&email-debian-private; unless it is really necessary.
Moreover, do <emphasis>not</emphasis> forward email from that list to anyone.
Archives of this list are not available on the web for obvious reasons, but you
-can see them using your shell account on <literal>&lists-host;</literal>
+can see them using your shell account on <literal>&master-host;</literal>
and looking in the <filename>&file-debian-private-archive;</filename>
directory.
</para>
entry is an alias to <literal>irc.oftc.net</literal>.
</para>
<para>
-The main channel for Debian in general is <emphasis>#debian</emphasis>. This
+The main channel for Debian in general is <literal>#debian</literal>. This
is a large, general-purpose channel where users can find recent news in the
-topic and served by bots. <emphasis>#debian</emphasis> is for English
-speakers; there are also <emphasis>#debian.de</emphasis>,
-<emphasis>#debian-fr</emphasis>, <emphasis>#debian-br</emphasis> and other
+topic and served by bots. <literal>#debian</literal> is for English
+speakers; there are also <literal>#debian.de</literal>,
+<literal>#debian-fr</literal>, <literal>#debian-br</literal> and other
similarly named channels for speakers of other languages.
</para>
<para>
-The main channel for Debian development is <emphasis>#debian-devel</emphasis>.
-It is a very active channel since usually over 150 people are always logged in.
+The main channel for Debian development is <literal>#debian-devel</literal>.
+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 <emphasis>#debian</emphasis> for that). It is however open to anyone
+(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
information for developers.
</para>
<para>
-Since <emphasis>#debian-devel</emphasis> is an open channel, you should not
+Since <literal>#debian-devel</literal> is an open channel, you should not
speak there of issues that are discussed in
&email-debian-private;. There's another channel for this
-purpose, it's called <emphasis>#debian-private</emphasis> and it's protected by
-a key. This key is available in the archives of debian-private in
-<filename>master.debian.org:&file-debian-private-archive;</filename>,
-just <command>zgrep</command> for <emphasis>#debian-private</emphasis> in all
-the files.
+purpose, it's called <literal>#debian-private</literal> and it's protected by
+a key. This key is available at
+<filename>master.debian.org:&file-debian-private-key;</filename>.
</para>
<para>
There are other additional channels dedicated to specific subjects.
-<emphasis>#debian-bugs</emphasis> is used for coordinating bug squashing
-parties. <emphasis>#debian-boot</emphasis> is used to coordinate the work on
-the debian-installer. <emphasis>#debian-doc</emphasis> is occasionally used to
+<literal>#debian-bugs</literal> is used for coordinating bug squashing
+parties. <literal>#debian-boot</literal> is used to coordinate the work on
+the debian-installer. <literal>#debian-doc</literal> is occasionally used to
talk about documentation, like the document you are reading. Other channels
are dedicated to an architecture or a set of packages:
-<emphasis>#debian-bsd</emphasis>, <emphasis>#debian-kde</emphasis>,
-<emphasis>#debian-jr</emphasis>, <emphasis>#debian-edu</emphasis>,
-<emphasis>#debian-sf</emphasis> (SourceForge package),
-<emphasis>#debian-oo</emphasis> (OpenOffice package) ...
+<literal>#debian-kde</literal>, <literal>#debian-dpkg</literal>,
+<literal>#debian-jr</literal>, <literal>#debian-edu</literal>,
+<literal>#debian-oo</literal> (OpenOffice.org package)...
</para>
<para>
Some non-English developers' channels exist as well, for example
-<emphasis>#debian-devel-fr</emphasis> for French speaking people interested in
+<literal>#debian-devel-fr</literal> for French speaking people interested in
Debian's development.
</para>
<para>
Subject: header. The nick should be registered: <ulink
url="http://freenode.net/faq.shtml#nicksetup">Nick Setup Page</ulink>. The
mail needs to be signed by a key in the Debian keyring. Please see <ulink
-url="http://freenode.net/faq.shtml#projectcloak">Freenodes
+url="http://freenode.net/faq.shtml#projectcloak">Freenode
documentation</ulink> for more information about cloaks.
