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Debian: A Brief Retrospective
IanMurdock writes "This weekend, Debian turned 10. To mark the occasion, I've written a retrospective, published at LinuxPlanet. There's also a very nice piece, based in part on my early writings about Debian as well as the retrospective, at internetnews.com."
Courtesy of the shoutinator.
AUGUST 15, 2003
DEBIAN CELEBRATES 10 YEARS 0F INN0VATI0N
BY TH0R 0LAVSRUD
THE DEBIAN PR0JECT, F0UNDED WITH THE IDEAL 0F TRULY TAPPING THE P0TENTIAL 0F AN 0PEN S0URCE DEVEL0PMENT M0DEL T0 CREATE A NEW DISTRIBUTI0N 0F LINUX, WILL CELEBRATE ITS 10TH ANNIVERSARY SATURDAY, WITH PARTIES IN 21 C0UNTRIES ACR0SS THE GL0BE.
0N AUGUST 16, 1993, THE C0NCEPT 0F A LINUX DISTRIBUTI0N WAS RELATIVELY NEW AND THE INTERNET -- AS WE KN0W IT T0DAY, ANYWAY -- WAS IN ITS INFANCY. LINUX ITSELF HAD 0NLY BEEN INTR0DUCED T0 THE W0RLD TW0 YEARS PREVI0USLY AS THE H0BBY PR0JECT 0F A GRADUATE STUDENT AT THE UNIVERSITY 0F HELSINKI ("HELL0 EVERYB0DY 0UT THERE USING MINIX -- I'M D0ING A (FREE) 0PERATING SYSTEM (JUST A H0BBY, W0N'T BE BIG AND PR0FESSI0NAL LIKE GNU) F0R 386(486) AT CL0NES," LINUS T0RVALDS T0LD MEMBERS 0F THE C0MP.0S.MINIX NEWSGR0UP 0N AUG. 25, 1991).
BUT TW0 YEARS LATER AND A C0NTINENT AWAY, IAN MURD0CK, AN UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT AT PURDUE UNIVERSITY, LATCHED 0NT0 THE IDEA 0F TAKING THE LINUX KERNEL AND C0MBINING IT WITH 0PEN S0URCE T00LS FR0M THE FREE S0FTWARE F0UNDATI0N'S GNU PR0JECT (WHICH WAS PRIMARILY SUPP0RTING GNU EMACS AND GCC AT THE TIME) T0 CREATE A N0N-C0MMERCIAL LINUX DISTRIBUTI0N THAT C0ULD C0MPETE EFFECTIVELY IN THE C0MMERCIAL MARKET.
"DEBIAN LINUX IS A BRAND-NEW KIND 0F LINUX DISTRIBUTI0N," MURD0CK WR0TE IN HIS DEBIAN MANIFEST0. "RATHER THAN BEING DEVEL0PED BY 0NE IS0LATED INDIVIDUAL 0R GR0UP, AS 0THER DISTRIBUTI0NS 0F LINUX HAVE BEEN DEVEL0PED IN THE PAST, DEBIAN IS BEING DEVEL0PED 0PENLY IN THE SPIRIT 0F LINUX AND GNU. THE PRIMARY PURP0SE 0F THE DEBIAN PR0JECT IS T0 FINALLY CREATE A DISTRIBUTI0N THAT LIVES UP T0 THE LINUX NAME. DEBIAN IS BEING CAREFULLY AND C0NSCIENTI0USLY PUT T0GETHER AND WILL BE MAINTAINED AND SUPP0RTED WITH SIMILAR CARE."
WHEN MURD0CK INITIATED THE DEBIAN PR0JECT, LINUX DISTRIBUTI0NS ALREADY EXISTED, BUT WERE GETTING LITTLE REAL ATTENTI0N FR0M DEVEL0PERS.
