Debian Packaging: Building Multiple Binary Packages

Managing complex software deployments often requires splitting a single upstream codebase into several smaller, modular packages. This text-only course guides you through the process of organizing, configuring, and building multiple binary packages from a single Debian source package. You will start with the core concepts of Debian packaging, understanding how source and binary packages relate before moving on to practical configurations. By completing this course, you will be able to structure your packaging directories, write clean control files, and automate the distribution of files into their respective packages. What you'll learn: - Understand the foundational architecture of Debian source and binary package relationships - Configure the debian/control file to define multiple binary package outputs - Use dh_install and dh_movefiles to precisely route compiled files to their target packages - Apply modern Debian packaging standards and helper tools like debhelper - Manage package dependencies and shared libraries across your generated binaries - Practice building and validating your multipackage configurations using standard linting tools This course is structured to take you from a basic understanding of single-package builds to managing complex multi-binary configurations. You will study practical configuration examples, learn how to troubleshoot common build errors, and explore modern best practices for clean package maintainership. This course is designed for Linux system administrators, software developers, and release engineers who already have a basic familiarity with the Linux command line and wish to master Debian packaging without any prior packaging experience. No advanced programming skills are required. Start reading today to streamline your Debian software distribution workflow.