On Mon, Feb 05, 2001 at 07:46:12PM +1100, Richard Blackburn uttered:
> Could someone briefly explain WITHOUT prejudice what is Debian as
> opposed to what is not Debian? Please be objective.
What you're really asking is why Debian is cool. I can answer that.
1) Strong policy
Debian has a strong policy on everything from labelling software that
isn't free to the locations of files on the file system. This last
is a real breath of fresh air coming from RedHat where most of the
useful software comes in "contrib" meaning it doesn't match policy.
For example config files ALL go in /etc. No ifs, no buts. If a
config file isn't in /etc it is flagged as a critical bug in the bug
database and the developer is strongly hassled by the bug software
and peers to fix it. By contrast look at the Majordomo package in
RPM format which stored config in /usr/lib/majordomo (from memory).
When every package you install uses a different location you really
end up using locate a lot!
2) Debian is a live distribution
With the tool apt, Debian is a live distribution with real "hands
off" upgrades. If you run unstable (and you should -- unstable is a
poor label as it is stable) you get upgrades to the latest versions
of software just but running apt-get update and apt-get ungrade.
This works by querying your local mirror for a packages list which
defines all the available packages, their versions and dependencies.
You system then upgrades selected packages that have a new version
available.
3) Receptive developers
With a centralised bug-tracking system, developers are really
responsive when you flag bugs. For example I flagged a bug in
msttcorefonts last week and it was fixed over the weekend.
4) Debian has more packages
So nyer. It really is often a case of read about a new piece of code
on freshmeat, do an apt-get update and the package is already
packaged up in Debian.
5) Debian helps you pull chicks
Well I don't know about that one... But if I was a chick I'd insist
on a prospective bed partner converting 8)
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