[PATCH 0/8] Exporting a manifest and channels from a profile

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5 participants
  • Bengt Richter
  • Ludovic Courtès
  • Pierre Neidhardt
  • Ryan Prior
  • zimoun
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unassigned
Submitted by
Ludovic Courtès
Severity
normal
L
L
Ludovic Courtès wrote on 16 Jan 2021 19:29
(address . guix-patches@gnu.org)(name . Ludovic Courtès)(address . ludo@gnu.org)
20210116182957.31075-1-ludo@gnu.org
Hi there!

Here’s a simple but oft-requested feature (I remember discussing
with Pierre and Simon a year ago at the Guix Days about ways to
implement it—time flies!): these patches provide ‘guix package
--export-manifest’ and ‘--export-channels’. These options spit
a manifest and a channel spec, respectively, with the goal of
helping users who wish to migrate to the declarative model.

‘--export-manifest’ honors transformations: if entries in the
profile have associated transformations, those are preserved in
the generated manifest. It also honors version specifiers (to
some extent); for example, if you have guile@2.2 in your profile,
it’ll put “guile@2.2” in the manifest, where “2.2” is the
shortest prefix to disambiguate it from the other available
versions of “guile”.

‘--export-channels’ does what you expect. When several commits
of the same channel were used to build your profile, it picks
the last one and adds the other one in a comment.

There’s a catch though: it’s easy to get a large number of
commits. For example, my main profile contains ~300 packages.
I usually upgrade everything at once, so you’d expect to see
a single commit for the ‘guix’ channel. But that’s not the
case: when running ‘guix upgrade’, entries that do not need
to be upgraded are left unchanged, and thus they carry their
original commit. For my profile, the result is:

Toggle snippet (36 lines)
$ guix package --export-channels
;; This channel file can be passed to 'guix pull -C' or to
;; 'guix time-machine -C' to obtain the Guix revision that was
;; used to populate this profile.

(list
;; Note: these other commits were also used to install some of the packages in this profile:
;; "458cb25b9e7e7c954f468023abea2bebb5d8c75b"
;; "4969b51d175497bfcc354c91803e9d70542b7113"
;; "3d85c3ec652feb22824f355538b51e6955ded361"
;; "3462678bc346c2f6ea81245d6842264b6dccd945"
;; "74eeb11daee906cb012f10b6bb3afd254f9ea5c2"
;; "e1f5c2292b88525414b5d0336a00bfa6741d4f14"
;; "3bdb2a026bc9d3967a31a2ccbcd670c018f85d3d"
;; "bf986c3e4325594c1c6a43cf0b67b92262842863"
;; "7607ace5091aea0157ba5c8a508129cc5fc4f931"
;; "98b89f432103b66efacee0bcba41a94148b8e870"
;; "7090159c23d6345992ab976d71fefeb1583cfcdf"
;; "c6872990b51971922f3064cba54ab752fcdc1559"
;; "6ee7468758d7c043692ae8c0b5e130fa4eabe94c"
;; "9744cc7b4636fafb772c94adb8f05961b5b39f16"
;; "d8feee9f18ede0d1ea4d0e4876f09a0dab770295"
;; "b76b1d3fb65fec98b96a2b4cfa984316dd956a29"
(channel
(name 'guix)
(url "/home/ludo/src/guix")
(commit
"c6ca0fceb715340cfb2ba01bfec128aa8d385b92")
(introduction
(make-channel-introduction
"9edb3f66fd807b096b48283debdcddccfea34bad"
(openpgp-fingerprint
"BBB0 2DDF 2CEA F6A8 0D1D E643 A2A0 6DF2 A33A 54FA"))))
)

The long commit list doesn’t look great, but in fact the chosen
commit is almost certainly good enough.

I looked into ‘guix package’ to see if we could update provenance
data for manifest entries that are not upgraded because they’re
already up-to-date (so that we end up with fewer different commits),
and it’s tricky to do that, and maybe not desirable. So I left it
at that.

Anyway, for me the goal of these options is not “disassemble” the
profile and provide its exact source code, but rather to help
migrate to the declarative model. I think it does a good job
at that.

Thoughts?

Ludo’.

Ludovic Courtès (8):
profiles: Add 'manifest->code'.
utils: Add 'version-unique-prefix'.
guix package: Add '--export-manifest'.
channels: Factorize 'manifest-entry-channel' and channel
serialization.
channels: Add the channel name to channel sexps.
guix describe: Use 'manifest-entry-channel'.
channels: Add 'channel->code'.
guix package: Add '--export-channels'.

build-aux/build-self.scm | 3 +
doc/guix.texi | 45 +++++++++++++
guix/build/profiles.scm | 6 +-
guix/channels.scm | 134 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++------------
guix/describe.scm | 34 +++++++++-
guix/profiles.scm | 86 +++++++++++++++++++++++-
guix/scripts/describe.scm | 52 +++++----------
guix/scripts/package.scm | 118 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-
guix/utils.scm | 35 +++++++++-
tests/guix-package.sh | 10 ++-
tests/profiles.scm | 30 ++++++++-
tests/utils.scm | 8 ++-
12 files changed, 471 insertions(+), 90 deletions(-)

