Data service: package information

[zimoun <zimon.toutoune@gmail.com>]

Dear Chris,

I am playing with "guix search / show" ('package->recutils) and I
would like to provide 2 informations:

 1) the hyperlink to the Data Service.
 2) if the package is substituable.

The 1) is not complicated since Guix checks if hyperlinks are
supported by the terminal.  The question is: does the API is
"reliable"?

https://data.guix.gnu.org/repository/1/branch/master/package/<package-name>

Aside, does it make sense to add the revision number (short commit
hash, e.g., abc123) and the red (X) or the green (V) close to "More
information" to easily check the status of the derivation.  It avoids
one click when it is green. ;-)

A concrete example: recently I have tried to install Docker, which was
broken on master, so it is a couple of clicks to find the last commit
which builds.  Using this proposal, it becomes faster: "guix search
docker", click, "guix time-machine --commit=<xx> -- install docker -p
/tmp/docker".  It smooths the frustration. :-)


The 2) is a bit more complicated.  First does it make sense?  Because
the computation of a derivation is probably required, isn't it?  Well,
it is related to [1], isn't?

Is it possible to fetch such "binary availability" from the Data
Service?  If yes, how?

[1] https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/guix-devel/2020-03/msg00337.html


Thank you in advance for any comment and/or pointer.

All the best,
simon


Note that from the webpage [2], the link bottom redirect with http://
without the 's'.  I do not know if it matters.

[2] http://hpc.guix.info/package/git