Re: Videos

[Thorsten Wilms <t_w_@freenet.de>]

On 18.06.2018 22:47, Ricardo Wurmus wrote:
> What are good first topics that we could introduced in self-contained
> videos?  The goal is to show a useful feature (one or two closely
> related features per video) without making things confusing.

> We don’t need to start with this abstract topic.  Maybe
> it’s better to show features first.

If the videos are supposed to not only be of help to those who already 
decided to give Guix a spin, but also to encourage others to do so, they 
should perhaps be scenario [/ use case / problem / story] based.

With a flow like this:
    Scenario
-> the What of a set of helpful features
-> the How

As starting point, we may assume the viewer isn't even aware of issues 
with package management ala .deb. Even worse, if they are more 
accustomed to Windows, OSX, IOS, Android, they might not even see the 
advantages of typical Linux package management.

However, the comparison to other systems comes with the risks of 
becoming long-winded and to appear to disparage the efforts of others.

Topics should likely start on a per-package level, then move to the 
system level. Likewise from user to developer.

If a user doesn't already know which piece of software they are 
interested in, there's a step even before installation ... let's call it 
discovery. Seems all that could be mentioned here is `guix package -s 
term`. I just tried to come up with a nice example, but even knowingly 
aiming at Inkscape, `guix package -s svg` or `... "vector graphics"` 
speaks more of a problem than a solution. If only one could filter for 
library / cli tool / graphical application.

With protagonist P and software S:

Package
   Discovery
     P wants to accomplish Thing and looks for matching Free Software.
   Installation
     P wants to use S and thus installs it, without worrying about any
     dependencies. P may lack root privileges. Not even a power outage
     can faze P.
   Updates and rollbacks
     P updates S, then finds out something about S doesn't work as
     desired anymore. P rolls S back to the previous version without
     skipping a beat
   Removal
     P doesn't use S anymore. P removes S and it is as if it was never
     installed.

System
   Global updates and rollback
     P likes to keep all the software up-to-date and secure. P doesn't
     have to do much to accomplish this. If P tinkers with system
     configuration and ends up with its currents state broken, a rollback
     is not far.
   Garbage collection
     Rollback are nice, a full HD isn't ...
   Multiple versions side by side
     S1 needs library L version 1.2, S2 needs L at 2.1. No sweat!
   Duplication/Migration (system configuration and manifest)
     P bought a new computer. Getting it ready won't take long ...

Development
   Watertight handling of dependencies
   Inheriting and modifying packages
   Environments
   ...


-- 
Thorsten Wilms

thorwil's design for free software:
http://thorwil.wordpress.com/