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hopefully aiding some confused users in picking the right architecture but without introducing information that becomes outdated quickly.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