It is useful to have a glossary of common terms at the front of the
document to define common terms we are going to use throughout the
specification.
Cc: Nikos Dragazis <>
Cc: Stefan Hajnoczi <>
Signed-off-by: Alex BennÃe <>
---
v2
- drop host/guest terminology
- clarify Device/Driver
- add Transport
---
introduction.tex | 21 +++++++++++++++++++++
1 file changed, 21 insertions(+)
diff --git a/introduction.tex b/introduction.tex
index 33da3ec..292b78c 100644
--- a/introduction.tex
+++ b/introduction.tex
@@ -81,6 +81,27 @@ \section{Terminology}\label{Terminology}
The key words ``MUST'', ``MUST NOT'', ``REQUIRED'', ``SHALL'', ``SHALL NOT'', ``SHOULD'', ``SHOULD NOT'', ``RECOMMENDED'', ``MAY'', and ``OPTIONAL'' in this document are to be interpreted as described in \hyperref[intro:rfc2119]{[RFC2119]}.
+\subsection{Glossary}\label{intro:Glossary}
+
+The following are definitions of common terms used throughout the specification.
+
+\begin{description}
+\item[Device] The series of configuration, control and operation
+ mechanisms that make a Virtio device. The implementation details of
+ the device should be transparent to the Driver.
+\item[Driver] The software (usually part of a kernel) which accesses
+ the device interface.
+\item[Notification] An asynchronous signal sent to either the Device
+ or the Driver to indicate an event has occurred. For Device to
+ Driver notifications this is typically an device interrupt although
+ the details are a function of the transport.
+\item[Doorbell] A mechanism for the Driver to trigger a notification
+ to the device. The mechanism is a function of the transport but it
+ is typically an MMIO register.
+\item[Transport] The bus level abstraction that the Driver and Device
+ interface with.
+\end{description}
+
\subsection{Legacy Interface: Terminology}\label{intro:Legacy
Interface: Terminology}
--
2.20.1
