The Debian GNU/Linux FAQ

Susan G. Kleinmann ( sgk@debian.org),
Sven Rudolph ( sr1@inf.tu-dresden.de), and
Joost Witteveen ( joostje@debian.org)

1. Meta-questions

• 1.1 In what format is this document written?
• 1.2 Where do I get the latest version of this document?
• 1.3 Where do I send questions, corrections, etc. about this document?
• 1.4 (How) Can I redistribute this file?
• 1.5 What information resources were used to obtain the questions and answers presented here?

2. Definitions and Overview

• 2.1 What is Debian GNU/Linux?
• 2.2 OK, now I know what Debian is...what is Linux!?
• 2.3 What is the difference between Debian and other Linux distributions?
• 2.4 How does the Debian project fit in or compare with the Free Software Foundation's GNU project?
• 2.5 How does one pronounce Debian and what does this word mean?

3. Hardware Requirements

• 3.1 On what architectures/systems does Debian GNU/Linux run?
• 3.2 What hardware is assumed by the stock Debian GNU/Linux boot disks?
• 3.3 What amount of disk space is recommended?
• 3.4 How should I partition my drive?
• 3.5 Are very large disks supported?
• 3.6 (How) Does Debian provide PCMCIA support?

4. Compatibility issues

• 4.1 How compatible is Debian with other distributions of Linux?
• 4.2 How source code compatible is Debian with other Unix systems?
• 4.3 Can I use Debian packages (".deb" files) on my RedHat/Slackware/... Linux system? Can I use RedHat packages (".rpm" files) on my Debian GNU/Linux system?
• 4.4 Is Debian able to run my very old "a.out" programs?
• 4.5 Is Debian able to run my old libc5 programs?
• 4.6 Can Debian be used to compile libc5 programs?
• 4.7 How should I install a non-Debian package?
• 4.8 Why can't I compile programs that require libtermcap?
• 4.9 Why can't I install AccelX?
• 4.10 Why do I get "Can't find libX11.so.6" errors when I try to run foo?
• 4.11 Can I install and compile a kernel without some Debian-specific tweaking?

5. Software available in the Debian system

• 5.1 What types of applications and development software are available for Debian GNU/Linux?
• 5.2 Who wrote all that software?
• 5.3 How can I get a current list of programs that have been packaged for the Debian project?
• 5.4 What is missing from Debian GNU/Linux?
• 5.5 (How) Does Debian support Java?
• 5.6 How can I check that I am using a Debian system?
• 5.7 How can I tell what "version" of the Debian system I am using?
• 5.8 How does Debian support non-English languages?
• 5.9 What about the US export regulation limitations?

6. The Debian FTP archives

• 6.1 What are all those directories at the Debian FTP archives?
• 6.2 How many Debian distributions are there in the dists directory?
• 6.3 What are all those names like hamm, slink, etc.?
• 6.4 What about "frozen"?
• 6.5 Which other codenames have been used in the past?
• 6.6 Where do these codenames come from?
• 6.7 What about "sid"?
• 6.8 Where does the "sid" name come from?
• 6.9 Why is not hamm in the dists directory?
• 6.10 What does the stable directory contain?
• 6.11 What does the unstable directory contain?
• 6.12 What are all those directories inside dists/stable/main?
• 6.13 Where is the source code?
• 6.14 Ok, what about the other directories not inside dists?

7. Basics of the Debian Package Management System

• 7.1 What is a Debian package?
• 7.2 What is the format of a Debian binary package?
• 7.3 Why are Debian package file names so long?
• 7.4 What is a Debian control file?
• 7.5 What is a Debian conffile?
• 7.6 What is a Debian preinst, postinst, prerm, and postrm script?
• 7.7 What is a Required/Important/Standard/Optional/Extra package?
• 7.8 What is a Virtual Package?
• 7.9 What is meant by saying that a file Depends/Recommends/Suggests/Conflicts/Replaces/Provides another package?
• 7.10 What is meant by Pre-Depends?
• 7.11 What is meant by unknown/install/remove/purge/hold in the package status?
• 7.12 How do I install a source package?
• 7.13 How do I build binary packages from a source package?
• 7.14 Where will I get detailed info on creating Debian packages?

8. The Debian Package Management Tools

• 8.1 What program(s) does Debian provide for managing its packages?
• 8.2 Debian claims to be able to update a running program; how is this accomplished?
• 8.3 How can I tell what packages are already installed on a Debian system?
• 8.4 How can I find out what package produced a particular file?

9. Getting and Installing Debian GNU/Linux

• 9.1 Where/how can I get the Debian installation disks?
• 9.2 How do I get and install the Debian from CD-ROM?
• 9.3 I have my own CD-writer, are there CD images available somewhere?
• 9.4 How can I get/install the Debian from a set of floppy disks?
• 9.5 How can I get and install Debian directly from a remote ftp site?
• 9.6 How can I get and install Debian from a tape?
• 9.7 What is the latest version of Debian?

10. Keeping Your Debian System Up To Date

• 10.1 How can I upgrade my Debian 1.3.1 (or earlier) distribution, based on libc5, to 2.0 (or later), based on libc6?
• 10.2 How can I keep my Debian system current?
• 10.3 Must I go into single user mode in order to upgrade a package?
• 10.4 Do I have to keep all those .deb archive files on my disk?
• 10.5 How can I keep a log of the packages I added to the system?

11. Debian and the kernel

• 11.1 What tools does Debian provide to build custom kernels?
• 11.2 How can I make a custom boot floppy?
• 11.3 What special provisions does Debian provide to deal with modules?
• 11.4 Can I safely de-install an old kernel, and if so how?

12. Customizing your installation of Debian GNU/Linux

• 12.1 How can I ensure that all programs use the same paper size?
• 12.2 How can I provide access to hardware peripherals, without compromising security?
• 12.3 How do I load a console font on startup the Debian way?
• 12.4 How can I configure an X11 program's application defaults ?
• 12.5 Every distribution seems to have a different boot-up method. Tell me about Debian's.
• 12.6 It looks as if Debian does not use rc.local to customize the boot process; what facilities are provided?
• 12.7 How does the package management system deal with packages that contain configuration files for other packages?
• 12.8 How do I override a file installed by a package so that a different version can be used instead?
• 12.9 How can I have my locally-built package included in the list of available packages that the package management system knows about?
• 12.10 Some users like mawk, others like gawk; some like vim, others like elvis; some like trn, others like tin; how does Debian support diversity?

13. Getting support for Debian Linux

• 13.1 What other documentation exists on and for a Debian system?
• 13.2 Are there any on-line resources for discussing Debian?
• 13.3 What is the code of conduct for the mailing lists?
• 13.4 Is there a quick way to search for information on Debian GNU/Linux?

14. The Debian Bug Report System

• 14.1 Are there logs of known bugs?
• 14.2 How do I report a bug in Debian?

15. Contributing to the Debian project

• 15.1 How can I become a Debian software developer?
• 15.2 How can I contribute resources to the Debian project?
• 15.3 How can I contribute financially to the Debian project?

16. Redistributing Debian GNU/Linux in a commercial product

• 16.1 Can I make and sell Debian CDs?
• 16.2 Can Debian be packaged with non-free software?
• 16.3 I am making a special Linux distribution for a "vertical market". Can I use Debian GNU/Linux for the guts of a Linux system and add my own applications on top of it?
• 16.4 Can I put my commercial program in a Debian "package"

17. What kind of changes should I expect to see in the next major release of Debian Linux?

• 17.1 Increased security
• 17.2 More Support for non-English users
• 17.3 More architectures
• 17.4 Linux 2.2
• 17.5 glibc 2.1