Debian GNU/Linux 2.0 'Hamm' Released
July 24th, 1998
Debian GNU/Linux 2.0 'Hamm' has officially been released for the i386 and m68k architectures.
It can be obtained in several ways:
- FTP: http://ftp.debian.org/
- CD-ROM: https://www.debian.org/CD/vendors/ (list of distributors)
- CD Images: https://www.debian.org/CD/
Debian 2.0 contains over 1500 precompiled binary packages contributed from over 400 developers, including all of the favorites: web servers, GIMP, gcc, egcs, XFree86, SQL servers and many other tools and utilities. It also marks the move from the older libc5 to the newer libc6.
Debian's powerful package manager 'dpkg' allows for easy installation, maintenance and updating of packages including sophisticated handling of dependencies and configurations. Packages from other distributions can easily be installed using the 'alien' utility.
Debian development distributions for Alpha, Sparc, and PowerPC are also available under the 'unstable' tree from the FTP site. They will likely be released with Debian 2.1 'Slink'. Development is currently in progress for UltraSparc, Netwinder and Hurd based distributions.
Why Debian GNU/Linux?
- Debian is 100% Free Software. Our goal is to help keep Linux free.
- Over 1500 precompiled software packages.
- Over 400 developers, the largest staff of any Linux distribution.
- The largest pre-release testing program in the Linux world.
- Free on-line support from our large, friendly user community on the debian-user mailing list and interactive chat forums.
- Floppy-less install directly from CD, or single floppy install using NFS or hard disk.
- Automatic upgrades via CD, FTP, NFS, or disk.
- Bug tracking system is publicly accessible on our web server, and users are encouraged to access the system and provide feedback.
- Anyone can duplicate and sell our Official CD or a snapshot of the FTP archive, at no charge!
- Compatible with RPM and Slackware packages.
Upgrade Information
To avoid problems in just upgrading packages via dpkg, dselect, or dftp (due to possible libc5/libc6 conflicts), a specific upgrade procedure is recommended. This document describing this procedure can be found at:
https://www.debian.org/releases/hamm/HOWTO.upgrade
There are several ways to upgrade from an earlier version:
- autoup.sh
This is a script that will upgrade the programs in the correct order, and even download the deb's for you. Because of the continuing changes to the archive, a tar archive of the packages that were available at the time autoup.sh was last released is provided. This is in the developers corner of the Debian web site, but newer versions are at:- https://www.debian.org/releases/hamm/autoup/ (dead link)
- http://ftp.debian.org/debian/hamm/hamm/upgrade-i386/ (dead link)
- http://www.uk.debian.org/autoup/ (dead link)
- http://debian.vicnet.net.au/autoup/ (dead link)
- http://www.taz.net.au/autoup/ (dead link)
- apt-get
This is the command line part of Debian's future package manager. It knows how to order packages and will download them from a local archive, http, and FTP sites. It is able to merge the info from several sites, so you can use a CD, an up to date mirror, and a non-us site for the best mix of speed, variety, and latest versions. Just run 'apt-get update; apt-get dist-upgrade'. The 'Bo' version is at: http://ftp.debian.org/debian/hamm/hamm/upgrade-i386/ (dead link). The 'Hamm' version is in project/experimental. - By hand
A HOWTO can be found at https://www.debian.org/releases/hamm/autoup/HOWTO/libc5-libc6-Mini-HOWTO.html (dead link) but as the autoup.sh simply automates this process this is the least convenient option.
About Debian
Debian GNU/Linux is a free distribution of the Linux operating system. It is maintained and updated through the work of many users who volunteer their time and effort.
Contact Information
For further information, please send email to mailto:press@debian.org or visit the Debian homepage at https://www.debian.org/.