(
DEBra
IAN) A Linux-based operating system developed by Ian Murdock in 1993 and named after his future wife and himself. Running on all major platforms, Debian is noted for the thousands of applications that accompany the distribution.
Over the years, Debian was the basis for more than 300 derivatives, of which approximately one hundred are generally active. Ubuntu is one of the most prominent offshoots. See
Linux,
Ubuntu,
Linux Mint and
Knoppix.