"Custom Debian Distributions" Renamed "Debian Pure Blends"
by Kristin Shoemaker - Nov. 10, 2008Comments (1)- Related Blog Posts
- Over 50 Free, Must-Have Open Source Resources
- What Does a User Cost?
- Amarok Refreshed: Better, Stronger, Faster!
- Dell's Multimedia Mini PC Ships With Ubuntu
- What Lies Ahead for Chrome OS?
On Monday, the Debian project announced that it was renaming the former "Custom Debian Distribution" concept (the umbrella term under which Debian projects such as Debian Junior, Debian Med, and DebiChem were collectively known) to the more accurate (and catchier) name "Debian Pure Blends."
Though "Debian Pure Blends" for some reason makes me think "gourmet coffee," Andreas Tille of the Debian project makes a good deal of sense when he says that "Custom Debian Distributions" stated the obvious (yes, these projects use Debian code) without giving a clear picture of what the customizations were, or how closely they were related to the Debian base.
For those unfamiliar with the Custom Debian Distribution/Debian Pure Blend school of thought, it is similar to what Fedora calls "Spins," or how Edubuntu and Ubuntu Studio relate to Ubuntu. Essentially the releases under the Debian Pure Blend heading must be Debian at their core (i.e., be compatible with Debian base packages for updating) and adhere to Debian development guidelines.
For those wishing to learn more, the Debian project has a good deal of detailed information explaining why Pure Blends are vital to the Debian project, tips and tools for working with Blends, and some good background on how a Blend differs from a fork of the main project (and the advantages and disadvantages of both approaches).
