how to install from binary

how to install from binary

[Mason Hock]

Guix seems to be building everything from source, which can take a
while. As per these instructions I tried

# cd [prefix]/share/guix/hydra.gnu.org.pub
# guix archive --authorize < hydra.gnu.org.pub
and got

guile: warning: failed to install locale
warning: failed to install locale: Invalid argument

with no other output. I get that error almost every time I try to do
something with Guix and it usually works anyway. Since I got no other
errors I just kept going with

$ guix build emacs --dry-run

and got "The following derivations would be built:" so apparently it
did not work.

During an installation I do see a lot of "updating list of substitutes"
messages, but I also frequently see the word "build" and a lot of .c
and .h files go by, which combined with the long installation time
makes me doubt that it is actually downloading binaries from the
substitutes and installing them.

Re: how to install from binary

[Thomas Sigurdsen]

Hello, there has been a long thread recently clarifying a lot around
guix, builds and substitutions. Explore the thread for lots of clarifying
info:
https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/help-guix/2017-11/msg00009.html

But in short summary: Guix is a build from source system and the substitutes
are possible and sometime available because of the functional aspect. As I
understand it, the substitutes are often (and randomly) not available because
of difficulty of scheduling and storage on the build farm (hydra). So guix
will often build things, even if you want substitutes.

Take my word with a grain of salt. And Welcome!

  :)

On Sun, 12 Nov 2017 14:30:36 -0800
Mason Hock <masonhock@gmail.com> wrote:

> Guix seems to be building everything from source, which can take a
> while. As per these instructions I tried
> 
> # cd [prefix]/share/guix/hydra.gnu.org.pub
> # guix archive --authorize < hydra.gnu.org.pub
> and got
> 
> guile: warning: failed to install locale
> warning: failed to install locale: Invalid argument
> 
> with no other output. I get that error almost every time I try to do
> something with Guix and it usually works anyway. Since I got no other
> errors I just kept going with
> 
> $ guix build emacs --dry-run
> 
> and got "The following derivations would be built:" so apparently it
> did not work.
> 
> During an installation I do see a lot of "updating list of substitutes"
> messages, but I also frequently see the word "build" and a lot of .c
> and .h files go by, which combined with the long installation time
> makes me doubt that it is actually downloading binaries from the
> substitutes and installing them.
> 

Re: how to install from binary

[Ludovic Courtès]

Hello,

Mason Hock <masonhock@gmail.com> skribis:

> Guix seems to be building everything from source, which can take a
> while. As per these instructions I tried
>
> # cd [prefix]/share/guix/hydra.gnu.org.pub
> # guix archive --authorize < hydra.gnu.org.pub
> and got
>
> guile: warning: failed to install locale
> warning: failed to install locale: Invalid argument
>
> with no other output. I get that error almost every time I try to do
> something with Guix and it usually works anyway.

Right, it’s a warning (not an error), so you can proceed.  To address
it, see
<https://www.gnu.org/software/guix/manual/html_node/Application-Setup.html#Locales>.

> Since I got no other errors I just kept going with
>
> $ guix build emacs --dry-run
>
> and got "The following derivations would be built:" so apparently it
> did not work.

It depends.  It may be that some derivations would be built, and others
would be downloaded.  That can happen for instance if the build farm
hasn’t yet built the Emacs you’re asking for.

> During an installation I do see a lot of "updating list of substitutes"
> messages, but I also frequently see the word "build" and a lot of .c
> and .h files go by, which combined with the long installation time
> makes me doubt that it is actually downloading binaries from the
> substitutes and installing them.

We arrange for the build farm to provide binaries as fast as possible,
but sometimes it’s just lagging behind and users have to build from
source.

HTH!

Ludo’.

Re: how to install from binary

[Mason Hock]

That makes sense. Thanks for clarifying!

Mason

On Mon, 2017-11-13 at 10:57 +0100, Ludovic Courtès wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> Mason Hock <masonhock@gmail.com> skribis:
> 
> > 
> > Guix seems to be building everything from source, which can take a
> > while. As per these instructions I tried
> > 
> > # cd [prefix]/share/guix/hydra.gnu.org.pub
> > # guix archive --authorize < hydra.gnu.org.pub
> > and got
> > 
> > guile: warning: failed to install locale
> > warning: failed to install locale: Invalid argument
> > 
> > with no other output. I get that error almost every time I try to
> > do
> > something with Guix and it usually works anyway.
> Right, it’s a warning (not an error), so you can proceed.  To address
> it, see
> <https://www.gnu.org/software/guix/manual/html_node/Application-Setup
> .html#Locales>.
> 
> > 
> > Since I got no other errors I just kept going with
> > 
> > $ guix build emacs --dry-run
> > 
> > and got "The following derivations would be built:" so apparently
> > it
> > did not work.
> It depends.  It may be that some derivations would be built, and
> others
> would be downloaded.  That can happen for instance if the build farm
> hasn’t yet built the Emacs you’re asking for.
> 
> > 
> > During an installation I do see a lot of "updating list of
> > substitutes"
> > messages, but I also frequently see the word "build" and a lot of
> > .c
> > and .h files go by, which combined with the long installation time
> > makes me doubt that it is actually downloading binaries from the
> > substitutes and installing them.
> We arrange for the build farm to provide binaries as fast as
> possible,
> but sometimes it’s just lagging behind and users have to build from
> source.
> 
> HTH!
> 
> Ludo’.