On Tue, 18 Feb 2003 00:33:02 GMT, "Alex Kirk" <alex@schnarff.com> wrote:
> 
> As you probably realize, the Dreamcast can only be run via NFS, and thus
> has to be netbooted. Most of the folks on port-dreamcast were newbies to
> the concept when we started out, and in reading the official NetBSD 
> documentation on the subject (particularly 
> http://www.netbsd.org/Documentation/network/netboot/), we found it to be
> 
> rather confusing/incomplete, particularly for someone with limited 
> experience with the subject. 
> 
> To that end, we decided we'd like to offer to re-write some, if not all,
> of that documentation. Obviously, the first thing to be done is that we
> need a Dreamcast-specific page in section 1; I doubt anyone here would
> dispute that need. Beyond that, we've got some other ideas which we
> don't completely agree upon, which we'd like your opinion on. 

Hello Alex, 

I made much the same complaint on 13 January.  Let's collaborate.  

I think the netboot document should be converted to SGML DocBook.  Then,
maybe, with a little cleverness, we can generate machine-specific
documents instead of one generic document with many architecture-specific
parts.  I don't know how to do that, but I'm pretty sure SGML provides a
mechanism.  

I agree particularly that there should be a step-by-step, itemized list,
protocol-by-protocol, daemon-for-daemon, of what happens.  IMO the netboot
reader is required to synthesize too much, and sometimes has to read
between the lines where the specific advice is out of date or not
applicable.  

My experience comprises two vaxen and one sparcstation.  So, I'm no expert
either, but at least I can claim a different corner.  

Regards, 

--jkl