Ubuntu and Debian are closely related. Ubuntu builds on the foundations of Debian architecture and infrastructure, with a different community and release process.
Ubuntu和 Debian是密切相关的，Ubuntu是基于Debian的体系和基础之上建立的，只是拥有不同的社区和发布过程
About Debian
关于Debian
Debian is "the rock upon which Ubuntu is built".
Debian是"Ubuntu建立的基石"。
Debian is a volunteer project to develop a GNU/Linux distribution. Debian was started more than a decade ago and has since grown to comprise more than 1000 members with official developer status and many more volunteers and contributors. It has expanded to encompass nearly 17,000 "packages" of free and open source applications and documentation.
Debian是一个开发GNU/LINUX发行版的自愿者项目。Debian项目始于十年前，现在在官方开发人员已超过1000名成员，并拥有更多的自愿者和捐赠者。这使得基于它的应用程序和文档将近有17,000个包。
Debian's history, make-up, and position make it very good at certain things. Debian has a well-deserved reputation for integrated package management and access to a large list of free software applications. As a result, Debian has grown into one of the largest Linux distributions.
Debian的历史，使得它在可靠性方面作得非常出色。Debian在包的智能化管理和对大量自由软件程序访问方面的名声是当之无愧的
As a volunteer organization, Debian has historically been less good at time-based or predictable releases, and has a difficult time providing accountability. Stable releases of Debian have been few and far between in recent years. The more raw unreleased versions of Debian do not provide security fixes for individual packages that are rapidly changing, but are incorporated in development work. While not important to many Debian users, these shortcomings have discouraged a number of potential Debian users. Still Debian is ported to more architectures than any other distribution, and allows for almost any combination of free software components to be mixed and matched as you wish.
作为一个自愿者组织，Debian在历史上对基于时间或预告的发布做得不是很好，对时间的把握也很困难。Debian的Stable版本在近年来更新极少而且漫长。更多的不成熟的非发布版本并未对个别更新较快的包提供安全修复，就集成在开发工作中。尽管这对大多数Debian用户来说并不重要，但这些缺点已经开始阻碍一些潜在的Debian用户。然而Debian拥有比其他发行版更好的架构，并允许大多数自由组合软件中的组件能被修复成符合您的需要。
The Ubuntu team hopes to address some of those issues and bring more people onto the Debian system.
Ubuntu项目组希望能专注于这些内容中的一部分，并将更多的人吸引到Debian系统中。
About Ubuntu
关于Ubuntu
Sponsored by Canonical, the Ubuntu project attempts to work with Debian to address the issues that keep many users from using Debian. Ubuntu provides a system based on Debian with frequent time-based releases, corporate accountability, and a more considered desktop interface. Ubuntu provides users with a way to deploy Debian with security fixes, release critical bug fixes, a consistent desktop interface, and to never be more than six months away from the latest version of anything in the open source world.
由Canonical赞助，Ubuntu项目基于Debian，并试图专注于保持大多数用户愿意使用Debian这一方面。Ubuntu提供一个基于Debian的系统，该系统保持一个快速的基于时间的发布，团队的理解，更多的是在考虑桌面界面。Ubuntu带给用户的是配置Debian的安全修复、版本的关键BUG修复、可靠稳定的桌面界面和从不超过六个月的开源社区最新版本。
Ubuntu and Debian
Ubuntu和Debian
Ubuntu and Debian are distinct but parallel and closely linked systems. The Ubuntu project seeks to complement the Debian project in the following areas:
Ubuntu和Debian是不同的但又是相似的互相紧密联系的系统。Ubuntu项目追求对Debian项目某些方面的补充，它包括：
Package selection
包选择
Ubuntu does not provide security updates and professional support for every package available in the open source world, but selects a complete set of packages up a solid and comprehensive desktop system and provides support for that set of packages.
Ubuntu不对开源社区中的每个包都提供安全更新和专业支持，但选择许多包的一个完整集做为单独的一个包和应用广泛的桌面系统，并对这些包集提供支持。
For users that want access to every known package, Ubuntu provides a "universe" component (set of packages) where users of Ubuntu systems install the latest version of any package that is not in the supported set. Most of the packages in Ubuntu universe are also in Debian, although there are other sources for universe too. See the Ubuntu Components page for more detail on the structure of the Ubuntu web distribution.
