From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 From: Chris Marusich Subject: Re: What about dependency resolution =?utf-8?Q?=C3=A0?= la apt? Date: Fri, 17 Mar 2017 02:07:47 -0700 Message-ID: <87shmcnue4.fsf@gmail.com> References: <368b70bd-ef62-ea59-7c2d-4564d7948f40@hypermove.net> <90b4b820-6d13-01e5-309f-c17700a61974@tobias.gr> <380423bd-fa6e-8e2b-978f-11ffdd79088c@hypermove.net> <8737ecu94a.fsf@gnu.org> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/signed; boundary="=-=-="; micalg=pgp-sha256; protocol="application/pgp-signature" Return-path: Received: from eggs.gnu.org ([2001:4830:134:3::10]:41242) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1conrZ-0005Bi-AO for help-guix@gnu.org; Fri, 17 Mar 2017 05:07:58 -0400 Received: from Debian-exim by eggs.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1conrV-0004OZ-8a for help-guix@gnu.org; Fri, 17 Mar 2017 05:07:57 -0400 In-Reply-To: <8737ecu94a.fsf@gnu.org> ("Ludovic \=\?utf-8\?Q\?Court\=C3\=A8s\=22'\?\= \=\?utf-8\?Q\?s\?\= message of "Thu, 16 Mar 2017 23:53:09 +0100") List-Id: List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Errors-To: help-guix-bounces+gcggh-help-guix=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Sender: "Help-Guix" To: Ludovic =?utf-8?Q?Court=C3=A8s?= Cc: help-guix@gnu.org --=-=-= Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable ludo@gnu.org (Ludovic Court=C3=A8s) writes: > Howdy Amirouche! > > Amirouche skribis: > >> Le 16/03/2017 =C3=A0 21:28, Tobias Geerinckx-Rice a =C3=A9crit : >>> Amirouche, >>> >>> On 16/03/17 19:52, Amirouche wrote: >>>> H=C3=A9llo, >>> Hi! >>> >>> I'm not the most technically qualified person to answer this, nor the >>> most articulate, but I'm mainly curious and slightly puzzled as to why >>> this question keeps popping up. >> >> Sorry! > > No problem, there=E2=80=99s nothing wrong with your question. > > The key point in Tobias=E2=80=99 message is this: > >>> But one of the many great things about functional package management = =C3=A0 >>> la Nix/Guix is that you don't need =E2=80=94 or want =E2=80=94 a depend= ency resolver. At >>> all. That eliminates a lot of nasty problems, and makes others much >>> easier to solve. > > Tools like apt allow developers to describe a (very large) set of > possible dependency graphs, which the dependency resolver tries hard to > narrow down to something reasonable. > > Conversely, functional package managers describe just one dependency > graph. The downside is the =E2=80=9Csecurity update=E2=80=9D scenario, t= hough we > address it with grafts=C2=B9, and the huge advantage is that we get tract= able > build processes and package composition. > > HTH! > > Ludo=E2=80=99. > > =C2=B9 https://gnu.org/s/guix/news/timely-delivery-of-security-updates.ht= ml Amirouche, your question is a perfectly natural one to ask. If you're hungry for additional information regarding this interesting topic, consider reading the introduction to Eelco Dolstra's Nix thesis [1]. In the first 17 pages, he describes the main issues in the field of software deployment, surveys the state of the art (as of August 2006) while pointing out the unsolved problems, and summarizes how Nix (and thus Guix, which uses Nix) solves those problems. Section 1.2 is of particular interest. In it, Eelco explains why the practice of specifying dependencies by name (even when a version is included) is insufficient for correct deployment of software. [1] https://nixos.org/%7Eeelco/pubs/phd-thesis.pdf =2D-=20 Chris --=-=-= Content-Type: application/pgp-signature; name="signature.asc" -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- iQIzBAEBCAAdFiEEy/WXVcvn5+/vGD+x3UCaFdgiRp0FAljLp2MACgkQ3UCaFdgi Rp2YLw/+NzQkN8rW4v0OWAW1+31LiO3Zn5izbdM2yCKCi+9uVKaFYyWvsvodp0vd 0sQ25aOZMBvCy1uK3PWrfSo8iMrWcR+2DrmyohRRYnH+BWKej2iH/c14J2GIMKw3 JJH9l/1uadKd3RgGgAas6OSvQm49iIqg/gd2Jse9Gx+HVPdmjfr4PxTJ11I0rU0k TNXQ6phqT9+nkM+u8cTIKhhWI0uqMRUR/VcqW3D6hnjGqSnQgSjdWTYHpLu6gKhc CNwYSqGyWOYNcWNUoK3lq+9peZ10Jkt1+ochg0wXIIvz1/mDXoFQqCpE+486DblJ 1RgA9dIk70SsRyCi47h9C7uCFRNLNlMpoyVNzb7TZh/J19BSQmJYPvAlF9bU34GK hkbFBQE4lqEpfcWk/QJqTvcTFCfIuTHlghbzMxfNglo6own7cd/QLwm4fc+xb/yf YtpELuDYs0N9bxMO41KxphAqof0J37WA/LyiALOSQEMis9GLlJHIUko0EQQGHsZi TWckzKvNbL5Zp/tj2YTROqVdgbVkw7wEcVF8upGoE9WODzfTAfst5mjQciQpbhp4 gtZcbclEWUcIoCj6WUZgCgl7J6MA+YDVEMsXPVP6LmRdfMnKdaMk1AmiPxOCDJ2v btb1rNniYf2L5ztqxu0NMRnstR8jlF8J4qOXrKUjWD2wGmSYO8k= =vSoW -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- --=-=-=--