Re: Debian vs. other distros?
From: Roger Leigh (${roger}_at_invalid.whinlatter.uklinux.net.invalid)
Date: 01/07/04
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Date: Wed, 07 Jan 2004 19:57:39 +0000
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Carlos Moreno <moreno_at_mochima_dot_com@x.xxx> writes:
> It's simple: what is the generally accepted (if any) opinion of
> Debian?
It's considered by many to be one of, if not the, most technically
correct GNU/Linux distributions. Some consider it to be a "reference
distribution", setting the standard towards which others should
aspire. Since Debian does not have commercial pressure directly
influencing its development, it can strive for excellence without
needing to be marketed or succeed commercially in order to survive.
I used Slackware and RedHat in the 1997-98, and I've been solely a
Debian user since 1999 and have since become a developer, too. It's a
distribution maintained by its users, for its users.
There are a good number of distributions which are "derived from"
Debian, using it as a base upon which they can build specialised
features. This makes it easy to maintain, since you don't need to do
all the tedious donkeywork again.
> How does it compare to other distributions, such as the popular
> ones, RedHat and SuSe? How does it compare to, say, RedHat
> Enterprise Linux?
RHEL is an expensive product, which satisfies an important market. I
believe it is a solid and reliable product, but what makes it worth
the money is the support and service you get with it.
If you don't need the service, or you want it from another provider,
there's no reason not to choose Debian. Things that make RHEL
suitable for "serious" use such as NPTL, heavily patched and hardened
kernel etc., might have been pioneered by RedHat, but while they were
the first distro with NPTL support, Debian now also has this (in
unstable). It might not be as cutting edge, but this may result in
fewer problems. Certainly, if you stick to the "stable" distribution
(currently Woody), you get a solid and reliable system, albeit dated
slightly: do you want a cutting-edge yet not entirely reliable system,
or an older, but solid and dependable system. Both have their place,
but if you need the reliability, the choice is easy.
Debian provides a stable distribution (Woody) and a development
"unstable" distribution (Sid). There is also a "testing" distribution
(Sarge) which will become the next stable release. You are free to
use any of these, or select a variety of packages from any of them.
What makes Debian different? There are a number of reasons, these are
just a few:
· It has a very good package manager (dpkg and APT), which makes
updating and upgrading systems easy. As an example, my main desktop
was installed in 1999, and it has been through three stable releases
and is now running Debian unstable. I've never reinstalled--only
upgraded, and it's still working perfectly. Try that with an
RPM-based distribution!
· The system is well integrated and behaves as a cohesive whole,
rather than "a bunch of packages" stuffed onto the disc. This is
due to the Debian Policy document which has detailed specifications
of both package requirements and the operating system design as a
whole.
· It's a volunteer effort. We do this because we enjoy it, and strive
to do the best job we are able.
· We have a formal written constitution, a Social Contract with our
users and the Debian Free Software Guidelines specify the minimum
requirements a package must meet before it is considered suitable
for inclusion. This guarantees that Debian will remain Free, and
will remain true to its principles. These documents are well worth
reading. You can read them at <URL:http://www.debian.org/>, or find
them under /usr/share/doc/debian on Debian GNU/Linux systems.
· It has a good history of providing timely security updates for
stable releases. The Security Team are very able people, and I am
very grateful for their tireless efforts.
Regards,
Roger
- --
Roger Leigh
Printing on GNU/Linux? http://gimp-print.sourceforge.net/
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