Debian is a free operating system. Its primary form, Debian GNU/Linux, is a popular and influential Linux distribution.^[1] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 750 × 600 pixels Full resolution (1280 × 1024 pixel, file size: 275 KB, MIME type: image/png) Screen shot prepared by me. ... This article is about the mythical creature. ... A website (alternatively, Web site or web site) is a collection of Web pages, images, videos and other digital assets that is hosted on one or several Web server(s), usually accessible via the Internet, cell phone or a LAN. A Web page is a document, typically written in HTML... The term software company could be applied to: a) a company that produces software, distributes software from a third party, or provides services such as custom software development. ... For other uses, see Software developer (disambiguation). ... This article is about operating systems that use the Linux kernel. ... is the 229th day of the year (230th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... Advanced Packaging Tool, or APT, is a package management system used by Debian and its derivatives. ... The Intel 80386 is a microprocessor which was used as the central processing unit (CPU) of many personal computers from 1986 until 1994 and later. ... The AMD64 or x86-64 is a 64-bit processor architecture invented by AMD. It is a superset of the x86 architecture, which it natively supports. ... PowerPC is a RISC microprocessor architecture created by the 1991 Apple–IBM–Motorola alliance, known as AIM. Originally intended for personal computers, PowerPC CPUs have since become popular embedded and high-performance processors as well. ... Sun UltraSPARC II Microprocessor Sun UltraSPARC T1 (Niagara 8 Core) SPARC (Scalable Processor Architecture) is a RISC microprocessor instruction set architecture originally designed in 1985 by Sun Microsystems. ... DEC Alpha AXP 21064 Microprocessor die photo Package for DEC Alpha AXP 21064 Microprocessor Alpha AXP 21064 bare die mounted on a business card with some statistics The DEC Alpha, also known as the Alpha AXP, is a 64-bit RISC microprocessor originally developed and fabricated by Digital Equipment Corp... The ARM architecture (previously, the Advanced RISC Machine, and prior to that Acorn RISC Machine) is a 32-bit RISC processor architecture developed by ARM Limited that is widely used in a number of embedded designs. ... A MIPS R4400 microprocessor made by Toshiba. ... HP PA-RISC 7300LC Microprocessor PA-RISC is a microprocessor architecture developed by Hewlett-Packards Systems & VLSI Technology Operation. ... In December, 2001, IBM designated all its mainframes with the name eServer zSeries, with the e depicted in IBMs well-known red trademarked symbol. ... In computing, IA-64 (short for Intel Architecture-64) is a 64-bit processor architecture developed cooperatively by Intel Corporation and Hewlett-Packard (HP), and implemented in the Itanium and Itanium 2 processors. ... A kernel connects the application software to the hardware of a computer. ... It has been suggested that Monolithic system be merged into this article or section. ... The Linux kernel is a Unix-like operating system kernel. ... Clockwise from top: The logo of the GNU Project, the Linux kernel mascot Tux, and the BSD Daemon Free software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions only... An operating system (OS) is the software that manages the sharing of the resources of a computer. ... A Linux distribution, often simply distribution or distro, is a member of the Linux family of Unix-like operating systems comprising the Linux kernel, the non-kernel parts of the GNU operating system, and assorted other software. ...