--
2.30.0
L
L
Ludovic Courtès wrote on 16 Jan 2021 19:34
[PATCH 1/8] profiles: Add 'manifest->code'.
(address . 45919@debbugs.gnu.org)(name . Ludovic Courtès)(address . ludo@gnu.org)
20210116183409.31229-1-ludo@gnu.org
* guix/profiles.scm (manifest->code): New procedure.
* tests/profiles.scm ("manifest->code, simple")
("manifest->code, simple, versions")
("manifest->code, transformations"): New tests.
---
guix/profiles.scm | 86 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-
tests/profiles.scm | 30 +++++++++++++++-
2 files changed, 114 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

Toggle diff (157 lines)
diff --git a/guix/profiles.scm b/guix/profiles.scm
index 59a313ea08..ea8bc6e593 100644
--- a/guix/profiles.scm
+++ b/guix/profiles.scm
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
;;; GNU Guix --- Functional package management for GNU
-;;; Copyright © 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 Ludovic Courtès <ludo@gnu.org>
+;;; Copyright © 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 Ludovic Courtès <ludo@gnu.org>
;;; Copyright © 2013 Nikita Karetnikov <nikita@karetnikov.org>
;;; Copyright © 2014, 2016 Alex Kost <alezost@gmail.com>
;;; Copyright © 2015 Mark H Weaver <mhw@netris.org>
@@ -107,6 +107,8 @@
manifest-search-paths
check-for-collisions
+ manifest->code
+
manifest-transaction
manifest-transaction?
manifest-transaction-install
@@ -667,6 +669,88 @@ including the search path specification for $PATH."
(append-map manifest-entry-search-paths
(manifest-entries manifest)))))
+(define* (manifest->code manifest
+ #:key (entry-package-version (const "")))
+ "Return an sexp representing code to build an approximate version of
+MANIFEST; the code is wrapped in a top-level 'begin' form. Call
+ENTRY-PACKAGE-VERSION to determine the version number to use in the spec for a
+given entry; it can be set to 'manifest-entry-version' for fully-specified
+version numbers, or to some other procedure to disambiguate versions for
+packages for which several versions are available."
+ (define (entry-transformations entry)
+ ;; Return the transformations that apply to ENTRY.
+ (assoc-ref (manifest-entry-properties entry) 'transformations))
+
+ (define transformation-procedures
+ ;; List of transformation options/procedure name pairs.
+ (let loop ((entries (manifest-entries manifest))
+ (counter 1)
+ (result '()))
+ (match entries
+ (() result)
+ ((entry . tail)
+ (match (entry-transformations entry)
+ (#f
+ (loop tail counter result))
+ (options
+ (if (assoc-ref result options)
+ (loop tail counter result)
+ (loop tail (+ 1 counter)
+ (alist-cons options
+ (string->symbol
+ (format #f "transform~a" counter))
+ result)))))))))
+
+ (define (qualified-name entry)
+ ;; Return the name of ENTRY possibly with "@" followed by a version.
+ (match (entry-package-version entry)
+ ("" (manifest-entry-name entry))
+ (version (string-append (manifest-entry-name entry)
+ "@" version))))
+
+ (if (null? transformation-procedures)
+ `(begin ;simplest case
+ (specifications->manifest
+ (list ,@(map (lambda (entry)
+ (match (manifest-entry-output entry)
+ ("out" (qualified-name entry))
+ (output (string-append (qualified-name entry)
+ ":" output))))
+ (manifest-entries manifest)))))
+ (let* ((transform (lambda (options exp)
+ (if (not options)
+ exp
+ (let ((proc (assoc-ref transformation-procedures
+ options)))
+ `(,proc ,exp))))))
+ `(begin ;transformations apply
+ (use-modules (guix transformations))
+
+ ,@(map (match-lambda
+ ((options . name)
+ `(define ,name
+ (options->transformation ',options))))
+ transformation-procedures)
+
+ (packages->manifest
+ (list ,@(map (lambda (entry)
+ (define options
+ (entry-transformations entry))
+
+ (define name
+ (qualified-name entry))
+
+ (match (manifest-entry-output entry)
+ ("out"
+ (transform options
+ `(specification->package ,name)))
+ (output
+ `(list ,(transform
+ options
+ `(specification->package ,name))
+ ,output))))
+ (manifest-entries manifest))))))))
+
;;;
;;; Manifest transactions.
diff --git a/tests/profiles.scm b/tests/profiles.scm
index 2dec42bec1..ce77711d63 100644
--- a/tests/profiles.scm
+++ b/tests/profiles.scm
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
;;; GNU Guix --- Functional package management for GNU
-;;; Copyright © 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 Ludovic Courtès <ludo@gnu.org>
+;;; Copyright © 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 Ludovic Courtès <ludo@gnu.org>
;;; Copyright © 2014 Alex Kost <alezost@gmail.com>
;;;
;;; This file is part of GNU Guix.
@@ -154,6 +154,34 @@
(manifest-entries (manifest-add (manifest '())
(list guile-2.0.9 guile-2.0.9))))
+(test-equal "manifest->code, simple"
+ '(begin
+ (specifications->manifest (list "guile" "guile:debug" "glibc")))
+ (manifest->code (manifest (list guile-2.0.9 guile-2.0.9:debug glibc))))
+
+(test-equal "manifest->code, simple, versions"
+ '(begin
+ (specifications->manifest (list "guile@2.0.9" "guile@2.0.9:debug"
+ "glibc@2.19")))
+ (manifest->code (manifest (list guile-2.0.9 guile-2.0.9:debug glibc))
+ #:entry-package-version manifest-entry-version))
+
+(test-equal "manifest->code, transformations"
+ '(begin
+ (use-modules (guix transformations))
+
+ (define transform1
+ (options->transformation '((foo . "bar"))))
+
+ (packages->manifest
+ (list (transform1 (specification->package "guile"))
+ (specification->package "glibc"))))
+ (manifest->code (manifest (list (manifest-entry
+ (inherit guile-2.0.9)
+ (properties `((transformations
+ . ((foo . "bar"))))))
+ glibc))))
+
(test-assert "manifest-perform-transaction"
(let* ((m0 (manifest (list guile-2.0.9 guile-2.0.9:debug)))
(t1 (manifest-transaction
--
2.30.0
L
L
Ludovic Courtès wrote on 16 Jan 2021 19:34
[PATCH 2/8] utils: Add 'version-unique-prefix'.
(address . 45919@debbugs.gnu.org)(name . Ludovic Courtès)(address . ludo@gnu.org)
20210116183409.31229-2-ludo@gnu.org
* guix/utils.scm (version-unique-prefix): New procedure.
* tests/utils.scm ("version-unique-prefix"): New test.
---
guix/utils.scm | 35 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-
tests/utils.scm | 8 +++++++-
2 files changed, 41 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

