Date: Sat, 18 Aug 2001 13:12:40 -0700 From: bmah@freebsd.org (Bruce A. Mah) To: Nik Clayton <nik@freebsd.org> Cc: "Bruce A. Mah" <bmah@freebsd.org>, freebsd-doc@freebsd.org Subject: Re: cvs commit: doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/install chapter.sgml Message-ID: <200108182012.f7IKCe102594@intruder.bmah.org> In-Reply-To: <20010817092301.B59279@clan.nothing-going-on.org> References: <200108161609.f7GG9HH21329@freefall.freebsd.org> <200108170411.f7H4BD828408@intruder.bmah.org> <20010817092301.B59279@clan.nothing-going-on.org>
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--==_Exmh_1456908161P Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii If memory serves me right, Nik Clayton wrote: > > One concern I have about the intro material (which is quite nice BTW) is > > that it is now even i386-centric than the old text. Do you think this > > will be a problem? > > It's not something I'm entirely comfortable with, but I can only write > about what I know. At this point we really need someone with an Alpha > who can write about the install process, and tell us how much of the > process is common between i386 and alpha, Yeah. It's hard to write about an architecture you (and I) rarely use. One of the main issues I'm concerned with is this: For example, as you know, RELNOTESng builds architecture-specific documents. Clearly this is not feasible for the Handbook, but there has to be some other way to deal with this issue. I *think* we can do this by having parallel sections where necessary, e.g.: Chapter 2 Installing FreeBSD 2.1 Synopsis 2.2 Pre-installation Tasks 2.2.1 Inventory Your Computer 2.2.2 Backup Your Data 2.2.3 Decide Where to Install FreeBSD 2.2.3.1 i386 2.2.3.2 Alpha 2.2.4 Check for FreeBSD Errata 2.2.5 Prepare the Boot Discs 2.3 Starting the Installation 2.3.1 Starting the Installation Process 2.3.1.1 i386 2.3.1.2 Alpha 2.3.2 Starting UserConfig ...etc... Specific issues: FreeBSD on the Alpha can't share a disk with another OS so the whole section on "Deciding Where to Install" doesn't apply. There's a requirement for a specific type of firmware on the Alpha (not an issue on the i386). Bootable CDROMs work, but it seems like you usually need to type something from their boot monitor to tell them to do this (whereas on the i386 you set up something in the BIOS and tell it to boot). In an ideal world, I think we would nuke the installation document from RELNOTESng and just *give* the readers the Handbook install chapter on the CDROM (or, to save space, maybe the part before the sysinstall walkthrough), but we need to resolve the multi-architecture issues first. Fortunately, it's now possible to build a single chapter of the Handbook, so this stands at least a glimmer of a chance of working. I can take a shot at bringing in the Alpha-specific material from the RELNOTESng installation document (help from "real" Alpha users would of course be welcomed). Do you think this might work? > > PPS. "All the world has to talk like 'merikans" nitpick: s/disc/disk/. > > My understanding has always been that hard disks are "disk" (obviously), > while floppies, CDs, and DVDs are "disc". Now *that's* interesting. I think I've *always* written "disk" for everything, although, come to think of it, I've never tried to expand the acronym "CD". Bruce. --==_Exmh_1456908161P Content-Type: application/pgp-signature -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.0.6 (FreeBSD) Comment: Exmh version 2.3.1+ 05/14/2001 iD8DBQE7fsw32MoxcVugUsMRAoCnAJ48De/ZO3I0irKY8JU3cxuXhWh3aQCZAXit jyZlpM8YaEI5q76tJ94/QkA= =C5Zy -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- --==_Exmh_1456908161P-- To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-doc" in the body of the message
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