Gentoo Handbook
1. The Gentoo Handbook Effort
Available languages
The Gentoo Handbook is available in the following languages:
German |
English |
French |
Italian |
Polish |
Simplified Chinese |
Spanish
Introduction
Welcome to the Gentoo Handbook page. This page will give you some explanation
about the Gentoo Handbook and should answer most
of your questions regarding the handbook. We will talk about the ideas behind
the handbook, its current status, the future plans, how bug reports are handled,
etc.
2. View the Handbook
Format |
Description |
Links |
HTML |
Latest version, one page per chapter, perfect for online viewing |
x86,
sparc,
amd64,
ppc,
ppc64,
alpha,
hppa,
mips,
ia64,
arm
|
HTML |
Latest version, all in one page |
x86,
sparc,
amd64,
ppc,
ppc64,
alpha,
hppa,
mips,
ia64,
arm
|
HTML |
Latest version, all in one page, printable version |
x86,
sparc,
amd64,
ppc,
ppc64,
alpha,
hppa,
mips,
ia64,
arm
|
HTML |
2007.0 Specific Networkless Installation Instructions |
2007.0 Gentoo
Handbooks
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We also have release-specific handbooks which include the installation
instructions for networkless installations using the released CDs. If
you are interested in performing a networkless installation, please consult the
Gentoo Linux 2007.0
Handbook for your architecture.
Historical Releases
For historical reasons we also keep the handbook versions for older releases
(since 2004.2). Printable versions of individual pages can be reached through
the "Print" link on the top right corner. To have an all-in-one-page version,
add ?full=1 to the URL.
Warning:
These handbooks are not maintained.
|
Release |
Architectures |
2004.2 |
alpha,
amd64,
hppa,
mips,
ppc,
sparc,
x86
|
2004.3 |
amd64,
hppa,
ppc,
sparc,
x86
|
2005.0 |
alpha,
amd64,
hppa,
ppc,
sparc,
x86
|
2005.1 |
alpha,
amd64,
hppa,
ppc,
ppc64,
sparc,
x86
|
2006.0 |
alpha,
amd64,
hppa,
ppc,
ppc64,
sparc,
x86
|
2006.1 |
alpha,
amd64,
hppa,
ppc,
ppc64,
sparc,
x86
|
3. Information about the handbook
Goal
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.
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.
Status
At this time, the fourth part on Gentoo
Network Configuration is finished and officially available. This part
contains an in-depth coverage of the networking configuration options for the
now stable baselayout.
If you are interested in the development of the Handbook, please use the gentoo-doc mailinglist for all
feedback.
Reporting bugs and enhancement requests
If you find a bug in the handbook, please visit our Gentoo Linux Bugzilla and create a bug for
Documentation, Component Installation Handbook.
4. Frequently Asked Questions
Can't you magically have the handbook dynamically created for each choice?
Everything is possible, but we have opted not to do this for several reasons.
Maintaining 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
tell us what choices they made before) but it would be more difficult to write
the guide fluently: we would have to pay more attention to the line in the
handbook, the consistencies, etc.
Although we currently only have an online version, other formats could
be developed, such as PDF versions. If we created PDFs for every architecture
and option, we would have to provide numerous PDFs of which only a few sections
differ. Talk about a waste of resources :).
The choices that the user makes are made in different places. This 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.
The part on "Installing Gentoo" is not the only part of the Gentoo
Handbook. It is the first, but all following parts are independent of the
choices the user made. Dynamically creating the handbook just for the
installation instructions would be overkill.
By not separating the instructions for each possible option, the user can view
the results of the other choices easily. This provides a better view on the
installation instructions for the user.
I can't find stage1 information in the Gentoo Handbook
Instructions on using a stage1 or stage2 tarball are now available in the Gentoo FAQ. A stage3 installation is the
only supported installation as of now.
I disagree with ...
Please report your idea; disagreeing
without providing us with constructive feedback doesn't help the situation.
Documentation is made for the community, so community feedback is well
appreciated.
However, you must know that most decisions made while developing documentation
are based on a consensus-model. It is impossible to write/structure
documentation in such a way that everybody is happy with it. You must be able to
accept a "No" with the reason that we believe the current implementation
benefits most people.
The contents of this document are licensed under the Creative Commons -
Attribution / Share Alike license.
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Updated June 7, 2007 |
Summary:
The Gentoo Handbook is an effort to centralise documentation into a coherent
handbook. This handbook contains the installation instructions for
internet-based installation approaches and parts about working with Gentoo and
Portage.
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Sven Vermeulen
Author
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Donate to support our development efforts.
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