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Shyam Mani | 7 Jun 2006 16:23
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2006.1 Handbook suggestions?

Hi folks,

Soon, it will be that time of the year again....when we come out with an
updated release, with new funky stuff thrown in :)

The main reason for this email is because, the last time, we had a few
major changes to the x86 handbook, because of the installer going stable
on that arch.

Now's the time for feedback on the handbooks, before we start any work
on 2006.1. So far, the new format we introduced for x86 seems to be
working fine, we didn't see many bugs about it nor did we hear about
issues...so well, I've assumed that things have on the whole been okay.

If you have suggestions for improvement in format etc or anything at
all, now would be the time to speak up.

I'm cc'ing releng on this, but would request all replies to be kept to
doc only so as to a) have an archive of the discussion b) not to flood
releng un-necessarily.

Thanks and Regards,

--

-- 
Shyam Mani | <fox2mike <at> gentoo.org>
docs-team  | http://gdp.gentoo.org
GPG Key    | 0xFDD0E345
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Josh Saddler | 7 Jun 2006 21:11
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Re: 2006.1 Handbook suggestions?


Shyam Mani wrote:
> Hi folks,
> 
> Soon, it will be that time of the year again....when we come out with an
> updated release, with new funky stuff thrown in :)
> 
> The main reason for this email is because, the last time, we had a few
> major changes to the x86 handbook, because of the installer going stable
> on that arch.
> 
> Now's the time for feedback on the handbooks, before we start any work
> on 2006.1. So far, the new format we introduced for x86 seems to be
> working fine, we didn't see many bugs about it nor did we hear about
> issues...so well, I've assumed that things have on the whole been okay.
> 
> If you have suggestions for improvement in format etc or anything at
> all, now would be the time to speak up.

I mostly watched for feedback & second/third-hand reports on the networkless
handbook(s), go figure, and I haven't heard anything negative on that end. The
only consistent request I saw was for a warning to avoid the data loss bug
present in the installer, but there's already an open bug for that, and that'll
be fixed in the next release anyway.

As for the networked handbooks, the format and layout are still nice, solid, and
logical to me for all supported arches.

One question: how many other arches have had their networkless installs moved to
the GLI by default? Sure, I wrote the gtkfe/dialog to be arch-neutral, but
(Continue reading)

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Chris Gianelloni | 7 Jun 2006 21:42
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Re: 2006.1 Handbook suggestions?

On Wed, 2006-06-07 at 12:11 -0700, Josh Saddler wrote:
> One question: how many other arches have had their networkless installs moved to
> the GLI by default? Sure, I wrote the gtkfe/dialog to be arch-neutral, but
> depending on 2006.1 arch additions and/or screen/config process additions, it
> might need to be updated somewhat.

Provided that there are no more major bugs, we should be switching amd64
to using GLI this release.

Also, the GTK+ installer will have "modes" support.  This is a selection
on the first screen for "standard" and "networkless" that disables any
options under networkless that might require a network connection.  It
should reduce the number of bugs caused by people doing things like
selecting dcron when doing networkless, or anything else that would
cause a network to be required.

> Overall, I'd say we're in great shape, with hopefully minimal content changes to
> be made to the docs.

There will probably be a good bit of content changes due to modes
support.  I'll try to get you guys a beta "advanced" copy of a LiveCD as
quickly as possible to help you guys work through the documentation.

--

-- 
Chris Gianelloni
Release Engineering - Strategic Lead
x86 Architecture Team
Games - Developer
Gentoo Linux
(Continue reading)

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Josh Saddler | 7 Jun 2006 22:08
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Re: 2006.1 Handbook suggestions?


