Introduction
Introduction
Debian is under continual development. The latest release is Debian 8.2. It is also (currently) known as stable or by its codename "jessie".
Each version also corresponds to a set of named software repositories (at least one per CPU architecture).
At any given time, there is one stable release of Debian, which has the support of the Debian security team. When a new stable version is released, the security team will usually cover the previous version for a year or so, while they also cover the new/current version. Only stable is recommended for production use.
There are also two main development repositories unstable and testing which are continually updated during the development of the next stable release. The latest packages arrive in unstable (which always has the codename "sid"). Packages are automatically copied from unstable to testing when they meet criteria such as lack of release-critical bugs, and dependencies being satisfied by other packages in testing.
Choosing
End users should generally choose to run either stable or testing. Stable is recommended for applications requiring production-level stability and security (servers, firewalls etc) and is also recommended for those who are new to Linux. Testing is recommended for slightly more advanced users who want newer software on their desktops and who are capable of reporting and fixing bugs to help Debian.
Choosing a debian distribution discusses the pros and cons of choosing one Debian distribution over another. And the overview of software for Debian Stable describes common ways Debian stable is enhanced with newer software or otherwise given extended capabilities.
The Debian FTP archives chapter of the Debian FAQ has even more information .
Current Releases/Repositories
Also:
- experimental - Not really a release, but a repository where packages are tested (experimented) if they are not suited for unstable.
- backport - Not a release, but a repository for updated packages for stable.
Production Releases
Version
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Code name
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Release date
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8.0
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April 25th 2015
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7.0
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May 4th 2013
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6.0
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February 6th 2011
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5.0
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February 14th 2009
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4.0
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Apr 8th 2007
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3.1
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June 6th 2005
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3.0
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July 19th 2002
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2.2
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August 15th 2000
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2.1
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March 9th 1999
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2.0
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July 24th 1998
| |
1.3
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July 2nd 1997
| |
1.2
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December 12th 1996
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1.1
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June 17th 1996
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0.93R6
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November 1995
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0.93R5
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March 1995
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0.91
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January 1994
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Note: the point releases (like 7.1 and 7.2) are detailed in each distribution's page.
See also Debian History.
Release statistics
Version
|
Code name
|
Freeze length
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Time from previous release
|
Time from next release up to EOL
|
Total lifetime
|
1.2
|
178 days
| ||||
1.3
|
175 days
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2.0
|
171 days
|
414 days
| |||
2.1
|
125 days
|
228 days
|
76 days
|
601 days
| |
2.2
|
212 days
|
525 days
|
346 days
|
1049 days
| |
3.0
|
383 days
|
703 days
|
389 days
|
1442 days
| |
3.1
|
34 days
|
1053 days
|
357 days
|
1028 days
| |
4.0
|
258 days
|
671 days
|
366 days
|
1044 days
| |
5.0
|
202 days
|
678 days
|
365 days
|
1087 days
| |
6.0
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184 days
|
722 days
| |||
7.0
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308 days
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818 days
| |||
8.0
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171 days
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721 days
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In the above array, data closely following "current" releasing tendencies have been highlighted in green. What can be deduced from those data is that the "most-typical" Debian release:
- endures a freeze cycle of 7 +/- 1 months before getting released.
- is released about 2 years after the previous one (the often cited example of Debian Sarge being quite an exceptional event in Debian history).
- leaves users about 1 year to upgrade to the next one once this latter itself gets released.
- has (from release to the end of security updates) a total lifetime of about 3 years.
Codenames
Releases of the Debian distribution have both traditional version numbers and codenames based on characters from the Pixar/Disney movie "Toy Story" (1995). Sid, as you may recall, was the evil neighbor kid who broke all the toys.
See also
DebianStability - Changing from one release version to another.
on الأحد، 6 سبتمبر 2015
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