wren-linux / docs / history-of-debian.md (as plain text)
A short history of Debian
Debian was started by a student in 1993, and it's still run by volunteers more than thirty years later. Few software projects of its size have lasted this long without a company at the top.
The dates here come from Debian's own project history. For what Debian is, start there.
A student starts it: 1993
In August 1993, Ian Murdock, an undergraduate at Purdue University, began Debian. Versions 0.01 to 0.90 came out between August and December of that year.
From November 1994 to November 1995, the Free Software Foundation's GNU Project sponsored it.
A project of volunteers: 1996 to 1999
Ian Murdock stopped actively working on the project in March 1996, and appointed Bruce Perens to lead it. Bruce Perens coordinated the creation of the Social Contract and the Debian Free Software Guidelines, the public promises that still define the project, and led the creation of Software in the Public Interest, a nonprofit.
He was followed at the beginning of 1998 by Ian Jackson, and in January 1999 by Wichert Akkerman. A leader doesn't own Debian. The project elects them.
There was never a Debian 1.0. A CD vendor shipped an early development version labelled 1.0, so the first release of that series became 1.1 to avoid confusion. It was also the first with a name, Buzz, from Toy Story. Every release since has been named after a character or toy from those films.
Others build on it: 1999 onward
By 1999, companies had started building their own systems on Debian. Corel announced one that April, and Storm Linux appeared that year. Those two didn't last: Stormix declared bankruptcy in January 2001, and another Debian-based company, Progeny, stopped its distribution that October.
Debian carried on regardless. Its Social Contract charges nothing for allowing others to build on it, and many have. Wren Linux is a much smaller example of the same freedom, as a set of scripts on an unchanged Debian.
The releases
| Version | Name | Released |
|---|---|---|
| 1.1 | Buzz | 1996 |
| 1.2 | Rex | 1996 |
| 1.3 | Bo | 1997 |
| 2.0 | Hamm | 1998 |
| 2.1 | Slink | 1999 |
| 2.2 | Potato | 2000 |
| 3.0 | Woody | 2002 |
| 3.1 | Sarge | 2005 |
| 4.0 | Etch | 2007 |
| 5.0 | Lenny | 2009 |
| 6.0 | Squeeze | 2011 |
| 7 | Wheezy | 2013 |
| 8 | Jessie | 2015 |
| 9 | Stretch | 2017 |
| 10 | Buster | 2019 |
| 11 | Bullseye | 2021 |
| 12 | Bookworm | 2023 |
| 13 | Trixie | 2025 |
Debian 13, trixie, is the one Wren Linux is written for. The next is 14, forky.
Notice the gaps. Debian has generally released when it's ready, not on a date someone promised. Since 2005 it has settled into a new release about every two years.
Why this matters for Wren Linux
- It's likely to still be there. A project that has outlasted so many companies is a sound foundation for a small project to stand on.
- Its promises are written down. You can read what it promises, and hold it to that.
- Its record is public, bugs included.
That isn't a claim it's perfect. It's a large project, run by people, and a careful setup still has limits of its own.
Sources
- Debian: A Brief History of Debian, including its detailed history and releases. They differ on the month of 1.3, so this page gives years.
- Debian: releases, for trixie's date and forky, and the Social Contract. "Why this matters" is this page's own view.