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I tried to use NixOS a few years ago, and it was reallly hard. The Nix language didn't have good tutorials and I couldn't use any of my NPM skills with the Nix

by k__ 7y ago

I tried to use NixOS a few years ago, and it was reallly hard. The Nix language didn't have good tutorials and I couldn't use any of my NPM skills with the Nix package manager. I saw talk from one guy who wanted to make the Nix package manager use commands that were more like in other package managers. Did any of this happen? I really think NixOS and GuixSD are the next generation Linux distributions and want to use it.

globular-toast 7y ago
Maybe try Guix because there is a wealth of documentation out there for scheme. Since it's a real language you can also consider it an investment as it will make you a better programmer.
- k__ 7y ago
  Yes, I read about that, but free software is always a bit of a struggle.
  - aijony 7y ago
    I suggest either using Nonguix [1], or installing Guix on top of Debian or any other binary distribution if the free software part or small ecosystem is going to prevent you from trying a very great piece of software. [1] https://gitlab.com/nonguix/nonguix https://gitlab.com/nonguix/nonguix
Shoue 7y ago
> I saw talk from one guy who wanted to make the Nix package manager use commands that were more like in other package managers. I'm guessing this is about `nix` and `nix-env` having poor interfaces and lacking e.g `nix install` – those aren't _really_ meant to do package management, because it's an imperative approach akin to Apt. I haven't touched `nix-env` for actual package management in over a year now. You should instead be writing your system-level package dependencies and services in your configuration.nix, your user-level package dependencies and services in home-manager's home.nix, and if you just need to use a package quickly, you should use `nix run nixpkgs.hello -c hello` or `nix-shell -p hello`, and if you're trying to set up a dev env for a project you should be using direnv or lorri. nix-env pollutes your environment and causes headaches when/if you add the same packages you have installed there to your declarative files. >I couldn't use any of my NPM skills with the Nix package manager. You can – look into direnv and lorri, they let you handle system-level dependencies while NPM handles its own libraries, on a per-project basis. This is IMO the best contemporary way to do a developer environment.
- k__ 7y ago
  Sure, but a small CLI tool that adds and removes packages in these files would probably go a long way.
cp9 7y ago
> I saw talk from one guy who wanted to make the Nix package manager use commands that were more like in other package managers. Did any of this happen? Yep, that happened, at least somewhat. Most things that you would want to do that used to be argument soup with `nix-env` now uses a program just called `nix`. For example, searching is now just `nix search <query>` instead of whatever the `nix-env` incantation was
xelxebar 7y ago
> I really think NixOS and GuixSD are the next generation Linux distributions and want to use it. I was in a similar boat for a long time and finally started dipping my toes in. FWIW, #guix on freenode is one of the best experiences I've had with friendly online communitities. The channel is fully of friendly and knowledgeable people. The `info` docs for guix are also pretty darn good for getting you up to speed; however, if you start wanting you write your own packages, I've found that you really do need to consult the sources. FWIW, I got a Guix System running as a Google Cloud instance. As far as I am aware, it's the first time this has been done. Feel free to email me if you want some details; I don't mind helping you set up an instance for you to play around with.

by k__ 7y ago

globular-toast 7y ago

Maybe try Guix because there is a wealth of documentation out there for scheme. Since it's a real language you can also consider it an investment as it will make you a better programmer.

k__ 7y ago
Yes, I read about that, but free software is always a bit of a struggle.
- aijony 7y ago
  I suggest either using Nonguix [1], or installing Guix on top of Debian or any other binary distribution if the free software part or small ecosystem is going to prevent you from trying a very great piece of software. [1] https://gitlab.com/nonguix/nonguix https://gitlab.com/nonguix/nonguix

Shoue 7y ago

> I saw talk from one guy who wanted to make the Nix package manager use commands that were more like in other package managers. I'm guessing this is about `nix` and `nix-env` having poor interfaces and lacking e.g `nix install` – those aren't _really_ meant to do package management, because it's an imperative approach akin to Apt. I haven't touched `nix-env` for actual package management in over a year now. You should instead be writing your system-level package dependencies and services in your configuration.nix, your user-level package dependencies and services in home-manager's home.nix, and if you just need to use a package quickly, you should use `nix run nixpkgs.hello -c hello` or `nix-shell -p hello`, and if you're trying to set up a dev env for a project you should be using direnv or lorri. nix-env pollutes your environment and causes headaches when/if you add the same packages you have installed there to your declarative files. >I couldn't use any of my NPM skills with the Nix package manager. You can – look into direnv and lorri, they let you handle system-level dependencies while NPM handles its own libraries, on a per-project basis. This is IMO the best contemporary way to do a developer environment.

k__ 7y ago
Sure, but a small CLI tool that adds and removes packages in these files would probably go a long way.

cp9 7y ago

> I saw talk from one guy who wanted to make the Nix package manager use commands that were more like in other package managers. Did any of this happen? Yep, that happened, at least somewhat. Most things that you would want to do that used to be argument soup with `nix-env` now uses a program just called `nix`. For example, searching is now just `nix search <query>` instead of whatever the `nix-env` incantation was

xelxebar 7y ago

> I really think NixOS and GuixSD are the next generation Linux distributions and want to use it. I was in a similar boat for a long time and finally started dipping my toes in. FWIW, #guix on freenode is one of the best experiences I've had with friendly online communitities. The channel is fully of friendly and knowledgeable people. The `info` docs for guix are also pretty darn good for getting you up to speed; however, if you start wanting you write your own packages, I've found that you really do need to consult the sources. FWIW, I got a Guix System running as a Google Cloud instance. As far as I am aware, it's the first time this has been done. Feel free to email me if you want some details; I don't mind helping you set up an instance for you to play around with.