为了满足用户能访问每个已知的包，Ubuntu提供了"universe"组件（包集），在这里Ubuntu的用户可以安装这些包的最新版本，但不对这些包提供支持。在Ubuntu的 universe中的大多数包也在Debian中，尽管它们对universe来说也是不同的源。查阅Ubuntu组件页以获得更多关于Ubuntu网络发布结构的细节
Releases
发布
Ubuntu makes a release every six months, and supports those releases for 18 months with daily security fixes and patches to critical bugs.
Ubuntu六个月发布一个新版本，并对每个版本的安全修复与关键BUG补丁提供18个月的支持。
As Ubuntu prepares for release, we "freeze" a snapshot of debian's development archive ('sid'). We start from 'sid' in order to give ourselves the freedom to make our own decisions with regard to release management, independent of Debian's release-in-preparation. This is necessary because our release criteria are very different from Debian's.
当Ubuntu准备发布时，我们"冻结"了Debian的开发包集（SID），我们从Sid开始是为了我们在注重版本管理的同时，独立于Debian的预发布版本，从而可以更自由的作出决定。这是必须的，因为我们的版本标准与Debian的有着很大的不同。
As a simple example, a package might be excluded from Debian 'testing' due to a build failure on any of the 11 architectures supported by Debian 'sarge', but it is still suitable for Ubuntu if it builds and works on only three of them. A package will also be prevented from entering Debian 'testing' if it has release-critical bugs according to Debian criteria, but a bug which is release-critical for Debian may not be as important for Ubuntu.
举个简单的例子，一个包也许不被Debian 'testing'接受，因为它基于11个被Debian 'sarge'支持的结构上建造失败。但它也许在Ubuntu上很适用，这儿只需要它们中的三个。一个包也许被阻止，因为根据Debian标准它有着版本关键BUG。但这个对于Debian而言是版本的关键BUG，对于Ubuntu而言也许并不那么严重。
As a community, we choose places to diverge from Debian in ways that minimize the difference between Debian and Ubuntu. For example, we usually choose to update to the very latest version of Gnome rather than the older version in Debian, and we might do the same for key other pieces of infrastructure such as X or GCC. Those decisions are listed as Feature Goals for that release, and we work as a community to make sure that they are in place before the release happens.
作为一个团队，我们设法让Debian和Ubuntu之间的不同点减至最小。举个例子，我们通常选择GNOME中的最新版本来更新而不是 Debian中的老版本，我们也会对其中的关键软件如X或GCC做同样的事。这些决定被列为未来发布的目标，做为一个团队，我们要确保它们在发布之前被包括在内。
Development community
开发团队
Many Ubuntu developers are also recognized members of the debian community. They continue to stay active in contributing to debian both in the course of their work on Ubuntu and directly in debian.
Ubuntu的许多开发者也是Debian团队的成员。他们继续活跃在团队中，并工作在Ubuntu上为Debian提供他们的服务。
When Ubuntu developers fix bugs that are also present in debian packages -- and since the projects are linked, this happens often -- they send their bugfixes to the Debian developers responsible for that package in debian and record the patch URL in the debian bug system. The long term goal of that work is to ensure that patches made by the full-time Ubuntu team members are immediately also included in debian packages where the debian maintainer likes the work.
当Ubuntu的开发者修复了错误，他们也提交Debian包 -- 因为项目是相关的，这种事情经常发生 -- 他们发送自己的错误修复到Debian开发者软件库中，并在Debian的Bug系统中写下补丁的URL地址。这样做的目的是为了确保补丁能够在全职 Ubuntu团队制作的同时也立即被包含在Debian维护者也希望如此的包中。
In Ubuntu, team members can make a change to any package, even if it is one maintained by someone else. Once you are an Ubuntu maintainer it's encouraged that you fix problems you encounter, although we also encourage polite discussions between people with an interest in a given package to improve cooperation and reduce friction between maintainers.
在Ubuntu，项目组的成员可以对一些包进行更改，甚至它也是一个被人维护的包。一旦你成为了一个Ubuntu维护者，它鼓励你修复你所遇到的问题，虽然我们也鼓励对给定的包有兴趣的人们之间进行讨论以改进维护者之间的合作和减少冲突。
Freedom and Philosophy
自由和理念
Debian and Ubuntu are grounded on the same free software philosophy. Both groups are explicitly committed to building an operating system of free software.