Debian is known for its adherence to the Unix and free software philosophies, and for its abundance of options — the current release includes over eighteen thousand software packages for eleven computer architectures, ranging from the ARM architecture commonly found in embedded systems and the IBM eServer zSeries mainframe architecture to the more common Intel x86 architecture found in modern personal computers. Debian GNU/Linux is the basis for several other distributions, including Knoppix, Linspire, MEPIS, Xandros, and the Ubuntu family. The Unix philosophy is a set of cultural norms and philosophical approaches to developing software based on the experience of leading developers of the Unix operating system. ... Clockwise from top: The logo of the GNU Project, the Linux kernel mascot Tux, and the BSD Daemon Free software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions only... A software package is a bundle of one or several files that either are necessary for the execution of a computer program, or add features for a program already installed on the computer or network of computers. ... A typical vision of a computer architecture as a series of abstraction layers: hardware, firmware, assembler, kernel, operating system and applications (see also Tanenbaum 79). ... The ARM architecture (previously, the Advanced RISC Machine, and prior to that Acorn RISC Machine) is a 32-bit RISC processor architecture developed by ARM Limited that is widely used in a number of embedded designs. ... A router, an example of an embedded system. ... In December, 2001, IBM designated all its mainframes with the name eServer zSeries, with the e depicted in IBMs well-known red trademarked symbol. ... For other uses, see Mainframe. ... x86 or 80x86 is the generic name of a microprocessor architecture first developed and manufactured by Intel. ... Knoppix, or KNOPPIX, is a complete Linux distribution on a CD. This includes a working computer operating system and a powerful suite of graphical user software which can be used as a live CD. It is a Debian-based Linux distribution, developed by Linux consultant Klaus Knopper. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... MEPIS refers to a set of Linux distributions distributed as LiveCDs which can be installed onto a hard disk. ... Xandros is both the name of a line of Linux distributions and Xandros Corporation, the company which creates them. ... Ubuntu (official IPA pronunciation (oo-BOON-too[5])) is a predominantly desktop-oriented Linux distribution, based on Debian GNU/Linux but with a stronger focus on usability, regular releases, and ease of installation. ...

Debian is also known for its package management system (especially APT), for its strict policies regarding its packages and the quality of its releases. These practices afford easy upgrades between releases and easy automated installation and removal of packages. Illustration of a package management system being used to download new software. ... Advanced Packaging Tool, or APT, is a package management system used by Debian and its derivatives. ...

Debian uses an open development and testing process. It is developed by volunteers from around the world and supported by donations through Software in the Public Interest, Inc., a non-profit umbrella organization for free software projects. Software in the Public Interest, Inc. ... A non-profit organization (abbreviated NPO, or non-profit or not-for-profit) is an organization whose primary objective is to support an issue or matter of private interest or public concern for non-commercial purposes, without concern for monetary profit. ... An umbrella organization is an association of (often related, industry-specific) institutions, who work together formally to coordinate activities or pool resources. ...

History

Debian was first announced on 16 August 1993 by Ian Murdock, then a student at Purdue University. Murdock initially called his system the "Debian Linux Release".^[2] is the 228th day of the year (229th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... Ian Murdock is the founder of the Debian project and the commercial Progeny Debian distribution. ... Purdue redirects here. ...

In the Debian Manifesto, Murdock called for the creation of a distribution to be maintained in an open manner, in the spirit of Linux and GNU. He formed the name "Debian" by combining the first name of his girlfriend (now wife) Debra with his own first name. As such, Debian is pronounced as the corresponding syllables of these names in American English: /'dɛbiən/^[3] but other pronunciations are common in different parts of the world.^[4] The Debian Manifesto is the original defining document of the Debian Linux Distribution. ...

The Debian Project grew slowly at first and released its first 0.9x versions in 1994 and 1995. The first ports to other architectures were begun in 1995, and the first 1.x version of Debian was released in 1996. In 1996, Bruce Perens replaced Ian Murdock as the project leader. In the same year, fellow developer Ean Schuessler suggested that Debian establish a social contract between the project and its users. Perens distilled the resulting discussion on Debian mailing lists into the Debian Social Contract and the Debian Free Software Guidelines, defining fundamental commitments for the development of the distribution. He also initiated the creation of the legal umbrella organization Software in the Public Interest. Bruce Perens is a leader in the Open Source and Free Software community. ... Ean Schuessler is a former president of Software in the Public Interest and the CTO of Brainfood Media Systems. ... John Lockes writings on the Social Contract were particularly influential among the American Founding Fathers. ... The Debian Social Contract is a document framing the core moral agenda of the Debian Project. ... The Debian Free Software Guidelines (DFSG) are a set of guidelines that the Debian Project uses to determine whether a software license is free software license, which in turn is used to determine whether a piece of software can be included in the main, free software distribution of Debian. ... An umbrella organization is an association of (often related, industry-specific) institutions, who work together formally to coordinate activities or pool resources. ... Software in the Public Interest, Inc. ...

