Re: Configuration System's Handling of Missing Packages

[iyzsong@member.fsf.org (宋文武)]

Keith Osterheld <keitho@openmailbox.org> writes:

> Hi,
>
> How does the configuration system handle references to packages that
> aren't installed? For example, if I add (use-package-modules xfce) to my config file
> but I don't have xfce installed, will guix automatically install it, or
> will it throw errors?
“(use-package-modules xfce)” is same as “(use-modules gnu packages xfce)”,
it only make the ‘xfce’ module avaliable (like ‘import’ or ‘require’),
but to actually use the 'xfce' package (exported by the ‘xfce’ module),
you need to add it to the ‘packages’ field of the ‘operating-system’.

items (packages, configuration files, etc) will be download or build
into the ’/gnu’ store when building the ’operating-system’, and packages
listed in the ‘packages’ field will be “installed” into the system
profile, aka ’/run/current-system/profile’.

so, the anwser is “Yes, Guix will install it automatically”.
Errors will be reported if a invalid configuration is used,
It’s a scheme file, so syntax and runtime errors may be common :-)