, tool installation and
269 +more are easy enough to explain in a single document.
270 </p>
271
272 +<!--
273 <p>
274 <b>Maintaining</b> the guide would be a lot more difficult. Not only will we
275 have to map bug reports to certain decisions (far from all bug reports would
276 @@ -327,7 +475,7 @@
277
278 <p>
279 The choices that the user makes are made <b>in different places</b>. This would
280 -make it more difficult for the user to just print out the handbook -- we would
281 +make it more difficult for the user to just print out the handbook - - we would
282 first have to inform the user of all possible options before they can begin,
283 probably scaring them away.
284 </p>
285 @@ -344,6 +492,7 @@
286 the results of the other choices easily. This provides a <b>better view on the
287 installation instructions</b> for the user.
288 </p>
289 +-->
290
291 </body>
292 </section>