Bruce Perens left in 1998 before the release of the first glibc-based Debian, 2.0. The Project proceeded to elect new leaders and made two more 2.x releases, each including more ports and more packages. APT was deployed during this time and the first port to a non-Linux kernel, Debian GNU/Hurd, was started as well. The first Linux distributions based on Debian, Libranet, Corel Linux and Stormix's Storm Linux, were started in 1999. Though no longer developed, these distributions were the first of many distributions based on Debian. Glibc is the GNU projects C standard library, licensed under the LGPL. The lead contributor and maintainer is Ulrich Drepper. ... Advanced Packaging Tool, or APT, is a package management system used by Debian and its derivatives. ... Debian GNU/Hurd is the Debian Projects distribution of the GNU operating system (with GNU Hurd as its kernel). ... A Linux distribution, often simply distribution or distro, is a member of the Linux family of Unix-like operating systems comprising the Linux kernel, the non-kernel parts of the GNU operating system, and assorted other software. ... In computing, Libranet is a Linux distribution that is based on Debian GNU/Linux. ... Corel Linux, also called Corel LinuxOS, was a Debian-based Linux distribution made by Corel that was released in late 1999. ... Stormix was a company who debuted their Debian-based Linux distribution with Storm Linux 2000 in late 1999. ...

In late 2000, the project made major changes to archive and release management, reorganizing software archive processes with new "package pools" and creating a testing branch as an ongoing, relatively stable staging area for the next release. Also in that year, developers began holding an annual conference called DebConf with talks and workshops for developers and technical users.^[5] Debconf is the yearly conference where developers of the Debian GNU/Linux operating system meet to discuss issues around the further development of the system. ...

On April 8, 2007 the Debian Project announced the official release of Debian GNU/Linux version 4.0, codenamed "Etch". April 8 is the 98th day of the year (99th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...

Development procedures

Software packages in development are either uploaded to the project branch named unstable, also known as sid, or the experimental branch. Software packages uploaded to unstable are normally versions stable enough to be released by the original upstream developer, but with the added Debian-specific packaging and other modifications introduced by Debian developers. These additions may be new and untested. Software not ready yet for the unstable branch is typically placed in the experimental branch.

After a version of a software package has remained in unstable for a certain length of time (depending on the urgency of the software's changes), that package is automatically migrated to the testing branch. The package's migration to testing occurs only if no serious (release-critical) bugs in the package are reported and if other software needed for package functionality qualifies for inclusion in testing.

Since updates to Debian software packages between official releases do not contain new features, some choose to use the testing and unstable branches for their newer packages. However, these branches are less tested than stable, and unstable doesn't receive timely security updates.^[6] Starting September 9, 2005^[7] a testing security team provides security updates.^[8] In particular, incautious upgrades to working unstable packages can sometimes seriously break software functionality. is the 252nd day of the year (253rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

After the packages in testing have matured and the goals for the next release are met, the testing branch becomes the next stable release. The latest stable release of Debian (etch) is 4.0. It was released on April 8, 2007. April 8 is the 98th day of the year (99th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...

The forthcoming version is codenamed "lenny."

Project organization

Diagram of the organizational structure of the Project

The Debian Project is a volunteer organization with three foundational documents: Image File history File links The image is copyright (c) 2004 Martin F. Krafft. ... Image File history File links The image is copyright (c) 2004 Martin F. Krafft. ...

• The Debian Social Contract defines a set of basic principles by which the project and its developers conduct affairs.
• The Debian Free Software Guidelines define the criteria for "free software" and thus what software is permissible in the distribution, as referenced in the Social Contract. These guidelines have also been adopted as the basis of the Open Source Definition. Although it can be considered a separate document for all practical purposes, it formally is part of the Social Contract.
• The Debian Constitution describes the organizational structure for formal decision-making within the Project, and enumerates the powers and responsibilities of the Debian Project Leader, the Debian Project Secretary, and the Debian Developers generally.

Currently, the project includes more than a thousand developers. Each of them sustains some niche in the project, be it package maintenance, software documentation, maintaining the project infrastructure, quality assurance, or release coordination. Package maintainers have jurisdiction over their own packages, although packages are increasingly co-maintained. Other tasks are usually the domain of smaller, more collaborative groups of developers. The Debian Social Contract is a document framing the core moral agenda of the Debian Project. ... The Debian Free Software Guidelines (DFSG) are a set of guidelines that the Debian Project uses to determine whether a software license is free software license, which in turn is used to determine whether a piece of software can be included in the main, free software distribution of Debian. ... The Open Source Definition is used by the Open Source Initiative to determine whether or not a software license can be considered open source. ... A software package is a bundle of one or several files that either are necessary for the execution of a computer program, or add features for a program already installed on the computer or network of computers. ... Software documentation or source code documentation is written text that accompanies computer software. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ...

