</para>
<para>
The main channel for Debian development is <literal>#debian-devel</literal>.
-It is a very active channel since usually over 150 people are always logged in.
+It is a very active channel; it will typically have a minimum of 150 people
+at any time of day.
It's a channel for people who work on Debian, it's not a support channel
(there's <literal>#debian</literal> for that). It is however open to anyone
who wants to lurk (and learn). Its topic is commonly full of interesting
are dedicated to an architecture or a set of packages:
<literal>#debian-kde</literal>, <literal>#debian-dpkg</literal>,
<literal>#debian-jr</literal>, <literal>#debian-edu</literal>,
-<literal>#debian-oo</literal> (OpenOffice package) ...
+<literal>#debian-oo</literal> (OpenOffice.org package)...
</para>
<para>
Some non-English developers' channels exist as well, for example
<para>
Please take care to protect your Debian passwords and SSH keys installed on
Debian machines. Avoid login or upload methods which send passwords over the
-Internet in the clear, such as telnet, FTP, POP etc.
+Internet in the clear, such as Telnet, FTP, POP etc.
</para>
<para>
Please do not put any material that doesn't relate to Debian on the Debian
If you have a problem with the operation of a Debian server, and you think that
the system operators need to be notified of this problem, you can check
the list of open issues in the DSA queue of our request tracker at <ulink
-url="&url-rt;" /> (you can login with user "guest" and password "readonly").
+url="&url-rt;" /> (you can login with user "debian", its password is available at
+<filename>master.debian.org:&file-debian-rt-password;</filename>).
To report a new problem, simply send a mail to &email-rt-dsa; and make
sure to put the string "Debian RT" somewhere in the subject.
</para>
the Bug Tracking System (BTS).
</para>
<para>
-It is restricted; a mirror is available on <literal>merkel</literal>.
-</para>
-<para>
If you plan on doing some statistical analysis or processing of Debian bugs,
this would be the place to do it. Please describe your plans on
&email-debian-devel; before implementing anything, however, to
end up on this server, see <xref linkend="upload"/>.
</para>
<para>
-It is restricted; a mirror is available on <literal>merkel</literal>.
+It is restricted; a mirror is available on <literal>&ftp-master-mirror;</literal>.
</para>
<para>
Problems with the Debian FTP archive generally need to be reported as bugs
against the <systemitem role="package">&ftp-debian-org;</systemitem>
pseudo-package or an email to &email-ftpmaster;, but also see
-the procedures in <xref linkend="archive-manip"/> .
+the procedures in <xref linkend="archive-manip"/>.
</para>
</section>
<title>The VCS servers</title>
<para>
If you need to use a Version Control System for any of your Debian work,
-you can use one the existing repositories hosted on Alioth or you can
+you can use one of the existing repositories hosted on Alioth or you can
request a new project and ask for the VCS repository of your choice.
Alioth supports CVS (cvs.alioth.debian.org/cvs.debian.org), Subversion
(svn.debian.org), Arch (tla/baz, both on arch.debian.org), Bazaar
<para>
In all chroots, the normal user home directories are available. You can find
out which chroots are available via
-<literal>&url-devel-machines;</literal>.
+<ulink url="&url-devel-machines;"></ulink>.
</para>
</section>
<title>The Debian archive</title>
<para>
The &debian-formal; distribution consists of a lot of packages
-(<filename>.deb</filename>'s, currently around
-&number-of-pkgs;) and a few additional files (such as
-documentation and installation disk images).
+(currently around &number-of-pkgs; source packages) and a few additional
+files (such as documentation and installation disk images).
</para>
<para>
Here is an example directory tree of a complete Debian archive:
<para>
In each of the areas, there is a directory for the source packages
(<filename>source</filename>) and a directory for each supported architecture
-(<filename>binary-i386</filename>, <filename>binary-m68k</filename>, etc.).
