Debian

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Debian GNU/Linux
Debian logo
Screenshot of Debian 5.0 (“Lenny”)
Debian GNU/Linux 5.0 (“Lenny”)
Company / developer Debian Project
OS family GNU with various kernels
Working state Current
Source model Free software / Open source software
Initial release 16 August 1993 (1993-08-16)
Latest stable release 5.0 Lenny / 14 February 2009 (2009-02-14); 352 days ago
Available language(s) 63 languages[1]
Update method APT (several front-ends available)
Package manager dpkg
Supported platforms i386(x86), amd64(x86-64), PowerPC, SPARC, DEC Alpha, ARM, MIPS, HPPA, S390, IA-64
Kernel type Monolithic (Linux, FreeBSD, NetBSD), Micro (Hurd)
Default user interface GNOME, KDE, Xfce, and LXDE
License GNU GPL, and other licenses[2]
Website www.debian.org

Debian is a free operating system which is the Linux kernel (the core of Linux itself) and application software run on its kernel. Much of the application and utility software was done by the GNU project, so Debian Linux is more correctly called "Debian GNU/Linux". It is one of the most complete and popular Linux distributions, on which many others, like Ubuntu, are based upon.

Contents

Brief history

The Debian Project officially started on August 16th, 1993, led by Ian Murdock. He is a computer programmer. Today, in this project, Debian is developed by more than 1,000 computer specialists all over the world.

The name "Debian" was taken after Ian Murdock and his wife Debra. Some people say or pronounce 'deb-ee-n' but others also say 'de-bi-an' or 'de-bai-an' and in Japan 'de-bi-a-n' and so on.

Development steps

Software packages in development are either uploaded to the project distribution named unstable (also known as sid), or to the experimental repository. 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 distribution is typically placed in the experimental repository.[3]

After a version of a software package has remained in unstable for a certain length of time (depending on how urgent the changes are), that package is automatically moved to the testing distribution. The package's move to testing happens 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.[3]

Since updates to Debian software packages between official releases do not contain new features, some choose to use the testing and unstable distributions for their newer packages. However, these distributions are less tested than stable, and unstable does not receive timely security updates. In particular, incautious upgrades to working unstable packages can sometimes seriously break software functionality.[4] Since September 9, 2005[5] the testing distributions security updates have been provided by the testing security team.[6]

After the packages in testing have matured and the goals for the next release are met, the testing distribution becomes the next stable release. The latest stable release of Debian (Lenny) is 5.0, released on February 14, 2009. The next release is codenamed "Squeeze".[3]

Public releases

Several versions have been made public. The current version is Debian 5.0 (also known by its codename, Lenny).[7]

Color Meaning
Red Old release; not supported
Yellow Old release; still supported
Green Current release
Blue Future release
Version Code name Release date Architectures Packages Support
1.1 buzz 17 June 1996 1 474 1996
1.2 rex 12 December 1996 1 848 1996
1.3 bo 5 June 1997 1 974 1997
2.0 hamm 24 July 1998 2 ~ 1500 1998
2.1 slink 9 March 1999 4 ~ 2250 2000-12
2.2 potato 15 August 2000 6 ~ 3900 2003-04
3.0 woody 19 July 2002 11 ~ 8500 2006-08
3.1 sarge 6 June 2005 11 ~ 15400 2008-04[4]
4.0 etch 8 April 2007 11 ~ 18000 2010-02[4]
5.0[8] lenny[9] 14 February 2009 12 ~ 23000 TBA[4]
6.0[10] squeeze[11] TBA TBA TBA TBA

Other pages

References

  1. ↑ Debian GNU/Linux 5.0 released. Debian (2009-02-14). Retrieved on 15 February 2009.
  2. ↑ License information. Debian. Retrieved on 28 February 2009.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 The Debian GNU/Linux FAQ Chapter 6 - The Debian FTP archives. Debian. Retrieved on 24 May 2007.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Debian security FAQ. Debian (2007-02-28). Retrieved on 21 October 2008.
  5. ↑ Hess, Joey (2005-09-05), "announcing the beginning of security support for testing", debian-devel-announce mailing list
  6. ↑ Debian testing security team. Debian. Retrieved on 31 October 2008.
  7. ↑ Debian Releases. Debian. Retrieved on 14 February 2009.
  8. ↑ Brockschmidt, Marc (2008-03-02), "Release Update: Release numbering, goals, armel architecture, BSPs", debian-announce mailing list
  9. ↑ Langasek, Steve (2006-11-16), "testing d-i Release Candidate 1 and more release adjustments", debian-devel-announce mailing list
  10. ↑ Debian GNU/Linux 6.0 -- Release Notes. Debian. Retrieved on 15 February 2009.
  11. ↑ Claes, Luk (2008-09-01), "Release Update: freeze guidelines, testing, BSP, rc bug fixes", debian-devel-announce mailing list

Other websites

Retrieved from "http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debian"

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