Toggle diff (84 lines)
diff --git a/guix/utils.scm b/guix/utils.scm
index f8b05e7e80..a85e2f495c 100644
--- a/guix/utils.scm
+++ b/guix/utils.scm
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
;;; GNU Guix --- Functional package management for GNU
-;;; Copyright © 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 Ludovic Courtès <ludo@gnu.org>
+;;; Copyright © 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 Ludovic Courtès <ludo@gnu.org>
;;; Copyright © 2013, 2014, 2015 Mark H Weaver <mhw@netris.org>
;;; Copyright © 2014 Eric Bavier <bavier@member.fsf.org>
;;; Copyright © 2014 Ian Denhardt <ian@zenhack.net>
@@ -88,6 +88,7 @@
version-major+minor+point
version-major+minor
version-major
+ version-unique-prefix
guile-version>?
version-prefix?
string-replace-substring
@@ -589,6 +590,38 @@ minor version numbers from version-string."
"Return the major version number as string from the version-string."
(version-prefix version-string 1))
+(define (version-unique-prefix version versions)
+ "Return the shortest version prefix to unambiguously identify VERSION among
+VERSIONS. For example:
+
+ (version-unique-prefix \"2.0\" '(\"3.0\" \"2.0\"))
+ => \"2\"
+
+ (version-unique-prefix \"2.2\" '(\"3.0.5\" \"2.0.9\" \"2.2.7\"))
+ => \"2.2\"
+
+ (version-unique-prefix \"27.1\" '(\"27.1\"))
+ => \"\"
+"
+ (define not-dot
+ (char-set-complement (char-set #\.)))
+
+ (define other-versions
+ (delete version versions))
+
+ (let loop ((prefix '())
+ (components (string-tokenize version not-dot)))
+ (define prefix-str
+ (string-join prefix "."))
+
+ (if (any (cut string-prefix? prefix-str <>) other-versions)
+ (match components
+ ((head . tail)
+ (loop `(,@prefix ,head) tail))
+ (()
+ version))
+ prefix-str)))
+
(define (version>? a b)
"Return #t when A denotes a version strictly newer than B."
(eq? '> (version-compare a b)))
diff --git a/tests/utils.scm b/tests/utils.scm
index 9bce446d98..62ec7e8b4c 100644
--- a/tests/utils.scm
+++ b/tests/utils.scm
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
;;; GNU Guix --- Functional package management for GNU
-;;; Copyright © 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 Ludovic Courtès <ludo@gnu.org>
+;;; Copyright © 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 Ludovic Courtès <ludo@gnu.org>
;;; Copyright © 2014 Eric Bavier <bavier@member.fsf.org>
;;; Copyright © 2016 Mathieu Lirzin <mthl@gnu.org>
;;;
@@ -78,6 +78,12 @@
(not (version-prefix? "4.1" "4.16.2"))
(not (version-prefix? "4.1" "4"))))
+(test-equal "version-unique-prefix"
+ '("2" "2.2" "")
+ (list (version-unique-prefix "2.0" '("3.0" "2.0"))
+ (version-unique-prefix "2.2" '("3.0.5" "2.0.9" "2.2.7"))
+ (version-unique-prefix "27.1" '("27.1"))))
+
(test-equal "string-tokenize*"
'(("foo")
("foo" "bar" "baz")
--
2.30.0
L
L
Ludovic Courtès wrote on 16 Jan 2021 19:34
[PATCH 3/8] guix package: Add '--export-manifest'.
(address . 45919@debbugs.gnu.org)(name . Ludovic Courtès)(address . ludo@gnu.org)
20210116183409.31229-3-ludo@gnu.org
* guix/scripts/package.scm (export-manifest): New procedure.
(show-help, %options): Add '--export-manifest'.
(process-query): Honor it.
* guix/build/profiles.scm (build-profile): Mention it.
* tests/guix-package.sh: Test it.
* doc/guix.texi (Invoking guix package): Document it.
---
doc/guix.texi | 21 +++++++++++++++
guix/build/profiles.scm | 6 +++--
guix/scripts/package.scm | 57 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-
tests/guix-package.sh | 10 ++++++-
4 files changed, 90 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)

