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Typos and formatting.

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Nathaniel Beaver
2016-02-11 19:40:59 -06:00
parent 29387026de
commit 8f60926438
1 changed files with 32 additions and 21 deletions
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readme.rst
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@@ -149,7 +149,7 @@ If you are a Windows user:
Intrinsic technical deficiencies of the Windows NT operating system
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
This is a list of examples specific limitations
This is a list of examples of specific limitations
that are the result of the Windows kernel or API.
-------------------------
@@ -161,13 +161,17 @@ are hampered by licensing restrictions and technical limitations.
.. _though they do exist: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Preinstallation_Environment
For example, `until Windows 8`_, desktop versions of Windows could not boot from a USB.
(And while running a live USB of Windows 8, it is still not possible mount internal hard disks.)
For example, `until Windows 8`_, desktop versions of Windows
could not boot from a USB.
(And while running a live USB of Windows 8,
it is still not possible to mount internal hard disks.)
.. _until Windows 8: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh831833.aspx
The `BartPE LiveCD building program`_ is 3rd party software that will run on any version of Windows,
but it is `only able to make`_ a LiveCD for Windows XP or Windows Server 2003.
The `BartPE LiveCD building program`_
is 3rd party software that will run on any version of Windows,
but it is `only able to make`_ a LiveCD
for Windows XP or Windows Server 2003.
.. _BartPE LiveCD building program: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BartPE
.. _only able to make: http://www.betaarchive.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=22258
@@ -200,7 +204,8 @@ retain settings and data on the next boot-up.
This makes live versions of Linux useful for
recovering files from damaged hard drives,
making bootable backups of an entire drive,
scanning a disk for malware without loading a potentially compromised operating system,
scanning a disk for malware
without loading a potentially compromised operating system,
distinguishing hardware problems from software problems,
and other tasks requiring a temporary operating system.
@@ -849,7 +854,7 @@ and ``.desktop`` configuration files with mimetype information
.. _filetypes are determined: http://www.howtogeek.com/192628/mime-types-explained-why-linux-and-mac-os-x-dont-need-file-extensions/
A file's executable status is separate from its file extension,
A file's executable status is `separate from its file extension`_,
and an executable text file written in a scripting language
can control how it is run via the `first-line shebang convention`_,
e.g. ``#!/usr/bin/env python3 -i``.
@@ -859,6 +864,7 @@ but languages that emphasize cross-platform compatibility,
such as Python,
have `implemented work-arounds`_.
.. _separate from its file extension: http://superuser.com/questions/405972/why-do-i-need-an-execute-bit-in-file-mode-on-unix-file-systems
.. _first-line shebang convention: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shebang_(Unix)
.. _implemented work-arounds: http://legacy.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0397/
.. _cannot indicate it is version 2 or 3: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/7574453/shebang-notation-python-scripts-on-windows-and-linux
@@ -1208,10 +1214,12 @@ Thus, the API can be used to restrict what programs can do. [#wine_dlls]_
This is not a theoretical problem.
Because of Intel's High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection,
Windows applications cannot use the graphics card
to manipulate windows the way Flip3D does.
to manipulate windows the way `Flip3D`_ does.
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/3848558/what-is-the-api-to-create-applications-like-flip3d
.. _Flip3D: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Windows7_flip.png
Sometimes it isn't the API, either;
on Windows 8 it is impossible to disable the dwm window compositor.
@@ -1234,7 +1242,8 @@ This was not without controversy.
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/hh848042%28v=vs.85%29.aspx
Linux also has an API,
but it is not tied to the desktop environment,
but it is based on a standard (POSIX),
is not tied to the desktop environment,
and is not controlled by a single corporation
in the same way that the Windows API is.
@@ -1749,14 +1758,17 @@ Software configuration: registries and text files.
--------------------------------------------------
On Windows, configuration files are not centralized in the user's home directory.
The data that matters
|---| that retains configuration when upgrading or recovering from data loss |---|
is scattered around as ``.INI`` text files in unpredictable directories
The data that retain configuration when upgrading or recovering from data loss
are scattered around as ``.INI`` text files in unpredictable directories
or in the `Windows Registry`_.
In general, there is insufficient separation amongst an application's
In principle, applications should put config files in ``%APPDATA%``,
but in practice many of them put it in the install directory.
Furthermore, ``%APPDATA`` makes no distinction
amongst an application's
configuration and plugins,
history and log files,
and data that is cached for performance.
and cached data.
This makes configuration less robust
and harder to adapt to the needs of specific users.
@@ -1777,6 +1789,7 @@ depending on the needs of the people using it.
System administrators, for example,
care about system-level configuration files,
generally text files in ``/etc/``.
Text files are simple to edit
for ad-hoc debugging and automation,
easy to diff,
@@ -1785,19 +1798,17 @@ and robust against corruption.
User level configuration is stored in dotfiles
(hidden folders or files)
in the user's home directory.
in the user's home directory
There are good arguments to the effect that
making dotfiles responsible for configuration `is problematic`_.
Configuration files would make much more sense
if stored in a dedicated configuration folder in the user's home directory,
and indeed some applications are `beginning to standardize on this`_.
and many applications follow the `XDG base directory standard`_,
which is intended to address this problem.
.. _is problematic: https://plus.google.com/+RobPikeTheHuman/posts/R58WgWwN9jp
.. _beginning to standardize on this: http://standards.freedesktop.org/basedir-spec/basedir-spec-latest.html
In the meantime, however, dotfiles do the job, cluttered as they are,
since each user's files and configuration
is isolated to his or her home directory.
.. _XDG base directory standard: http://standards.freedesktop.org/basedir-spec/basedir-spec-latest.html
Centralized databases like the Windows Registry
are usually unnecessary for configuration.