Re: [PATCH] scripts: package: Add --install-from-file option.

[Amirouche Boubekki <amirouche@hypermove.net>]

Le 2015-08-19 15:04, Thompson, David a écrit :
> On Wed, Aug 19, 2015 at 4:27 AM, Amirouche Boubekki
> <amirouche@hypermove.net> wrote:
>> Le 2015-08-09 17:59, David Thompson a écrit :
>>> 
>>> In my personal projects, I keep a 'package.scm' file in the root of 
>>> the
>>> source tree for use with 'guix environment -l'.  However, it's also
>>> handy to install that package by using 'guix package -e':
>>> 
>>>     guix package -e '(primitive-load "package.scm")'
>>> 
>>> This patch adds a shorthand for this:
>>> 
>>>     guix package -f package.scm
>> 
>> 
>> What about dispatch `guix package -i` depending on the argument. In
>> principle there will be no "*.scm$" packages so the above could be
>> 
>>       guix package -i package.scm
>> 
>> The idea behind that is to keep the number of command to minimum. In 
>> this
>> case, IMO, it makes sens to merge both logic inside the same UI.
> 
> That won't work because it creates ambiguities in the package spec
> syntax.

Thanks.

> How can one tell if a package spec or a file name was passed
> with 100% accuracy?

Honestly I have the feeling that you are pushing your idea more than 
trying to make things better.

- Adding the `-f` modifier won't help make guix package command easy to 
the mind.

- Especially since the command it will replace is simple

- The command targets developpers and is only useful in the context of 
building project from sources which are not released. It can go inside a 
Makefile.

For this reason I don't like it being inside guix.

> You can't, and we'd have to use a heuristic that
> would surely fail in some awful way for someone.  It's best for this
> to be a separate argument.

You know you are wrong. You can simply ban packages which ends with .scm 
which is not too difficult to do and is already possible with current 
packages.

My opinion, is that instead of adding options/modifiers to "guix 
package", it should be split into "guix package install", "guix package 
search", "guix package show" and "guix package generation". It might not 
be obvious and is afaik not a cli layout that is widespread but it will 
greatly help people get their hands on guix.

I get lost and don't remember all the apt-foo commands and what they are 
supposed to do. Using this scheme will keep each subcommand --help (or 
just help) more readable.