Re: [PATCH] scripts: Add 'environment' command.

[ludo@gnu.org (Ludovic Courtès)]

David Thompson <dthompson2@worcester.edu> skribis:

> From 26cac530c7a1f69864fc819bdc14553eacd9dc23 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
> From: David Thompson <dthompson2@worcester.edu>
> Date: Sun, 21 Sep 2014 13:40:05 -0400
> Subject: [PATCH] scripts: Add 'environment' command.
>
> * guix/scripts/environment.scm: New file.
> * Makefile.am (MODULES): Add it.
> * doc/guix.texi ("Invoking guix environment"): New node.

Nice!

I didn’t mention it before but it would be wonderful if you could come
up with a little test case.  It’s a bit difficult, esp. since the tests
cannot assume that will download & build the world.  So basically the
test could do, in a tests/guix-environment.sh script:

  guix environment -e '(@@ (gnu packages bootstrap) %bootstrap-guile)' ...

and make sure it at least sees ‘guile’ in $PATH.

WDYT?  That can come in a later commit if you prefer.

> diff --git a/doc/guix.texi b/doc/guix.texi
> index c9760f5..5b9c933 100644
> --- a/doc/guix.texi
> +++ b/doc/guix.texi
> @@ -2417,6 +2417,7 @@ programming interface of Guix in a convenient way.
>  * Invoking guix hash::          Computing the cryptographic hash of a file.
>  * Invoking guix refresh::       Updating package definitions.
>  * Invoking guix lint::          Finding errors in package definitions.
> +* Invoking guix environment::   Creating new environments from package inputs.

“Setting up development environments.” maybe?

We should also add a

  @dircategory Software development
  @direntry
  ...

at the top of the file for this node.

> +@node Invoking guix environment
> +@section Invoking @command{guix environment}
> +
> +The purpose of @command{guix environment} is to assist hackers in
> +creating reproducible development environments without polluting their
> +package profile.  The @command{guix environment} tool takes a package,

s/a package/one or more packages/

> +The new shell's environment is an augmented version of the environment
> +that @command{guix environment} was run in.  It contains the necessary
> +search paths for building the given package added to the existing
> +environment variables.  To create a ``pure'' environment in which the
> +original environment variables have been unset, use the @code{--pure}
> +option.
> +
> +Additionally, more than one package may be specified.

+ something like “, in which case all the inputs ...  For example, the
command below spawns a shell where all the dependencies of both Guile
and Emacs are available:”

> +@item --exec=@var{command}
> +@item -e @var{command}

Should be -E.

> +@item --search-paths
> +Display needed environment variable definitions.

“Display the environment variable definitions that make up the
environment”, or something like that?  (I find “needed” ambiguous.)

> +@end table

Here add something like:

  It also supports all the common build options that @command{guix
  build} supports (@pxref{Invoking guix build, common build options}).

The rest is good!

Thanks,
Ludo’.