</para>
</section>
activities, and they all have a permanent connection to the Internet.
</para>
<para>
-Most of the machines are available for individual developers to use, as long as
+Some of the machines are available for individual developers to use, as long as
the developers follow the rules set forth in the <ulink
url="&url-dmup;">Debian Machine Usage Policies</ulink>.
</para>
<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
</para>
<para>
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, the Debian system
-administrator team is reachable at
-<email>debian-admin@&lists-host;</email>.
+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 "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>
<para>
If you have a problem with a certain service, not related to the system
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
<title>The ftp-master server</title>
<para>
The <literal>&ftp-master-host;</literal> server holds the canonical copy of
-the Debian archive (excluding the non-US packages). Generally, package uploads
-go to this server; see <xref linkend="upload"/> .
+the Debian archive. Generally, package uploaded to &ftp-upload-host;
+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"/> .
-</para>
-</section>
-
-<section id="servers-non-us">
-<title>The non-US server</title>
-<para>
-The non-US server <literal>&non-us-host;</literal> was discontinued with
-the release of sarge. The pseudo-package <systemitem
-role="package">nonus.debian.org</systemitem> still exists for now.
+the procedures in <xref linkend="archive-manip"/>.
</para>
</section>
</para>
</section>
-<section id="servers-cvs">
-<title>The CVS server</title>
-<!-- TODO: document svn.debian.org, arch.debian.org also -->
-<para>
-Our CVS server is located on <literal>cvs.debian.org</literal>.
-</para>
-<para>
-If you need to use a publicly accessible CVS server, for instance, to help
-coordinate work on a package between many different developers, you can request
-a CVS area on the server.
-</para>
-<para>
-Generally, <literal>cvs.debian.org</literal> offers a combination of local CVS
-access, anonymous client-server read-only access, and full client-server access
-through <command>ssh</command>. Also, the CVS area can be accessed read-only
-via the Web at <ulink url="&url-cvsweb;"></ulink>.
-</para>
-<para>
-To request a CVS area, send a request via email to
-&email-debian-admin;. Include the name of the requested CVS
-area, the Debian account that should own the CVS root area, and why you need
-it.
+<section id="servers-vcs">
+<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 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
+(bzr.debian.org), Darcs (darcs.debian.org), Mercurial (hg.debian.org) and Git
+(git.debian.org). Checkout <ulink url="&url-alioth-pkg;" /> if you plan
+to maintain packages in a VCS repository. See <xref linkend="alioth"/> for
+information on the services provided by Alioth.
</para>
</section>
<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:
<filename>dists/</filename> and <filename>pool/</filename>. The latter is a
“pool” in which the packages actually are, and which is handled by the
archive maintenance database and the accompanying programs. The former
-contains the distributions, <emphasis>stable</emphasis>,
-<emphasis>testing</emphasis> and <emphasis>unstable</emphasis>. The
+contains the distributions, <literal>stable</literal>,
+<literal>testing</literal> and <literal>unstable</literal>. The
<filename>Packages</filename> and <filename>Sources</filename> files in the
distribution subdirectories can reference files in the
<filename>pool/</filename> directory. The directory tree below each of the
distributions is arranged in an identical manner. What we describe below for
-<emphasis>stable</emphasis> is equally applicable to the
-<emphasis>unstable</emphasis> and <emphasis>testing</emphasis> distributions.
+<literal>stable</literal> is equally applicable to the
+<literal>unstable</literal> and <literal>testing</literal> distributions.
</para>
<para>
<filename>dists/stable</filename> contains three directories, namely
<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>
-The <emphasis>main</emphasis> section of the Debian archive is what makes up
+The <literal>main</literal> section of the Debian archive is what makes up
the <emphasis role="strong">official &debian-formal; distribution</emphasis>.
