Debian

operating system /deb'ee`n/, *not* /deeb'ee`n/ The

non-profit volunteer organisation responsible for Debian

GNU/Linux and Debian GNU/Hurd. Debian's Linux

distribution is dedicated to free and open source software;

the main goal of the distribution is to ensure that one can

download and install a fully-functional operating system

that is completely adherent to the Debian Free Software

Guidelines (DFSG).

Debian was begun in August 1993 by Ian Murdock, and was

sponsored by the Free Software Foundation from November 1994

to November 1995. The name Debian is a contraction of DEB(ra)

and IAN Murdock.

Debian's packaging system (dpkg) is similar to other popular

packaging systems like RPM. There are over 2200 packages of

precompiled software available in the main (free) section of

the Debian 2.1 distribution alone -- this is what sets Debian

apart from many other Linux distributions. The high quality

and huge number of official packages (most Debian systems'

/usr/local/ remains empty -- almost everything most Linux

users want is officially packaged) are what draw many people

to use Debian.

Another unique aspect to the Debian project is the open

development; pre-releases are made available from Day 1 and if

anyone wishes to become a Debian developer, all that is needed

is proof of identification and a signed PGP or GPG key.

There are over 400 Debian developers all around the world --

many developers have never met face-to-face, and most

development talks take place on the many mailing lists and

the IRC network.

Home .

Debian Linux archives .

(1999-02-23)