Re: Merging the “binary” NPM importer?

[Katherine Cox-Buday <cox.katherine.e@gmail.com>]

Maxim Cournoyer <maxim.cournoyer@gmail.com> writes:

> I'm not too keen on having an importer which produces packages that
> can't be included in Guix proper -- it seems a double standard to me.
> I'd personally prefer to have such tool maintained outside of Guix
> proper.
>
> My 2 cents.

I disagree with this because the benefit of Guix can extend beyond the packages it provides. It is a computing environment and not the sum of its parts.

I don't always have full control over my computing environments. There are certain contexts, say my job, that require that I run binaries for which I don't have source code. Guix having the flexibility to support me in these contexts allows me to keep using, contributing, and supporting Guix. I.e., there's a network effect.

In my opinion, Guix should be the gentle current towards its free ecosystem. But it should also acknowledge the wider world in which it exists, and be supportive of its users in those contexts too. I don't think this in any way diminishes the strong principles it adheres to.

What do you think?

-- 
Katherine