Category talk:Hardware

Revamp

Let me spam you guys first with an expansion of the hardware tree:

Architectures

Category:PowerPC

X86

AMD K6 WriteBack Optimisations

Bootloader

CPU Bugs

Operating Modes

Protected Mode

Global Descriptor Table

Interrupt Descriptor Table

Protected Mode

Virtual 8086 Mode

Virtual Monitor

Real Mode

Interrupt Vector Table

Real Mode

Unreal Mode

System Initialization (x86)

MBR (x86)

Tutorial:GDT

X86 Instructions

CLI

CPUID

INT

INVLPG

STI

XCHG

X86-64

BIOS

CPU

AMD K6 WriteBack Optimisations

CPU Bugs

Detecting CPU Speed

X86-64

HardwareComm

3c556

Ne2000

Serial ports

Interrupts

Interrupt Service Routines

PIC

Memory

A20 Line

CMOS

Networking

3c556

Ne2000

PCI

Peripheral Buses

USB

PIC

PowerManagement

ACPI

APM

RSDP

Programmable Interval Timer

Storage

ATA

DMA

Floppy Driver

Storage

Video

Text UI

VGA

VGA Hardware

VGA Resources

What I notice that there are a lot of topics out of place, topics in categories where they don't belong, duplicate categories, categories with same-named pages, single-topic categories, categories with a full article's contents, and naming inconsistencies: IMO one big mess.

Id like to propose a reorganisation of the category structure as well as some sort of manual of style related issues: At the root, i'd suggest having only concrete devices and directly related standards. (most definately no theory related pages) Like the following:

Architectures

Common Devices (motherboard resources, timers, RNGs, memory: DMA PIC PIT and APIC would go here)

Communication (merge of hardwarecomm and networking)

Input Devices (nonexistant, but useful. A good KBC article would go here)

Peripheral Buses

Sound (nonexistant)

Storage

Video

as subcategories, and either no topics, or a list of ALL devices (for allowing a quick lookup of a device being documented) for which some wikipedia magic could be useful?

For the architectures category:

X86 (category)

Operating Modes (as category, containing only PM, RM, UM, v8086 mode as articles, no subs)

Instructions (as category)

all other x86-specific topics would go as normal articles here, as well as the articles under CPU

and similarly for other architectures

X86-64 (as category)

X86-64 (as article)

...

PowerPC (as category)

PowerPC (as article)

...

The philosophy behind this is that it should be consistent, and obvious. (a lot of subclasses from x86 have been removed, and other architectures get their own category for any future expansion).

For the remaining topics: BIOS goes to X86 (possibly renamed as X86 BIOS) Text UI goes to OS Theory. ACPI and APM are a bit doubtful.

suggestions welcome

- Combuster 06:28, 20 January 2007 (CST)