File Extension DEB

File type: Debian Software Package

About the DEB file type:

If Windows cannot find the appropriate program associated with .DEB files, then your registry may have errors. Check your Windows registry for errors (includes file association errors).

The DEB file extension is used by the Debian Software Package, a type of PMS (Package Management System) used as a software container unit. This file format represents a standard UNIX archive with two gzip or bzip archives. One of the archives is the control information of the installer package while the other one represents the actual data that would be installed into the system. This format is commonly used for software installations in Linux, PCLinuxOS, Edubuntu, Kubuntu, and Ubuntu Operating Systems. The DEB format file is a binary package which derives its name from Debra, the girlfriend and currently the ex-wife of Ian Murdock, the founder of Debian. dpkg represents the most commonly utilized application for handling this data type normally deployed using apt/aptitude. Alien, on the other hand, is an application which can correctly convert the DEB file extension into other installation packages and vice versa depending on the system to host the software.


Detailed information for file extension DEB

Category: Compressed File
File format: Proprietary
Open with Windows: 7-Zip file archiver
Open with Linux: Debian package management system (dpkg), Synaptic Package Manager, Adept
Other core Debian installation packages are presented as micro debs usually associated with bootstrapping a Debian installation. Even if these types of files utilize the udeb file format, it adheres to the same file structure specification used by the DEB file extension. The udeb formats however store only essential functional files as compared to the DEB format files which may even contain entire libraries and support files related to the application to be installed. The udeb file formats, unlike the DEB file extension, cannot be installed in standard Debian systems and have accompanying documentation files. The DEB file format is normally classified into Binary and Source packages. The Binary packages are used for storing executables, information pages, manuals, configuration files, and similar documentations. This type of package is usually distributed based on a specific archive format supported by Debian. The Source packages, on the other hand, normally has an accompanying DSC file format which describes the contents of the source package and normally requires unpacking via the dpkg utility.