From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 From: Alex Kost Subject: Re: Reorganizing guix package commands Date: Wed, 20 Apr 2016 11:52:47 +0300 Message-ID: <8760vc7jc0.fsf@gmail.com> References: <874mazi99k.fsf@gmail.com> <877ffual6i.fsf@gnu.org> <877ffujasf.fsf@gmail.com> <8737qh1tqm.fsf@gnu.org> <861t61gcyx.fsf@gmail.com> <20160420053425.GA3233@jocasta.intra> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Return-path: Received: from eggs.gnu.org ([2001:4830:134:3::10]:47021) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1asnsS-0006RA-Dl for guix-devel@gnu.org; Wed, 20 Apr 2016 04:52:53 -0400 Received: from Debian-exim by eggs.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1asnsN-0005lL-Cw for guix-devel@gnu.org; Wed, 20 Apr 2016 04:52:52 -0400 Received: from mail-lf0-x243.google.com ([2a00:1450:4010:c07::243]:35165) by eggs.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1asnsN-0005lA-59 for guix-devel@gnu.org; Wed, 20 Apr 2016 04:52:47 -0400 Received: by mail-lf0-x243.google.com with SMTP id o124so4965275lfb.2 for ; Wed, 20 Apr 2016 01:52:46 -0700 (PDT) In-Reply-To: <20160420053425.GA3233@jocasta.intra> (John Darrington's message of "Wed, 20 Apr 2016 07:34:25 +0200") List-Id: "Development of GNU Guix and the GNU System distribution." List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Errors-To: guix-devel-bounces+gcggd-guix-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Sender: "Guix-devel" To: John Darrington Cc: guix-devel@gnu.org, myglc2 John Darrington (2016-04-20 08:34 +0300) wrote: > On Tue, Apr 19, 2016 at 11:45:26PM -0400, myglc2 wrote: > > Table 2: Novice-friendly Commands > ================================= > | existing command | new command | > |----------------------------------------+-----------------------| > | guix package --list-available[=REGEXP] | guix available REGEXP | > | guix package --search=REGEXP | guix find REGEXP | > | guix package --show=PACKAGE | guix show PACKAGE | > | guix package --install PACKAGE | guix install PACKAGE | > | guix package --remove PACKAGE | guix remove PACKAGE | > | guix package --list-installed[=REGEXP] | guix list | > | guix package --roll-back | guix roll-back | > > This makes the most important new user commands simpler and it makes > them appear in "guix help". IMO, this will go a long way to improving > the novice user's experience. > > I agree this would make more sense. Oh, no! I had an opposite idea: I think there should be only unambiguous subcommands! > 1. I never did understand why we use so many -- flags. Options are supposed > to be just that: Options to affect nuances about how the command should be > executed. Eg "ls --color" (We don't type "file --list") Options should not > normally be used for selecting a command to run. I agree, I would prefer more actions/subcommands and less options/flags. > 2. However, I wonder if such an arrangement could come back and bite us? For > example there are a number of other things that one might want to remove, list, show or find - > not just packages; Profiles, services for example. How would doing that fit > into the above scheme? This is exactly why I think these commands (show, install, list, etc.) shouldn't be top-level. IMO some of them should be inside "guix package" and some inside "guix profile". -- Alex