2 Adding additional repositories

The default installation does not include a lot of packages. In fact, not many repositories are, by default, included.

A repository is an online file systemm structure that contains both a catalog and the actual files described by the catalog. Debian includes three main repositories, which vary in terms of stability and recency.

For the purpose of a class project, we will use the most stable repository to minimize surprises.

To do this, log in as root, then edit the file /etc/apt/sources.list. You can do so using the following command

nano /etc/apt/sources.list

nano is a text editor that is relatively easy to use. The special keys (control-characters) are listed at the bottom. Use control-G to get additional help.

Add the following line to the end of the file:

deb http://http.us.debian.org/debian lenny contrib main non-free  
  

Then, type control-O to save the file, and control-X to exit the editor.

This adds the main repository catalog to your Linux system.