16.2. Debian的未来

In addition to these internal developments, one can reasonably expect new Debian-based distributions to come to light, as many tools keep simplifying this task. New specialized subprojects will also be started, in order to widen Debian’s reach to new horizons.

Debian 的用户社区将会增长,新的贡献者也会加入到 Debian 项目中……或许,下一个,就是你!

There are recurring discussions about how the software ecosystem is evolving, towards applications shipped within containers, where Debian packages have no added value, or with language-specific package managers (e.g. pip for Python, npm for JavaScript, etc.), which are rendering dpkg and apt obsolete. Facing those threats, I am convinced that Debian developers will find ways to embrace those evolutions and to continue to provide value to users.

尽管 Debian 发展了很多年,规模也已可观,但是 Debian 依然在向各种方向发展(有时候也会向你意想不到的方向)。Debian 的贡献者们都很有想法,他们通过开发邮件列表来讨论,甚至他们看起来像是在吵架,但正是这些给 Debian 提供了持续的动力。Debian 有时候可以比作是一个黑洞,如此的有吸引力,以至于任何新的自由软件项目都可以吸纳进来。

Beyond the apparent satisfaction of most Debian users, a deep trend is becoming more and more indisputable: people are increasingly realizing that collaborating, rather than working alone in their corner, leads to better results for everyone. Such is the rationale used by distributions merging into Debian by way of subprojects.

Debian项目也因此没有受到过灭亡的威胁……