The project maintains official mailing lists and conferences for communication and coordination between developers. For issues with single packages or domains, a public bug tracking system is used by developers and end-users both. Informally, Internet Relay Chat channels (primarily on the OFTC and freenode networks) are used for communication among developers and users as well. A mailing list is a collection of names and addresses used by an individual or an organization to send material to multiple recipients. ... A computer bug is an error, flaw, mistake, failure, or fault in a computer program that prevents it from working as intended, or produces an incorrect result. ... “IRC” redirects here. ... OFTC (Open and Free Technology Community) is, like Freenode, an IRC network which is particularly popular with free and open source software programmers. ... The title of this article should be freenode. ...

Together, the Developers may make binding general decisions by way of a General Resolution or election. All voting is conducted by Cloneproof Schwartz Sequential Dropping, a Condorcet method of voting. A Project Leader is elected once per year by a vote of the Developers; in April 2007, Sam Hocevar was voted into this position, succeeding Anthony Towns. The Debian Project Leader has several special powers, but this power is far from absolute and is rarely utilized. Under a General Resolution, the Developers may, among other things, recall the leader, reverse a decision by him or his delegates, and amend the constitution and other foundational documents. The Schulze method is a voting system developed in 1997 by Markus Schulze that selects a single winner using votes that express preferences. ... A Condorcet method is a single winner election method in which voters rank candidates in order of preference. ... The Debian Project has had the following leaders: Ian Murdock (August 1993 – March 1996), founder of the Debian Project Bruce Perens (April 1996 – December 1997) Ian Jackson (January 1998 – December 1998) Wichert Akkerman (January 1999 – March 2001) Ben Collins (April 2001 – April 2002) Bdale Garbee (April 2002 – April 2003) Martin... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Anthony Towns in 2007 Anthony Towns is an Australian programmer and is the Debian Project Leader from April 17th 2006 until April 17th 2007. ...

The Leader sometimes delegates authority to other developers in order for them to perform specialized tasks. Generally this means that a leader delegates someone to start a new group for a new task, and gradually a team gets formed that carries on doing the work and regularly expands or reduces their ranks as they think is best and as the circumstances allow.

A role in Debian with a similar importance to the Project Leader's is Release Manager. Release Managers set goals for the next release, supervise the process, and make the final decision as to when to release. A software release refers to the creation and availability of a new version of a computer software product. ...

A list of many important positions in the Debian project is available at the Debian organization web page.

Developer recruitment, motivation, and resignation

The Debian project has a steady influx of applicants wishing to become developers. These applicants must undergo an elaborate vetting process which establishes their identity, motivation, understanding of the project's goals (embodied in the Social Contract), and technical competence. More information on the "New Maintainer" process is available at the Debian New Maintainer page.

Debian Developers join the Project for any number of reasons; some that have been cited in the past include:

• a desire to contribute back to the Free Software community (practically all applicants are users of Free Software);
• a desire to see some specific software task accomplished (some view the Debian user community as a valuable testing or proving ground for new software);
• a desire to make, or keep, Free Software competitive with proprietary alternatives;
• a desire to work closely with people that share some of their aptitudes, interests, and goals (there is a very strong sense of community within the Debian project which some applicants do not experience in their paid jobs);
• a simple enjoyment of the iterative process of software development and maintenance.

Debian Developers may resign their positions at any time by orphaning the packages they were responsible for and sending a notice to the developers and the keyring maintainer (so that their upload authorization can be revoked). // The free software community is also called the open source community or the Linux community. ... Clockwise from top: The logo of the GNU Project, the Linux kernel mascot Tux, and the BSD Daemon Free software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions only... It has been suggested that closed source be merged into this article or section. ... A community is a social group of organisms sharing an environment, normally with shared interests. ... “Software development” redirects here. ... Diagram of a public key infrastructure In cryptography, a public key infrastructure (PKI) is an arrangement that binds public keys with respective user identities by means of a certificate authority (CA). ...

