this post was submitted on 11 Jun 2023
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Linux
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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Wait what do you mean debian doesn't have newer packages? I've never used it. Do the packages only get updated on a distro update?
They do get updated but very conservatively. They prioritize stability so their older kernel and system/library packages means all of their packages in general are also kept behind. Debian 11 for example is still on Python 3.9.2 whereas in Arch it's at 3.11.3 (and it's called python not python3).
Yes and no. They seem to prioritize stability and security over everything else. So they usually only push updates to the stable repo if it doesn't compromise those 2 points (so new features are okay but so long as they don't create new instability or at the very least fix a security flaw).
So in other words nothing there is particularly ancient but most things are several versions behind just due to bugs being found etc. Great for servers but on a desktop most people wouldn't notice these kind of bugs so they tend to get pushed in other distro's a lot sooner.
I think so. They get freezed at some time on unstable (I think?). Then, if you need a newer (major version) of a package you need some other package source than the default Debian one to get it.