View Source: DebianLinux - Waikato Linux Users Group

You are viewing an old revision of this page. View the current version.
Debian is a [GNU]/[Linux] distribution. The name comes from the founder of the project, Ian Murdock, and his wife, Debra. Hence "Deb" and "Ian".

If you use DebianLinux, you tend to love DebianLinux. Why?

__Non-commercial__ :
    It's not controlled by a corporate entity.
__[APT]__ :
    To install anything you just type <tt>apt-get install ''package''</tt> and you're away.  Dependencies are all handled for you.  No more rabbiting around the internet for an [RPM] that might do what you want it to do...
__Runs on ''lots'' of platforms__ :
    i386, Motorola 68k, Alpha, Sparc, PowerPC, ARM, MIPS, HP PA-RISC, IA64 (Itanium) and S390
__Incredibly easy to maintain__ :
    <tt>apt-get upgrade</tt> every night and you'll be running the latest versions of everything.
__Very true to Linux__ :
    Some purists dont like RedHat's directory structures.

There are some reasons not to like DebianLinux, the most obvious of which is that packages have to be uploaded into the repository before you can get them.  You can always install things from source, or use other peoples' ''experimental'' .deb sources just by changing your AptSourcesList. See NewZealandLinuxMirrors for places in NewZealand to get [Deb]s/[ISO]s.

The DebianLinux PackageManagement format is [Deb]. See DebianPackaging on how to create these, or DebianPackageTools for how to use dpkg(8)/[APT]/other programs that install .deb packages.

debian.org have an [online FAQ | http://www.debian.org/doc/FAQ/]; we have a local DebianFaq as well as some handy DebianNotes.

Read about the different FlavoursOfDebian.

For people who want to install DebianLinux but are scared off by stories about its installer, there's [The Very Verbose Debian 3.0 Installation Walkthrough | http://www.osnews.com/story.php?news_id=2016].

See also:
* [ Debian Wiki | http://wiki.debian.net]
* [ A Debian Grimoire | http://deb.riseup.net/ ]
* [ Debian Help (UK) | http://www.debianhelp.co.uk/ ]

!!Comments

; Respect Debian team please! They never named it "DebianLinux", it's just "Debian", "Debian GNU/Linux" is the first type of Debian, the next will be "Debian GNU/Hurd". Linux itself is ~ 16MB when Debian (sarge) is > 16 full sized CDs!! Linux is good, I use linux networking intensively but I want to credit GNU for its ideology. : %%%The page is named for wiki reasons, "Debian" isn't a wiki word.  Perhaps if we change wiki software we'll rename it.

----
Part of CategoryDistribution and CategoryDebian
Version 24, saved on Thursday, November 10, 2005 10:15:28 am by IanMcDonald
Edit PageHistory Diff Info LikePages