Debian package life cycle

Flowchart of the life cycle of a Debian package

Each Debian software package has a maintainer who keeps track of releases by the "upstream" authors of the software and ensures that the package is compliant with Debian Policy, coheres with the rest of the distribution, and meets the standards of quality of Debian. In relations with users and other developers, the maintainer uses the bug tracking system to follow up on bug reports and fix bugs. Typically, there is only one maintainer for a single package, but increasingly small teams of developers "co-maintain" larger and more complex packages and groups of packages. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1221x914, 59 KB)The image is copyright (c) 2005 Martin F. Krafft, based on the work by Kevin Mark. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1221x914, 59 KB)The image is copyright (c) 2005 Martin F. Krafft, based on the work by Kevin Mark. ...

Periodically, a package maintainer makes a release of a package by uploading it to the "incoming" directory of the Debian package archive (or an "upload queue" which periodically batch-transmits packages to the incoming directory). Package uploads are automatically processed to ensure that the upload is well-formed (all the requisite files are in place) and that the package bears the digital signature -- produced with OpenPGP-compatible software -- of a Debian developer. All Debian developers have public keys. Packages are signed to be able to reject uploads from hostile outsiders to the project, and to permit accountability in the event that a package contains a serious bug, a violation of policy, or malicious code. This article is about the computer terms. ... An Open Specification for Pretty Good Privacy (openpgp) OpenPGP is defined by the OpenPGP Working Group of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Proposed Standard RFC 2440. ... PKC, see PKC (disambiguation) Public-key cryptography is a form of modern cryptography which allows users to communicate securely without previously agreeing on a shared secret key. ... A computer bug is an error, flaw, mistake, failure, or fault in a computer program that prevents it from working as intended, or produces an incorrect result. ...

If the package in incoming is found to be validly signed and well-formed, it is installed into the archive into an area called the "pool" and distributed every day to hundreds of mirrors worldwide. Initially, all package uploads accepted into the archive are only available in the "unstable" suite of packages, which contains the most up-to-date version of each package. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

However, new code is also untried code, and those packages are only distributed with clear disclaimers. For packages to become candidates for the next "stable" release of the Debian distribution, they first need to be included in the "testing" suite. The requirements for a package to be included in "testing" is that it:^[9]

• must have been in unstable for the appropriate length of time (the exact duration depends on the "urgency" of the upload).
• must not have a greater number of "release-critical" bugs filed against it than the current version in testing. Release-critical bugs are those bugs which are considered serious enough that they make the package unsuitable for release.
• must be compiled for all release architectures the package claims to support (eg: the i386-specific package gmod can be included in "testing").
• must be a package for an architecture that is slated to release (in other words, packages for architectures that aren't scheduled to release with all the rest are never considered for "testing").^[10]
• must not depend on versions of any packages that do not meet the above conditions.

APT shown on Debian Sarge

Thus, a release-critical bug in a package on which many packages depend, such as a shared library, may prevent many packages from entering the "testing" area, because that library is considered deficient. APT in Debian sarge, GNOME 2. ... APT in Debian sarge, GNOME 2. ...

Periodically, the Release Manager publishes guidelines to the developers in order to ready the release, and in accordance with them eventually decides to make a release. This occurs when all important software is reasonably up-to-date in the release-candidate suite for all architectures for which a release is planned, and when any other goals set by the Release Manager have been met. At that time, all packages in the release-candidate suite ("testing") become part of the released suite ("stable").

It is possible for a package -- particularly an old, stable, and seldom-updated one -- to belong to more than one suite at the same time. The suites are simply collections of pointers into the package "pool" mentioned above.

Debian releases

Graph of release dates, updates, and security support

As of April 2007, the latest stable release is version 4.0, code name etch.^[11] When a new version is released, the previous stable is labeled oldstable; currently, this is version 3.1, code name sarge. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ...

In addition, a stable release gets minor updates (called point releases) marked, for example, like 3.1r1.

The Debian security team releases security updates for the latest stable major release, as well as for the previous stable release for one year.^[12] As version 4.0 Etch was release on 8 April 2007, this means that the security team expect to support version 3.1 Sarge until April 2008. For most uses it is strongly recommended to run a system which receive security updates. The testing version also receives security updates.^[13] April 8 is the 98th day of the year (99th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...