-The <emphasis>main</emphasis> section is official because it fully complies
+The <literal>main</literal> section is official because it fully complies
with all our guidelines. The other two sections do not, to different degrees;
as such, they are <emphasis role="strong">not</emphasis> officially part of
&debian-formal;.
the Debian Policy Manual for details.
</para>
<para>
-Packages in the <emphasis>contrib</emphasis> section have to comply with the
+Packages in the <literal>contrib</literal> section have to comply with the
DFSG, but may fail other requirements. For instance, they may depend on
non-free packages.
</para>
<para>
Packages which do not conform to the DFSG are placed in the
-<emphasis>non-free</emphasis> section. These packages are not considered as
-part of the Debian distribution, though we support their use, and we provide
+<literal>non-free</literal> section. These packages are not considered as
+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>
The separation of the three sections at the top-level of the archive is
important for all people who want to distribute Debian, either via FTP servers
on the Internet or on CD-ROMs: by distributing only the
-<emphasis>main</emphasis> and <emphasis>contrib</emphasis> sections, one can
-avoid any legal risks. Some packages in the <emphasis>non-free</emphasis>
+<literal>main</literal> and <literal>contrib</literal> sections, one can
+avoid any legal risks. Some packages in the <literal>non-free</literal>
section do not allow commercial distribution, for example.
</para>
<para>
On the other hand, a CD-ROM vendor could easily check the individual package
-licenses of the packages in <emphasis>non-free</emphasis> and include as many
+licenses of the packages in <literal>non-free</literal> and include as many
on the CD-ROMs as it's allowed to. (Since this varies greatly from vendor to
vendor, this job can't be done by the Debian developers.)
</para>
<para>
Note that the term section is also used to refer to categories which simplify
the organization and browsing of available packages, e.g.
-<emphasis>admin</emphasis>, <emphasis>net</emphasis>,
-<emphasis>utils</emphasis> etc. Once upon a time, these sections (subsections,
+<literal>admin</literal>, <literal>net</literal>,
+<literal>utils</literal> etc. Once upon a time, these sections (subsections,
rather) existed in the form of subdirectories within the Debian archive.
Nowadays, these exist only in the Section header fields of 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.
-</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 <emphasis>i386</emphasis> (our name for Intel x86), there
-is <emphasis>m68k</emphasis>, <emphasis>alpha</emphasis>,
-<emphasis>powerpc</emphasis>, <emphasis>sparc</emphasis>,
-<emphasis>hurd-i386</emphasis>, <emphasis>arm</emphasis>,
-<emphasis>ia64</emphasis>, <emphasis>hppa</emphasis>,
-<emphasis>s390</emphasis>, <emphasis>mips</emphasis>,
-<emphasis>mipsel</emphasis> and <emphasis>sh</emphasis> as of this writing.
-</para>
-<para>
-&debian-formal; 1.3 is only available as <emphasis>i386</emphasis>. Debian
-2.0 shipped for <emphasis>i386</emphasis> and <emphasis>m68k</emphasis>
-architectures. Debian 2.1 ships for the <emphasis>i386</emphasis>,
-<emphasis>m68k</emphasis>, <emphasis>alpha</emphasis>, and
-<emphasis>sparc</emphasis> architectures. Debian 2.2 added support for the
-<emphasis>powerpc</emphasis> and <emphasis>arm</emphasis> architectures.
-Debian 3.0 added support of five new architectures: <emphasis>ia64</emphasis>,
-<emphasis>hppa</emphasis>, <emphasis>s390</emphasis>, <emphasis>mips</emphasis>
-and <emphasis>mipsel</emphasis>.
+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>
+&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 shipped for the <literal>i386</literal>,
+<literal>m68k</literal>, <literal>alpha</literal>, and
+<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
<section id="s4.6.3">
<title>Packages</title>
<para>
-There are two types of Debian packages, namely <emphasis>source</emphasis> and
-<emphasis>binary</emphasis> packages.
+There are two types of Debian packages, namely <literal>source</literal> and
+<literal>binary</literal> packages.
