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## Auto-converted by kwiki2moinmoin v2005-10-07
See:
 * http://www.debian.org/doc/ddp
#language en
~-Translation(s): English - [[fr/DebianDocumentation|Français]] - [[it/DebianDocumentation|Italiano]]-~
----


Debian is a distribution, it is made of many thousands of (free) software.
 
 . <<TableOfContents(3)>>

This page is about official Debian Documentation.

There are other [[DebianResources|Debian Resources]]


<<Anchor(debian-documentation)>>
= Debian Documentation =

== For users ==
The most famous for Debian users are :
 * The [[http://www.debian.org/releases/stable/installmanual|Installation Guide]] (or the [[http://d-i.alioth.debian.org/manual/|development version]].)
 * The [[http://www.debian.org/releases/stable/releasenotes|Release Notes]]
 * The [[http://www.debian.org/doc/user-manuals#quick-reference|Debian reference]]

Many other Debian Documentation are available at [[http://www.debian.org/doc|www.debian.org/doc]]

At the moment, Debian doesn't have a ''System Administrator'' manual.

== For contributors ==
The most famous for Debian contributors are :
 * the [[http://www.debian.org/social_contract|social contract]]
 * the [[http://www.debian.org/social_contract#guidelines|The Debian Free Software Guidelines (DFSG)]]
 * the [[http://www.debian.org/devel/dmup|Debian Machine Usage Policies]] (dmup)
 * the [[DebianPolicy| Debian policy]]
 * the [[http://www.debian.org/doc/devel-manuals#devref|Debian Reference Manual]]
 * the [[http://www.debian.org/doc/devel-manuals#maint-guide|Debian New Maintainers Guide]]

Most documentation for Debian-developer (and package maintainer) are available from [[http://www.debian.org/devel/|www.debian.org/devel/]].


== Official Websites of the Debian Project ==
The Debian Project has a [[http://www.debian.org/devel/constitution|constitution]] and an [[http://www.debian.org/intro/organization|organizational structure]]

On [[http://www.debian.org|Debian.org]] the official Debian site, you can find a section dedicated to documentation.

## By alphabetical order
 * http://www.debian.org/doc - Debian documentation home
 * http://www.debian.org/support - support home

<<Anchor(forums)>>
=== Forum ===
## By alphabetical order
 * [[DebianMailingLists|Mailinglists]] are the main way of Debian communication
 * http://lists.debian.org/users.html - User mailing lists
 * http://forums.debian.net - Debian.net Forums
 
=== Advocacy, developers, inside information ===
## By alphabetical order
 * UnofficialRepositories - a list of non official package repositories. They can be very useful.
 * http://alioth.debian.org - Project hosting for Open Source developers
 * http://mentors.debian.net - Public package repository
 * http://bits.debian.org - Debian Blog
 * http://planet.debian.org - Planet Debian, aggregating lots of Developer blogs
 * http://planet.debian.org/es/ - Planeta Debian, a blog aggregator in spanish
 * http://release.debian.org - Debian Release Management pages
 * http://snapshot.debian.org - Debian packages archived daily since 2002/06/04
 * http://backports.debian.org - Backports for the stable distribution
 * http://www.debian.org/News - Official news
 * http://db.debian.org - Debian Developer Database
 * http://udd.debian.org/ - Ultimate Debian Database
 
<<Anchor(wikis)>>
=== Wiki ===
Debian Related Wikis
## By alphabetical order
 * http://wiki.debconf.org - The DebConf Wiki
 * http://wiki.debian.org - The Official Debian Wiki



<<Anchor(books)>>
== Books ==
Many free and non-free books are listed on Debian website.
 * http://www.debian.org/doc/books - Debian Book Library
Extra books could be listed below.
## DO NOT DUPLICATE entries from debian.org/doc/books !

<<Anchor(irc)>>

== Instant Messaging ==
There are official Debian [[IRC]] channels.

You can also use [[Jabber]]


<<Anchor(progs-docs)>>
= Program documentation =

Each software provides has its own documentation.
 
