Debian vs ubuntu: which distro to choose?

Many of us already do a lot of research on Ubuntu and Debian. After all, Debian vs Ubuntu are the two most popular Linux operating systems on the planet. To put an end to so much doubt about the differences between them, we have decided to prepare a complete study guide where we will talk about various parts of the two systems.

Index of contents

We will try to explain the differences between Ubuntu and Debian very well so that all Linux beginners know the subject in depth and can recommend this article to other beginners.

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Ubuntu vs Debian

Ubuntu is a complete and freely available Linux operating system. The Ubuntu community was built on the ideas enshrined in the Ubuntu Manifesto: the system must be available, it must be usable by people in their local language, and people must be free to customize and adapt the system at their convenience. The origin of the word "Ubuntu" comes from an African word whose meaning is "humanity towards others" and the distribution brings that Ubuntu spirit to the world of software.

The Debian Project are people associated and united for a cause who developed a free operating system. That operating system was called Debian GNU / Linux, or simply Debian. Debian systems currently use the Linux Kernel, the software created by Linus Torvalds, and supported by thousands of programmers worldwide. It comes with more than 20 thousand packages and all are free. It is as if it were a tower. At the base comes the Kernel and on top the basic tools. At the top of the tower comes Debian carefully tuning and organizing so that everything works together.

Ubuntu philosophy

Debian was the rock on which Ubuntu has been built. A volunteer project that develops and maintains a GNU / Linux operating system. Ubuntu is an open source project that develops and maintains an open source multiplatform based on Debian. Includes Unity, a user interface for smartphones, tablets and PCs.

Updates are released every six months and support is guaranteed by Canonical up to 5 years from installation. Additionally, Canonical provides commercial support for Ubuntu deployments on desktops, servers, and in the cloud. Ubuntu is built on the foundation of Debian, but there are several important differences. It has its own user interface, an independent developer community (although many developers participate in both projects), and a different release method.

Canonical is a private company based in the United Kingdom. It was founded by South African businessman Mark Shuttleworth and funded to market Ubuntu related support, services and projects. It employs staff in more than 30 countries and has offices in London, Montreal, Boston, Taipei, Sao Paulo, Shanghai, and the Isle of Man.

Debian philosophy

Probably the main thing that sets Debian apart from pretty much every other operating system on the planet is Debian's policies, which is what drives Debian's famous quality control. Ubuntu has nothing like it. Debian is hard to beat in this regard.

Debian developers are volunteers, with little free time, but very friendly and helpful. Also, Debian is completely dedicated to free software, which can be very annoying. In contrast, Ubuntu / Canonical has a much more relaxed attitude towards non-free software.

PPA's repositories

There are reasons why you may want to add other repositories with Ubuntu. To do this, PPAs (Personal Package Archive) have been created, which are additional repositories for Ubuntu, that is, created by anyone who may contain more updated or non-existent software in the default Ubuntu repositories. It is suggested that they be used in moderation since they can break the system and create security vulnerabilities.

One thing to note about using PPA's is that when you add a PPA for your software sources, you are giving administrator (root) access for everyone who can upload to that PPA. PPA packages have access to the entire system as they are installed (like a normal Ubuntu package), so always be wary of a PPA before adding it to your system. PPA's are the main difference between Debian and Ubuntu in this regard.

Security

First: there is no 100% security. A certain amount of risk, albeit small, is inevitable. But for both Debian and Ubuntu, you have no need to install an antivirus.

Exploitable security vulnerabilities can appear in any operating system and in every application. Also on Linux. From these vulnerabilities you will be protected with updates. Ubuntu automatically performs a daily check for available security updates. Therefore, it is important to install the proposed security updates immediately, if you want to keep the system as secure as possible.

Once quickly discovered and repaired, a vulnerability is not a big problem. It is difficult to install a virus on a Linux machine, but it is certainly not impossible. The biggest danger lies in unreliable software repositories and some insecure code that a careless administrator runs. In Linux, a normal user has very limited permissions. For example, a normal user cannot perform administrative tasks.

To install software, the user always has to be root (or have temporary root rights, which is what Ubuntu does). In Debian, the security is even higher, considering that the system has more obsolete packages and has a much slower update cycle compared to Ubuntu.

Community

For many users, technical issues are probably the main concern in choosing a distribution. However, for more experienced users, communities and how they work can be equally important.

Interactions in the Ubuntu community are governed by a Code of Conduct, which is generally successful, ensuring that discussions are polite and constructive.

This code provides a measure of the expected behavior that can be mentioned when discussions threaten to get out of control. On the other hand, the Debian community has a reputation for being more aggressive.

Sometimes someone is hostile to women and beginners in general. This environment has improved in recent years, but it can still catch fire. One reason for this is that Debian's atmosphere is an institutionalized meritocracy. Although some developers may write documentation, test bugs, or be part of a team, being a full-fledged Debian developer is a demanding process in which candidates must be sponsored by an existing developer, and repeatedly demonstrate competence and commitment..

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Finally, the difference between the Debian and Ubuntu communities lies in their core values. Despite being less important than it was some years ago, Debian is a community-based distribution, dedicated to its own concepts of freedom and democracy, meritocratic, even at the expense of quick decision-making. The Ubuntu community, however, is more hierarchical than Debian's and more open than most high-tech companies.

Terminal

Ubuntu and Debian have the same shell system (dash) and the same standard user shell (bash, like almost all GNU / Linux operating systems). Most, if not 99% of the line commands, work the same way in both Ubuntu and Debian.

You will find, for example, Aptitude installed on Debian but not installed on Ubuntu. The same goes for commands that are only from Ubuntu, like Ubuntu-bug. But, in general, what is learned in Debian can be applied in any of the distros that are derived from it. With this in mind, most of the terminal related things you have learned in Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Edubuntu, Xubuntu, Linux Mint Debian or any other derived distro, will be valid for Debian as well.

packages

Most of the source code packages in all Ubuntu components are copied without modification from Debian. In some cases, the same software is packaged separately in Ubuntu and Debian, although this should be avoided unless there is a justified reason for it. Unlike Debian, Ubuntu packages generally do not have a designated manager. Thus, all packages in Ubuntu are maintained by teams.

In some cases it works very well to have the Debian and Ubuntu developers sharing the package maintenance.

By using a common source code repository, Ubuntu developers can apply various bug fixes directly to the Debian branch and then just have to integrate the fix for the Ubuntu branch.

Conclusion about the Debian vs. Ubuntu battle

Both Debian and Ubuntu are free Linux distributions that use the APT package management system. Ubuntu is developed under Debian, with a different community and release process. It was created with an express desire to make Linux more accessible to average users.

As such, it has created cleaner interfaces, better media support, and an easier installation process. Due to this ease of use, it has quickly become the most widely used Linux distribution with an estimated 20 million users worldwide. Debian is a robust, secure and powerful Linux distribution.

It is not exactly designed for newbies on Linux. Its developer community has worked tirelessly in recent years to make the basic setup and configuration process easier, but it's still more complicated than Ubuntu's usability. Community is probably the biggest difference between the two systems.

Ubuntu forums are more accessible to newbies, while Debian forums are more technical. If ease of use is a concern, choose Ubuntu. Debian has its positive points, but charisma is not one of them. On the other hand, power users and administrators love Debian's minimalism. Two great systems united by a single heart: Linux.