Debian – Why does Debian bug-squashing take this much time compared to that of Ubuntu

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Reportedly, Debian devs need to squash 54 bugs more. These are termed as 'release critical bugs'. My question is,

if this bug-squashing takes this much time, then how come Ubuntu releases each version in such a short time?

I mean, how do they squash the bugs in this time period? And if they really do, then why doesn't Debian get the debugged code from Ubuntu? Shouldn't these "release critical bugs" be debugged by now? Since Ubuntu uses Debian's testing/unstable as base, and then make their release; and obviously Ubuntu doesn't release a buggy version. It just doesn't make sense to me.

Best Answer

The release process between Debian and Ubuntu is very different. Ubuntu releases are based on a time schedule (set release date), while Debian uses a "when it's ready" model.

Here are some key points that make a difference in release speed:

  1. Most packages Ubuntu pulls in from Debian are not officially supported (universe repository)
  2. Ubuntu supports 2 architectures while Debian supports 13 (some release critical bugs are specific to an architecture)
  3. Ubuntu does not have a direct concept of a "release critical" bug, although it does have a "critical" bug severity
  4. Only every 4th Ubuntu release (LTS) is recommended for production use.
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