Hello, As suggested by Sylvain, FOSDEM have indeed now gotten back to me to say that they will be organizing a distributions devroom. They "would like to refer [us] to the call for papers for the distributions devroom, which will probably be sent out around mid-October."
So, moving forward this year, I indeed would suggest: a) if you're ambitious, apply for main track (unlikely to happen) b) if you have a talk that might fit into any of the devrooms that will be confirmed on 1 October, apply for a slot at that devroom directly (e.g. the distribution devroom for Guix). Thanks for your comments on the application! Best wishes, Alex [email protected] writes: > Hi Alex, > > Last year there was one devroom for all distros: > https://archive.fosdem.org/2014/schedule/track/distributions/ > (and there was a Guix talk already) > > Is the goal to get a full devroom? Debian or Fedora didn't get one, > so I doubt we can get one through the distro axis. > > - Sylvain > > On Wed, Sep 10, 2014 at 08:32:05AM +0200, Alex Sassmannshausen wrote: >> Hello, >> >> Like last year, we decided to apply for a devroom at FOSDEM in Brussels >> in February. >> >> Last year we were not selected to organize a devroom in the end. The >> original feedback we received from the organizers suggested they were >> worried the format of the room might not be technical enough, as it was >> built around GNU as an organization, philosophy and a practical project >> around software. >> >> This year our application hence is built around a specific technical >> project: a GNU distribution built around Guix and software components >> that are parts of it. >> >> The deadline for the submission of devroom proposals is 15 September, so >> I thought I'd share our current proposal on this list for the next few >> days before submitting it. >> >> Feel free to comment if so inclined :-) >> >> Best wishes, >> >> Alex >> > >> * 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 ([email protected]): >> co-ordinator and occasional contributor to Guix. >> - Ludovic Courtès ([email protected]): maintainer and core developer of >> Guix. -- Sent with my mu4e
