Re: [GSoC] Package management from Emacs

[Xue Fuqiao <xfq@gnu.org>]

Hi Ludovic,

ludo@gnu.org (Ludovic Courtès) writes:
>> The command `guix-describe-package' (I haven't come up with a good key
>> binding yet) can prompt for the name of a package, and display a help
>> buffer describing the package.  The buffer includes the name, version,
>> source, dependencies, home page, license(s) and other descriptions of
>> the package.
>
> There should also be a link to jump to the package definition, pretty
> much like that of Emacs’ and Geiser’s docstring buffers.
>
> Optionally, the package’s logo could be displayed too (see
> build-aux/list-packages.scm, which does that for the HTML output.)

Good suggestions.

> Also, I think there should be a search facility, with incremental search
> fashion.  For instance, you could type ‘S’, enter a “C lib”, and that
> would restrict the package list to the packages that show up in ‘guix
> package -S "C lib"’.

Fair enough.  (Although it should be in the `*Guix Packages*' buffer
described below instead of in the package describe buffer :-)

>> `M-x guix-list-packages' will bring up a buffer named `*Guix Packages*'
>> with a list of all packages.  You can install or uninstall packages via
>> this buffer.  See my attached image for the prototype of this buffer.
>
> Perfect.

Thanks.

> Ideally, new packages (obtained via ‘guix pull’) would show up first,
> highlighted, as with package.el.  That requires support from ‘guix
> pull’, but that’s on the to-do list.

Fine with me.

>> `r'
>>      Refresh the package list (`guix-refresh').  This recomputes the
>>      package list.
>
> Perhaps there should be something that runs ‘guix pull’ too (it’s like
> ‘apt-get update’)?

Right.  And that's exactly what this command do, I think.

>> `R'
>>      Roll back to the previous generation of the profile
>>      (`guix-roll-back').  This undo the last transaction.  (Do we need a
>>      "roll back" mark?)
>
> OK for ‘R’.
>
> We don’t need a roll-back mark, I think, because you’re rolling back to
> the previous generation; it’s not a per-package operation.

Fair enough.

> I was thinking it would also be neat to have a way to visualize
> generations, basically a “graphical” and interactive representation of
> what ‘guix package --list-generations’ provides.  That would show, for
> instance, the date of the generations and the changes compared to the
> previous one, and would make it easy to roll back to a specific
> generation.
>
> Perhaps we can keep that last thing as an bonus work item.  How do you
> feel about it?

Cool.  Fine with me as an bonus work item.  Thanks for your attention
and suggestions.  I'll continue learning the tools.

-- 
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