Toggle diff (190 lines)
diff --git a/doc/guix.texi b/doc/guix.texi
index cea7f8a8cf..e524464e9f 100644
--- a/doc/guix.texi
+++ b/doc/guix.texi
@@ -3269,6 +3269,9 @@ objects, like this:
'("emacs" "guile@@2.2" "guile@@2.2:debug"))
@end lisp
+@xref{export-manifest, @option{--export-manifest}}, to learn how to
+obtain a manifest file from an existing profile.
+
@item --roll-back
@cindex rolling back
@cindex undoing transactions
@@ -3571,6 +3574,24 @@ zeroth generation is never deleted.
Note that deleting generations prevents rolling back to them.
Consequently, this command must be used with care.
+@cindex manifest, exporting
+@anchor{export-manifest}
+@item --export-manifest
+Write to standard output a manifest suitable for @option{--manifest}
+corresponding to the chosen profile(s).
+
+This option is meant to help you migrate from the ``imperative''
+operating mode---running @command{guix install}, @command{guix upgrade},
+etc.---to the declarative mode that @option{--manifest} offers.
+
+Be aware that the resulting manifest @emph{approximates} what your
+profile actually contains; for instance, depending on how your profile
+was created, it can refer to packages or package versions that are not
+exactly what you specified.
+
+Keep in mind that a manifest is purely symbolic: it only contains
+package names and possibly versions, and their meaning varies over time.
+
@end table
Finally, since @command{guix package} may actually start build
diff --git a/guix/build/profiles.scm b/guix/build/profiles.scm
index 67ee9b665a..b42f498a80 100644
--- a/guix/build/profiles.scm
+++ b/guix/build/profiles.scm
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
;;; GNU Guix --- Functional package management for GNU
-;;; Copyright © 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 Ludovic Courtès <ludo@gnu.org>
+;;; Copyright © 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 Ludovic Courtès <ludo@gnu.org>
;;;
;;; This file is part of GNU Guix.
;;;
@@ -169,7 +169,9 @@ SEARCH-PATHS."
(lambda (p)
(display "\
;; This file was automatically generated and is for internal use only.
-;; It cannot be passed to the '--manifest' option.\n\n"
+;; It cannot be passed to the '--manifest' option.
+;; Run 'guix package --export-manifest' if to export a file suitable
+;; for '--manifest'.\n\n"
p)
(pretty-print manifest p)))
diff --git a/guix/scripts/package.scm b/guix/scripts/package.scm
index 6faf2adb7a..2b52016c67 100644
--- a/guix/scripts/package.scm
+++ b/guix/scripts/package.scm
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
;;; GNU Guix --- Functional package management for GNU
-;;; Copyright © 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 Ludovic Courtès <ludo@gnu.org>
+;;; Copyright © 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 Ludovic Courtès <ludo@gnu.org>
;;; Copyright © 2013 Nikita Karetnikov <nikita@karetnikov.org>
;;; Copyright © 2013, 2015 Mark H Weaver <mhw@netris.org>
;;; Copyright © 2014, 2016 Alex Kost <alezost@gmail.com>
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@
#:select (directory-exists? mkdir-p))
#:use-module (ice-9 format)
#:use-module (ice-9 match)
+ #:autoload (ice-9 pretty-print) (pretty-print)
#:use-module (ice-9 regex)
#:use-module (ice-9 vlist)
#:use-module (srfi srfi-1)
@@ -320,6 +321,48 @@ GUIX_PROFILE=\"~a\"
Alternately, see @command{guix package --search-paths -p ~s}.")
profile profile)))))
+
+;;;
+;;; Export a manifest.
+;;;
+
+(define* (export-manifest manifest
+ #:optional (port (current-output-port)))
+ "Write to PORT a manifest corresponding to MANIFEST."
+ (define (version-spec entry)
+ (let ((name (manifest-entry-name entry)))
+ (match (map package-version (find-packages-by-name name))
+ ((_)
+ ;; A single version of NAME is available, so do not specify the
+ ;; version number, even if the available version doesn't match ENTRY.
+ "")
+ (versions
+ ;; If ENTRY uses the latest version, don't specify any version.
+ ;; Otherwise return the shortest unique version prefix. Note that
+ ;; this is based on the currently available packages, which could
+ ;; differ from the packages available in the revision that was used
+ ;; to build MANIFEST.
+ (let ((current (manifest-entry-version entry)))
+ (if (every (cut version>? current <>)
+ (delete current versions))
+ ""
+ (version-unique-prefix (manifest-entry-version entry)
+ versions)))))))
+
+ (match (manifest->code manifest
+ #:entry-package-version version-spec)
+ (('begin exp ...)
+ (format port (G_ "\
+;; This \"manifest\" file can be passed to 'guix package -m' to reproduce
+;; the content of your profile. This is \"symbolic\": it only specifies
+;; package names. To reproduce the exact same profile, you also need to
+;; capture the channels being used, as returned by \"guix describe\".
+;; See the \"Replicating Guix\" section in the manual.\n"))
+ (for-each (lambda (exp)
+ (newline port)
+ (pretty-print exp port))
+ exp))))
+
;;;
;;; Command-line options.
@@ -373,6 +416,8 @@ Install, remove, or upgrade packages in a single transaction.\n"))
(display (G_ "
-S, --switch-generation=PATTERN
switch to a generation matching PATTERN"))
+ (display (G_ "
+ --export-manifest print a manifest for the chosen profile"))
(display (G_ "
-p, --profile=PROFILE use PROFILE instead of the user's default profile"))
(display (G_ "
@@ -507,6 +552,10 @@ kind of search path~%")
(values (cons `(query search-paths ,kind)
result)
#f))))
+ (option '("export-manifest") #f #f
+ (lambda (opt name arg result arg-handler)
+ (values (cons `(query export-manifest) result)
+ #f)))
(option '(#\p "profile") #t #f
(lambda (opt name arg result arg-handler)
(values (alist-cons 'profile (canonicalize-profile arg)
@@ -827,6 +876,12 @@ processed, #f otherwise."
(format #t "~{~a~%~}" settings)
#t))
+ (('export-manifest)
+ (let* ((manifest (concatenate-manifests
+ (map profile-manifest profiles))))
+ (export-manifest manifest (current-output-port))
+ #t))
+
(_ #f))))
diff --git a/tests/guix-package.sh b/tests/guix-package.sh
index 3e5fa71d20..7eaad6823f 100644
--- a/tests/guix-package.sh
+++ b/tests/guix-package.sh
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
# GNU Guix --- Functional package management for GNU
-# Copyright © 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 Ludovic Courtès <ludo@gnu.org>
+# Copyright © 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 Ludovic Courtès <ludo@gnu.org>
# Copyright © 2013 Nikita Karetnikov <nikita@karetnikov.org>
#
# This file is part of GNU Guix.
@@ -395,6 +395,14 @@ EOF
guix package --bootstrap -m "$module_dir/manifest.scm"
guix package -I | grep guile
test `guix package -I | wc -l` -eq 1
+
+# Export a manifest, instantiate it, and make sure we get the same profile.
+profile_directory="$(readlink -f "$default_profile")"
+guix package --export-manifest > "$tmpfile"
+guix package --rollback --bootstrap
+guix package --bootstrap -m "$tmpfile"
+test "$(readlink -f "$default_profile")" = "$profile_directory"
+
guix package --rollback --bootstrap
# Applying two manifests.
--
2.30.0
L
L
Ludovic Courtès wrote on 16 Jan 2021 19:34
[PATCH 4/8] channels: Factorize 'manifest-entry-channel' and channel serialization.
(address . 45919@debbugs.gnu.org)(name . Ludovic Courtès)(address . ludo@gnu.org)
20210116183409.31229-4-ludo@gnu.org
* guix/channels.scm (sexp->channel, manifest-entry-channel): New
procedures.
(profile-channels): Replace lambda by 'manifest-entry-channel'.
(channel-instance->sexp): New procedure.
(channel-instances->manifest)[instance->entry]: Use
'channel-instance->sexp' instead of inline code.
---
guix/channels.scm | 106 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++-------------------
1 file changed, 63 insertions(+), 43 deletions(-)

