DCC Alliance
Encyclopedia
The DCC Alliance was an industry association designed to promote a common subset of the Debian
GNU/Linux operating system that multiple companies within the consortium could distribute.
, the original founder of the Debian project. The DCC Alliance was formed whilst Murdock was CEO of Progeny Linux Systems, and he remained the key spokesperson for the consortium during their visible existence. The founding of the DCC Alliance was announced at LinuxWorld
San Francisco on the 9 August 2005, following a number of pre-announcements.
The stated intention was to assemble a standards-based core of Debian, provide a predictable release cycle and Linux Standards Base compliance.
DCC Alliance shipped their first code 6 months after the original pre-announcements, providing a Linux Standards Base (LSB) 3.0 compliant set of program packages based on those available from Debian.
The Alliance's primary goals were to:
Membership remained open to additional organizations with an interest in Debian-based solutions. The most visible absent from any involvement was the Ubuntu
distribution who declined to join the Alliance. The Ubuntu founder, Mark Shuttleworth, stated in 2006 that he did not believe that the DCC Alliance had any future.
One of the founding members, MEPIS
, later left the DCCA, citing "creative differences". MEPIS transitioned their SimplyMEPIS Linux distribution from a Debian Unstable/DCCA-provided core to an Ubuntu-based one.
In 2006 Ian Murdock
left the DCC Alliance to chair the Linux Standard Base
workgroup and later moved his employment to Sun Microsystems
. In 2007, Progeny
, the original driver behind the consortium was wound up. In 2006, Xandros was still claiming that Xandros "leads the engineering team at the DCCA".
notification from the Debian project, the name was withdrawn and replaced—without a formal announcement—by "DCC Alliance". Ian Murdock explained that the D should no longer be treated as an abbreviation
of Debian, but of DCC—becoming a recursive acronym
for "DCC Common Core". The trademark decision is notable:
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...
GNU/Linux operating system that multiple companies within the consortium could distribute.
History
The main force behind the DCC Alliance was Ian MurdockIan Murdock
Ian Murdock is the founder of the Debian distribution and Progeny Linux Systems, a commercial Linux company.- Life and career :Murdock was born in Konstanz, Germany....
, the original founder of the Debian project. The DCC Alliance was formed whilst Murdock was CEO of Progeny Linux Systems, and he remained the key spokesperson for the consortium during their visible existence. The founding of the DCC Alliance was announced at LinuxWorld
LinuxWorld
LinuxWorld has various meanings:* LinuxWorld Conference and Expo - a series of Linux conferences worldwide that became OpenSource World in 2009.* LinuxWorld Magazine - a print publication produced from 2003 to 2006...
San Francisco on the 9 August 2005, following a number of pre-announcements.
The stated intention was to assemble a standards-based core of Debian, provide a predictable release cycle and Linux Standards Base compliance.
DCC Alliance shipped their first code 6 months after the original pre-announcements, providing a Linux Standards Base (LSB) 3.0 compliant set of program packages based on those available from Debian.
The Alliance's primary goals were to:
- Assemble a 100 percent Debian common core that addresses the needs of enterprise business users
- Maintain certification of the common core with the Free Standards GroupFree Standards GroupThe Free Standards Group was an industry non-profit consortium chartered to primarily specify and drive the adoption of open source standards.All standards developed by the Free Standards Group were released under open terms and test suites, sample implementations and other software were released...
open specification, the Linux Standard BaseLinux Standard BaseThe Linux Standard Base is a joint project by several Linux distributions under the organizational structure of the Linux Foundation to standardize the software system structure, including the filesystem hierarchy, used with Linux operating system... - Use the Alliance's combined strength to accelerate the commercial adoption of Debian
- Work with the Debian project to ensure predictable release cycles and features important to commercial adoption
Membership
There were two classes of membership in the DCC Alliance:- Members, those organisation creating products based on the DCC-provided core subset of packages.
- KnoppixKnoppixKnoppix, or KNOPPIX , is an operating system based on Debian designed to be run directly from a CD / DVD or a USB key , one of the first of its kind for any operating system. Knoppix was developed by Linux consultant Klaus Knopper. When starting a program, it is loaded from the removable medium...
, LinEx, LinspireLinspireLinspire, previously known as LindowsOS, was a commercial operating system based on Debian GNU/Linux and later Ubuntu. Linspire was published by Linspire, Inc. and focused on ease-of-use, targeting home PC users...
, MEPISMEPISMEPIS is a set of Linux distributions, distributed as Live CDs that can be installed onto a hard disk drive.MEPIS is developed and maintained by an active community begun by Warren Woodford and the eponymous company MEPIS LLC....
, ProgenyProgeny Linux SystemsProgeny Linux Systems is a defunct company which provided Linux platform technology. Their Platform Services technology supported both Debian and RPM-based distributions for Linux platforms. Progeny Linux Systems was based in Indianapolis. Its CTO was John H. Hartman...
, Sun Wah LinuxSunwah - PearL LinuxSunwah – PearL Linux is a joint venture of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the Sunwah Group . Sunwah – PearL Linux established the Sunwah – PearL Linux Training & Development Centre on the university campus on January 2001...