</para>
<para>
-Source packages consist of either two or three files: a
-<filename>.dsc</filename> file, and either a <filename>.tar.gz</filename> file
-or both an <filename>.orig.tar.gz</filename> and a
-<filename>.diff.gz</filename> file.
+Depending on the format of the source package, it will consist
+of one or more files in addition to the mandatory <filename>.dsc</filename>
+file:
+<itemizedlist>
+<listitem><para>with format “1.0”, it has either a <filename>.tar.gz</filename>
+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,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,xz}</filename> debian
+tarball;</para></listitem>
+<listitem><para>with format “3.0 (native)”, it has only
+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</filename> file which contains
-the sources of the program. If a package is distributed elsewhere too, the
-<filename>.orig.tar.gz</filename> file stores the so-called <emphasis>upstream
-source code</emphasis>, that is the source code that's distributed by the
-<emphasis>upstream maintainer</emphasis> (often the author of the software).
-In this case, the <filename>.diff.gz</filename> contains the changes made by
-the Debian maintainer.
+If a package is developed specially for Debian and is not distributed
+outside of Debian, there is just one
+<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,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,xz}</filename> contains the changes
+made by the Debian maintainer.
</para>
<para>
The <filename>.dsc</filename> file lists all the files in the source package
<title>Distributions</title>
<para>
The directory system described in the previous chapter is itself contained
-within <emphasis>distribution directories</emphasis>. Each distribution is
+within <literal>distribution directories</literal>. Each distribution is
actually contained in the <filename>pool</filename> directory in the top-level
of the Debian archive itself.
</para>
<section id="sec-dists">
<title>Stable, testing, and unstable</title>
<para>
-There are always distributions called <emphasis>stable</emphasis> (residing in
-<filename>dists/stable</filename>), <emphasis>testing</emphasis> (residing in
-<filename>dists/testing</filename>), and <emphasis>unstable</emphasis>
+There are always distributions called <literal>stable</literal> (residing in
+<filename>dists/stable</filename>), <literal>testing</literal> (residing in
+<filename>dists/testing</filename>), and <literal>unstable</literal>
(residing in <filename>dists/unstable</filename>). This reflects the
development process of the Debian project.
</para>
<para>
-Active development is done in the <emphasis>unstable</emphasis> distribution
-(that's why this distribution is sometimes called the <emphasis>development
-distribution</emphasis>). Every Debian developer can update his or her
+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 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
</para>
<para>
The <link linkend="testing">testing</link> distribution is generated
-automatically by taking packages from unstable if they satisfy certain
-criteria. Those criteria should ensure a good quality for packages within
-testing. The update to testing is launched each day after the new packages
-have been installed. See <xref linkend="testing"/> .
+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"/>.
</para>
<para>
After a period of development, once the release manager deems fit, the
-<emphasis>testing</emphasis> distribution is frozen, meaning that the policies
-which control how packages move from <emphasis>unstable</emphasis> to
-<emphasis>testing</emphasis> are tightened. Packages which are too buggy are
-removed. No changes are allowed into <emphasis>testing</emphasis> except for
+<literal>testing</literal> distribution is frozen, meaning that the policies
+which control how packages move from <literal>unstable</literal> to
+<literal>testing</literal> are tightened. Packages which are too buggy are
+removed. No changes are allowed into <literal>testing</literal> except for
bug fixes. After some time has elapsed, depending on progress, the
-<emphasis>testing</emphasis> distribution is frozen even further. Details of
+<literal>testing</literal> distribution is frozen even further. Details of
the handling of the testing distribution are published by the Release Team on
debian-devel-announce. After the open issues are solved to the satisfaction of
the Release Team, the distribution is released. Releasing means that
-<emphasis>testing</emphasis> is renamed to <emphasis>stable</emphasis>, and a
-new copy is created for the new <emphasis>testing</emphasis>, and the previous
-<emphasis>stable</emphasis> is renamed to <emphasis>oldstable</emphasis> and
+<literal>testing</literal> is renamed to <literal>stable</literal>, and a
+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
-<emphasis>unstable</emphasis> distribution becomes <emphasis>stable</emphasis>
-after passing a period of being in <emphasis>testing</emphasis>. Even once a
+<literal>unstable</literal> distribution becomes <literal>stable</literal>
+after passing a period of being in <literal>testing</literal>. Even once a
distribution is considered stable, a few bugs inevitably remain — that's why
the stable distribution is updated every now and then. However, these updates
are tested very carefully and have to be introduced into the archive
individually to reduce the risk of introducing new bugs. You can find proposed
-additions to <emphasis>stable</emphasis> in the
+additions to <literal>stable</literal> in 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
-<link linkend="upload-stable">uploads to the <emphasis>stable</emphasis>
+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>
<para>
-Note that development under <emphasis>unstable</emphasis> continues during the
-freeze period, since the <emphasis>unstable</emphasis> distribution remains in
-place in parallel with <emphasis>testing</emphasis>.
