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swift 11/09/23 18:47:05 |
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|
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Modified: index.xml |
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Log: |
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Support request in bug #232358, hopefully aiding some confused users in picking the right architecture but without introducing information that becomes outdated quickly. |
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|
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Revision Changes Path |
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1.78 xml/htdocs/doc/en/handbook/index.xml |
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|
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file : http://sources.gentoo.org/viewvc.cgi/gentoo/xml/htdocs/doc/en/handbook/index.xml?rev=1.78&view=markup |
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plain: http://sources.gentoo.org/viewvc.cgi/gentoo/xml/htdocs/doc/en/handbook/index.xml?rev=1.78&content-type=text/plain |
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diff : http://sources.gentoo.org/viewvc.cgi/gentoo/xml/htdocs/doc/en/handbook/index.xml?r1=1.77&r2=1.78 |
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|
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Index: index.xml |
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=================================================================== |
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RCS file: /var/cvsroot/gentoo/xml/htdocs/doc/en/handbook/index.xml,v |
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retrieving revision 1.77 |
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retrieving revision 1.78 |
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diff -u -r1.77 -r1.78 |
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--- index.xml 4 Sep 2011 17:53:42 -0000 1.77 |
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+++ index.xml 23 Sep 2011 18:47:05 -0000 1.78 |
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@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@ |
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<?xml version='1.0' encoding="UTF-8"?> |
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<!DOCTYPE guide SYSTEM "/dtd/guide.dtd"> |
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|
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-<!-- $Header: /var/cvsroot/gentoo/xml/htdocs/doc/en/handbook/index.xml,v 1.77 2011/09/04 17:53:42 swift Exp $ --> |
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+<!-- $Header: /var/cvsroot/gentoo/xml/htdocs/doc/en/handbook/index.xml,v 1.78 2011/09/23 18:47:05 swift Exp $ --> |
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|
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<guide> |
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<title>Gentoo Handbook</title> |
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@@ -19,8 +19,8 @@ |
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|
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<license/> |
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|
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-<version>0.51</version> |
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-<date>2009-06-14</date> |
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+<version>2</version> |
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+<date>2011-09-23</date> |
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|
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<chapter> |
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<title>The Gentoo Handbook Effort</title> |
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@@ -64,12 +64,176 @@ |
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|
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</body> |
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</section> |
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+<section> |
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+<title>Architectures</title> |
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+<body> |
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+ |
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+<p> |
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+Gentoo Linux is available for many architectures. But what exactly is an |
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+architecture? |
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+</p> |
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+ |
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+<p> |
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+An <b>architecture</b> is a family of CPUs (processors) who support the same |
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+instructions. The two most prominent architectures in the desktop world are the |
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+<e>x86</e> architecture and the <e>x86_64</e> architecture (for which Gentoo |
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+uses the <e>amd64</e> notation). But many other architectures exist, such as |
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+<e>sparc</e>, <e>ppc</e> (the PowerPC family), <e>mips</e>, <e>arm</e>, ... |
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+</p> |
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+ |
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+<p> |
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+A distribution as versatile as Gentoo supports many architectures. For that |
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+reason, you'll find that our Gentoo Handbooks are offered for many of the |
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+supported architectures. However, that might lead to some confusion as not all |
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+users are aware of the differences. Some are only aware of the |
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+CPU type or name that their system is a part of (like i686 or Intel Core |
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+i7). Below you will find a quick summary of the supported architectures and the |
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+abbreviation used in Gentoo. However, most people that do not know the |
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+architecture of their system are mostly interested in <e>x86</e> or |
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+<e>amd64</e>. |
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+</p> |
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+ |
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+<note> |
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+The table below gives a high-level overview of the supported architectures. The |
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+example set of CPUs or systems is nothing more than an example. If you are |
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+still not certain which architecture to pick, please read the first section of |
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+the Gentoo Handbook's second chapter (<e>Choosing the Right Installation |
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+Medium</e>) as this will elaborate on the supported platforms. |
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+</note> |
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+ |
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+<table> |
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+<tr> |
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+ <th>Architecture</th> |
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+ <th>Description</th> |
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+ <th>Sample set of CPUs or systems</th> |
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+</tr> |
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+<tr> |
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+ <ti>x86</ti> |
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+ <ti> |
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+ A 32-bit architecture used by CPUs that are often said to be "Intel |
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+ compatible". It was, until recently, the most popular architecture for |
