recommend the binary install as the path to guixSD?

recommend the binary install as the path to guixSD?

[myglc2]

I installed GuixSD from USB ~8 weeks ago. More recently I installed Guix
binary on Debian.  I found the binary install considerably easier.

Based on the web site, I expected Guix and GuixSD to be two different
things. I wanted to better understand the differences. But ultimately I
discovered that Guix and GuixSD are smooshed together.

Isn't it straightforward to install guixSD on a new hard drive if you
have Guix running on a "foreign" distro?

If so, have you considered recommending that users install GuixSD by
first installing Guix binary?

It seems to me that this fits naturally with how many users will want to
check Guix out: First experiment with package management, and, if they
like what they see, install the distro.

For users on this path, it seems a little silly to send them off to
fiddle with a USB key and zile editor if they already have Guix, a real
editor, and familar disk partitioner running on their computer.

Re: recommend the binary install as the path to guixSD?

[Chris Marusich]

myglc2 <myglc2@gmail.com> writes:

Well, I began by trying GuixSD, and I haven't installed Guix as a
package manager on a foreign distro yet. So, people like that (me)
exist.

I think it's great that the GuixSD installation media is itself a GuixSD
image; a good distro ought to be "self-hosting" in that way.

- Chris

Re: recommend the binary install as the path to guixSD?

[Jookia]

On Wed, Mar 02, 2016 at 06:36:19PM -0800, Chris Marusich wrote:
> Well, I began by trying GuixSD, and I haven't installed Guix as a
> package manager on a foreign distro yet. So, people like that (me)
> exist.
> 
> I think it's great that the GuixSD installation media is itself a GuixSD
> image; a good distro ought to be "self-hosting" in that way.
> 
> - Chris

While I like the idea of using Guix to install GuixSD, some poor systems that
tend to come shipped with machines don't and won't support Guix.

Jookia.

Re: recommend the binary install as the path to guixSD?

[Andy Wingo]

On Thu 03 Mar 2016 02:27, myglc2 <myglc2@gmail.com> writes:

> Isn't it straightforward to install guixSD on a new hard drive if you
> have Guix running on a "foreign" distro?

Maybe this is the right thing.  Maybe the fastest path to a good GuixSD
installation is via a minimal debian install + detrout's Guix package!

That said it's a bit terrifying in some ways.  I guess you could always
work onto a separate partition, that would limit some of the terror.  I
moved a Debian or some other system over to NixOS at one point and
whooo, running "mv /etc /old-etc" and similar commands can give you
pause!

But, I was also skeptical of the "just unpack the /gnu/store tarball and
copy the sqlite file" approach, and that has turned out to work really
well, so maybe this is a thing!

Andy