Debian和Ubuntu都是基于相同的自由软件理念。两者都明确提出要创建基于自由软件的操作系统
Differences between the groups lie in their treatment of non-computer applications (like documentation, fonts and binary firmware) and non-free software. Debian distributes a small amount of non-free software from their Internet servers. Ubuntu will also distribute binary drivers in the "restricted" component on its Internet servers but will not distribute any other software applications that do not meet its own Ubuntu Licensing Guidelines.
两者的不同在于它们对非计算机应用方面（如文档，字体和可执行固件等）以及非自由软件方面。Debian从服务器上分发小量的非自由软件， Ubuntu也在它的"restricted"组件中分发两进制的驱动，但它并不分发任何其它应用，因为那样并不符合它自己的许可指导方针。
Ubuntu and other Debian derivatives
Ubuntu和其它类Debian的发行版
There are many other distributions that also share the same basic infrastructure (package and archive format). Ubuntu is distinguished from them in a number of ways.
许多其他的发行版也使用同样的基础（包和文档的格式）。Ubuntu同它们相比在很多地方有着不同
First, Ubuntu contributes patches directly to Debian as bugs are fixed during the Ubuntu release process, not just when the release is actually made. With other debian-style distributions, the source code and patches are made available in a "big bang" at release time, which makes them difficult to integrate into the upstream HEAD. Ubuntu patches are published automatically on an ongoing basis.
首先，当Ubuntu在处理自身发布过程中修复了某个Bug之后，它可将补丁直接提交给Debian，而无需在版本发布之后。而其它类 Debian的发行版则在版本发布时将源码及补丁放入"big bang"中，这对于将它们上溯至源头是困难的。Ubuntu的补丁则可以在一个可持续的基础自动发布。
Second, Ubuntu includes a number of full-time contributors who are also debian developers. Many of the other distributions that use debian-style packaging do not include any active debian contributors.
其次，Ubuntu拥有大量的专职成员，同时也是Debian的开发人员。其他许多使用类Debian包的系统却没有拥有任何一个Debian的成员。
Third, Ubuntu makes much more frequent and fresher releases. Our release policy of releasing every six months is (at the time of writing Smile unique in the linux distribution world. Ubuntu aims to provide you with a regular stable and security-supported snapshot of the best of the open source world.
Ubuntu和 Debian是密切相关的，Ubuntu是基于Debian的体系和基础之上建立的，只是拥有不同的社区和发布过程
About Debian
关于Debian
Debian is "the rock upon which Ubuntu is built".
Debian是"Ubuntu建立的基石"。
Debian is a volunteer project to develop a GNU/Linux distribution. Debian was started more than a decade ago and has since grown to comprise more than 1000 members with official developer status and many more volunteers and contributors. It has expanded to encompass nearly 17,000 "packages" of free and open source applications and documentation.
Debian是一个开发GNU/LINUX发行版的自愿者项目。Debian项目始于十年前，现在在官方开发人员已超过1000名成员，并拥有更多的自愿者和捐赠者。这使得基于它的应用程序和文档将近有17,000个包。
Debian's history, make-up, and position make it very good at certain things. Debian has a well-deserved reputation for integrated package management and access to a large list of free software applications. As a result, Debian has grown into one of the largest Linux distributions.
Debian的历史，使得它在可靠性方面作得非常出色。Debian在包的智能化管理和对大量自由软件程序访问方面的名声是当之无愧的
As a volunteer organization, Debian has historically been less good at time-based or predictable releases, and has a difficult time providing accountability. Stable releases of Debian have been few and far between in recent years. The more raw unreleased versions of Debian do not provide security fixes for individual packages that are rapidly changing, but are incorporated in development work. While not important to many Debian users, these shortcomings have discouraged a number of potential Debian users. Still Debian is ported to more architectures than any other distribution, and allows for almost any combination of free software components to be mixed and matched as you wish.
作为一个自愿者组织，Debian在历史上对基于时间或预告的发布做得不是很好，对时间的把握也很困难。Debian的Stable版本在近年来更新极少而且漫长。更多的不成熟的非发布版本并未对个别更新较快的包提供安全修复，就集成在开发工作中。尽管这对大多数Debian用户来说并不重要，但这些缺点已经开始阻碍一些潜在的Debian用户。然而Debian拥有比其他发行版更好的架构，并允许大多数自由组合软件中的组件能被修复成符合您的需要。
The Ubuntu team hopes to address some of those issues and bring more people onto the Debian system.