Debian has made nine major stable releases:^[14]

Due to an incident involving a CD vendor who made an unofficial and broken release labeled 1.0, an official 1.0 release was never made.^[23] A code name or cryptonym is a word or name used clandestinely to refer to another name or word. ... A typical vision of a computer architecture as a series of abstraction layers: hardware, firmware, assembler, kernel, operating system and applications (see also Tanenbaum 79). ... is the 168th day of the year (169th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... In computing, the Executable and Linking Format (ELF, formerly called Extensible Linking Format) is a common standard file format for executables, object code, shared libraries, and core dumps. ... is the 346th day of the year (347th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 156th day of the year (157th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the band, see 1997 (band). ... is the 205th day of the year (206th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... Glibc is the GNU projects C standard library. ... is the 68th day of the year (69th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... is the 227th day of the year (228th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 200th day of the year (201st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... is the 157th day of the year (158th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... April 8 is the 98th day of the year (99th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... 2009 (MMIX) will be a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... udev is the device manager for the Linux 2. ... The X.Org Server (officially the ) is the official reference implementation of the X Window System. ... 2008 (MMVIII) will be a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The code names of Debian releases are names of characters from the film Toy Story. The unstable, development distribution is nicknamed sid, after the emotionally unstable next-door neighbour boy who destroyed toys on a regular basis.^[24] This is a list of characters from the Disney/Pixar films, Toy Story, Toy Story 2. ... Toy Story is an Academy-award-winning CGI animated feature film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures and Buena Vista Distribution in the United States on November 22, 1995, and Australia on December 7, 1995, as well as in the United Kingdom on 22 March...

Ports

Architectures

As of the current stable release, the official ports are:^[25]

• i386 – IA-32 (x86) architecture on PC and various other systems
• alpha – DEC Alpha architecture
• sparc – Sun SPARC architecture on Sun-4m, Sun-4u, and Sun-4v systems
• arm – ARM architecture on Risc PC and various embedded systems (little-endian)
• powerpc – PowerPC architecture
• hppa – HP PA-RISC architecture
• ia64 – Itanium (IA-64) architecture
• mips, mipsel – MIPS architecture (big-endian and little-endian)
• s390 – IBM ESA/390 architecture and z/Architecture
• amd64 – AMD64 (x86-64) architecture on PC and various other systems

The m68k port was the second official port in Debian, and has been part of five stable Debian releases. Due to its failure to meet the release criteria, it has been dropped before the release of etch. Still, it continues to be available as part of the unstable distribution: It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with X86 assembly language. ... The Columbia MPC was one of the many IBM PC compatibles offered on the US market. ... DEC Alpha AXP 21064 Microprocessor die photo Package for DEC Alpha AXP 21064 Microprocessor Alpha AXP 21064 bare die mounted on a business card with some statistics The DEC Alpha, also known as the Alpha AXP, is a 64-bit RISC microprocessor originally developed and fabricated by Digital Equipment Corp... Sun UltraSPARC II Microprocessor Sun UltraSPARC T1 (Niagara 8 Core) SPARC (Scalable Processor Architecture) is a RISC microprocessor instruction set architecture originally designed in 1985 by Sun Microsystems. ... Sun-4 was the name given to a series of Unix computer workstations and servers produced by Sun Microsystems, launched in 1987. ... Sun-4 was the name given to a series of Unix computer workstations and servers produced by Sun Microsystems, launched in 1987. ... Sun-4 was the name given to a series of Unix computer workstations and servers produced by Sun Microsystems, launched in 1987. ... The ARM architecture (previously, the Advanced RISC Machine, and prior to that Acorn RISC Machine) is a 32-bit RISC processor architecture developed by ARM Limited that is widely used in a number of embedded designs. ... The Risc PC (codenamed Medusa) was Acorn Computers Ltds next generation RISC OS/Acorn RISC Machine computer, launched in 1994, which superseded the Acorn Archimedes. ... PowerPC is a RISC microprocessor architecture created by the 1991 Apple–IBM–Motorola alliance, known as AIM. Originally intended for personal computers, PowerPC CPUs have since become popular embedded and high-performance processors as well. ... HP PA-RISC 7300LC Microprocessor PA-RISC is a microprocessor architecture developed by Hewlett-Packards Systems & VLSI Technology Operation. ... Itanium is the brand name for 64-bit Intel microprocessors that implement the Intel Itanium architecture (formerly called IA-64). ... A MIPS R4400 microprocessor made by Toshiba. ... IBM ESA/390 (Enterprise Systems Architecture/390) has been introduced in the 1990s and is IBMs last 31-bit-address/32-bit-data mainframe computing design, copied by Amdahl, Hitachi, and Fujitsu among other competitors. ... z/Architecture (formerly known as ESAME) refers to IBMs 64-bit computing architecture for its top-of-the-line enterprise servers. ... AMD64 Logo AMD64 (also x86-64 or x64) is a 64-bit microprocessor architecture and corresponding instruction set designed by Advanced Micro Devices. ... The Columbia MPC was one of the many IBM PC compatibles offered on the US market. ...

