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authorLudovic Courtès <ludo@gnu.org>2015-01-23 10:15:46 +0100
committerLudovic Courtès <ludo@gnu.org>2015-01-23 10:15:46 +0100
commit3ca2731c2007622ed29cca5ce7e3f7ee2b227d5d (patch)
treec81bed8fde2405f73ca7fc6169b22ea7adff97c2
parent2baf46348f0d57f5c17fdf2fa74077bb25c0e787 (diff)
doc: Introduce the Guix System Distribution.
* doc/guix.texi (Introduction): Introduce "Guix System Distribution". Add a couple of sentences about it. Remove "Guixotic". (GNU Distribution): Likewise. (System Installation): Ditto.
-rw-r--r--doc/guix.texi46
1 files changed, 26 insertions, 20 deletions
diff --git a/doc/guix.texi b/doc/guix.texi
index 857653dca4..911403cc31 100644
--- a/doc/guix.texi
+++ b/doc/guix.texi
@@ -208,9 +208,15 @@ garbage collection of packages (@pxref{Features}).
Guix has a command-line interface, which allows users to build, install,
upgrade, and remove packages, as well as a Scheme programming interface.
+@cindex Guix System Distribution
+@cindex GSD
Last but not least, Guix is used to build a distribution of the GNU
-system, with many GNU and non-GNU free software packages. @xref{GNU
-Distribution}.
+system, with many GNU and non-GNU free software packages. The Guix
+System Distribution, or GNU@tie{}GSD, takes advantage of the core
+properties of Guix at the system level. With GNU@tie{}GSD, users
+@emph{declare} all aspects of the operating system configuration, and
+Guix takes care of instantiating that configuration in a reproducible,
+stateless fashion. @xref{GNU Distribution}.
@c *********************************************************************
@node Installation
@@ -3312,19 +3318,17 @@ build} supports (@pxref{Invoking guix build, common build options}).
@node GNU Distribution
@chapter GNU Distribution
-@cindex Guixotic
-Guix comes with a distribution of free software@footnote{The term
-``free'' here refers to the
+@cindex Guix System Distribution
+@cindex GSD
+Guix comes with a distribution of the GNU system consisting entirely of
+free software@footnote{The term ``free'' here refers to the
@url{http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html,freedom provided to
-users of that software}.} that forms the basis of the GNU system. The
+users of that software}.}. The
distribution can be installed on its own (@pxref{System Installation}),
but it is also possible to install Guix as a package manager on top of
an installed GNU/Linux system (@pxref{Installation}). To distinguish
-between the two, we refer to the standalone distribution as
-``Guixotic''@footnote{``How am I going to pronounce that name?'', you
-may ask. Well, we would pronounce it like ``geeks-otic'', for
-consistency with Guix---which is quite different from the usual
-pronunciation of ``quixotic''.}.
+between the two, we refer to the standalone distribution as the Guix
+System Distribution, or GNU@tie{}GSD.
The distribution provides core GNU packages such as GNU libc, GCC, and
Binutils, as well as many GNU and non-GNU applications. The complete
@@ -3341,7 +3345,7 @@ Linux-based and other variants of GNU, with a focus on the promotion and
tight integration of GNU components, and an emphasis on programs and
tools that help users exert that freedom.
-The GNU distribution is currently available on the following platforms:
+Packages are currently available on the following platforms:
@table @code
@@ -3361,6 +3365,8 @@ n32 application binary interface (ABI), and Linux-Libre kernel.
@end table
+GSD itself is currently only available on @code{i686} and @code{x86_64}.
+
@noindent
For information on porting to other architectures or kernels,
@xref{Porting}.
@@ -3382,9 +3388,9 @@ to join! @xref{Contributing}, for information about how you can help.
@node System Installation
@section System Installation
-@cindex Guixotic
-This section explains how to install the standalone distribution,
-code-named ``Guixotic'', on a machine. The Guix package manager can
+@cindex Guix System Distribution
+This section explains how to install the Guix System Distribution
+on a machine. The Guix package manager can
also be installed on top of a running GNU/Linux system,
@pxref{Installation}.
@@ -3399,13 +3405,13 @@ link that follows: @pxref{Help,,, info, Info: An Introduction}. Hit
@subsection Limitations
-As of version @value{VERSION}, GNU@tie{}Guix and Guixotic are
-not production-ready. They may contain bugs and lack important
+As of version @value{VERSION}, the Guix System Distribution (GSD) is
+not production-ready. It may contain bugs and lack important
features. Thus, if you are looking for a stable production system that
respects your freedom as a computer user, a good solution at this point
is to consider @url{http://www.gnu.org/distros/free-distros.html, one of
more established GNU/Linux distributions}. We hope you can soon switch
-to Guixotic without fear, of course. In the meantime, you can
+to the GSD without fear, of course. In the meantime, you can
also keep using your distribution and try out the package manager on top
of it (@pxref{Installation}).
@@ -3589,7 +3595,7 @@ about the installation image.
@section System Configuration
@cindex system configuration
-Guixotic supports a consistent whole-system configuration
+The Guix System Distribution supports a consistent whole-system configuration
mechanism. By that we mean that all aspects of the global system
configuration---such as the available system services, timezone and
locale settings, user accounts---are declared in a single place. Such
@@ -4800,7 +4806,7 @@ This action does not actually install anything.
@item init
Populate the given directory with all the files necessary to run the
operating system specified in @var{file}. This is useful for first-time
-installations of Guixotic. For instance:
+installations of GSD. For instance:
@example
guix system init my-os-config.scm /mnt