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> Can't build with nix-build. After long time searching it seems like you're supposed to run nix-build -E 'with import <nixpkgs> {}; callPackage ./default.nix {

> Can't build with nix-build. After long time searching it seems like you're supposed to run nix-build -E 'with import <nixpkgs> {}; callPackage ./default.nix {}' - shouldn't there be a simpler way for this common case? I think the StackOverflow post linked in the answer gives a good explanation: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/44088192/when-and-how-should-default-nix-shell-nix-and-release-nix-be-used https://stackoverflow.com/questions/44088192/when-and-how-sh... With other languages, e.g. with Haskell, you can run "stack build" and it will build the project.. or with C, you can run "cc *.c" and it will build an executable with main. -- Whereas, the `default.nix` example given in the tutorial is supposed to be given to callPackage. (The tutorial which provides the example instructs you to modify the all-packages.nix file in a clone of the nixpkgs repository). ...Which is unhelpful with the mindset of "I just want to write a Nix package for my thing", or just weird compared to what you'd expect from "Hello World". (But makes more sense in terms of "how to get started with nixpkgs"). The UX is much better with Nix Flakes. -- With flakes, there's a standard file format where you can run "nix build" and expect it to work.

takeda 5y ago
The problem is that default.nix is like setup.py for Python. It allowed people do all kinds of nonstandard things and custom code. The callPackage pattern was developed later on, and people who use it as some kind of standard, but it was just one more "standard", also cli tools never were update to accommodate is, so that's why the complicated string is used. The flakes are essentially supposed to standardize it: https://www.tweag.io/blog/2020-05-25-flakes/ https://www.tweag.io/blog/2020-05-25-flakes/ (well their goal is to fix other issues, but the standard format of the file fixes that problem too and CLI supports it as well)

takeda 5y ago

The problem is that default.nix is like setup.py for Python. It allowed people do all kinds of nonstandard things and custom code. The callPackage pattern was developed later on, and people who use it as some kind of standard, but it was just one more "standard", also cli tools never were update to accommodate is, so that's why the complicated string is used. The flakes are essentially supposed to standardize it: https://www.tweag.io/blog/2020-05-25-flakes/ https://www.tweag.io/blog/2020-05-25-flakes/ (well their goal is to fix other issues, but the standard format of the file fixes that problem too and CLI supports it as well)