http://libresoft.es/Members/jgb/blog/the-evolution-of-debian describes a very interesting paper published by Jesus M. Gonzales-Barahona et al. about the evolution of Debian between 2.2 and 4.0 : “Macro-level software evolution: a case study of a large software compilation”.
Can’t wait until it’s updated for inclusion of figures relating to 5.0 also 😉
Most striking figure : Debian doubles in size every 2 years.
Must read.