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diff --git a/release/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/readme/article.xml b/release/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/readme/article.xml new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9065429 --- /dev/null +++ b/release/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/readme/article.xml @@ -0,0 +1,438 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1" standalone="no"?> +<!DOCTYPE article PUBLIC "-//FreeBSD//DTD DocBook XML V4.2-Based Extension//EN" [ +<!ENTITY % entities PUBLIC "-//FreeBSD//ENTITIES DocBook FreeBSD Entity Set//EN"> +%entities; + +<!ENTITY % release PUBLIC "-//FreeBSD//ENTITIES Release Specification//EN"> +%release; +]> + +<article> + <articleinfo> + <title>&os; &release.current; README</title> + + <corpauthor>The &os; Project</corpauthor> + + <pubdate>$FreeBSD$</pubdate> + + <copyright> + <year>2000</year> + <year>2001</year> + <year>2002</year> + <year>2003</year> + <year>2004</year> + <year>2005</year> + <year>2006</year> + <year>2007</year> + <year>2008</year> + <holder role="mailto:doc@FreeBSD.org">The &os; Documentation Project</holder> + </copyright> + + <legalnotice id="trademarks" role="trademarks"> + &tm-attrib.freebsd; + &tm-attrib.intel; + &tm-attrib.opengroup; + &tm-attrib.sparc; + &tm-attrib.general; + </legalnotice> + </articleinfo> + + <abstract> + <para>This document gives a brief introduction to &os; + &release.current;. It includes some information on how to + obtain &os;, a listing of various ways to contact the &os; + Project, and pointers to some other sources of + information.</para> + </abstract> + + <sect1 id="intro"> + <title>Introduction</title> + + <para>This distribution is a &release.type; of &os; &release.current;, the + latest point along the &release.branch; branch.</para> + + <sect2> + <title>About &os;</title> + + <para>&os; is an operating system based on 4.4 BSD Lite for + AMD64 and Intel EM64T based PC hardware (&arch.amd64;), + Intel, AMD, Cyrix or NexGen <quote>x86</quote> based PC hardware (&arch.i386;), + Intel Itanium Processor based computers (&arch.ia64;), + NEC PC-9801/9821 series PCs and compatibles (&arch.pc98;), + and &ultrasparc; machines (&arch.sparc64;). Versions + for the &arm; (&arch.arm;), &mips; (&arch.mips;), and + &powerpc; (&arch.powerpc;) architectures are currently under + development as well. &os; works with a wide variety of + peripherals and configurations and can be used for everything + from software development to games to Internet Service + Provision.</para> + + <para>This release of &os; contains everything you need to run + such a system, including full source code for the kernel and + all utilities in the base distribution. With the source + distribution installed, you can literally recompile the entire + system from scratch with one command, making it ideal for + students, researchers, or users who simply want to see how it + all works.</para> + + <para>A large collection of third-party ported software (the + <quote>Ports Collection</quote>) is also provided to make it + easy to obtain and install all your favorite traditional &unix; + utilities for &os;. Each <quote>port</quote> consists of a + set of scripts to retrieve, configure, build, and install a + piece of software, with a single command. Over &os.numports; + ports, from editors to programming languages to graphical + applications, make &os; a powerful and comprehensive operating + environment that extends far beyond what's provided by many + commercial versions of &unix;. Most ports are also available as + pre-compiled <quote>packages</quote>, which can be quickly + installed from the installation program.</para> + </sect2> + + <sect2> + <title>Target Audience</title> + +<![ %release.type.current; [ + + <para>This &release.type; is aimed primarily at early adopters + and various other users who want to get involved with the + ongoing development of &os;. While the &os; development team + tries its best to ensure that each &release.type; works as + advertised, &release.branch; is very much a + work-in-progress.</para> + + <para>The basic requirements for using this &release.type; are + technical proficiency with &os; and an understanding of the + ongoing development process of &os; &release.branch; (as + discussed on the &a.current;).</para> + + <para>For those more interested in doing business with &os; than + in experimenting with new &os; technology, formal releases + (such as &release.prev.stable;) are frequently more appropriate. + Releases undergo a period of testing and quality assurance + checking to ensure high reliability and dependability.</para> + +]]> + +<![ %release.type.snapshot; [ + + <para>This &release.type; is aimed primarily at early adopters + and various other users who want to get involved with the + ongoing development of &os;. While the &os; development team + tries its best to ensure that each &release.type; works as + advertised, &release.branch; is very much a + work-in-progress.</para> + + <para>The basic requirements for using this &release.type; are + technical proficiency with &os; and an understanding of the + ongoing development process of &os; &release.branch; (as + discussed on the &a.current;).</para> + + <para>For those more interested in doing business with &os; than + in experimenting with new &os; technology, formal releases + (such as &release.prev.stable;) are frequently more appropriate. + Releases undergo a period of testing and quality assurance + checking to ensure high reliability and dependability.</para> + +]]> + +<![ %release.type.release; [ + + <para>This &release.type; of &os; is suitable for all users. It + has undergone a period of testing and quality assurance + checking to ensure the highest reliability and + dependability.