+Note that development under <literal>unstable</literal> continues during the
+freeze period, since the <literal>unstable</literal> distribution remains in
+place in parallel with <literal>testing</literal>.
</para>
</section>
<section id="s4.6.4.2">
<title>More information about the testing distribution</title>
<para>
-Packages are usually installed into the `testing' distribution after they have
-undergone some degree of testing in unstable.
+Packages are usually installed into the <literal>testing</literal> distribution
+after they have undergone some degree of testing in <literal>unstable</literal>.
</para>
<para>
For more details, please see the <link linkend="testing">information about
<section id="experimental">
<title>Experimental</title>
<para>
-The <emphasis>experimental</emphasis> distribution is a special distribution.
-It is not a full distribution in the same sense as `stable' and `unstable' are.
+The <literal>experimental</literal> distribution is a special distribution.
+It is not a full distribution in the same sense as <literal>stable</literal>,
+<literal>testing</literal> and <literal>unstable</literal> are.
Instead, it is meant to be a temporary staging area for highly experimental
software where there's a good chance that the software could break your system,
-or software that's just too unstable even for the <emphasis>unstable</emphasis>
+or software that's just too unstable even for the <literal>unstable</literal>
distribution (but there is a reason to package it nevertheless). Users who
-download and install packages from <emphasis>experimental</emphasis> are
+download and install packages from <literal>experimental</literal> are
expected to have been duly warned. In short, all bets are off for the
-<emphasis>experimental</emphasis> distribution.
+<literal>experimental</literal> distribution.
</para>
<para>
These are the <citerefentry> <refentrytitle>sources.list</refentrytitle>
<manvolnum>5</manvolnum> </citerefentry> lines for
-<emphasis>experimental</emphasis>:
+<literal>experimental</literal>:
</para>
<programlisting>
deb http://ftp.<replaceable>xy</replaceable>.debian.org/debian/ experimental main
</programlisting>
<para>
If there is a chance that the software could do grave damage to a system, it is
-likely to be better to put it into <emphasis>experimental</emphasis>. For
+likely to be better to put it into <literal>experimental</literal>. For
instance, an experimental compressed file system should probably go into
-<emphasis>experimental</emphasis>.
+<literal>experimental</literal>.
</para>
<para>
Whenever there is a new upstream version of a package that introduces new
features but breaks a lot of old ones, it should either not be uploaded, or be
-uploaded to <emphasis>experimental</emphasis>. A new, beta, version of some
+uploaded to <literal>experimental</literal>. A new, beta, version of some
software which uses a completely different configuration can go into
-<emphasis>experimental</emphasis>, at the maintainer's discretion. If you are
+<literal>experimental</literal>, at the maintainer's discretion. If you are
working on an incompatible or complex upgrade situation, you can also use
-<emphasis>experimental</emphasis> as a staging area, so that testers can get
+<literal>experimental</literal> as a staging area, so that testers can get
early access.
