diff --git a/manual/gnuboot.texi b/manual/gnuboot.texi index 70ade1f..623376c 100644 --- a/manual/gnuboot.texi +++ b/manual/gnuboot.texi @@ -15,6 +15,8 @@ Copyright @copyright{} 2024 Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli. +Copyright @copyright{} 2024 Adrien 'neox' Bourmault. + @quotation Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or @@ -472,6 +474,57 @@ GNU Boot, but support for them hasn't been enabled yet in GNU Boot: The GNU Boot project needs help to evaluate the impact of enabling these and welcome contributions in this area. +@node Supported operating systems +@subsection Supported operating systems + +While GNU Boot should be able to boot almost any GNU/Linux +distribution, but in some cases some configuration might be needed by +the GNU Boot user. + +Even if some cases require some configuration, GNU Boot makes sure to +provide at least one way to boot free GNU/Linux distributions (see +@url{https://www.gnu.org/distros/} for more information on these +distributions) without the need to configure anything in order to make +it possible for less technical users to use computers with GNU Boot, +and even reinstall the GNU/Linux distribution without needing to do +anything too complicated. + +To make that possible, the GNU Boot contributors that proposes +improvements to the project typically test GNU Boot with free +distributions, and the GNU Boot project even runs automatic tests with +Trisquel 11 (aramo), one of the free distributions to make sure that +it can boot fine without needing any special configuration from the +user. + +However sometimes fully free distributions also propose experimental +or non-standard configurations for very specific use cases. For +instance Guix has experimental support for GNU Hurd, an experimental +kernel from the GNU project, and Trisquel supports the Xen kernel, +which is a virtualization solution that not supported by all GNU/Linux +distributions. These configurations are not supported in the official +installers of these distribution and so users are usually aware thaty +they use Xen or GNU Hurd. Using GNU Boot with these configurations +might require some configuration from the user. Also we would need +help from users to report what works and doesn't work or what +workarounds are needed to make them work with GNU Boot. + +The cases that are known not to require any configuration might also +work with any GNU/Linux distributions (even the nonfree ones), however +the GNU Boot project doesn't want to force contributors to download or +run nonfree software to test changes, so it relies on voulounteers +already running such distributions to report bugs in case something +doesn't work as it should. + +As for other operating systems, there is some documentation on how to +boot some of them (like some BSD operating systems) on the GNU Boot +website, but again we need help from voulonteers already running such +systems to keep the documentation up to date and inform us of what +works and doesn't work. + +Also if you want to do such tests, you can open a bug report on the +GNU Boot bug tracker at +@url{https://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/?group=gnuboot}. + @node Helping GNU Boot @chapter Helping GNU Boot