</para> + +]]> + + </sect2> + </sect1> + + <sect1 id="obtain"> + <title>Obtaining &os;</title> + + <para>&os; may be obtained in a variety of ways. This section + focuses on those ways that are primarily useful for obtaining a + complete &os; distribution, rather than updating an existing + installation.</para> + + <sect2> + <title>CDROM and DVD</title> + + <para>&os; -RELEASE distributions may be ordered on CDROM or DVD + from several publishers. This is frequently the most + convenient way to obtain &os; for new installations, as it + provides a convenient way to quickly reinstall the system if + necessary. Some distributions include some of the optional, + precompiled <quote>packages</quote> from the &os; Ports + Collection, or other extra material.</para> + + <para>A list of the CDROM and DVD publishers known to the + project are listed in the <ulink + url="&url.books.handbook;/mirrors.html"><quote>Obtaining + &os;</quote></ulink> appendix to the Handbook.</para> + </sect2> + + <sect2> + <title>FTP</title> + + <para>You can use FTP to retrieve &os; and any or all of its + optional packages from <ulink + url="ftp://ftp.FreeBSD.org/"></ulink>, which is the official + &os; release site, or any of its + <quote>mirrors</quote>.</para> + + <para>Lists of locations that mirror &os; can be found in the + <ulink + url="&url.books.handbook;/mirrors-ftp.html">FTP + Sites</ulink> section of the Handbook. + Finding a close (in networking terms) mirror from which to + download the distribution is highly recommended.</para> + + <para>Additional mirror sites are always welcome. Contact + <email>freebsd-admin@FreeBSD.org</email> for more details on + becoming an official mirror site. You can also find useful + information for mirror sites at the <ulink + url="&url.articles.hubs;/">Mirroring + &os;</ulink> article.</para> + + <para>Mirrors generally contain the ISO images generally used to + create a CDROM of a &os; release. They usually also contain + floppy disk images (for applicable platforms), as well as the + files necessary to do an installation over the network. + Finally mirrors sites usually contain a set of packages for + the most current release.</para> + </sect2> + </sect1> + + <sect1 id="contacting"> + <title>Contacting the &os; Project</title> + + <sect2> + <title>Email and Mailing Lists</title> + + <para>For any questions or general technical support issues, + please send mail to the &a.questions;.</para> + + <para>If you're tracking the &release.branch; development efforts, you + <emphasis>must</emphasis> join the &a.current;, in order to + keep abreast of recent developments and changes that may + affect the way you use and maintain the system.</para> + + <para>Being a largely-volunteer effort, the &os; + Project is always happy to have extra hands willing to help—there are already far more desired enhancements than + there is time to implement them. To contact the developers on + technical matters, or with offers of help, please send mail to + the &a.hackers;.</para> + + <para>Please note that these mailing lists can experience + <emphasis>significant</emphasis> amounts of traffic. If you + have slow or expensive mail access, or are only interested in + keeping up with major &os; events, you may find it + preferable to subscribe instead to the &a.announce;.</para> + + <para>All of the mailing lists can be freely joined by anyone + wishing to do so. Visit the <ulink url="&url.base;/mailman/listinfo"> + &os; Mailman Info Page</ulink>. This will give you more + information on joining the various lists, accessing archives, + etc. There are a number of mailing lists targeted at special + interest groups not mentioned here; more information can be + obtained either from the Mailman pages or the <ulink + url="&url.base;/support.html#mailing-list">mailing + lists section</ulink> of the &os; Web site.</para> + + <important> + <para>Do <emphasis>not</emphasis> send email to the lists + asking to be subscribed. Use the Mailman interface + instead.</para> + </important> + </sect2> + + <sect2> + <title>Submitting Problem Reports</title> + + <para>Suggestions, bug reports and contributions of code are + always valued—please do not hesitate to report any + problems you may find. Bug reports with attached fixes are of + course even more welcome.</para> + + <para>The preferred method to submit bug reports from a machine + with Internet mail connectivity is to use the &man.send-pr.1; + command. + <quote>Problem Reports</quote> (PRs) submitted in this way + will be filed and their progress tracked; the &os; developers + will do their best to respond to all reported bugs as soon as + possible. <ulink + url="http://www.FreeBSD.org/cgi/query-pr-summary.cgi">A list + of all active PRs</ulink> is available on the &os; Web site; + this list is useful to see what potential problems other users + have encountered.</para> + + <para>Note that &man.send-pr.1; itself is a shell script that + should be easy to move even onto a non-&os; system. Using + this interface is highly preferred. If, for some reason, you + are unable to use &man.send-pr.1; to submit a bug report, you + can try to send it to the &a.bugs;.</para> + + <para>For more information, <ulink + url="&url.articles.problem-reports;/"><quote>Writing + &os; Problem Reports</quote></ulink>, available on the &os; Web + site, has a number of helpful hints on writing and submitting + effective problem reports.</para> + </sect2> + </sect1> + + <sect1 id="seealso"> + <title>Further Reading</title> + + <para>There are many sources of information about &os;; some are + included with this distribution, while others are available + on-line or in print versions.