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6.1.3. Package-Specific Documentation
Each package includes its own documentation and even the least documented programs generally have a README file containing some interesting and/or important information. This documenta- tion is installed in the /usr/share/doc/package/ directory (where package represents the name of the package). If the documentation is particularly large, it may not be included in the program’s main package, but might be offloaded to a dedicated package which is usually named package-doc. The main package generally recommends the documentation package so that you can easily find it.
The /usr/share/doc/package/ directory also contains some files provided by Debian, which com- plete the documentation by specifying the package’s particularities or improvements compared to a traditional installation of the software. The README.Debian file also indicates all of the adap- tations that were made to comply with the Debian Policy. The changelog.Debian.gz file allows the user to follow the modifications made to the package over time; it is very useful to try to understand what has changed between two installed versions that do not have the same behav- ior. Finally, there is sometimes a NEWS.Debian.gz file that documents the major changes in the program that may directly concern the administrator.