</para>
<para>
-Some experimental software can still go into <emphasis>unstable</emphasis>,
+Some experimental software can still go into <literal>unstable</literal>,
with a few warnings in the description, but that isn't recommended because
-packages from <emphasis>unstable</emphasis> are expected to propagate to
-<emphasis>testing</emphasis> and thus to <emphasis>stable</emphasis>. You
-should not be afraid to use <emphasis>experimental</emphasis> since it does not
-cause any pain to the ftpmasters, the experimental packages are automatically
-removed once you upload the package in <emphasis>unstable</emphasis> with a
+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 periodically
+removed once you upload the package in <literal>unstable</literal> with a
higher version number.
</para>
<para>
New software which isn't likely to damage your system can go directly into
-<emphasis>unstable</emphasis>.
+<literal>unstable</literal>.
</para>
<para>
-An alternative to <emphasis>experimental</emphasis> is to use your personal web
+An alternative to <literal>experimental</literal> is to use your personal web
space on <literal>people.debian.org</literal>.
</para>
-<para>
-When uploading to unstable a package which had bugs fixed in experimental,
-please consider using the option <literal>-v</literal> to
-<command>dpkg-buildpackage</command> to finally get them closed.
-</para>
</section>
</section>
<section id="codenames">
<title>Release code names</title>
<para>
-Every released Debian distribution has a <emphasis>code name</emphasis>: Debian
-1.1 is called `buzz'; Debian 1.2, `rex'; Debian 1.3, `bo'; Debian 2.0, `hamm';
-Debian 2.1, `slink'; Debian 2.2, `potato'; Debian 3.0, `woody'; Debian 3.1,
-sarge; Debian 4.0, etch. There is also a ``pseudo-distribution'', called
-`sid', which is the current `unstable' distribution; since packages are moved
-from `unstable' to `testing' as they approach stability, `sid' itself is never
-released. As well as the usual contents of a Debian distribution, `sid'
-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 date.
+Every released Debian distribution has a <literal>code name</literal>: Debian
+1.1 is called <literal>buzz</literal>; Debian 1.2, <literal>rex</literal>;
+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>;
+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
+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
+date.
</para>
<para>
Since Debian has an open development model (i.e., everyone can participate and
-follow the development) even the `unstable' and `testing' distributions are
-distributed to the Internet through the Debian FTP and HTTP server network.
-Thus, if we had called the directory which contains the release candidate
-version `testing', then we would have to rename it to `stable' when the version
+follow the development) even the <literal>unstable</literal> and <literal>
+testing</literal> distributions are distributed to the Internet through the
+Debian FTP and HTTP server network. Thus, if we had called the directory which
+contains the release candidate version <literal>testing</literal>, then we
+would have to rename it to <literal>stable</literal> when the version
is released, which would cause all FTP mirrors to re-retrieve the whole
distribution (which is quite large).
</para>
<para>
On the other hand, if we called the distribution directories
-<emphasis>Debian-x.y</emphasis> from the beginning, people would think that
-Debian release <emphasis>x.y</emphasis> is available. (This happened in the
+<literal>Debian-x.y</literal> from the beginning, people would think that
+Debian release <literal>x.y</literal> is available. (This happened in the
past, where a CD-ROM vendor built a Debian 1.0 CD-ROM based on a pre-1.0
development version. That's the reason why the first official Debian release
was 1.1, and not 1.0.)
</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
-<emphasis>code names</emphasis>, while symbolic links for
-<emphasis>stable</emphasis>, <emphasis>testing</emphasis>, and
-<emphasis>unstable</emphasis> point to the appropriate release directories.
+<literal>code names</literal>, while symbolic links for
+<literal>stable</literal>, <literal>testing</literal>, and
+<literal>unstable</literal> point to the appropriate release directories.
</para>
</section>
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
-to `stable', the announcement is sent to
+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 `unstable' or `experimental', the
-announcement will be posted to &email-debian-devel-changes;
-instead.
