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Debian fundamentals

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This chapter provides fundamental information on the Debian system for non-developers.

All content on one page (useful for printing, presentation mode etc.)

  1. The Debian archives
    1. Directory structures
    2. Debian distributions
    3. The stable distribution
    4. The testing distribution
    5. The unstable distribution
    6. The frozen distribution
    7. Debian distribution codenames
    8. Codenames used in the past
    9. The source for codenames
    10. The pool directory
    11. Historical notes about Sid
    12. Uploaded packages in incoming/
    13. Retrieving an older package
    14. Architecture sections
    15. The source code
  2. The Debian package management system
    1. Overview of Debian packages
    2. Debian package format
    3. Naming conventions for Debian package filenames
    4. Preservation of local configuration
    5. Debian maintenance scripts
    6. Package priorities
    7. Virtual packages
    8. Package dependencies
    9. The meaning of "Pre-Depends"
    10. Package status
    11. Holding back packages from an upgrade
    12. Source packages
    13. Building binary packages from a source package
    14. Creating new Debian packages
  3. Upgrading a Debian system
    1. dpkg
    2. APT
    3. dselect
    4. Upgrading a running system
    5. Downloaded and cached .deb archive file
    6. Record-keeping for upgrades
  4. The Debian boot process
    1. The init program
    2. Runlevels
    3. Customizing runlevels
  5. Supporting diversity
  6. Internationalization
  7. Debian and the kernel
    1. Compiling a kernel from non-Debian source
    2. Tools to build custom kernels
    3. Special provisions for dealing with modules
    4. De-installing an old kernel package
Next: The Debian archives Previous: Basics of the Debian distributions  
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