Chris Gianelloni wrote:
> On Wed, 2006-06-07 at 12:11 -0700, Josh Saddler wrote:
>> One question: how many other arches have had their networkless installs moved to
>> the GLI by default? Sure, I wrote the gtkfe/dialog to be arch-neutral, but
>> depending on 2006.1 arch additions and/or screen/config process additions, it
>> might need to be updated somewhat.
> 
> Provided that there are no more major bugs, we should be switching amd64
> to using GLI this release.
> 
> Also, the GTK+ installer will have "modes" support.  This is a selection
> on the first screen for "standard" and "networkless" that disables any
> options under networkless that might require a network connection.  It
> should reduce the number of bugs caused by people doing things like
> selecting dcron when doing networkless, or anything else that would
> cause a network to be required.
> 
>> Overall, I'd say we're in great shape, with hopefully minimal content changes to
>> be made to the docs.
> 
> There will probably be a good bit of content changes due to modes
> support.  I'll try to get you guys a beta "advanced" copy of a LiveCD as
> quickly as possible to help you guys work through the documentation.
> 
Thanks very much for this heads-up, Chris. Yay! Sooner I get a copy (or a handy
video like last time ;)), the sooner I can start making the changes to the
networkless handbook.
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Chris Gianelloni | 7 Jun 2006 23:21
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Re: 2006.1 Handbook suggestions?

On Wed, 2006-06-07 at 13:08 -0700, Josh Saddler wrote:
> > There will probably be a good bit of content changes due to modes
> > support.  I'll try to get you guys a beta "advanced" copy of a LiveCD as
> > quickly as possible to help you guys work through the documentation.
> > 
> Thanks very much for this heads-up, Chris. Yay! Sooner I get a copy (or a handy
> video like last time ;)), the sooner I can start making the changes to the
> networkless handbook.

Well, the main changes to the CD are in the device detection programs
(I've updated them all) and in the package versions on the CD.  There
will be a newer installer, but you can "preview" it from the 2006.0 CD.
All you have to do is boot the CD, then open a console.  From the
console, type:

/opt/installer/misc/updategtkfe

This automatically downloads the latest snapshot version and runs it.

We haven't made an "official" snapshot for 2006.1 of the Installer, so a
few things may change, but not much.  For example, the "Extra packages"
screen needs a little work.

--

-- 
Chris Gianelloni
Release Engineering - Strategic Lead
x86 Architecture Team
Games - Developer
Gentoo Linux
(Continue reading)

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Paul Waring | 8 Jun 2006 12:03
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Re: 2006.1 Handbook suggestions?

On 07/06/06, Shyam Mani <fox2mike <at> gentoo.org> wrote:
> If you have suggestions for improvement in format etc or anything at
> all, now would be the time to speak up.

I don't know how useful this would be to other people, but one thing I
would like for the handbook is the ability at the start to select a
few options from a simple form saying what type of installation I'm
doing (x86, genkernel, lilo as the bootloader for example) and be
presented with a custom handbook that only shows the relevant sections
for what I want to do, rather than having to skip over large chunks
whenever I come to a fork where I only need to follow one path.

It's only an idea though, not sure how it would be implemented or
whether it would be worth the effort.

Paul
--

-- 
gentoo-doc <at> gentoo.org mailing list
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Josh Saddler | 8 Jun 2006 19:22
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Re: 2006.1 Handbook suggestions?


Chris Gianelloni wrote:
> On Wed, 2006-06-07 at 13:08 -0700, Josh Saddler wrote:
>>> There will probably be a good bit of content changes due to modes
>>> support.  I'll try to get you guys a beta "advanced" copy of a LiveCD as
>>> quickly as possible to help you guys work through the documentation.
>>>
>> Thanks very much for this heads-up, Chris. Yay! Sooner I get a copy (or a handy
>> video like last time ;)), the sooner I can start making the changes to the
>> networkless handbook.
> 
> Well, the main changes to the CD are in the device detection programs
> (I've updated them all) and in the package versions on the CD.  There
> will be a newer installer, but you can "preview" it from the 2006.0 CD.
> All you have to do is boot the CD, then open a console.  From the
> console, type:
> 
> /opt/installer/misc/updategtkfe
> 
> This automatically downloads the latest snapshot version and runs it.
> 
> We haven't made an "official" snapshot for 2006.1 of the Installer, so a
> few things may change, but not much.  For example, the "Extra packages"
> screen needs a little work.
> 

You found a way to update a LiveCD? You rock so hardcore. :D

And yeah, mostly my changes will be dependent on any new screens or if the order
of screens (or order and naming of options within them) has changed.
(Continue reading)

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Chris Gianelloni | 8 Jun 2006 21:11
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Re: 2006.1 Handbook suggestions?

