Re: thesis: guixsd should provide /usr/bin/env

[Ricardo Wurmus <rekado@elephly.net>]

Andy Wingo <wingo@igalia.com> writes:

> I think GuixSD should follow NixOS's lead and provide /usr/bin/env.  The
> reason is to support scripts that can run either on GuixSD or on some
> other system.  For example instead of:
>
>   #!/bin/bash
>
> we can do
>
>   #!/usr/bin/env bash
>
> So we just need /usr/bin/env in the root and nothing else.
>
> Alternately, I am not sure if this would work but we could make a form
> of "guix environment" which populates a profile that is mounted at /usr
> in a container.  That would allow many more non-Guix tools to run.
>
> WDYT?

I just did this on GuixSD:

  sudo -E guix package -p /usr -i bash coreutils

Now I have /usr/bin/env and /usr/bin/bash.  I don’t think I needed it
before, though.  “guix environment” is probably not the appropriate tool
for this.

I think it’s better to do this explicitly with profiles than to treat
/usr/bin/env somehow specially.  Providing /usr/bin/env doesn’t
necessarily help — one would still have to have an interpreter installed
in an active profile.

~~ Ricardo