From 8f6092643863f893c6b8d9f57231c9b1f1fa9c77 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Nathaniel Beaver Date: Thu, 11 Feb 2016 19:40:59 -0600 Subject: [PATCH] Typos and formatting. --- readme.rst | 53 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++--------------------- 1 file changed, 32 insertions(+), 21 deletions(-) diff --git a/readme.rst b/readme.rst index 949df10..efa93cd 100644 --- a/readme.rst +++ b/readme.rst @@ -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.