Deb (file format)
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| File extension: | .deb |
|---|---|
| Developed by: | Debian |
| Type of format: | Package management system |
| Container for: | Software package |
- The correct title of this article is deb (file format). The initial letter is shown capitalized due to technical restrictions.
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, wife of Debian's founder Ian Murdock.
Debian packages are standard Unix ar archives that include two gzipped or bzipped 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 and vice versa 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.
[edit] Implementation
deb file is implemented as an ar archive. Canonical contents of this archive are 3 files:
- debian-binary - deb format version number
- control.tar.gz - all package metainformation
- data.tar.gz - the actual installable files
