GNU Guix Continues Advancing As A Package Manager & Linux DIstribution

[phoronix]

Phoronix: GNU Guix Continues Advancing As A Package Manager & Linux DIstribution

GNU Guix continues to be one of the most interesting new package management initiatives going on in the past few years. Guix also continues evolving into its own Linux distribution filled with GNU software...

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=GNU-Guix-2015-Distribution

[Alejandro Nova]

Let's focus in something interesting for further flamewars.

GNU Guix plans to use GNU dmd instead of systemd, wicd instead of NetworkManager, and unknown replacements for udev and the rest of system daemons replaced by systemd. Now THAT is going to be interesting, for people like the Devuan dev team, to focus in a single systemd replacement.

I'm keeping my beloved systemd, BTW, but I know there's more than a Lennart hater here, so, I'll simply post the relevant information and leave...

[Kemosabe]

What is special about guix? And what is special about package managers at all?
Some are ugly and a pain to read (apt-get, yum, dpkg) others' output is clearly represented (portage, yaourt(pacman)).
Some make it easy to (re)compile from source with others this option is almost ignored.

But is there REALLY something special about them?
The only new approach i know is NIX (NixOS) and deserves some more attention.

//Edit: Or is guix more than a package manager? UUh . . . sorry for the noise. Gonna continue my work now.

[gnufreex]

What is special about guix? And what is special about package managers at all?
Some are ugly and a pain to read (apt-get, yum, dpkg) others' output is clearly represented (portage, yaourt(pacman)).
Some make it easy to (re)compile from source with others this option is almost ignored.

But is there REALLY something special about them?
The only new approach i know is NIX (NixOS) and deserves some more attention.

//Edit: Or is guix more than a package manager? UUh . . . sorry for the noise. Gonna continue my work now.

Guix is based on Nix package manager. It adds guile-based front end and it uses guile for scripting. It has many more features. So basically GNU Guix is that attention that Nix needs.

You can install Guix package manager on any distro and have sandboxed apps installed by it, without messing up the base system and its package manager. I used it (while it worked, it is still buggy) on this very laptop on centOS to install apps that are not available n EPEL.

Or....

You can install Guix system distribution, which is ground up built, totally free Gnu/Linux-libre distribution endorsed by FSF. I plan on installing that one on my desktop, which is curently running Freedora. But I might wait on that, until 1.0 probably.

[TaylanUB]

Let's focus in something interesting for further flamewars.

GNU Guix plans to use GNU dmd instead of systemd, wicd instead of NetworkManager, and unknown replacements for udev and the rest of system daemons replaced by systemd. Now THAT is going to be interesting, for people like the Devuan dev team, to focus in a single systemd replacement.

I'm keeping my beloved systemd, BTW, but I know there's more than a Lennart hater here, so, I'll simply post the relevant information and leave...

FYI, while I can't speak for the main developers, I'm fairly confident that GNU GSD (Guix System Distribution) refusing to use systemd has nothing to do with "Lennart hate" or any such silly tribal thing.
Probably not "Unix philosophy" either, considering the contrast of the Emacs philosophy to it. I think it's just GNU GSD going its own way and doing the best thing possible: using a Lisp-based init system. ;-)

[Kemosabe]

Guix is based on Nix package manager. It adds guile-based front end and it uses guile for scripting. It has many more features. So basically GNU Guix is that attention that Nix needs.

You can install Guix package manager on any distro and have sandboxed apps installed by it, without messing up the base system and its package manager. I used it (while it worked, it is still buggy) on this very laptop on centOS to install apps that are not available n EPEL.

Or....

You can install Guix system distribution, which is ground up built, totally free Gnu/Linux-libre distribution endorsed by FSF. I plan on installing that one on my desktop, which is curently running Freedora. But I might wait on that, until 1.0 probably.

Thank you for clarification! This sounds aweseome! As soon as i have some spare time i will try guix on archlinux. I wonder whether there is some security gain for my webserver using "isolated apps".

[gnufreex]

I don't think you would get any special security, when I said sandboxed, I meant that it will not interfere with your pacman and make dependency hell. Something like Software collections in RHEL/centOS, conviniet for keeping two different versions of same packages, one that came with your distro, and other that you installed/compiled through Guix. Naturally, you would want Guix provided package to be newer version, but it is also posible to have older if you need. Note that it is still not production quality, but it is getting there. I had some issues when I used it, and when I reinstalled CentOS the other day (because of unreleated issue) I just didnt install guix again. I will wait for new version, I don't have time now to dig into it. I will definetely use it when it hits 1.0 both GSD and package manager.