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Splitting long lines and clarifying titles.

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Nathaniel Beaver
2015-09-03 14:00:12 -05:00
parent 3b5d28e818
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README.rst
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@@ -115,9 +115,9 @@ If you are a Windows user:
You may heartily disagree with substantial parts of what follows,
but perhaps it may be useful to you, even so.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Intrinsic technical deficiencies of Windows
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Intrinsic technical deficiencies of the Windows NT operating system
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
------------------------
Live booting is lacking.
@@ -146,15 +146,18 @@ but installing software and drivers is still `sometimes a challenge`_.
.. _WinBuilder: http://winbuilder.net/
.. _sometimes a challenge: http://www.irongeek.com/i.php?page=security/winbuilder-win7pe-se-tutorial
The absence of fully functional live versions of Windows makes it difficult to use for, e.g,
The absence of fully functional live versions of Windows
makes it difficult to use for, e.g,
determining if a bug is due to hardware or software problems,
recovering data from a machine with filesystem corruption or bad disk sectors,
and testing out different versions of an OS without committing a partition of a hard disk to a permanent installation.
and testing out different versions of an OS
without committing a partition of a hard disk to a permanent installation.
`Live versions`_ of Linux are full operating systems,
able to mount and repartition disks,
connect to the internet and run a web browser,
and (for `persistent live USB flash drives`_) retain settings and data on the next boot-up.
and (for `persistent live USB flash drives`_)
retain settings and data on the next boot-up.
.. _Live versions: http://www.linux.com/directory/Distributions/livecd
.. _persistent live USB flash drives: http://askubuntu.com/questions/295701/what-would-be-the-differences-between-a-persistent-usb-live-session-and-a-instal
@@ -182,7 +185,7 @@ Similar to live booting,
Linux is often run as a virtual machine,
and consequently it is well-adapted to changes in hardware.
For example, an existing Linux partition on a physical hard drive
An existing Linux partition on a physical hard drive
can, with some care, be virtualized and run on another machine,
or even simply transferred to a USB enclosure and booted directly,
a `virtue which Windows does not share`_,
@@ -197,7 +200,8 @@ Maximum path lengths.
Windows path lengths `are limited to 260 characters`_, including filename.
(In practice, it is often more like `199 characters`_.)
This is `not a flaw in NTFS`_ or Windows per se, but in the `non-Unicode version of the Windows API`_.
This is `not a flaw in NTFS`_ or Windows per se,
but in the `non-Unicode version of the Windows API`_.
.. _are limited to 260 characters: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa365247%28VS.85%29.aspx#maxpath
.. _not a flaw in NTFS: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee681827%28VS.85%29.aspx#limits
@@ -206,7 +210,9 @@ This is `not a flaw in NTFS`_ or Windows per se, but in the `non-Unicode version
.. _have not done so: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/bclteam/archive/2007/02/13/long-paths-in-net-part-1-of-3-kim-hamilton.aspx
This problem can be avoided by using Unicode versions of the API calls,
but many applications (e.g. `Windows Explorer`_, `.NET`_ and `consequently Powershell`_) have not done so.
but many applications
(e.g. `Windows Explorer`_, `.NET`_ and `consequently Powershell`_)
have not done so.
.. _Windows Explorer: https://www.gibixonline.com/post/2009/08/23/Explorer-still-limited-by-MAX_PATH
.. _.NET: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/bclteam/archive/2007/02/13/long-paths-in-net-part-1-of-3-kim-hamilton.aspx
@@ -250,8 +256,11 @@ You can check it by running::
$ getconf PATH_MAX /
However, `this limit is not enforced`_ by any filesystems that Linux runs on,
and consequently some ``libc`` implementations were for a while `susceptible to buffer overflow`_ when trying to resolve canonical file paths.
However, `this limit is not enforced`_
by any filesystems that Linux runs on,
and consequently some ``libc`` implementations
were for a while `susceptible to buffer overflow`_
when trying to resolve canonical file paths.
