diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'doc/documentation/chapters/preface.texi')
-rw-r--r-- | doc/documentation/chapters/preface.texi | 64 |
1 files changed, 64 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/doc/documentation/chapters/preface.texi b/doc/documentation/chapters/preface.texi new file mode 100644 index 000000000..b1fd14e6a --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/documentation/chapters/preface.texi | |||
@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@ | |||
1 | @node Preface | ||
2 | @chapter Prefacwe | ||
3 | |||
4 | @c introductionary words here | ||
5 | This collection of Manuals describes how to use GNUnet, a framework | ||
6 | for secure peer-to-peer networking with the high-level goal to provide | ||
7 | a strong foundation Free Software for a global, distributed network | ||
8 | that provides security and privacy. GNUnet in that sense aims to | ||
9 | replace the current internet protocol stack. Along with an | ||
10 | application for secure publication of files, it has grown to include | ||
11 | all kinds of basic applications for the foundation of a new internet. | ||
12 | |||
13 | @menu | ||
14 | * About this book | ||
15 | * Introduction | ||
16 | * General Terminology:: | ||
17 | * Typography:: | ||
18 | @end menu | ||
19 | |||
20 | @node About this book | ||
21 | @section About this book | ||
22 | |||
23 | The books (described as ``book'' or ``books'' in the following) bundled as | ||
24 | the ``GNUnet Reference Manual'' are based on the historic work of all | ||
25 | contributors to GNUnet's Documentation. The Documentation existed in | ||
26 | various formats before it came to be in the format you are currently | ||
27 | reading. It is our hope that the content is described in a way that does | ||
28 | not require any academic background, although some concepts will require | ||
29 | further reading. | ||
30 | |||
31 | Our (long-term) goal with these books is to keep them self-contained. If | ||
32 | you see references to Wikipedia and other external sources (except for | ||
33 | our academic papers) it means that we are working on a solution to | ||
34 | describe the explanations found there which fits our usecase and licensing. | ||
35 | |||
36 | The first chapter (``Preface'') as well as the the second | ||
37 | chapter (``Philosophy'') give an introduction to GNUnet as a project, | ||
38 | what GNUnet tries to achieve, | ||
39 | |||
40 | @node Introduction | ||
41 | @section Introduction | ||
42 | |||
43 | @c In less than 2 printed pages describe the history of GNUnet here, | ||
44 | @c what we have now and what's still missing (could be split into | ||
45 | @c subchapters). | ||
46 | |||
47 | GNUnet in its current version is the result of almost 20 years of work | ||
48 | from many contributors, with many publications. | ||
49 | |||
50 | @node General Terminology | ||
51 | @section General Terminology | ||
52 | |||
53 | In the following Manual we may use words that can not be found in the | ||
54 | Appendix. Since we want to keep the Manual selfcontained, we will | ||
55 | explain words here. | ||
56 | |||
57 | @node Typography | ||
58 | @section Typography | ||
59 | |||
60 | When giving examples for commands, shell prompts are used to show if the | ||
61 | command should/can be issued as root, or if "normal" user privileges are | ||
62 | sufficient. We use a @code{#} for root's shell prompt, a | ||
63 | @code{%} for users' shell prompt, assuming they use the C-shell or tcsh | ||
64 | and a @code{$} for bourne shell and derivatives. | ||