1 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
2 <!DOCTYPE chapter PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.4//EN"
3 "http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.4/docbookx.dtd" [
4 <!ENTITY % commondata SYSTEM "common.ent" > %commondata;
7 <title>Scope of This Document</title>
9 The purpose of this document is to provide an overview of the recommended
10 procedures and the available resources for Debian developers.
12 <!-- FIXME: rewrites -->
14 The procedures discussed within include how to become a maintainer (<xref
15 linkend="new-maintainer"/>); how to create new packages (<xref
16 linkend="newpackage"/>) and how to upload packages (<xref linkend="upload"/>);
17 how to handle bug reports (<xref linkend="bug-handling"/>); how to move,
18 remove, or orphan packages (<xref linkend="archive-manip"/>); how to port
19 packages (<xref linkend="porting"/>); and how and when to do interim releases
20 of other maintainers' packages (<xref linkend="nmu"/>).
23 The resources discussed in this reference include the mailing lists (<xref
24 linkend="mailing-lists"/>) and servers (<xref linkend="server-machines"/>); a
25 discussion of the structure of the Debian archive (<xref linkend="archive"/>);
26 explanation of the different servers which accept package uploads (<xref
27 linkend="upload-ftp-master"/>); and a discussion of resources which can help
28 maintainers with the quality of their packages (<xref linkend="tools"/>).
31 It should be clear that this reference does not discuss the technical details
32 of Debian packages nor how to generate them. Nor does this reference detail
33 the standards to which Debian software must comply. All of such information
34 can be found in the <ulink url="&url-debian-policy;">Debian
35 Policy Manual</ulink>.
38 Furthermore, this document is <emphasis>not an expression of formal
39 policy</emphasis>. It contains documentation for the Debian system and
40 generally agreed-upon best practices. Thus, it is not what is called a
41 ``normative'' document.