• m68k – Motorola 68k architecture on Amiga, Atari, Macintosh, and various embedded VME systems

Ongoing efforts include ports to Hitachi SuperH and M32R architectures, big-endian ARM port (armeb), and 64-bit-only PowerPC port (ppc64). The Motorola 680x0/0x0/m68k/68k/68K family of CISC microprocessor CPU chips were 32-bit from the start, and were the primary competition for the Intel x86 family of chips in personal computers of the 1980s and early 1990s. ... This article is about the family of home computers. ... The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was commercially popular from 1985 to the early 1990s. ... For other uses, see Macintosh (disambiguation) and Mac. ... VMEbus is a computer bus standard originally developed for the Motorola 68000 line of CPUs, but later widely used for many applications and standardized by the IEC as ANSI/IEEE 1014-1987. ... The SuperHichem (or SH) is brandname of a certain microcontroller and microprocessor architecture. ... The Renesas M32R is a 32-bit embedded RISC microcontroller originally developed and manufactured by Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, succeeded by a FPGA-implemented MMUed M32R variant named mappi which runs Debian/GNU Linux, and is supported by the GNU Compiler Collection. ... PowerPC is a RISC microprocessor architecture created by the 1991 Apple-IBM-Motorola alliance, known as AIM. Originally intended for workstations, PowerPC CPUs have since become popular embedded and high-performance processors as well. ...

Kernels

For more details on this topic, see GNU variants.

The Project describes itself as creating a "Universal Operating System" and several ports of all userland software to various operating system kernels are under development:^[26] GNU variants are operating systems based on GNU but not using the Hurd. ... In computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed (e. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... A kernel connects the application software to the hardware of a computer. ...

• Debian GNU/Linux, on the Linux kernel — the original, officially released port
• Debian GNU/Hurd, on GNU Hurd
• Debian GNU/kFreeBSD, on the FreeBSD kernel
• Debian GNU/NetBSD, on the NetBSD kernel

Although these are official Debian projects, there have been no official releases of the non-Linux ports yet, so currently Debian is exclusively a Linux distribution. The Linux kernel is a Unix-like operating system kernel. ... Debian GNU/Hurd is the Debian Projects distribution of the GNU operating system (with GNU Hurd as its kernel). ... “hurd” redirects here. ... Debian GNU/kFreeBSD is GNU/kFreeBSD operating system made by Debian for i486-compatible computer architectures. ... FreeBSD is a Unix-like free operating system descended from AT&T UNIX via the Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) branch through the 386BSD and 4. ... Debian GNU/NetBSD is a distribution of GNU operating system with NetBSD kernel, unlike most other GNU variants that are shipped with the Linux kernel. ... NetBSD is a freely redistributable, open source version of the Unix-like BSD computer operating system. ...

Advantages and criticisms

The Debian system provides over 18200 precompiled packages.^[27] Since the stable release has been through a rigorous release cycle, the system and packages are stable. Since the rigor of the release cycles can take some time, one technical criticism of Debian is that, the released stable branch can become too old for those on the bleeding edge. Almost three years elapsed between Debian 3.0 and Debian 3.1. Although Debian 4.0 was announced for December 2006^[28] (18 months after the release of 3.1) it was released on April 8, 2007. This criticism is countered to some degree by the existence of: April 8 is the 98th day of the year (99th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...