Ubuntu项目组希望能专注于这些内容中的一部分，并将更多的人吸引到Debian系统中。
About Ubuntu
关于Ubuntu
Sponsored by Canonical, the Ubuntu project attempts to work with Debian to address the issues that keep many users from using Debian. Ubuntu provides a system based on Debian with frequent time-based releases, corporate accountability, and a more considered desktop interface. Ubuntu provides users with a way to deploy Debian with security fixes, release critical bug fixes, a consistent desktop interface, and to never be more than six months away from the latest version of anything in the open source world.
由Canonical赞助，Ubuntu项目基于Debian，并试图专注于保持大多数用户愿意使用Debian这一方面。Ubuntu提供一个基于Debian的系统，该系统保持一个快速的基于时间的发布，团队的理解，更多的是在考虑桌面界面。Ubuntu带给用户的是配置Debian的安全修复、版本的关键BUG修复、可靠稳定的桌面界面和从不超过六个月的开源社区最新版本。
Ubuntu and Debian
Ubuntu和Debian
Ubuntu and Debian are distinct but parallel and closely linked systems. The Ubuntu project seeks to complement the Debian project in the following areas:
Ubuntu和Debian是不同的但又是相似的互相紧密联系的系统。Ubuntu项目追求对Debian项目某些方面的补充，它包括：
Package selection
包选择
Ubuntu does not provide security updates and professional support for every package available in the open source world, but selects a complete set of packages up a solid and comprehensive desktop system and provides support for that set of packages.
Ubuntu不对开源社区中的每个包都提供安全更新和专业支持，但选择许多包的一个完整集做为单独的一个包和应用广泛的桌面系统，并对这些包集提供支持。
For users that want access to every known package, Ubuntu provides a "universe" component (set of packages) where users of Ubuntu systems install the latest version of any package that is not in the supported set. Most of the packages in Ubuntu universe are also in Debian, although there are other sources for universe too. See the Ubuntu Components page for more detail on the structure of the Ubuntu web distribution.
为了满足用户能访问每个已知的包，Ubuntu提供了"universe"组件（包集），在这里Ubuntu的用户可以安装这些包的最新版本，但不对这些包提供支持。在Ubuntu的 universe中的大多数包也在Debian中，尽管它们对universe来说也是不同的源。查阅Ubuntu组件页以获得更多关于Ubuntu网络发布结构的细节
Releases
发布
Ubuntu makes a release every six months, and supports those releases for 18 months with daily security fixes and patches to critical bugs.
Ubuntu六个月发布一个新版本，并对每个版本的安全修复与关键BUG补丁提供18个月的支持。
As Ubuntu prepares for release, we "freeze" a snapshot of debian's development archive ('sid'). We start from 'sid' in order to give ourselves the freedom to make our own decisions with regard to release management, independent of Debian's release-in-preparation. This is necessary because our release criteria are very different from Debian's.
当Ubuntu准备发布时，我们"冻结"了Debian的开发包集（SID），我们从Sid开始是为了我们在注重版本管理的同时，独立于Debian的预发布版本，从而可以更自由的作出决定。这是必须的，因为我们的版本标准与Debian的有着很大的不同。
As a simple example, a package might be excluded from Debian 'testing' due to a build failure on any of the 11 architectures supported by Debian 'sarge', but it is still suitable for Ubuntu if it builds and works on only three of them. A package will also be prevented from entering Debian 'testing' if it has release-critical bugs according to Debian criteria, but a bug which is release-critical for Debian may not be as important for Ubuntu.
举个简单的例子，一个包也许不被Debian 'testing'接受，因为它基于11个被Debian 'sarge'支持的结构上建造失败。但它也许在Ubuntu上很适用，这儿只需要它们中的三个。一个包也许被阻止，因为根据Debian标准它有着版本关键BUG。但这个对于Debian而言是版本的关键BUG，对于Ubuntu而言也许并不那么严重。
As a community, we choose places to diverge from Debian in ways that minimize the difference between Debian and Ubuntu. For example, we usually choose to update to the very latest version of Gnome rather than the older version in Debian, and we might do the same for key other pieces of infrastructure such as X or GCC. Those decisions are listed as Feature Goals for that release, and we work as a community to make sure that they are in place before the release happens.
作为一个团队，我们设法让Debian和Ubuntu之间的不同点减至最小。举个例子，我们通常选择GNOME中的最新版本来更新而不是 Debian中的老版本，我们也会对其中的关键软件如X或GCC做同样的事。这些决定被列为未来发布的目标，做为一个团队，我们要确保它们在发布之前被包括在内。
Development community
开发团队
Many Ubuntu developers are also recognized members of the debian community. They continue to stay active in contributing to debian both in the course of their work on Ubuntu and directly in debian.
