Deb (file format)
From Free net encyclopedia
{{Infobox file format | name = Debian package | extension = .deb | mime = | owner = Debian | creatorcode = | genre = Package management system | containerfor = Software package | containedby = | extendedfrom = | extendedto = }} Template:Lowercase deb is the extension of the Debian software package format and the most often used name for such binary packages. Like the term Debian, it's named after Debra Murdock, wife of Debian's founder Ian Murdock.
Debian packages are standard Unix ar archives that include two gzipped tar archives: one that holds the control information and another that contains the data.
The canonical program for handling these packages is dpkg, most commonly via apt.
deb packages can be converted into other packages using Alien.
Some core Debian packages are available as udebs (“micro debs”), and are typically used only for bootstrapping a Debian installation. Although these files use the “udeb” filename extension, they adhere to the same structure specification as ordinary deb files. However, unlike their deb counterparts, udeb packages contain only essential functional files. In particular, documentation files are normally omitted. udeb packages are not installable on a standard Debian system.