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+ desktop PCs. Gentoo offers builds for i486 (supports all families) and |
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+ i686 (supports Pentium and higher or compatible). |
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+ </ti> |
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+ <ti>i486, i686, Intel Core, AMD Athlon, Intel Atom</ti> |
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+</tr> |
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+<tr> |
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+ <ti>x86_64<br />(amd64)</ti> |
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+ <ti> |
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+ A 64-bit architecture that is compatible with the x86 architecture. It was |
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+ first used by AMD (under the AMD64 name) and Intel (under the EM64T name) |
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+ and is now the most prominent architecture for medium and high-end desktop |
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+ PCs. It is also commonly found in the server segment. |
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+ </ti> |
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+ <ti> |
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+ AMD Athlon 64, AMD Opteron, AMD Sempron processors, AMD Phenom, |
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+ Intel Pentium 4, Pentium Core i3, i5, i7 |
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+ </ti> |
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+</tr> |
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+<tr> |
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+ <ti>ia64</ti> |
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+ <ti> |
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+ A 64-bit architecture designed by Intel and used in their Intel Itanium |
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+ processor series. This architecture is <e>not</e> compatible with x86 or |
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+ x86_64 (aka amd64) and is mostly found in medium and high-end server series. |
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+ </ti> |
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+ <ti> |
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+ Intel Itanium |
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+ </ti> |
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+</tr> |
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+<tr> |
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+ <ti>sparc</ti> |
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+ <ti> |
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+ The SPARC architecture is best known by its most common producers, Sun (now |
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+ Oracle) and Fujitsu. It is used in server systems although a few |
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+ workstations exist as well. In Gentoo, only SPARC64 compatible CPUs are |
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+ supported. |
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+ </ti> |
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+ <ti> |
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+ E3000, Blade 1000, Ultra 2 |
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+ </ti> |
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+</tr> |
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+<tr> |
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+ <ti>ppc</ti> |
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+ <ti> |
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+ A 32-bit architecture used by many Apple, IBM and Motorola processors. They |
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+ are most commonly found in embedded systems. |
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+ </ti> |
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+ <ti> |
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+ Apple OldWorld, Apple NewWorld, generi Pegasos, Efika, older IBM iSeries and |
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+ pSeries |
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+ </ti> |
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+</tr> |
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+<tr> |
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+ <ti>ppc64</ti> |
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+ <ti> |
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+ The 64-bit variant of the PPC architecture, popular in both embedded as well |
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+ as high-end performance servers. |
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+ </ti> |
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+ <ti> |
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+ IBM RS/6000s, IBM pSeries, IBM iSeries |
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+ </ti> |
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+</tr> |
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+<tr> |
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+ <ti>alpha</ti> |
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+ <ti> |
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+ The Alpha architecture is a 64-bit architecture developed by Digital |
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+ Equipment Corporation (DEC). It is still in use by some mid-range and |
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+ high-end servers, but the architecture is slowly being faded out. |
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+ </ti> |
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+ <ti> |
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+ ES40, AlphaPC, UP1000, Noname |
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+ </ti> |
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+</tr> |
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+<tr> |
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+ <ti>PA-RISC<br />(hppa)</ti> |
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+ <ti> |
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+ Referred to as HPPA, the PA-RISC architecture is an instruction set |
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+ developed by Hewlett-Packard and was used in their mid- and high-end server |
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+ series until about 2008 (after which HP started using Intel Itanium) |
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+ </ti> |
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+ <ti> |
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+ HP 9000, PA-8600 |
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+ </ti> |
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+</tr> |
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+<tr> |
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+ <ti>mips</ti> |
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+ <ti> |
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+ Developed by MIPS Technologies, the MIPS architecture entails multiple |
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+ subfamilies (called revisions) such as MIPS I, MIPS III, MIPS32, MIPS64 and |
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+ moer. MIPS is most common in embedded systems. |
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+ </ti> |
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+ <ti> |
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+ MIPS32 1074K, R16000 |
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+ </ti> |
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+</tr> |
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+<tr> |
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+ <ti>arm</ti> |
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+ <ti> |
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+ This 32-bit architecture is a very popular architecture for embedded and |
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+ small systems. Subarchitectures range from ARMv1 to ARMv7 (Cortex) and are |
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+ often found in smartphones, tablets, handheld consoles, end-user GPS |
