Note: Questions MUST be programming related. Use this tag only if your question relates to development on Debian using operating system API's or Debian-specific features, or to creating packages in the deb format.
The Debian Project
The Debian Project is a project aimed at providing a complete, all-purpose operating system with free open source software. The term 'Debian' is used for the Linux distribution rather then the project. In its most common form the operating system uses a Linux kernel and is packed with GNU tools (officially naming it "Debian GNU/Linux"). The name Debian comes from the names Debra and Ian Murdock (founder and his wife) (1).
Debian is known for its strict adherence to free software (2), its dependency resolving package manager (DPKG, APT), its stability (there are however releases available with more bleeding-edge software) and ability to run on lots of types of hardware. It has many derivatives (2) including the the very popular Ubuntu (ubuntu).
What should and should not be asked here
Since Debian generally uses the Linux kernel and software also available for other Linux distributions there is a lot of common ground between these topics.
The debian
-tag should be used for questions about
- Creating packages in the deb format
- Development on Debian using operating system API's or Debian specific features
For other questions there are more relevant tags, either more general or more specific:
- Developing on a Debian PC (use a tag for the programming languages or tools you're using instead)
- Using the command line (use shell or, preferably, the actual used shell like bash or sh)
- Configuration and administration questions should be asked on Serverfault
- Questions about using Debian or some of its tools fit better on Superuser or Unix & Linux
Learn more
- The Debian Reference (main documentation)
- The Debian FAQ
- The Installation Guide
Index of releases
- The next release of Debian is codenamed buster — no release date has been set
- Debian 9 (stretch) — current stable release
- Debian 8 (jessie) — obsolete stable release
- Debian 7 (wheezy) — obsolete stable release
- Debian 6.0 (squeeze) — obsolete stable release
- Debian GNU/Linux 5.0 (lenny) — obsolete stable release
- Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 (etch) — obsolete stable release
- Debian GNU/Linux 3.1 (sarge) — obsolete stable release
- Debian GNU/Linux 3.0 (woody) — obsolete stable release
- Debian GNU/Linux 2.2 (potato) — obsolete stable release
- Debian GNU/Linux 2.1 (slink) — obsolete stable release
- Debian GNU/Linux 2.0 (hamm) — obsolete stable release