• The volatile project, containing updates to the stable release for programs whose functionality requires frequent updates.^[29]
• Repositories of backported packages (updated package versions compiled in the stable environment), like those on backports.org and apt-get.org. However, it requires precise configuration of the priority of the packages repositories to be merged, done in the /etc/apt/preferences file. If not done so, in some cases these packages may not be as well integrated into the system, possibly resulting in problems upgrading or conflicts between backported packages from different sources.
• The testing branch of Debian, which is much more stable than its name might indicate. It receives frequent package updates, without most of the drawbacks of using the unstable branch.

• So, considering these aspects, we might say that the stable branch in conjunction with the backports.org repository is most suitable for servers which need stability but do not require the latest versions of the available software, and users who prefer stability. And testing is most recommended for those users who like to live on the bleeding edge, with updates and corrections released very frequently (some times every week). And the unstable branch is for Debian developers who participate in a project and need the latest libraries available.

Another criticism is that not all software and documentation is available in the official Debian software repository because it does not satisfy the Debian Project's requirements of freedom. Backporting is the action of taking a certain software modification (patch) and applying it to an older version of the software than it was initially created for. ...

In such cases, the software or documentation may be obtained from upstream or third-party repositories, or from the auxiliary non-free section of Debian fileservers. There may also be alternative, free software in the Debian distribution that serves a similar purpose.

Examples of this include:

• Documents using the GNU Free Documentation License with sections that the author does not permit to be altered or removed are considered non-free by Debian.^[30]
• The proprietary Adobe Acrobat reader is not distributed by Debian, however other free PDF readers are, and the Acrobat reader can be downloaded from Adobe and installed manually on a Debian system.

Conversely, some in the free software community have criticized the Debian Project for making the non-free section available, rather than excluding proprietary software entirely. Additionally, Debian has, in the past, included proprietary device driver code (firmware) in its Linux kernel packages due to disagreement about whether Debian software guidelines extended to firmware for hardware components. “GFDL” redirects here. ... It has been suggested that closed source be merged into this article or section. ... Adobe Acrobat is a family of application software by Adobe Systems. ... “PDF” redirects here. ... A microcontroller, like this PIC18F8720 is controlled by firmware stored inside on FLASH memory In computing, firmware is a computer program that is embedded in a hardware device, for example a microcontroller. ...

See also

• Comparison of Linux distributions
• List of Debian-based Linux distributions
• List of Debian Project Leaders

Image File history File links Free_Software_Portal_Logo. ... Technical variations include support for different hardware devices and systems or software package configurations. ... This page provides general information about notable Linux distributions in the form of a categorized list. ... The Debian Project has had the following leaders: Ian Murdock (August 1993 – March 1996), founder of the Debian Project Bruce Perens (April 1996 – December 1997) Ian Jackson (January 1998 – December 1998) Wichert Akkerman (January 1999 – March 2001) Ben Collins (April 2001 – April 2002) Bdale Garbee (April 2002 – April 2003) Martin...

Notes

is the 228th day of the year (229th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... February 28 is the 59th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 110th day of the year (111th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 248th day of the year (249th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 110th day of the year (111th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 221st day of the year (222nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 142nd day of the year (143rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 93rd day of the year (94th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 116th day of the year (117th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 93rd day of the year (94th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 116th day of the year (117th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 93rd day of the year (94th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 116th day of the year (117th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 227th day of the year (228th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 93rd day of the year (94th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 116th day of the year (117th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... April 8 is the 98th day of the year (99th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 320th day of the year (321st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 107th day of the year (108th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 93rd day of the year (94th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 144th day of the year (145th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 144th day of the year (145th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 145th day of the year (146th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 222nd day of the year (223rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

Martin Felix Krafft (b. ... The Debian System is a 2005 non-fiction book written by Martin Krafft which deals exclusively with Debian GNU/Linux, detailing its internal workings. ... Open Source Press is a computer book publisher based in Munich, Germany. ... No Starch Press is a publishing company specializing in computer books for the technically savvy, or geek entertainment as they term it. ... Benjamin Mako Hill (b. ... The Wiley Building in Hoboken, New Jersey, located on the waterfront between River Street and Frank Sinatra Drive. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Debian

• Official website
• Debian GNU/Linux at DistroWatch
• Original comp.os.linux.development announcement from 1993