Compiler bootstrapping requirements

Compiler bootstrapping requirements

[Robby Zambito]

Hi,

I remember seeing some details about certain compilers not being allowed
in Guix due to having an inadequate bootstrapping process, but I can't
seem to find it right now. I'm looking to write a package for the
Cyclone Scheme[1] implementation. The compiler requires a copy of itself
to build from the main sources, but there is a secondary repository
which includes some C files that normally require a copy of the compiler
to generate. I'm wondering: is the second repository[2] sufficient for
including in Guix?

Footnotes:
[1]  https://justinethier.github.io/cyclone/
[2]  https://github.com/justinethier/cyclone-bootstrap

Re: Compiler bootstrapping requirements

[Katherine Cox-Buday]

Robby Zambito <contact@robbyzambito.me> writes:

> Hi,
>
> I remember seeing some details about certain compilers not being
> allowed in Guix due to having an inadequate bootstrapping process, but
> I can't seem to find it right now. I'm looking to write a package for
> the Cyclone Scheme[1] implementation. The compiler requires a copy of
> itself to build from the main sources, but there is a secondary
> repository which includes some C files that normally require a copy of
> the compiler to generate. I'm wondering: is the second repository[2]
> sufficient for including in Guix?
>
> Footnotes:
> [1]  https://justinethier.github.io/cyclone/
> [2]  https://github.com/justinethier/cyclone-bootstrap

Without having looked at the specifics:

Generally what we do is find an early version of the compiler that was
bootstrapped not using itself, package that, and then use that package
to bootstrap the later versions.

Sometimes that earlier version is never published as the author(s) was
quickly iterating. In that scenario, I don't know what we do.

I hope that helps.

-- 
Katherine