Guix: A New Package Manager & GNU Distribution

[phoronix]

Phoronix: Guix: A New Package Manager & GNU Distribution

GNU Guix is a new free software project that aspires to be a package manager and associated free software distribution for the GNU system...

http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=MTIzNjY

[schmidtbag]

oh great another package manager...

seriously, Linux needs LESS of these kinds of varieties. we need to halve the amount of distros and eliminate a package manager or 2. this kind of diversity and competition is hurting more than helping. every once in a while things like distros find a niche that they stick with, such as yellow dog being PS3 focused when it used to be just PPC oriented, or knoppix as a demo distro rather than something you seriously use every day. but how many distros have something compelling to offer? openSUSE, fedora, pclinuxos, linspire, Mandriva/mageia, are all (IIRC) desktop distros that all are RPM based, offer multiple DEs, and aren't rolling release. So what's the point of continuing every one of them? I could care less if 1 ships with Firefox while another uses chrome.

[WorBlux]

oh great another package manager...

seriously, Linux needs LESS of these kinds of varieties. we need to halve the amount of distros and eliminate a package manager or 2. this kind of diversity and competition is hurting more than helping. every once in a while things like distros find a niche that they stick with, such as yellow dog being PS3 focused when it used to be just PPC oriented, or knoppix as a demo distro rather than something you seriously use every day. but how many distros have something compelling to offer? openSUSE, fedora, pclinuxos, linspire, Mandriva/mageia, are all (IIRC) desktop distros that all are RPM based, offer multiple DEs, and aren't rolling release. So what's the point of continuing every one of them? I could care less if 1 ships with Firefox while another uses chrome.

I disagree as this package manager provides features not found in any other package manager, and which have the potential to solve some of the big problems in Linux. For instance it can provide central tracking and backups of settings will still keeping the traditional text file formats. It can provide a means for a developer create a binary package for which they never need fear breakage. I provides a convenient way to users to install application without royally screwing up the backbone of the install.

I agree that there are probably too many "me too" distributions out there, but this I think is a promising one.

[89c51]

Obligatory.




This is a problem that should be solved by getting all the distro devs in a room and not letting them out until they find a proper solution to the problem.

[arokh]

This is exactly why everyone who waits for the "year of desktop Linux" are going to have to wait for eternity.

[WorBlux]

This is a problem that should be solved by getting all the distro devs in a room and not letting them out until they find a proper solution to the problem.

You'd have better luck herding cats.

[F i L]

Awesome logo.. and Garbage collection sounds nice, is that unique to Guix?

[Nille]

unprivileged package management
Does that mean that in can Install an Package as an User to my Own Applications? I don't want that every Application is available in the hole system and recompile an Application for this purpose is an mess.

[89c51]

You'd have better luck herding cats.

I know but the package madness is something that must be solved at some point. For sure Ubuntu doesn't care because it tries to be its own platform but at least the others must try to find a solution.

[renox]

Wrong, not new

oh great another package manager...

Wrong, it isn't another package manager as it is based on NixOS's package manager, only changing its configuration language.
NixOS's package manager has nice properties, unfortunately they also made a big error in naming the installed package "<big series of number>-package name" instead of "package name-<big series of number>"
which makes listing the directory unreadable..