+(<filename>binary-i386</filename>, <filename>binary-amd64</filename>, etc.).
</para>
<para>
The <filename>main</filename> area contains additional directories which hold
the disk images and some essential pieces of documentation required for
installing the Debian distribution on a specific architecture
-(<filename>disks-i386</filename>, <filename>disks-m68k</filename>, etc.).
+(<filename>disks-i386</filename>, <filename>disks-amd64</filename>, etc.).
</para>
<section id="archive-sections">
<title>Sections</title>
<para>
Packages which do not conform to the DFSG are placed in the
<literal>non-free</literal> section. These packages are not considered as
-part of the Debian distribution, though we support their use, and we provide
+part of the Debian distribution, though we enable their use, and we provide
infrastructure (such as our bug-tracking system and mailing lists) for non-free
software packages.
</para>
<para>
In the first days, the Linux kernel was only available for Intel i386 (or
greater) platforms, and so was Debian. But as Linux became more and more
-popular, the kernel was ported to other architectures, too.
+popular, the kernel was ported to other architectures and Debian started
+to support them. And as if supporting so much hardware was not enough,
+Debian decided to build some ports based on other Unix kernels, like
+<literal>hurd</literal> and <literal>kfreebsd</literal>.
</para>
<para>
-The Linux 2.0 kernel supports Intel x86, DEC Alpha, SPARC, Motorola 680x0 (like
-Atari, Amiga and Macintoshes), MIPS, and PowerPC. The Linux 2.2 kernel
-supports even more architectures, including ARM and UltraSPARC. Since Linux
-supports these platforms, Debian decided that it should, too. Therefore,
-Debian has ports underway; in fact, we also have ports underway to non-Linux
-kernels. Aside from <literal>i386</literal> (our name for Intel x86), there
-is <literal>m68k</literal>, <literal>alpha</literal>,
-<literal>powerpc</literal>, <literal>sparc</literal>,
-<literal>hurd-i386</literal>, <literal>arm</literal>,
-<literal>ia64</literal>, <literal>hppa</literal>,
-<literal>s390</literal>, <literal>mips</literal>,
-<literal>mipsel</literal> and <literal>sh</literal> as of this writing.
-</para>
-<para>
-&debian-formal; 1.3 is only available as <literal>i386</literal>. Debian
+&debian-formal; 1.3 was only available as <literal>i386</literal>. Debian
2.0 shipped for <literal>i386</literal> and <literal>m68k</literal>
-architectures. Debian 2.1 ships for the <literal>i386</literal>,
+architectures. Debian 2.1 shipped for the <literal>i386</literal>,
<literal>m68k</literal>, <literal>alpha</literal>, and
-<literal>sparc</literal> architectures. Debian 2.2 added support for the
-<literal>powerpc</literal> and <literal>arm</literal> architectures.
-Debian 3.0 added support of five new architectures: <literal>ia64</literal>,
-<literal>hppa</literal>, <literal>s390</literal>, <literal>mips</literal>
-and <literal>mipsel</literal>.
+<literal>sparc</literal> architectures. Since then Debian has grown hugely.
+Debian 6 supports a total of nine Linux architectures (<literal>amd64</literal>,
+<literal>armel</literal>, <literal>i386</literal>,
+<literal>ia64</literal>, <literal>mips</literal>,
+<literal>mipsel</literal>, <literal>powerpc</literal>,
+<literal>s390</literal>, <literal>sparc</literal>) and two kFreeBSD architectures
+(<literal>kfreebsd-i386</literal> and <literal>kfreebsd-amd64</literal>).