</para> + + <sect2 id="release-docs"> + <title>Release Documentation</title> + + <para>A number of other files provide more specific information + about this &release.type; distribution. These files are + provided in various formats. Most distributions will include + both ASCII text (<filename>.TXT</filename>) and HTML + (<filename>.HTM</filename>) renditions. Some distributions + may also include other formats such as Portable Document Format + (<filename>.PDF</filename>). + + <itemizedlist> + <listitem> + <para><filename>README.TXT</filename>: This file, which + gives some general information about &os; as well as + some cursory notes about obtaining a + distribution.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para><filename>RELNOTES.TXT</filename>: The release + notes, showing what's new and different in &os; + &release.current; compared to the previous release (&os; + &release.prev;).</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para><filename>HARDWARE.TXT</filename>: The hardware + compatibility list, showing devices with which &os; has + been tested and is known to work.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para><filename>ERRATA.TXT</filename>: Release errata. + Late-breaking, post-release information can be found in + this file, which is principally applicable to releases + (as opposed to snapshots). It is important to consult + this file before installing a release of &os;, as it + contains the latest information on problems which have + been found and fixed since the release was + created.</para> + </listitem> + </itemizedlist> + </para> + + <para>On platforms that support &man.sysinstall.8; (currently + &arch.amd64;, &arch.i386;, &arch.ia64;, &arch.pc98;, and &arch.sparc64;), these documents are generally available via the + Documentation menu during installation. Once the system is + installed, you can revisit this menu by re-running the + &man.sysinstall.8; utility.</para> + + <note> + <para>It is extremely important to read the errata for any + given release before installing it, to learn about any + <quote>late-breaking news</quote> or post-release problems. + The errata file accompanying each release (most likely right + next to this file) is already out of date by definition, but + other copies are kept updated on the Internet and should be + consulted as the <quote>current errata</quote> for this + release. These other copies of the errata are located at + <ulink url="&url.base;/releases/"></ulink> (as + well as any sites which keep up-to-date mirrors of this + location).</para> + </note> + </sect2> + + <sect2> + <title>Manual Pages</title> + + <para>As with almost all &unix; like operating systems, &os; comes + with a set of on-line manual pages, accessed through the + &man.man.1; command or through the <ulink + url="http://www.FreeBSD.org/cgi/man.cgi">hypertext manual + pages gateway</ulink> on the &os; Web site. In general, the + manual pages provide information on the different commands and + APIs available to the &os; user.</para> + + <para>In some cases, manual pages are written to give + information on particular topics. Notable examples of such + manual pages are &man.tuning.7; (a guide to performance tuning), + &man.security.7; (an introduction to &os; security), and + &man.style.9; (a style guide to kernel coding).</para> + </sect2> + + <sect2> + <title>Books and Articles</title> + + <para>Two highly-useful collections of &os;-related information, + maintained by the &os; Project, + are the &os; Handbook and &os; FAQ (Frequently Asked + Questions document). On-line versions of the <ulink + url="&url.books.handbook;/">Handbook</ulink> + and <ulink + url="&url.books.faq;/">FAQ</ulink> + are always available from the <ulink + url="&url.base;/docs.html">&os; Documentation + page</ulink> or its mirrors. If you install the + <filename>doc</filename> distribution set, you can use a Web + browser to read the Handbook and FAQ locally. In particular, + note that the Handbook contains a step-by-step guide to + installing &os;.</para> + + <para>A number of on-line books and articles, also maintained by + the &os; Project, cover more-specialized, &os;-related topics. + This material spans a wide range of topics, from effective use + of the mailing lists, to dual-booting &os; with other + operating systems, to guidelines for new committers. Like the + Handbook and FAQ, these documents are available from the &os; + Documentation Page or in the <filename>doc</filename> + distribution set.</para> + + <para>A listing of other books and documents about &os; can be + found in the <ulink + url="&url.books.handbook;/bibliography.html">bibliography</ulink> + of the &os; Handbook. Because of &os;'s strong &unix; heritage, + many other articles and books written for &unix; systems are + applicable as well, some of which are also listed in the + bibliography.</para> + </sect2> + </sect1> + + <sect1 id="acknowledgements"> + <title>Acknowledgments</title> + + <para>&os; represents the cumulative work of many hundreds, if not + thousands, of individuals from around the world who have worked + countless hours to bring about this &release.type;. For a + complete list of &os; developers and contributors, please see + <ulink + url="&url.articles.contributors;/"><quote>Contributors + to &os;</quote></ulink> on the &os; Web site or any of its + mirrors.</para> + + <para>Special thanks also go to the many thousands of &os; users + and testers all over the world, without whom this &release.type; + simply would not have been possible.</para> + </sect1> +</article> + +<!-- + Local Variables: + mode: sgml + sgml-indent-data: t + sgml-omittag: nil + sgml-always-quote-attributes: t + End: +--> |