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+ navigation systems, etc. |
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+ </ti> |
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+ <ti> |
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+ StrongARM, Cortex-M |
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+ </ti> |
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+</tr> |
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+</table> |
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+ |
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+</body> |
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+</section> |
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</chapter> |
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<chapter> |
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<title>View the Handbook</title> |
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<section> |
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<body> |
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|
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+<p> |
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+Assuming that you know (or at least have an idea) which architecture your system |
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+is using, you can now select your choice of handbook. |
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+</p> |
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+ |
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<table> |
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<tr> |
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<th>Format</th> |
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@@ -254,35 +418,16 @@ |
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<p> |
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The goal of the Gentoo Handbook is to create a coherent document that describes |
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every possible aspect of Gentoo Linux. It combines already existing guides in |
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-one consistent book so that the same document is used for every possible |
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-architecture, every install, every user. This not only makes it easier for us to |
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-maintain, but also for the user to see that the differences are slim, and that |
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-other architectures are not seen as a separate entities. |
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-</p> |
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- |
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-<p> |
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-It also allows us to elaborate about difficult points and give more examples. We |
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-aren't forced to write all documentation into a single displayed page anymore |
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-making the documentation read more fluently. |
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-</p> |
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- |
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-</body> |
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-</section> |
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-<section> |
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-<title>Status</title> |
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-<body> |
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- |
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-<p> |
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-At this time, the fourth part on <uri link="handbook-x86.xml?part=4">Gentoo |
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-Network Configuration</uri> is finished and officially available. This part |
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-contains an in-depth coverage of the networking configuration options for the |
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-now stable baselayout. |
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+one consistent book, targeting a specific architecture, so that the entire |
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+document can be used as a single resource for installing and administering |
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+Gentoo Linux. |
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</p> |
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|
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<p> |
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-If you are interested in the development of the Handbook, please use <mail |
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-link="gentoo-doc@g.o">the gentoo-doc mailinglist</mail> for all |
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-feedback. |
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+Many parts of the different Gentoo Handbooks (different by architecture) are |
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+copied across all handbooks (actually, it is written once and duplicated |
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+automatically) to make sure that the general information and quality of the |
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+documentation remains consistent. |
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</p> |
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|
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</body> |
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@@ -307,9 +452,12 @@ |
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<body> |
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|
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<p> |
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-Everything is possible, but we have opted not to do this for several reasons. |
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+Everything is possible, but we have opted to only do this on a per-architecture |
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+level. Other choices, like partitioning, kernel selection, tool installation and |
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+more are easy enough to explain in a single document. |
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</p> |
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|
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+<!-- |
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<p> |
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<b>Maintaining</b> the guide would be a lot more difficult. Not only will we |
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have to map bug reports to certain decisions (far from all bug reports would |
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@@ -327,7 +475,7 @@ |
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|
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<p> |
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The choices that the user makes are made <b>in different places</b>. This would |
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-make it more difficult for the user to just print out the handbook -- we would |
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+make it more difficult for the user to just print out the handbook - - we would |
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first have to inform the user of all possible options before they can begin, |
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probably scaring them away. |
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</p> |
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@@ -344,6 +492,7 @@ |
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the results of the other choices easily. This provides a <b>better view on the |
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installation instructions</b> for the user. |
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</p> |
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+--> |
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|
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</body> |
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</section> |