</para>
<para>
Information for developers and users about the specific ports are available at
file or both an <filename>.orig.tar.gz</filename> and a
<filename>.diff.gz</filename> file;</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>with format “3.0 (quilt)”, it has a mandatory
-<filename>.orig.tar.{gz,bz2,lzma}</filename> upstream tarball,
-multiple optional <filename>.orig-<replaceable>component</replaceable>.tar.{gz,bz2,lzma}</filename>
+<filename>.orig.tar.{gz,bz2,xz}</filename> upstream tarball,
+multiple optional <filename>.orig-<replaceable>component</replaceable>.tar.{gz,bz2,xz}</filename>
additional upstream tarballs and a mandatory
-<filename>debian.tar.{gz,bz2,lzma}</filename> debian
+<filename>debian.tar.{gz,bz2,xz}</filename> debian
tarball;</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>with format “3.0 (native)”, it has only
-a single <filename>.tar.{gz,bz2,lzma}</filename> tarball.</para></listitem>
+a single <filename>.tar.{gz,bz2,xz}</filename> tarball.</para></listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</para>
<para>
If a package is developed specially for Debian and is not distributed
outside of Debian, there is just one
-<filename>.tar.{gz,bz2,lzma}</filename> file which contains the sources of
+<filename>.tar.{gz,bz2,xz}</filename> file which contains the sources of
the program, it's called a “native” source package. If a package is
distributed elsewhere too, the
-<filename>.orig.tar.{gz,bz2,lzma}</filename> file stores the so-called
+<filename>.orig.tar.{gz,bz2,xz}</filename> file stores the so-called
<literal>upstream source code</literal>, that is the source code that's
distributed by the <literal>upstream maintainer</literal> (often the
author of the software). In this case, the <filename>.diff.gz</filename>
-or the <filename>debian.tar.{gz,bz2,lzma}</filename> contains the changes
+or the <filename>debian.tar.{gz,bz2,xz}</filename> contains the changes
made by the Debian maintainer.
</para>
<para>
<para>
Active development is done in the <literal>unstable</literal> distribution
(that's why this distribution is sometimes called the <literal>development
-distribution</literal>). Every Debian developer can update his or her
+distribution</literal>). Every Debian developer can update their
packages in this distribution at any time. Thus, the contents of this
distribution change from day to day. Since no special effort is made to make
sure everything in this distribution is working properly, it is sometimes
The <link linkend="testing">testing</link> distribution is generated
automatically by taking packages from <literal>unstable</literal> if they
satisfy certain criteria. Those criteria should ensure a good quality for
-packages within <literal>testing</literal>. The update to <literal>testing
-</literal> is launched twice each day, right after the new packages
-have been installed. See <xref linkend="testing"/> .
+packages within <literal>testing</literal>. The update to
+<literal>testing</literal> is launched twice each day, right after the new
+packages have been installed. See <xref linkend="testing"/>.
</para>
<para>
After a period of development, once the release manager deems fit, the
new copy is created for the new <literal>testing</literal>, and the previous
<literal>stable</literal> is renamed to <literal>oldstable</literal> and
stays there until it is finally archived. On archiving, the contents are moved
-to <literal>&archive-host;</literal>).
+to <literal>&archive-host;</literal>.
</para>
<para>
This development cycle is based on the assumption that the
<filename>proposed-updates</filename> directory. Those packages in
<filename>proposed-updates</filename> that pass muster are periodically moved
as a batch into the stable distribution and the revision level of the stable
-distribution is incremented (e.g., ‘3.0’ becomes ‘3.0r1’, ‘2.2r4’
-becomes ‘2.2r5’, and so forth). Please refer to
+distribution is incremented (e.g., ‘6.0’ becomes ‘6.0.1’, ‘5.0.7’
+becomes ‘5.0.8’, and so forth). Please refer to
<link linkend="upload-stable">uploads to the <literal>stable</literal>
distribution</link> for details.
</para>
packages from <literal>unstable</literal> are expected to propagate to
<literal>testing</literal> and thus to <literal>stable</literal>. You
should not be afraid to use <literal>experimental</literal> since it does not
-cause any pain to the ftpmasters, the experimental packages are automatically
+cause any pain to the ftpmasters, the experimental packages are periodically
removed once you upload the package in <literal>unstable</literal> with a
higher version number.
