(debian-policy.info)The Debian Archive

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2 The Debian Archive
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The Debian system is maintained and distributed as a collection of
`packages'.  Since there are so many of them (currently well over
15000), they are split into `sections' and given `priorities' to
simplify the handling of them.

The effort of the Debian project is to build a free operating system,
but not every package we want to make accessible is `free' in our sense
(see the Debian Free Software Guidelines, below), or may be
imported/exported without restrictions.  Thus, the archive is split into
areas (1) based on their licenses and other restrictions.

The aims of this are:

   - to allow us to make as much software available as we can

   - to allow us to encourage everyone to write free software, and

   - to allow us to make it easy for people to produce CD-ROMs of our
     system without violating any licenses, import/export restrictions,
     or any other laws.

The `main' archive area forms the `Debian distribution'.

Packages in the other archive areas (‘contrib’, ‘non-free’) are not
considered to be part of the Debian distribution, although we support
their use and provide infrastructure for them (such as our bug-tracking
system and mailing lists).  This Debian Policy Manual applies to these
packages as well.

The Debian Free Software Guidelines

Archive areas

Copyright considerations

Sections

Priorities

   ---------- Footnotes ----------

   (1) The Debian archive software uses the term “component” internally
and in the Release file format to refer to the division of an archive.
The Debian Social Contract simply refers to “areas.” This document uses
terminology similar to the Social Contract.