If you find a link to the license on the original site, feel free to change it. The open source definition was originally derived from the debian free software guidelines dfsg. Debian definition of debian by websters online dictionary. We promise that the debian system and all its components will. As open source software, debian is developed by over 500 contributing programmers who collectively form the. Software packages in buster, subsection science 3depict 0. The same ideals are expressed in the open source definition and the free software foundations four freedoms. Debian definition of debian by the free dictionary. Debian free software guidelines dfsg and software license faq. Free software or libre software is computer software distributed under terms that allow users to run the software for any purpose as well as to study, change, and distribute it and any adapted versions. The fsf promotes the development and use of free as in freedom software particularly the gnu operating system and its gnulinux variants and free documentation for free software. Debian project article about debian project by the free. And you may remember me for having brought the tiger map database to free software.
Definition english open source hardware association. Only software that complies with the dfsg is allowed in the main distribution of debian. The dfsg is a very influential document in the free software movement, and was the foundation of the the open source definition. Debian software packages in bullseye, subsection admin. Free software means software that respects users freedom and community. You may know me as the primary author of the debian free software guidelines and the open source definition. Does installing nonfree software from debian nonfree. Debian synonyms, debian pronunciation, debian translation, english dictionary definition of debian. These guidelines have been adopted as the basis of the open source definition. Running on all major platforms, debian is noted for the thousands of. Sep 26, 2017 the text of the open source definition is taken directly from the debian free software guidelines dfsg. Debian free software guidelines wikimili, the best. If you have to install a software package on a linux system, heres how the process would work. From time to time we revise this definition, to clarify it or to resolve questions about subtle issues.
An english dictionary lists almost twenty different meanings for free. Its time to talk about free software again im bruce perens. There have been a number of attempts to codify these freedoms, which include the freedom to modify and distribute. The free software definition presents the criteria for whether a particular software program qualifies as free software. The document was created 9 months before the formation of the open source initiative. The debian free software guidelines dfsg is a set of guidelines that the debian project uses to determine whether a software license is a free software license, which in turn is used to determine whether a piece of software can be included in debian. Debian, the producers of the debian gnulinux system, have created the debian social contract. The precise meaning of free software is spelled out in the debian free software guidelines or the free software definition while open source is defined officially by the open source definition.
For our purposes, it must conform with the debian free software guidelines. The debian project is a notforprofit group of volunteers committed to the concept of free, opensource software, and to the goal of providing a stable, reliable, free operating system. Debian linux software free download debian linux top 4 download offers free software downloads for windows, mac, ios and android computers and mobile devices. Contrib if a piece of software passes the dfsg, but depends on a package from nonfree, then such a package goes here. Fsf and debian join forces to help free software users. Debian free definitions by babylon babylon software. Over the years, debian was the basis for more than 300 derivatives, of which. This means that the debian social contract and debian free software guidelines are now foundation documents, and may be modified by a 3. The recommended way to install new software on debian, is to use package management tools to install packages from the official repositories. Debian can be downloaded over the internet or, for a small charge, obtained on cd. The debian free software guidelines dfsg are a set of guidelines that the debian project uses to determine whether the license used by a piece of software qualifies as a free software license. Debian, also known as debian gnulinux, is a linux distribution composed of free and opensource software, developed by the communitysupported debian project, which was established by ian murdock on august 16, 1993.
Open source refers to the fact that the source code of free software is open to and for the world to take, to modify and to reuse. To answer common questions about the debian free software guidelines and how we judge whether some piece of software is free. There are some tools they make themselves listed on that page. The debian project has developed its own definition of free software. The dfsg is part of the debian social contract with the free software community. Debian free software guidelines how is debian free software guidelines abbreviated. Roughly, it means that the users have the freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software. The free software definition written by richard stallman and published by free software foundation fsf, defines free software as being software that ensures that the end users have freedom in using, studying, sharing and modifying that software. The free software foundation, founded in 1985, is dedicated to promoting computer users right to use, study, copy, modify, and redistribute computer programs. Proposal a in the vote to disambiguate constitution section 4. Debian linux software free download debian linux top 4. Debian free software guidelines how is debian free. The term free is used in the sense of free speech, not of free of charge. In 1997 debian, a project aiming to create a completely free and community based gnulinux distribution, developed the debian free software guidelines as a checklist whether a program can be included in the distribution or not.
Thus, free software is a matter of liberty, not price. The debian free software guidelines dfsg part of the contract, initially designed as a set of commitments that we agree to abide by, has been adopted by the free software community as the basis of the open source definition. These repositories should contain most of the software you will want to install, allowing you not to rely on external sources. The small image is about 600mb to download and 2gb once extracted, this included the xfce gui and basic programs. You can find out more about debian linux and the debian project at the wwve. Debian is listed in the worlds largest and most authoritative dictionary database of abbreviations and acronyms the free dictionary. Nonfree proprietary packages or software that does not pass the debian free software guidelines dfsg belong here. The image folder contains the debian image files, there are three images you can chose from, core, small and large.