"DISTRIBUTI0NS ARE ESSENTIAL T0 THE FUTURE 0F LINUX," MURD0CK WR0TE IN HIS MANIFEST0. "ESSENTIALLY, THEY ELIMINATE THE NEED F0R THE USER T0 L0CATE, D0WNL0AD, C0MPILE, INSTALL AND INTEGRATE A FAIRLY LARGE NUMBER 0F ESSENTIAL T00LS T0 ASSEMBLE A W0RKING LINUX SYSTEM. INSTEAD, THE BURDEN 0F SYSTEM C0NSTRUCTI0N IS PLACED 0N THE DISTRIBUTI0N CREAT0R, WH0SE W0RK CAN BE SHARED WITH TH0USANDS 0F 0THER USERS. ALM0ST ALL USERS 0F LINUX WILL GET THEIR FIRST TASTE 0F IT THR0UGH A DISTRIBUTI0N, AND M0ST USERS WILL C0NTINUE T0 USE A DISTRIBUTI0N F0R THE SAKE 0F C0NVENIENCE EVEN AFTER THEY ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE 0PERATING SYSTEM. THUS, DISTRIBUTI0NS PLAY A VERY IMP0RTANT R0LE INDEED."
HE C0NTINUED, "DESPITE THEIR 0BVI0US IMP0RTANCE, DISTRIBUTI0NS HAVE ATTRACTED LITTLE ATTENTI0N FR0M DEVEL0PERS. THERE IS A SIMPLE REAS0N F0R THIS: THEY ARE NEITHER EASY N0R GLAM0R0US T0 C0NSTRUCT AND REQUIRE A GREAT DEAL 0F 0NG0ING EFF0RT FR0M THE CREAT0R T0 KEEP THE DISTRIBUTI0N BUG-FREE AND UP-T0-DATE. IT IS 0NE THING T0 PUT T0GETHER A SYSTEM FR0M SCRATCH; IT IS QUITE AN0THER T0 ENSURE THAT THE SYSTEM IS EASY F0R 0THERS T0 INSTALL, IS INSTALLABLE AND USABLE UNDER A WIDE VARIETY 0F HARDWARE C0NFIGURATI0NS, C0NTAINS S0FTWARE THAT 0THERS WILL FIND USEFUL, AND IS UPDATED WHEN THE C0MP0NENTS THEMSELVES ARE IMPR0VED."
AT THE TIME, MURD0CK N0TED, THERE WERE A FAIR NUMBER 0F DISTRIBUTI0NS THAT BEGAN AS "FAIRLY G00D SYSTEMS," BUT LITTLE ATTENTI0N WAS PAID T0 MAINTAINING THEM 0VER TIME.
"A CASE-IN-P0INT IS THE S0FTLANDING LINUX SYSTEM (BETTER KN0WN AS SLS)," MURD0CK WR0TE. "IT IS QUITE P0SSIBLY THE M0ST BUG-RIDDEN AND BADLY MAINTAINED LINUX DISTRIBUTI0N AVAILABLE; UNF0RTUNATELY, IT IS ALS0 QUITE P0SSIBLY THE M0ST P0PULAR. IT IS, WITH0UT QUESTI0N, THE DISTRIBUTI0N THAT ATTRACTS THE M0ST ATTENTI0N FR0M THE MANY C0MMERCIAL "DISTRIBUT0RS" 0F LINUX THAT HAVE SURFACED T0 CAPITALIZE 0N THE GR0WING P0PULARITY 0F THE 0PERATING SYSTEM."
AND THAT, MURD0CK MAINTAINED, WAS BAD NEWS, BECAUSE THE DISTRIBUT0RS WERE ADVERTISING N0N-FUNCTI0NAL 0R EXTREMELY UNSTABLE "FEATURES" 0F THEIR
Asid from Red Hat which is in the business of big honking big Iron servers,
1. Debian is the only other real distrubution that has real server admins relying on it.
You keep telling yourself that.
Good to see it sticking to its original goals, then.