On Thu, 2006-06-08 at 10:22 -0700, Josh Saddler wrote:
> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
> Hash: SHA1
> 
> Chris Gianelloni wrote:
> > On Wed, 2006-06-07 at 13:08 -0700, Josh Saddler wrote:
> >>> There will probably be a good bit of content changes due to modes
> >>> support.  I'll try to get you guys a beta "advanced" copy of a LiveCD as
> >>> quickly as possible to help you guys work through the documentation.
> >>>
> >> Thanks very much for this heads-up, Chris. Yay! Sooner I get a copy (or a handy
> >> video like last time ;)), the sooner I can start making the changes to the
> >> networkless handbook.
> > 
> > Well, the main changes to the CD are in the device detection programs
> > (I've updated them all) and in the package versions on the CD.  There
> > will be a newer installer, but you can "preview" it from the 2006.0 CD.
> > All you have to do is boot the CD, then open a console.  From the
> > console, type:
> > 
> > /opt/installer/misc/updategtkfe
> > 
> > This automatically downloads the latest snapshot version and runs it.
> > 
> > We haven't made an "official" snapshot for 2006.1 of the Installer, so a
> > few things may change, but not much.  For example, the "Extra packages"
> > screen needs a little work.
> > 
> 
> You found a way to update a LiveCD? You rock so hardcore. :D
(Continue reading)

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Jose Luis Rivero (YosWinK | 18 Jun 2006 06:03
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Re: Important changes on Repodoc

Hi folks!

First of all, I'd like to say: no, I'm not going to spam the list with 
every repodoc version, but I'll drop a little mail when important 
features or changes happen.

Second, is a pleasure to announce that another beta version (yes repodoc 
  is still a baby) has been released: 0.1_beta2. The info[1] about the 
tool is in the same place and the changes done from the previous release 
are available in the on-line ChangeLog[2].

The important things I want to point with respect to this version are:

- repodoc now is managed via overlay. This means, people who set up 
repodoc on a local overlay (as suggested), please remove it and follow 
the new instructions about installation (nothing very difficult and far 
more comfortable to manage).

- repodoc now has a live ebuild (version 9999) thanks to git eclass. The 
ebuild is *only* for development purposes and repodoc installed from it 
could be broken. Note that may be you need to adjust your 
portage.keywords to avoid this ebuild. (<app-doc/repodoc-9999 ~x86)

- trans module has change its output. Please check and send feedback, 
spanish cookies are waiting for you.

Finally I want to thanks ferdy and frangor (repodoc co-maintainers) who 
were the real development engine this time, guys you rock.

As usual, bugs, flames, feedback or ideas are always welcome.
(Continue reading)

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Xavier Neys | 22 Jun 2006 13:11
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GuideXML: define values & use conditional tags

Hi *,

With a new release coming out soon(-ish), we're going to have to hunt and
update quite a few variable data such as snapshot names/locations, CD sizes,
kernel versions in all our handbooks.
Some time ago, we discussed the possibility of defining values at the
beginning of the handbooks so that we need only update each value once, always
at the same place.

Besides, allowing conditional bodies would let us solve bugs like
http://bugs.gentoo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=52856 or the latest
http://bugs.gentoo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=132816. Paragraphs like "Sparc users or
PPC machines blah blah di blah" are getting more and more common and
inconsistencies such as the partitioning schemes in the the hb-ARCH-disk.xml
files and the common hb-install-config.xml are inevitable without conditionals.

Please have a look at the following links and compare:

Define values in books:
http://gentoo.neysx.org/mystuff/handbook/handbook-mips.xml?passthru=1
http://gentoo.neysx.org/mystuff/handbook/handbook-hppa.xml?passthru=1
http://gentoo.neysx.org/mystuff/handbook/handbook-alpha.xml?passthru=1
http://gentoo.neysx.org/mystuff/handbook/handbook-ppc64.xml?passthru=1
http://gentoo.neysx.org/mystuff/handbook/handbook-ppc.xml?passthru=1
http://gentoo.neysx.org/mystuff/handbook/handbook-amd64.xml?passthru=1
http://gentoo.neysx.org/mystuff/handbook/handbook-sparc.xml?passthru=1
http://gentoo.neysx.org/mystuff/handbook/handbook-x86.xml?passthru=1

Use them:
http://gentoo.neysx.org/mystuff/handbook/hb-install-config.xml?passthru=1
(Continue reading)

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