Ubuntu的许多开发者也是Debian团队的成员。他们继续活跃在团队中，并工作在Ubuntu上为Debian提供他们的服务。
When Ubuntu developers fix bugs that are also present in debian packages -- and since the projects are linked, this happens often -- they send their bugfixes to the Debian developers responsible for that package in debian and record the patch URL in the debian bug system. The long term goal of that work is to ensure that patches made by the full-time Ubuntu team members are immediately also included in debian packages where the debian maintainer likes the work.
当Ubuntu的开发者修复了错误，他们也提交Debian包 -- 因为项目是相关的，这种事情经常发生 -- 他们发送自己的错误修复到Debian开发者软件库中，并在Debian的Bug系统中写下补丁的URL地址。这样做的目的是为了确保补丁能够在全职 Ubuntu团队制作的同时也立即被包含在Debian维护者也希望如此的包中。
In Ubuntu, team members can make a change to any package, even if it is one maintained by someone else. Once you are an Ubuntu maintainer it's encouraged that you fix problems you encounter, although we also encourage polite discussions between people with an interest in a given package to improve cooperation and reduce friction between maintainers.
在Ubuntu，项目组的成员可以对一些包进行更改，甚至它也是一个被人维护的包。一旦你成为了一个Ubuntu维护者，它鼓励你修复你所遇到的问题，虽然我们也鼓励对给定的包有兴趣的人们之间进行讨论以改进维护者之间的合作和减少冲突。
Freedom and Philosophy
自由和理念
Debian and Ubuntu are grounded on the same free software philosophy. Both groups are explicitly committed to building an operating system of free software.
Debian和Ubuntu都是基于相同的自由软件理念。两者都明确提出要创建基于自由软件的操作系统
Differences between the groups lie in their treatment of non-computer applications (like documentation, fonts and binary firmware) and non-free software. Debian distributes a small amount of non-free software from their Internet servers. Ubuntu will also distribute binary drivers in the "restricted" component on its Internet servers but will not distribute any other software applications that do not meet its own Ubuntu Licensing Guidelines.
两者的不同在于它们对非计算机应用方面（如文档，字体和可执行固件等）以及非自由软件方面。Debian从服务器上分发小量的非自由软件， Ubuntu也在它的"restricted"组件中分发两进制的驱动，但它并不分发任何其它应用，因为那样并不符合它自己的许可指导方针。
Ubuntu and other Debian derivatives
Ubuntu和其它类Debian的发行版
There are many other distributions that also share the same basic infrastructure (package and archive format). Ubuntu is distinguished from them in a number of ways.
许多其他的发行版也使用同样的基础（包和文档的格式）。Ubuntu同它们相比在很多地方有着不同
First, Ubuntu contributes patches directly to Debian as bugs are fixed during the Ubuntu release process, not just when the release is actually made. With other debian-style distributions, the source code and patches are made available in a "big bang" at release time, which makes them difficult to integrate into the upstream HEAD. Ubuntu patches are published automatically on an ongoing basis.
首先，当Ubuntu在处理自身发布过程中修复了某个Bug之后，它可将补丁直接提交给Debian，而无需在版本发布之后。而其它类 Debian的发行版则在版本发布时将源码及补丁放入"big bang"中，这对于将它们上溯至源头是困难的。Ubuntu的补丁则可以在一个可持续的基础自动发布。
Second, Ubuntu includes a number of full-time contributors who are also debian developers. Many of the other distributions that use debian-style packaging do not include any active debian contributors.
其次，Ubuntu拥有大量的专职成员，同时也是Debian的开发人员。其他许多使用类Debian包的系统却没有拥有任何一个Debian的成员。
Third, Ubuntu makes much more frequent and fresher releases. Our release policy of releasing every six months is (at the time of writing Smile unique in the linux distribution world. Ubuntu aims to provide you with a regular stable and security-supported snapshot of the best of the open source world.
最后，Ubuntu提供更快更新的版本发布。我们的发布策略是每六个月一次（在写该文档时，这种速度在Linux所有发行版中也是独一无二的）。Ubuntu的目标是为您提供开源世界中最正规的具有安全支持的快照。
本文转自 firehare 51CTO博客，原文链接：http://blog.51cto.com/firehare/588082，如需转载请自行联系原作者
