Re: FOSDEM 2016

[Alex Sassmannshausen <alex.sassmannshausen@gmail.com>]

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Hello,

I think a guile track proposal for FOSDEM is a great idea.  The last 2
years I've put forward FOSDEM proposals, the first for a GNU track, the
second for a Guix track.

The first was declined as the FOSDEM organisers were worried that the
track might not be technical enough.  The second proposal was declined
as a result of us proposing a track on a distribution, when there was a
general distributions track.

I think making the track a Guile track seems like a great approach to
avoid these issues.

I've attached last year's proposal — maybe it would help in formulating
this year's proposal.  I'm also happy to contribute to the discussion in
terms of practical questions that I may be able to answer as a result of
my applications the previous years.  By and large the process is quite
painless.

HTH!

Alex


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* Devroom name.

  GNU Guix — growing the GNU distribution.

* Devroom description:

  GNU Guix is the foundation for the reference GNU distribution.

  Guix is a functional package manager based on Nix, written in GNU
  Guile. Development started just 2 years ago, and it has now reached
  a critical juncture: hitherto it was a symbiotic package manager
  installed alongside other package managers within distributions. Now
  it's also becoming a distribution in its own right.

  Goals of the distro (the niche in the "distro market"):
  - transparent, transactional, per-user package-management
  - declarative system configuration;
  - extensibility from the ground up (where possible core distro
    functionality is provided through Guile programs, a language
    specifically designed to be hackable and extensible — for example,
    at present the init system is provided by dmd, which is written in
    Guile);
  - secure: builds are performed in isolated environments to
    facilitate reproducibility, and can be checked independently by
    end-users;
  - blurring of lines between developers, distribution maintainers and
    end-users:
    + high level DSL for describing packages makes packaging easy to
      understand for developers and end-users alike, reducing barriers
      to distro maintenance contribution;
    + support for concurrent system configurations within different
      'profiles' allows for on-the-fly system reconfigurations to help
      bug-tracking and development.

  The devroom will provide the following content:

  - high level overview of & tutorial on the distribution;
  - hacking sessions for packaging software, enhancing the
    distribution (installer, package-management tools, user
    interfaces);
  - discussions & presentations of specific components:
    + Secure networking through gnunet:
      * integration of the GNU Name Service (peer-to-peer, secure DNS
        replacement);
      * choice of defaults that help users remain in control (Linux
        TCP stealth patch, GNUnet and Tor services, etc.)
    + Extending the init system: use Guile (DMD) or established systems?
    + Providing kernel hotswapping: supporting hurd development by
      providing it as an alternative to linux-libre.
    + Extensibility from the ground up: grafting Guile into the heart
      of a distro (e.g. GNU Posh, Guix, DMD).
  - open discussions on the further development of Guix and the
    distro.

  The purpose of the room is to technically progress the distribution
  through:
  - demonstrations of its viability;
  - debates around its technical composition;
  - a space where hackers can contribute concrete chunks of code.

* Related URLs

  - GNU Project: http://www.gnu.org
  - GNU Guix: http://www.gnu.org/software/guix

* Devroom organisers

  - Alex Sassmannshausen (alex.sassmannshausen@gmail.com):
    co-ordinator and occasional contributor to Guix.
  - Ludovic Courtès (ludo@gnu.org): maintainer and core developer of
    Guix.

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Ludovic Courtès writes:

> Hello!
>
> (Resent with Alex Cc’d this time.)
>
> Pjotr Prins <pjotr.public12@thebird.nl> skribis:
>
>> We should propose a Guile + Guix developers track for FOSDEM. They usually have
>> Ruby/Perl/Python dev tracks, so Guile will fit right in. I am sure we can
>> generate enough interesting talks on aspects of Guix packaging, for one.
>>
>> Deadline for dev room proposals is half September.
>
> That’s a good idea.  In the past, Alex Sassmannshausen (Cc’d) took care
> of submitting dev room proposals for GNU as a whole.  Alex: What would
> you think of making a Guix or Guile+Guix (instead of GNU) dev room?
> Would you like to give a hand?
>
> If we fail to get a dev room, we can surely submit one or two talk
> proposals.
>
> Thanks,
> Ludo’.