Fsf and debian join forces to help free software users find. That definition was created by bruce perens and the debian developers as the debian free software guidelines. I suggested to eric that i use the alreadywritten debian free software guidelines as the open source definition. The open source definition annotated open source initiative. The software in the debian repositories has been proven to integrate with debian and is updated when necessary to maintain security in so far as such is possible with non free software. The debian free software guidelines define the criteria for free software and thus what software is permissible in the distribution. An operating system is the set of basic programs and utilities that make your computer run. Debian free software guidelines last updated march 30, 2020.
The concept of free software is the brainchild of richard stallman, head of the gnu project. Although this document can be considered separate, it formally is part of the social contract. Debian is an example of a distributor of a linux package. Boston, massachusetts, usa monday, september 8, 2014 the free software foundation fsf and the debian project today announced cooperation to expand and enhance hnode, a database to help users learn and share information about computers that work with free software operating systems.
Debian free software guidelines wikipedia republished wiki 2. Running on all major platforms, debian is noted for the thousands of applications that accompany the distribution. Free software, open source, foss, floss same same but. Looking for online definition of debian or what debian stands for. The core image is about 200mb to download and 750mb once extracted, it only includes a basic debian install with no gui. Although debian gnulinux itself is free software, it is a base upon which value added linux distributions can be built. I wrote the electric fence malloc debugger, and some pieces of debian. Define debian by websters dictionary, wordnet lexical database, dictionary of computing, legal dictionary, medical dictionary, dream dictionary. The open source definition is a document published by the open source initiative, to determine whether a software license can be labeled with the opensource certification mark. The earliestknown publication of the definition was in the february. Debians linux distribution is dedicated to free and open source software. The debian project abides by a social contract to our users that specifies all software included in the operating system will be free software, meaning that it can be freely redistributed, modified, used, etc. The debian free software guidelines dfsg part of the contract. Debian is a free operating system os for your computer.
If your machine has only one hard disk, and you would like to completely replace the current operating system with debian gnulinux, you also can wait to partition as part of the installation process section 6. Bruce perens, debian free software guidelines an open. Since many different licenses are used on software, a set of guidelines, the debian free software guidelines dfsg were developed to come up with a reasonable definition of what constitutes free software. Debian free software guidelines how is debian free software.
The definition was taken from the exact text of the debian free software guidelines, written and adapted primarily by bruce perens with input from the debian developers on a private debian mailing list. Debian, the producers of the debian system, have created the debian social contract. The debian project is a strong supporter of free software. Access a repository, a cd, or other distribution media that. We provide the guidelines that we use to determine if a work is free in the document entitled the debian free software guidelines. The english meaning of the word free, as in free speech refers to. Debian free software guidelines wikipedia republished. Free software, open source, foss, floss same same but different. Only software that complies with the dfsg is allowed in the main distribution of. The best known example of free software is linux, an operating system that is proposed as an alternative to windows or other proprietary operating systems.
It incorporates gnu project tools and capabilities and is packaged with thousands of software applications for easy installation and execution. Debian free software guidelines simple english wikipedia. Access software for a blind person flite speech driver brlttyspeechd 6. Debian was begun in august 1993 by ian murdock, and was sponsored by the free. The universal os note, most of debian is just reusing other components from other projects.
Last modified, 20070322 the content on this website, of which is the author, is licensed under a creative commons attribution 4. Free software is software that can be freely used, modified, and redistributed with only one restriction. The definition of free software is stipulated as part of the gnu project and by the. Debian is a unixlike computer operating system that is composed entirely of free software, most of which is under the gnu general public license, and packaged by a group of individuals known as the debian project. More precisely, this definition consists of a set of. Built on the linux kernel, debian gnulinux is an opensource and free operating system os that is based on a graphical user interface gui.
See the history section below for a list of changes that affect the definition of free software. Historically, free software was the first term, created 1986 together with the free software definition. This distinction is critical because it determines whether a piece of. Heres their source on github if you want to see it. When we talk about free software, we are talking about freedom, not price.
Debian is a popular and freelyavailable computer operating system that uses the linux kernel and other program components obtained from the gnu project. Computer programs are deemed free if they give users. I created the dfsg and the debian social contract, and submitted the first draft to the debian developers on their mailing list in june of 1997. The precise meaning of free software is spelled out in the debian free software guidelines or the free software definition while open source is. Thats the only input he had, as the text had already been written and adopted as the dfsg eight months previously and was not modified other than removal of. This distinction is critical because it determines whether a piece of software qualifies for inclusion in the debian project. The debian free software guidelines dfsg is a set of guidelines rules that the debian project uses to decide whether a software license is a free software license, which is used to decide whether a piece of software can be included in debian.
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