.. _4096 chars in typical kernels and filesystems: http://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/28997/on-deep-created-directories
.. _this limit is not enforced: http://insanecoding.blogspot.com/2007/11/pathmax-simply-isnt.html
@@ -259,7 +268,8 @@ and consequently some ``libc`` implementations were for a while `susceptible to
The 2008 POSIX revision has `addressed the issue`_,
but prior to this the Linux kernel had to make non-standard modifications to avoid overflow,
and `warned about the problem`_ in the ``realpath (3)`` man page of the Linux Programmer's Manual.
and `warned about the problem`_
in the ``realpath (3)`` man page of the Linux Programmer's Manual.
.. _addressed the issue: https://www.securecoding.cert.org/confluence/display/seccode/FIO02-C.+Canonicalize+path+names+originating+from+tainted+sources
.. _warned about the problem: http://linux.die.net/man/3/realpath
@@ -284,7 +294,8 @@ This is why Linus Torvalds `chose an unusually high`_ timer interrupt frequency
Filename case-insensitivity.
----------------------------
Linux uses case-sensitive filenames because Unix used case-sensitive filename.
Linux uses case-sensitive filenames
because Unix used case-sensitive filename.
Unix was case-sensitive because Multics was case-sensitive.
Multics was case-sensitive because of ASCII.
@@ -512,7 +523,8 @@ which is used to terminate strings in C. [#C_strings]_
Windows has the same restrictions,
as well as many other `restrictions which are considerably more complex`_
and are partly the result of `backwards compatibility with operating systems from the early 1970s`_.
and are partly the result
of `backwards compatibility with operating systems from the early 1970s`_.
.. _backwards compatibility with operating systems from the early 1970s: http://bitquabit.com/post/zombie-operating-systems-and-aspnet-mvc/
.. _restrictions which are considerably more complex: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa365247%28v=vs.85%29.aspx#naming_conventions
@@ -717,9 +729,13 @@ Modifications of the contents of the files depend on the the individual file per
.. [#unix_groups] Unix permissions, for example, are not a panacea: https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/164303/single-user-for-sharing-vs-multiple-users
.. [#ntfs_permissions_flaw] NTFS permissions have their own issues, e.g. https://serverfault.com/questions/31709/how-to-workaround-the-ntfs-move-copy-design-flaw
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Architectural deficiencies of Windows
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Architectural deficiencies of the Windows platform
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
These are limitations of the Windows platform
which are not intrinsic to the operationg system,
but nevertheless cause problems.
--------------------------------
Limited default debugging tools.
@@ -760,9 +776,12 @@ Restrictive default file locking.
.. TODO: Add more sources to this.
Windows applications `lock files they use by default`_, so `file access is a nuisance`_ by default.
If an application is misbehaving and you want to examine a file it is using,
this is generally blocked until the application is killed.
Windows applications `lock files they use by default`_,
so `file access is a nuisance`_ by default.
If an application is misbehaving
and you want to examine a file it is using,
this is generally blocked
until the application is killed.
.. _lock files they use by default: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_locking#In_Microsoft_Windows
.. _file access is a nuisance: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/546504/how-do-i-make-windows-file-locking-more-like-unix-file-locking
@@ -770,7 +789,8 @@ this is generally blocked until the application is killed.
By contrast,
on Linux it is not unusual for two different applications
to share read access to the same file,
or for one process to read a file while another process is writing to it,
or for one process to read a file
while another process is writing to it,
since applications do not lock files by default.
----------------------------
@@ -780,7 +800,8 @@ No choice of window manager.
The Linux kernel does not require a particular desktop environment,
or indeed any graphical desktop at all.
However, Linux desktop users generally run graphical user interfaces managed by the X server.
There are are many, many options for `desktop environment`_ and `window manager`_ on Linux.
There are are many, many options
for `desktop environment`_ and `window manager`_ on Linux.
.. _desktop environment: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_X_Window_System_desktop_environments
.. _window manager: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_X_window_managers
@@ -804,9 +825,9 @@ the underlying windowing system is the same.
.. _alternative shells: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_alternative_shells_for_Windows
.. _visual themes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theme_%28computing%29#Operating_systems
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Usability issues.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Non-resizable dialog boxes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The window manager monoculture means that accessibility improvements
and user interface customization can be difficult to implement.