Under Debian (Unix), a program's documentation typically consist of (one or more of):
 * A [[ManPage|manpage]] (type {{{man}}} followed by a command name).
 * A {{{README}}} file, provided by upstream. (A text file located at {{{/usr/share/doc/}}}''pkgname''{{{/README}}})
 * A {{{README.Debian}}} file, provided by the Debian package maintainer. (A text file located at {{{/usr/share/doc/}}}''pkgname''{{{/README.Debian}}})
 * Programs with a graphical user interface (Gnome, KDE...) usually comes with help page (accessible through {{{Menu > Help}}}).
 * Some program provide their documentation as html, or ''[[WikiPedia:Info_(Unix)|info]]'' page.

== Package Description ==
In the package description you can find some useful information, like a short description of the package, a link to the original website, a list of files contained, and more. The package description can be accessed at the url {{{http://packages.debian.org/<package-name>}}}. Or, try "aptitude show $PKG" (you may need to "apt-get update && apt-get aptitude && aptitude update" first).

One of the best places to look for help for a single package or application is to read stuff in {{{/usr/share/doc/<package-name>}}} (especially README.Debian). This is documentation written by developers or package maintainers. It is quite concise, but usually mentions most common problems and solutions, and new features and fixed bugs.

== Bug tracking system ==
Many problems' solutions can be found as bug report responses. A search engine for bug reports is found on http://bugs.debian.org. Remember that if you want to search in archived (quite old) bugs you must chose "archived bugs" option. If you want to look at bugs of a specific package use {{{http://bugs.debian.org/<package-name>}}}.


<<Anchor(contribute)>>
= Contribute to documentation =

Most of the Debian Documentation is available at http://www.debian.org/doc/ddp

if you are interested, you can read the mailing lists :
 * http://lists.debian.org/debian-www/recent
 * http://lists.debian.org/debian-doc/recent
 
 .
 
 {i} This is free software, __you can contribute improvements to the documentation__ ~-<<BR>>''(i.e you don't have to write your own Howto !)''-~.

## SIMILAR PAGES (ideas to attract more contributors ??)
## - http://www.ubuntulinux.org/community/participate#documentation
## - http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/index.xml

= See also =

 * [[DebianResources]]

Translation(s): English - Français - Italiano


Debian is a distribution, it is made of many thousands of (free) software.

This page is about official Debian Documentation.

There are other Debian Resources

Debian Documentation

For users

The most famous for Debian users are :

Many other Debian Documentation are available at www.debian.org/doc

At the moment, Debian doesn't have a System Administrator manual.

For contributors

The most famous for Debian contributors are :

Most documentation for Debian-developer (and package maintainer) are available from www.debian.org/devel/.

Official Websites of the Debian Project

The Debian Project has a constitution and an organizational structure

On Debian.org the official Debian site, you can find a section dedicated to documentation.

Forum

Advocacy, developers, inside information

Wiki

Debian Related Wikis

Books

Many free and non-free books are listed on Debian website.

Extra books could be listed below.

Instant Messaging

There are official Debian IRC channels.

You can also use Jabber

Program documentation

Each software provides has its own documentation.

Under Debian (Unix), a program's documentation typically consist of (one or more of):

  • A manpage (type man followed by a command name).

  • A README file, provided by upstream. (A text file located at /usr/share/doc/pkgname/README)

  • A README.Debian file, provided by the Debian package maintainer. (A text file located at /usr/share/doc/pkgname/README.Debian)

  • Programs with a graphical user interface (Gnome, KDE...) usually comes with help page (accessible through Menu > Help).

  • Some program provide their documentation as html, or info page.

Package Description

In the package description you can find some useful information, like a short description of the package, a link to the original website, a list of files contained, and more. The package description can be accessed at the url http://packages.debian.org/<package-name>. Or, try "aptitude show $PKG" (you may need to "apt-get update && apt-get aptitude && aptitude update" first).

One of the best places to look for help for a single package or application is to read stuff in /usr/share/doc/<package-name> (especially README.Debian). This is documentation written by developers or package maintainers. It is quite concise, but usually mentions most common problems and solutions, and new features and fixed bugs.

Bug tracking system

Many problems' solutions can be found as bug report responses. A search engine for bug reports is found on http://bugs.debian.org. Remember that if you want to search in archived (quite old) bugs you must chose "archived bugs" option. If you want to look at bugs of a specific package use http://bugs.debian.org/<package-name>.

Contribute to documentation

Most of the Debian Documentation is available at http://www.debian.org/doc/ddp

if you are interested, you can read the mailing lists :

See also