Re: [PATCH 1/2] doc: Symlink daemon start-up files.

[Leo Famulari <leo@famulari.name>]

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On Fri, Nov 18, 2016 at 03:31:24PM -0500, Leo Famulari wrote:
> On Fri, Nov 18, 2016 at 12:00:33PM +0100, Hartmut Goebel wrote:
> > This patch ensures that always the current profile's daemon will be used.
> > 
> > The .service file contains the path to the guix-daemon within the store. Thus
> > when copying the file, it will point to the very version of guix-daemon used
> > at the time of copying – even after system upgrade or when this version has
> > been garbage collected from the store.

I think we should go back to the "old way" of instructing users to copy
the file...

> I'd argue it should point to /var/guix/profiles/per-user/root/...

... and make the service file execute this path.

> >  @example
> > -# cp ~root/.guix-profile/lib/systemd/system/guix-daemon.service \
> > +# ln -s ~root/.guix-profile/lib/systemd/system/guix-daemon.service \
> >          /etc/systemd/system/
> >  # systemctl start guix-daemon && systemctl enable guix-daemon

Debian Jessie (their current stable release) doesn't support symlinked
systemd service files yet [0], and we are frequently having to explain
to new users why this step doesn't work for them. And, we also have to
explain that the ExecStart value that contains the absolute store path
must be changed to point to '/var/guix/profiles...'.

Doing it that way has the same effect of a symlinked file that is
updated automatically: the daemon is always the latest in root's
profile.

It feels like we having to walk new users through this on IRC or
help-guix every day.

It takes our time and makes their first experience with Guix harder than
it should be.

WDYT?

[0] Jessie uses Systemd 215:
https://packages.debian.org/search?keywords=systemd
What about CentOS 7? Other distros?

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