+<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>
Though ftp-master is restricted, a copy of the installation is available to all
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>
$delay = ($ENV{DELAY} || 7);
$cfg{'delayed'} = {
- fqdn => "&ftp-master-host;",
+ fqdn => "&ftp-upload-host;",
login => "yourdebianlogin",
incoming => "/org/&ftp-debian-org;/incoming/DELAYED/$delay-day/",
dinstall_runs => 1,
</para>
</section>
-<section id="madison">
-<title>The <command>madison</command> utility</title>
+<section id="dak-ls">
+<title>The <command>dak ls</command> utility</title>
<para>
-<command>madison</command> is a command-line utility that is available on
+<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. In result it displays which version of the package is
-available for each architecture and distribution combination. An example will
-explain it better.
+<literal>&ftp-master-mirror;</literal>. It uses a single argument
+corresponding to a package name. An example will explain it better:
</para>
<screen>
-$ madison libdbd-mysql-perl
-libdbd-mysql-perl | 1.2202-4 | stable | source, alpha, arm, i386, m68k, powerpc, sparc
-libdbd-mysql-perl | 1.2216-2 | testing | source, arm, hppa, i386, ia64, m68k, mips, mipsel, powerpc, s390, sparc
-libdbd-mysql-perl | 1.2216-2.0.1 | testing | alpha
-libdbd-mysql-perl | 1.2219-1 | unstable | source, alpha, arm, hppa, i386, ia64, m68k, mips, mipsel, powerpc, s390, sparc
+$ dak ls evince
+evince | 0.1.5-2sarge1 | oldstable | source, alpha, arm, hppa, i386, ia64, m68k, mips, mipsel, powerpc, s390, sparc
+evince | 0.4.0-5 | etch-m68k | source, m68k
+evince | 0.4.0-5 | stable | source, alpha, amd64, arm, hppa, i386, ia64, mips, mipsel, powerpc, s390, sparc
+evince | 2.20.2-1 | testing | source
+evince | 2.20.2-1+b1 | testing | alpha, amd64, arm, armel, hppa, i386, ia64, mips, mipsel, powerpc, s390, sparc
+evince | 2.22.2-1 | unstable | source, alpha, amd64, arm, armel, hppa, i386, ia64, m68k, mips, mipsel, powerpc, s390, sparc
</screen>
<para>
-In this example, you can see that the version in <emphasis>unstable</emphasis>
-differs from the version in <emphasis>testing</emphasis> and that there has
-been a binary-only NMU of the package for the alpha architecture. Each version
-of the package has been recompiled on most of the architectures.
+In this example, you can see that the version in <literal>unstable</literal>
+differs from the version in <literal>testing</literal> and that there has
+been a binary-only NMU of the package for all architectures. Each version
+of the package has been recompiled on all architectures.
</para>
</section>
<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>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
+<term><literal>buildd</literal></term>
+<listitem>
+<para>
+Build failures notifications sent by the network of build daemons, they contain
+a pointer to the build logs for analysis.
+</para>
+</listitem>
+</varlistentry>
+<varlistentry>
<term><literal>default</literal></term>
<listitem>
<para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
+<term><literal>contact</literal></term>
+<listitem>
+<para>
+Mails sent to the maintainer through the *@packages.debian.org email
+aliases.
+</para>
+</listitem>
+</varlistentry>
+<varlistentry>
<term><literal>summary</literal></term>
<listitem>
<para>
-Regular summary emails about the package's status. Currently, only progression
-in <emphasis>testing</emphasis> is sent.
+Regular summary emails about the package's status, including progression
+into <literal>testing</literal>,
+<ulink url="&url-dehs;">DEHS</ulink> notifications of
+new upstream versions, and a notification if the package is removed or
+orphaned.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
<term><literal>cvs</literal></term>
<listitem>
<para>
-CVS commit notifications, if the package has a CVS repository and the
-maintainer has set up forwarding commit notifications to the PTS.
+VCS commit notifications, if the package has a VCS repository and the
+maintainer has set up forwarding of commit notifications to the PTS. The
+"cvs" name is historic, in most cases commit notifications will come
+from some other VCS like subversion or git.
