Hi Folks,
One thing that is very murky in the documentation is how to install
software that isn't packaged. I can't seem to find any clear
documentation on the process.
Several specific questions:
The recent PPT presentation on GUIX (to Inria) implies that packaging
can be as simple as writing a config file that tells GUIX to do a
"config; make; make install" on a source file built with the GNU tools
- do I NEED to package something or can I simply do a basic download,
untar, config, make, make install on a running system?
- does dmd handle standard sysvinit files (as are still most commonly
included in source packages)?
- and the there's the whole set of issues, recently raised, related to
language systems that maintain their own repos and build systems (e.g.,
CPAN) -- somehow, partial import of dependencies into the GUIX
environment does not seem usable
And a general comment on the documentation: Given that this is a
(sort-of) new distro, that does things VERY differently from previous
distros - it sure would be helpful to have the install documentation
provide both a very clear overview of the conceptual
approach/architecture (vs. items spread around various ppts), AND very
clear step-by-step instructions for:
- basic install & configuration
- installing & configuring packages (both those that run as services and
those that don't; including later re-configuration)
- installing & configuring software that isn't packaged
- with particular attention to how the installer, package system, and
init system work together
- and with attention to how these all work with other build systems
You know - something like the Debian install instructions or the FreeBSD
handbook.
Granted that documentation generally follows code; when doing things
radically differently, there's a lot to be said for writing
documentation FIRST - doing so provides a really good check on
conceptual clarity and usability. (It kind of makes it hard to do any
kind of testing, evaluating, or contributing without a good starting point.)
Thanks,
Miles Fidelman
--
In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice.
In practice, there is. .... Yogi Berra