Toggle diff (145 lines)
diff --git a/guix/channels.scm b/guix/channels.scm
index 0c84eed477..65a0d849ec 100644
--- a/guix/channels.scm
+++ b/guix/channels.scm
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
;;; GNU Guix --- Functional package management for GNU
-;;; Copyright © 2018, 2019, 2020 Ludovic Courtès <ludo@gnu.org>
+;;; Copyright © 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 Ludovic Courtès <ludo@gnu.org>
;;; Copyright © 2018 Ricardo Wurmus <rekado@elephly.net>
;;; Copyright © 2019 Jan (janneke) Nieuwenhuizen <janneke@gnu.org>
;;;
@@ -802,13 +802,35 @@ derivation."
(derivation-input-derivation input))))
(derivation-inputs drv))))
+(define (channel-instance->sexp instance)
+ "Return an sexp representation of INSTANCE, a channel instance."
+ (let* ((commit (channel-instance-commit instance))
+ (channel (channel-instance-channel instance))
+ (intro (channel-introduction channel)))
+ `(repository
+ (version 0)
+ (url ,(channel-url channel))
+ (branch ,(channel-branch channel))
+ (commit ,commit)
+ ,@(if intro
+ `((introduction
+ (channel-introduction
+ (version 0)
+ (commit
+ ,(channel-introduction-first-signed-commit
+ intro))
+ (signer
+ ,(openpgp-format-fingerprint
+ (channel-introduction-first-commit-signer
+ intro))))))
+ '()))))
+
(define (channel-instances->manifest instances)
"Return a profile manifest with entries for all of INSTANCES, a list of
channel instances."
(define (instance->entry instance drv)
- (let* ((commit (channel-instance-commit instance))
- (channel (channel-instance-channel instance))
- (intro (channel-introduction channel)))
+ (let ((commit (channel-instance-commit instance))
+ (channel (channel-instance-channel instance)))
(manifest-entry
(name (symbol->string (channel-name channel)))
(version (string-take commit 7))
@@ -819,23 +841,7 @@ channel instances."
drv)
drv))
(properties
- `((source (repository
- (version 0)
- (url ,(channel-url channel))
- (branch ,(channel-branch channel))
- (commit ,commit)
- ,@(if intro
- `((introduction
- (channel-introduction
- (version 0)
- (commit
- ,(channel-introduction-first-signed-commit
- intro))
- (signer
- ,(openpgp-format-fingerprint
- (channel-introduction-first-commit-signer
- intro))))))
- '()))))))))
+ `((source ,(channel-instance->sexp instance)))))))
(mlet* %store-monad ((derivations (channel-instance-derivations instances))
(entries -> (map instance->entry instances derivations)))
@@ -900,31 +906,45 @@ to 'latest-channel-instances'."
validate-pull)))
(channel-instances->derivation instances)))
+(define* (sexp->channel sexp #:optional (name 'channel))
+ "Read SEXP, a provenance sexp as created by 'channel-instance->sexp',
+and return a channel called NAME. Return #f if the sexp does not have the
+expected structure."
+ (match sexp
+ (('repository ('version 0)
+ ('url url)
+ ('branch branch)
+ ('commit commit)
+ rest ...)
+ (channel (name name)
+ (url url)
+ (commit commit)
+ (introduction
+ (match (assq 'introduction rest)
+ (#f #f)
+ (('introduction intro)
+ (sexp->channel-introduction intro))))))
+
+ (_ #f)))
+
+(define (manifest-entry-channel entry)
+ "Return the channel ENTRY corresponds to, or #f if that information is
+missing or unreadable. ENTRY must be an entry created by
+'channel-instances->manifest', with the 'source' property."
+ (let ((name (string->symbol (manifest-entry-name entry))))
+ (match (assq-ref (manifest-entry-properties entry) 'source)
+ ((sexp)
+ (sexp->channel sexp name))
+ (_
+ ;; No channel information for this manifest entry.
+ ;; XXX: Pre-0.15.0 Guix did not provide that information,
+ ;; but there's not much we can do in that case.
+ #f))))
+
(define (profile-channels profile)
"Return the list of channels corresponding to entries in PROFILE. If
PROFILE is not a profile created by 'guix pull', return the empty list."
- (filter-map (lambda (entry)
- (match (assq 'source (manifest-entry-properties entry))
- (('source ('repository ('version 0)
- ('url url)
- ('branch branch)
- ('commit commit)
- rest ...))
- (channel (name (string->symbol
- (manifest-entry-name entry)))
- (url url)
- (commit commit)
- (introduction
- (match (assq 'introduction rest)
- (#f #f)
- (('introduction intro)
- (sexp->channel-introduction intro))))))
-
- ;; No channel information for this manifest entry.
- ;; XXX: Pre-0.15.0 Guix did not provide that information,
- ;; but there's not much we can do in that case.
- (_ #f)))
-
+ (filter-map manifest-entry-channel
;; Show most recently installed packages last.
(reverse
(manifest-entries (profile-manifest profile)))))
--
2.30.0
L
L
Ludovic Courtès wrote on 16 Jan 2021 19:34
[PATCH 5/8] channels: Add the channel name to channel sexps.
(address . 45919@debbugs.gnu.org)(name . Ludovic Courtès)(address . ludo@gnu.org)
20210116183409.31229-5-ludo@gnu.org
* guix/channels.scm (channel-instance->sexp): Add 'name'.
(sexp->channel): Extract the name from SEXP, using the optional argument
as a fallback.
---
guix/channels.scm | 15 +++++++++++----
1 file changed, 11 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)