</para>
An alternative to <literal>experimental</literal> is to use your personal web
space on <literal>people.debian.org</literal>.
</para>
-<para>
-When uploading to <literal>unstable</literal> a package which had bugs fixed
-in <literal>experimental</literal>, please consider using the option
-<literal>-v</literal> to <command>dpkg-buildpackage</command> to finally get
-them closed.
-</para>
</section>
</section>
Debian 1.3, <literal>bo</literal>; Debian 2.0, <literal>hamm</literal>;
Debian 2.1, <literal>slink</literal>; Debian 2.2, <literal>potato</literal>;
Debian 3.0, <literal>woody</literal>; Debian 3.1, <literal>sarge</literal>;
-Debian 4.0, <literal>etch</literal>; Debian 5.0, <literal>lenny</literal>
-and the next release will be called <literal>squeeze</literal>.
+Debian 4.0, <literal>etch</literal>; Debian 5.0, <literal>lenny</literal>;
+Debian 6.0, <literal>squeeze</literal>
+and the next release will be called <literal>wheezy</literal>.
There is also a ``pseudo-distribution'', called
<literal>sid</literal>, which is the current <literal>unstable</literal>
distribution; since packages are moved from <literal>unstable</literal> to
<literal>testing</literal> as they approach stability, <literal>sid</literal>
-itself is never released. As well as the usual contents of a Debian
+itself is never released. As well as the usual contents of a Debian
distribution, <literal>sid</literal> contains packages for architectures which
are not yet officially supported or released by Debian. These architectures
are planned to be integrated into the mainstream distribution at some future
</para>
<para>
Thus, the names of the distribution directories in the archive are determined
-by their code names and not their release status (e.g., `slink'). These names
+by their code names and not their release status (e.g., `squeeze'). These names
stay the same during the development period and after the release; symbolic
links, which can be changed easily, indicate the currently released stable
distribution. That's why the real distribution directories use the
signed <filename>*.changes</filename>-files are moved together with their
corresponding files to the <filename>unchecked</filename> directory. This
directory is not visible for most Developers, as ftp-master is restricted; it
-is scanned every 15 minutes by the <command>katie</command> script, which
-verifies the integrity of the uploaded packages and their cryptographic
+is scanned every 15 minutes by the <command>dak process-upload</command> script,
+which verifies the integrity of the uploaded packages and their cryptographic
signatures. If the package is considered ready to be installed, it is moved
-into the <filename>accepted</filename> directory. If this is the first upload
+into the <filename>done</filename> directory. If this is the first upload
of the package (or it has new binary packages), it is moved to the
<filename>new</filename> directory, where it waits for approval by the
ftpmasters. If the package contains files to be installed by hand it is moved
maintainer and closes all the bugs marked as fixed by the upload, and the
auto-builders may start recompiling it. The package is now publicly accessible
at <ulink url="&url-incoming;"></ulink> until it is really
-installed in the Debian archive. This happens only once a day (and is also
+installed in the Debian archive. This happens four times a day (and is also
called the `dinstall run' for historical reasons); the package is then removed
from incoming and installed in the pool along with all the other packages.
Once all the other updates (generating new <filename>Packages</filename> and
<para>
The archive maintenance software will also send the OpenPGP/GnuPG signed
<filename>.changes</filename> file that you uploaded to the appropriate mailing
-lists. If a package is released with the <literal>Distribution:</literal> set
+lists. If a package is released with the <literal>Distribution</literal> set
to <literal>stable</literal>, the announcement is sent to
&email-debian-changes;. If a package is released with
-<literal>Distribution:</literal> set to <literal>unstable</literal> or
-<literal>experimental</literal>, the announcement will be posted to
+<literal>Distribution</literal> set to <literal>unstable</literal> or
+<literal>experimental</literal>, the announcement will be posted to
&email-debian-devel-changes; instead.
