We're glad to have this opportunity to introduce you to Debian! As we
begin our journey down the road of GNU/Linux, we'd like to first talk a
bit about what exactly Debian is - what it does, and how it fits in with
the vast world of Free Software. Then, we talk a bit about the phenomenon
that is Free Software and what it means for Debian and you. Finally, we
close the chapter with a bit of information about this book itself.

What Is Debian?

Debian is a free operating system (OS) for your computer. An operating
system is the set of basic programs and utilities that make your computer
run. At the core of an operating system is the kernel. The kernel is the
most fundamental program on the computer: It does all the basic
housekeeping and lets you start other programs. Debian uses the Linux
kernel, a completely free piece of software started by Linus Torvalds and
supported by thousands of programmers worldwide. A large part of the basic
tools that fill out the operating system come from the GNU Project, and
these tools are also free.

Another facet of an operating system is application software: programs
that help get work done, from editing documents to running a business to
playing games to writing more software. Debian comes with more than 1,500
packages (precompiled software bundled up in a nice format for easy
installation on your machine) - all for free.

The Debian system is a bit like a pyramid. At the base is Linux. On top of
that are all the basic tools, mostly from GNU. Next is all the application
software that you run on the computer; many of these are also from GNU.
The Debian developers act as architects and coordinators - carefully