Toggle diff (41 lines)
diff --git a/guix/channels.scm b/guix/channels.scm
index 65a0d849ec..6449221c3f 100644
--- a/guix/channels.scm
+++ b/guix/channels.scm
@@ -812,6 +812,7 @@ derivation."
(url ,(channel-url channel))
(branch ,(channel-branch channel))
(commit ,commit)
+ (name ,(channel-name channel))
,@(if intro
`((introduction
(channel-introduction
@@ -907,16 +908,22 @@ to 'latest-channel-instances'."
(channel-instances->derivation instances)))
(define* (sexp->channel sexp #:optional (name 'channel))
- "Read SEXP, a provenance sexp as created by 'channel-instance->sexp',
-and return a channel called NAME. Return #f if the sexp does not have the
-expected structure."
+ "Read SEXP, a provenance sexp as created by 'channel-instance->sexp'; use
+NAME as the channel name if SEXP does not specify it. Return #f if the sexp
+does not have the expected structure."
(match sexp
(('repository ('version 0)
('url url)
('branch branch)
('commit commit)
rest ...)
- (channel (name name)
+ ;; Historically channel sexps did not include the channel name. It's OK
+ ;; for channels created by 'channel-instances->manifest' because the
+ ;; entry name is the channel name, but it was missing for entries created
+ ;; by 'manifest-entry-with-provenance'.
+ (channel (name (match (assq 'name rest)
+ (#f name)
+ (('name name) name)))
(url url)
(commit commit)
(introduction
--
2.30.0
L
L
Ludovic Courtès wrote on 16 Jan 2021 19:34
[PATCH 6/8] guix describe: Use 'manifest-entry-channel'.
(address . 45919@debbugs.gnu.org)(name . Ludovic Courtès)(address . ludo@gnu.org)
20210116183409.31229-6-ludo@gnu.org
* guix/channels.scm (manifest-entry-channel): Export.
* guix/scripts/describe.scm (display-profile-content): Use it.
---
guix/channels.scm | 1 +
guix/scripts/describe.scm | 30 ++++++++++++------------------
2 files changed, 13 insertions(+), 18 deletions(-)