</para>
<para>
directory after the corresponding number of days.
This is done by a script which is run each day and which moves the
packages between the directories. Those which are in "1-day" are
-installed in <filename>unchecked</filename> while the others are moved to the
+installed in <filename>unchecked</filename> while the others are moved to the
adjacent directory (for example, a package in <filename>5-day</filename> will
be moved to <filename>4-day</filename>). This feature is particularly useful
for people who are doing non-maintainer uploads. Instead of
</para>
<para>
The use of that delayed feature can be simplified with a bit
-of integration with your upload tool. For instance, if you use
+of integration with your upload tool. For instance, if you use
<command>dupload</command> (see <xref linkend="dupload"/>), you can add this
snippet to your configuration file:
<programlisting>
<para>
<command>dak ls</command> is part of the dak suite of tools, listing
available package versions for all known distributions and architectures.
-The <command>dak</command> tool is available on <literal>&ftp-master-host;
-</literal>, and on the mirror on <literal>&ftp-master-mirror;</literal>.
-It uses a single argument corresponding to a package name. An example will
-explain it better:
+The <command>dak</command> tool is available on
+<literal>&ftp-master-host;</literal>, and on the mirror on
+<literal>&ftp-master-mirror;</literal>. It uses a single argument
+corresponding to a package name. An example will explain it better:
</para>
<screen>
$ dak ls evince
<term><literal>upload-source</literal></term>
<listitem>
<para>
-The email notification from <command>katie</command> when an uploaded source
+The email notification from <command>dak</command> when an uploaded source
package is accepted.
</para>
</listitem>
<term><literal>katie-other</literal></term>
<listitem>
<para>
-Other warning and error emails from <command>katie</command> (such as an
+Other warning and error emails from <command>dak</command> (such as an
override disparity for the section and/or the priority field).
</para>
</listitem>
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
+<varlistentry>
+<term><literal>derivatives-bugs</literal></term>
+<listitem>
+<para>
+Bugs reports and comments from derivative distributions (for example Ubuntu).
+</para>
+</listitem>
+</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
<section id="pts-commands">
<title>The PTS email interface</title>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
+<literal>derivatives-bugs</literal>: bugs reports and comments from derivative
+distributions
+</para>
+</listitem>
+<listitem>
+<para>
<literal>upload-source</literal>: announce of a new source upload that has been
accepted
</para>
have to make sure it sends a copy of those mails to
<literal><replaceable>sourcepackage</replaceable>_cvs@&pts-host;</literal>.
Only the people who accept the <literal>cvs</literal> keyword will receive
-these notifications. Note that the mail need to be sent from a
+these notifications. Note that the mail needs to be sent from a
<literal>debian.org</literal> machine, otherwise you'll have to add
the <literal>X-PTS-Approved: 1</literal> header.
</para>
information about each source package. It features many useful links (BTS, QA
stats, contact information, DDTP translation status, buildd logs) and gathers
much more information from various places (30 latest changelog entries, testing
-status, ...). It's a very useful tool if you want to know what's going on with
+status, etc.). It's a very useful tool if you want to know what's going on with
a specific source package. Furthermore there's a form that allows easy
subscription to the PTS via email.
</para>
</para>
<para>
Here are a few examples of valid mails used to generate news items in the PTS.
-The first one adds a link to the cvsweb interface of debian-cd in the Static
+The first one adds a link to the viewsvn interface of debian-cd in the Static
information section:
</para>
<screen>
Alioth is a Debian service based on a slightly modified version of the
FusionForge software (which evolved from SourceForge and GForge). This software offers
developers access to easy-to-use tools such as bug trackers, patch
-manager, project/task managers, file hosting services, mailing lists, CVS
+manager, project/task managers, file hosting services, mailing lists, VCS
repositories etc. All these tools are managed via a web interface.
</para>
<para>
~ianmdlvl / developers-reference.git / blobdiff