Exact Versions and Guix Dev Tooling

Exact Versions and Guix Dev Tooling

[jgart]

Hi,

What's the Guix approach to getting exact versions for a dev project.

Should we be contributing those packages upstream or should Guix just
provide the tooling to generate exact package definitions for exact
versions that are needed in a particular project?

For example, what if a dev needs the versions of every library you're
using in a development project and they are not in Guix?

What is Guix's answer to that? Do they have to package everything and
wait for it to get merged to the master branch?

I'm nodding to tools like these in the Nix community:

# PureScript

https://github.com/purs-nix/purs-nix
https://github.com/justinwoo/spago2nix
https://github.com/nix-community/poetry2nix

# Node

https://github.com/nix-community/npmlock2nix
https://github.com/svanderburg/node2nix
https://github.com/serokell/nix-npm-buildpackage

# Rust

https://github.com/kolloch/crate2nix
https://github.com/oxalica/rust-overlay
https://github.com/nix-community/fenix

Is our approach currently that if you develop with Guix you have to
develop against the versions that are in Guix master or some other branch?

WDYT

Re: Exact Versions and Guix Dev Tooling

[Liliana Marie Prikler]

Hi,

Am Dienstag, dem 25.10.2022 um 20:49 -0500 schrieb jgart:
> Hi,
> 
> What's the Guix approach to getting exact versions for a dev project.
> 
> Should we be contributing those packages upstream or should Guix just
> provide the tooling to generate exact package definitions for exact
> versions that are needed in a particular project?
> 
> For example, what if a dev needs the versions of every library you're
> using in a development project and they are not in Guix?
> 
> What is Guix's answer to that? Do they have to package everything and
> wait for it to get merged to the master branch?
You can manage channels, guix.scm and manifests however you want,
including packaging stuff at random commits.  The resulting files won't
be much prettier than your average lock file, but I'd assume that's the
point.

> I'm nodding to tools like these in the Nix community:
> 
> # PureScript
> 
> https://github.com/purs-nix/purs-nix
> https://github.com/justinwoo/spago2nix
> https://github.com/nix-community/poetry2nix
> 
> # Node
> 
> https://github.com/nix-community/npmlock2nix
> https://github.com/svanderburg/node2nix
> https://github.com/serokell/nix-npm-buildpackage
> 
> # Rust
> 
> https://github.com/kolloch/crate2nix
> https://github.com/oxalica/rust-overlay
> https://github.com/nix-community/fenix
> 
> Is our approach currently that if you develop with Guix you have to
> develop against the versions that are in Guix master or some other
> branch?
You can use importers for node and rust – for purescript you might be
able to reuse haskell or node tooling, idk? – but note that we don't
support pulling random commits.  You'd be well advised in using release
versions.  Again, you don't have to target Guix master and can maintain
your own channel to trim down your guix.scm or you can blow it up by
mentioning every package in existence down to mesboot.

Cheers