Toggle diff (60 lines)
diff --git a/guix/channels.scm b/guix/channels.scm
index 6449221c3f..743b4a25b7 100644
--- a/guix/channels.scm
+++ b/guix/channels.scm
@@ -91,6 +91,7 @@
ensure-forward-channel-update
profile-channels
+ manifest-entry-channel
channel-news-entry?
channel-news-entry-commit
diff --git a/guix/scripts/describe.scm b/guix/scripts/describe.scm
index c3667516eb..b7ec029ba8 100644
--- a/guix/scripts/describe.scm
+++ b/guix/scripts/describe.scm
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
;;; GNU Guix --- Functional package management for GNU
-;;; Copyright © 2018, 2019, 2020 Ludovic Courtès <ludo@gnu.org>
+;;; Copyright © 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 Ludovic Courtès <ludo@gnu.org>
;;; Copyright © 2018 Oleg Pykhalov <go.wigust@gmail.com>
;;; Copyright © 2020 Ekaitz Zarraga <ekaitz@elenq.tech>
;;;
@@ -237,23 +237,17 @@ way and displaying details about the channel's source code."
(format #t " ~a ~a~%"
(manifest-entry-name entry)
(manifest-entry-version entry))
- (match (assq 'source (manifest-entry-properties entry))
- (('source ('repository ('version 0)
- ('url url)
- ('branch branch)
- ('commit commit)
- _ ...))
- (let ((channel (channel (name 'nameless)
- (url url)
- (branch branch)
- (commit commit))))
- (format #t (G_ " repository URL: ~a~%") url)
- (when branch
- (format #t (G_ " branch: ~a~%") branch))
- (format #t (G_ " commit: ~a~%")
- (if (supports-hyperlinks?)
- (channel-commit-hyperlink channel commit)
- commit))))
+ (match (manifest-entry-channel entry)
+ ((? channel? channel)
+ (format #t (G_ " repository URL: ~a~%")
+ (channel-url channel))
+ (when (channel-branch channel)
+ (format #t (G_ " branch: ~a~%")
+ (channel-branch channel)))
+ (format #t (G_ " commit: ~a~%")
+ (if (supports-hyperlinks?)
+ (channel-commit-hyperlink channel)
+ (channel-commit channel))))
(_ #f)))
;; Show most recently installed packages last.
--
2.30.0
L
L
Ludovic Courtès wrote on 16 Jan 2021 19:34
[PATCH 7/8] channels: Add 'channel->code'.
(address . 45919@debbugs.gnu.org)(name . Ludovic Courtès)(address . ludo@gnu.org)
20210116183409.31229-7-ludo@gnu.org
* guix/channels.scm (channel->code): New procedure, taken from...
* guix/scripts/describe.scm (channel->sexp): ... here.
Adjust callers accordingly.
---
guix/channels.scm | 19 +++++++++++++++++++
guix/scripts/describe.scm | 22 +++-------------------
2 files changed, 22 insertions(+), 19 deletions(-)

Toggle diff (87 lines)
diff --git a/guix/channels.scm b/guix/channels.scm
index 743b4a25b7..cdef77637d 100644
--- a/guix/channels.scm
+++ b/guix/channels.scm
@@ -92,6 +92,7 @@
profile-channels
manifest-entry-channel
+ channel->code
channel-news-entry?
channel-news-entry-commit
@@ -957,6 +958,24 @@ PROFILE is not a profile created by 'guix pull', return the empty list."
(reverse
(manifest-entries (profile-manifest profile)))))
+(define* (channel->code channel #:key (include-introduction? #t))
+ "Return code (an sexp) to build CHANNEL. When INCLUDE-INTRODUCTION? is
+true, include its introduction, if any."
+ (let ((intro (and include-introduction?
+ (channel-introduction channel))))
+ `(channel
+ (name ',(channel-name channel))
+ (url ,(channel-url channel))
+ (commit ,(channel-commit channel))
+ ,@(if intro
+ `((introduction (make-channel-introduction
+ ,(channel-introduction-first-signed-commit intro)
+ (openpgp-fingerprint
+ ,(openpgp-format-fingerprint
+ (channel-introduction-first-commit-signer
+ intro))))))
+ '()))))
+
;;;
;;; News.
diff --git a/guix/scripts/describe.scm b/guix/scripts/describe.scm
index b7ec029ba8..e47d207ee0 100644
--- a/guix/scripts/describe.scm
+++ b/guix/scripts/describe.scm
@@ -113,22 +113,6 @@ Display information about the channels currently in use.\n"))
(_
(warning (G_ "'GUIX_PACKAGE_PATH' is set but it is not captured~%")))))))
-(define* (channel->sexp channel #:key (include-introduction? #t))
- (let ((intro (and include-introduction?
- (channel-introduction channel))))
- `(channel
- (name ',(channel-name channel))
- (url ,(channel-url channel))
- (commit ,(channel-commit channel))
- ,@(if intro
- `((introduction (make-channel-introduction
- ,(channel-introduction-first-signed-commit intro)
- (openpgp-fingerprint
- ,(openpgp-format-fingerprint
- (channel-introduction-first-commit-signer
- intro))))))
- '()))))
-
(define (channel->json channel)
(scm->json-string
(let ((intro (channel-introduction channel)))
@@ -183,7 +167,7 @@ string is ~a.~%")
(format #t (G_ " branch: ~a~%") (reference-shorthand head))
(format #t (G_ " commit: ~a~%") commit))
('channels
- (pretty-print `(list ,(channel->sexp (channel (name 'guix)
+ (pretty-print `(list ,(channel->code (channel (name 'guix)
(url (dirname directory))
(commit commit))))))
('json
@@ -213,9 +197,9 @@ in the format specified by FMT."
('human
(display-profile-content profile number))
('channels
- (pretty-print `(list ,@(map channel->sexp channels))))
+ (pretty-print `(list ,@(map channel->code channels))))
('channels-sans-intro
- (pretty-print `(list ,@(map (cut channel->sexp <>
+ (pretty-print `(list ,@(map (cut channel->code <>
#:include-introduction? #f)
channels))))
('json
--
2.30.0
L
L
Ludovic Courtès wrote on 16 Jan 2021 19:34
[PATCH 8/8] guix package: Add '--export-channels'.
(address . 45919@debbugs.gnu.org)(name . Ludovic Courtès)(address . ludo@gnu.org)
20210116183409.31229-8-ludo@gnu.org
* guix/channels.scm (sexp->channel): Export.
* guix/describe.scm: Use (guix channels).
(manifest-entry-provenance): New procedure.
* guix/scripts/package.scm (channel=?, export-channels): New
procedures.
(show-help, %options): Add '--export-channels'.
(process-query): Honor it.
* build-aux/build-self.scm (build-program)[select?]: Exclude (guix
channels) to account for the (guix describe) change above.
* doc/guix.texi (Invoking guix package): Document it.
---
build-aux/build-self.scm | 3 ++
doc/guix.texi | 24 ++++++++++++++++
guix/channels.scm | 1 +
guix/describe.scm | 34 ++++++++++++++++++++--
guix/scripts/package.scm | 61 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
5 files changed, 121 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