</para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</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>cvs</literal>: notification of CVS commits
+<literal>contact</literal>: mails sent to the maintainer through the
+*@packages.debian.org aliases
+</para>
+</listitem>
+<listitem>
+<para>
+<literal>cvs</literal>: notification of VCS commits
</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
</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>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>
+<literal>buildd</literal>: build failures notifications from build daemons
+</para>
+</listitem>
+<listitem>
+<para>
<literal>default</literal>: all the other mails (those which aren't automatic)
</para>
</listitem>
X-Loop: dpkg@&pts-host;
X-PTS-Package: dpkg
X-PTS-Keyword: upload-source
-X-Unsubscribe: echo 'unsubscribe dpkg' | mail pts@qa.debian.org
+List-Unsubscribe: <mailto:pts@qa.debian.org?body=unsubscribe+dpkg>
</screen>
</section>
-<section id="pts-cvs-commit">
-<title>Forwarding CVS commits in the PTS</title>
+<section id="pts-vcs-commit">
+<title>Forwarding VCS commits in the PTS</title>
<para>
-If you use a publicly accessible CVS repository for maintaining your Debian
+If you use a publicly accessible VCS repository for maintaining your Debian
package, you may want to forward the commit notification to the PTS so that the
subscribers (and possible co-maintainers) can closely follow the package's
evolution.
</para>
<para>
-Once you set up the CVS repository to generate commit notifications, you just
+Once you set up the VCS repository to generate commit notifications, you just
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 <emphasis>cvs</emphasis> keyword will receive
-these notifications.
+Only the people who accept the <literal>cvs</literal> keyword will receive
+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>
+<para>
+For Subversion repositories, the usage of svnmailer is recommended.
+See <ulink url="&url-alioth-pkg;" /> for an example on how to do it.
</para>
</section>
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>
From: Raphael Hertzog <hertzog@debian.org>
To: pts-static-news@qa.debian.org
-Subject: Browse debian-cd CVS repository with cvsweb
+Subject: Browse debian-cd SVN repository
Package: debian-cd
-Url: &url-cvsweb;debian-cd/
+Url: http://svn.debian.org/viewsvn/debian-cd/trunk/
</screen>
<para>
The second one is an announcement sent to a mailing list which is also sent to
use of the BCC field to avoid answers sent to the PTS by mistake.
</para>
<screen>
-: Raphael Hertzog <hertzog@debian.org>
+From: Raphael Hertzog <hertzog@debian.org>
To: debian-gtk-gnome@&lists-host;
Bcc: pts-news@qa.debian.org
Subject: Galeon 2.0 backported for woody
</section>
<section id="alioth">
-<title>Debian *Forge: Alioth</title>
+<title>Debian's FusionForge installation: Alioth</title>
<para>
-Alioth is a fairly new Debian service, based on a slightly modified version of
-the GForge software (which evolved from SourceForge). 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 repositories
-etc. All these tools are managed via a web interface.
+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, VCS
+repositories etc. All these tools are managed via a web interface.
</para>
<para>
It is intended to provide facilities to free software projects backed or led by
Debian, facilitate contributions from external developers to projects started
by Debian, and help projects whose goals are the promotion of Debian or its
-derivatives.
+derivatives. It's heavily used by many Debian teams and provides
+hosting for all sorts of VCS repositories.
</para>
<para>
All Debian developers automatically have an account on Alioth. They can
request guest accounts on Alioth.
</para>
<para>
-For more information please visit <ulink
-url="&url-alioth;"></ulink>.
+For more information please visit the following links:
</para>
+<itemizedlist>
+<listitem><para><ulink url="&url-alioth-wiki;" /></para></listitem>
+<listitem><para><ulink url="&url-alioth-faq;" /></para></listitem>
+<listitem><para><ulink url="&url-alioth-pkg;" /></para></listitem>
+<listitem><para><ulink url="&url-alioth;" /></para></listitem>
+</itemizedlist>
</section>
<section id="developer-misc">
~ianmdlvl / developers-reference.git / blobdiff