, XandrosXandrosXandros is the name of both a line of operating systems and Xandros Corporation, the company which creates them. Xandros Desktop was a Linux distribution. The name Xandros is derived from the X Window System and the Greek island of Andros.... - Associate Members, Independent software vendorIndependent software vendorIndependent software vendor is a business term for companies specializing in making or selling software, designed for mass marketing or for niche markets...
s, hardware vendorsIndependent hardware vendorAn independent hardware vendor is a business term for companies specializing in making or selling computer hardware, usually for niche markets.-See also:*Independent software vendor*Software company...
, OEMOriginal Equipment ManufacturerAn original equipment manufacturer, or OEM, manufactures products or components that are purchased by a company and retailed under that purchasing company's brand name. OEM refers to the company that originally manufactured the product. When referring to automotive parts, OEM designates a...
s and community partners providing related support or business. - credativ, SkolelinuxSkolelinuxSkolelinux is an operating system intended for educational use and based on Debian .Skolelinux is a free and open source software project founded in Norway, now supporting all languages present in Debian...
, UserLinuxUserLinuxUserLinux was a project to create a operating system based on Debian, and targeted at business customers. The goal was to provide businesses with a freely available, high quality operating system accompanied by certifications, service, and support options....
Membership remained open to additional organizations with an interest in Debian-based solutions. The most visible absent from any involvement was the Ubuntu
Ubuntu (operating system)
Ubuntu is a computer operating system based on the Debian Linux distribution and distributed as free and open source software. It is named after the Southern African philosophy of Ubuntu...
distribution who declined to join the Alliance. The Ubuntu founder, Mark Shuttleworth, stated in 2006 that he did not believe that the DCC Alliance had any future.
One of the founding members, MEPIS
MEPIS
MEPIS is a set of Linux distributions, distributed as Live CDs that can be installed onto a hard disk drive.MEPIS is developed and maintained by an active community begun by Warren Woodford and the eponymous company MEPIS LLC....
, later left the DCCA, citing "creative differences". MEPIS transitioned their SimplyMEPIS Linux distribution from a Debian Unstable/DCCA-provided core to an Ubuntu-based one.
In 2006 Ian Murdock
Ian Murdock
Ian Murdock is the founder of the Debian distribution and Progeny Linux Systems, a commercial Linux company.- Life and career :Murdock was born in Konstanz, Germany....
left the DCC Alliance to chair the Linux Standard Base
Linux Standard Base
The Linux Standard Base is a joint project by several Linux distributions under the organizational structure of the Linux Foundation to standardize the software system structure, including the filesystem hierarchy, used with Linux operating system...
workgroup and later moved his employment to Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. was a company that sold :computers, computer components, :computer software, and :information technology services. Sun was founded on February 24, 1982...
. In 2007, Progeny
Progeny Linux Systems
Progeny Linux Systems is a defunct company which provided Linux platform technology. Their Platform Services technology supported both Debian and RPM-based distributions for Linux platforms. Progeny Linux Systems was based in Indianapolis. Its CTO was John H. Hartman...
, the original driver behind the consortium was wound up. In 2006, Xandros was still claiming that Xandros "leads the engineering team at the DCCA".
Naming controversy
When originally formed, the names given to the media were that of the "Debian Core Consortium", and then "Debian Common Core". Following trademarkTrademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
notification from the Debian project, the name was withdrawn and replaced—without a formal announcement—by "DCC Alliance". Ian Murdock explained that the D should no longer be treated as an abbreviation
Abbreviation
An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase. Usually, but not always, it consists of a letter or group of letters taken from the word or phrase...
of Debian, but of DCC—becoming a recursive acronym
Recursive acronym
A recursive acronym is an acronym or initialism that refers to itself in the expression for which it stands...
for "DCC Common Core". The trademark decision is notable:
- The "Debian" trademark that was being denied to Mr. Murdock and the DCC Alliance originates from a combination of the -ian part of Mr. Murdock's own given nameGiven nameA given name, in Western contexts often referred to as a first name, is a personal name that specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name...
, concatenatedConcatenationIn computer programming, string concatenation is the operation of joining two character strings end-to-end. For example, the strings "snow" and "ball" may be concatenated to give "snowball"...
to that of his wife's name; Debra Murdock. - The decision over the infringement of the trademark fell to the then Debian Project Leader (DPL).
- The DPL at the time was Branden RobinsonBranden RobinsonG. Branden Robinson is a Debian developer, known for his contributions to the packaging of the X Window System, and his tenure as the Debian Project Leader from April 2005 to April 2006.-Contributions:...
, an employee of Progeny Linux SystemsProgeny Linux SystemsProgeny Linux Systems is a defunct company which provided Linux platform technology. Their Platform Services technology supported both Debian and RPM-based distributions for Linux platforms. Progeny Linux Systems was based in Indianapolis. Its CTO was John H. Hartman...
(and of Mr. Murdock) during the time at which the decision was made. Mr. Robinson stated that this would not represent a conflict of interestConflict of interestA conflict of interest occurs when an individual or organization is involved in multiple interests, one of which could possibly corrupt the motivation for an act in the other....
.