4 ms·

There shouldn't be much difference between understanding nix and guix, it is basically the same idea.

• pasc1878 3y ago
  Understanding yes but language wise no. Guix is a known language scheme. nix is off - I can't work out what parameters are needed for any one function call they all appear to be in a global namespace. Unfortunately I need to be able to use non Linux systems
  • hamandcheese 3y ago
    > nix is off - I can't work out what parameters are needed for any one function call they all appear to be in a global namespace. If you are talking about something you saw in the nixpkgs repo, then that is probably the callPackage design pattern [0], which is basically a form of automatic dependency injection. It definitely made it hard for me to grok how nixpkgs package definitions worked at first - there was so much stuff getting injected dynamically, without any trace of where those dependencies lived. The callPackage pattern is an important piece that allows you to override a dependency with a different version, though, which is essential when customizing existing packages for your own needs. [0]: https://nixos.org/guides/nix-pills/callpackage-design-pattern https://nixos.org/guides/nix-pills/callpackage-design-patter...
    • pasc1878 3y ago
      No in setting up a flake to configure my system but yes callPackage seems odd as well
      • SAI_Peregrinus 3y ago
        I'd say Nix-the-language isn't that hard or weird. Nixpkgs-the-standard-library is much, much harder, and basically undocumented. Nixpkgs-the-repository is nice and search.nixos.org works well.
        • pasc1878 3y ago
          Nix the language is OK if it is all in one file. How files all each other and the parameters is odd. You call a function with two parameters but the file starts with many