Toggle diff (227 lines)
diff --git a/build-aux/build-self.scm b/build-aux/build-self.scm
index 4b6e2bfae5..d5bc5fb46e 100644
--- a/build-aux/build-self.scm
+++ b/build-aux/build-self.scm
@@ -245,8 +245,11 @@ interface (FFI) of Guile.")
"Return a program that computes the derivation to build Guix from SOURCE."
(define select?
;; Select every module but (guix config) and non-Guix modules.
+ ;; Also exclude (guix channels): it is autoloaded by (guix describe), but
+ ;; only for peripheral functionality.
(match-lambda
(('guix 'config) #f)
+ (('guix 'channels) #f)
(('guix _ ...) #t)
(('gnu _ ...) #t)
(_ #f)))
diff --git a/doc/guix.texi b/doc/guix.texi
index e524464e9f..cfb2f8a296 100644
--- a/doc/guix.texi
+++ b/doc/guix.texi
@@ -3591,7 +3591,31 @@ exactly what you specified.
Keep in mind that a manifest is purely symbolic: it only contains
package names and possibly versions, and their meaning varies over time.
+If you wish to ``pin'' channels to the revisions that were used to build
+the profile(s), see @option{--export-channels} below.
+@cindex pinning, channel revisions of a profile
+@item --export-channels
+Write to standard output the list of channels used by the chosen
+profile(s), in a format suitable for @command{guix pull --channels} or
+@command{guix time-machine --channels} (@pxref{Channels}).
+
+Together with @option{--export-manifest}, this option provides
+information allowing you to replicate the current profile
+(@pxref{Replicating Guix}).
+
+However, note that the output of this command @emph{approximates} what
+was actually used to build this profile. In particular, a single
+profile might have been built from several different revisions of the
+same channel. In that case, @option{--export-manifest} chooses the last
+one and writes the list of other revisions in a comment. If you really
+need to pick packages from different channel revisions, you can use
+inferiors in your manifest to do so (@pxref{Inferiors}).
+
+Together with @option{--export-manifest}, this is a good starting point
+if you are willing to migrate from the ``imperative'' model to the fully
+declarative model consisting of a manifest file along with a channels
+file pinning the exact channel revision(s) you want.
@end table
Finally, since @command{guix package} may actually start build
diff --git a/guix/channels.scm b/guix/channels.scm
index cdef77637d..e7e1eb6fd0 100644
--- a/guix/channels.scm
+++ b/guix/channels.scm
@@ -92,6 +92,7 @@
profile-channels
manifest-entry-channel
+ sexp->channel
channel->code
channel-news-entry?
diff --git a/guix/describe.scm b/guix/describe.scm
index 05bf99eb58..ac89fc0d7c 100644
--- a/guix/describe.scm
+++ b/guix/describe.scm
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
;;; GNU Guix --- Functional package management for GNU
-;;; Copyright © 2018, 2019, 2020 Ludovic Courtès <ludo@gnu.org>
+;;; Copyright © 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 Ludovic Courtès <ludo@gnu.org>
;;;
;;; This file is part of GNU Guix.
;;;
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
#:use-module ((guix utils) #:select (location-file))
#:use-module ((guix store) #:select (%store-prefix store-path?))
#:use-module ((guix config) #:select (%state-directory))
+ #:autoload (guix channels) (sexp->channel)
#:use-module (srfi srfi-1)
#:use-module (ice-9 match)
#:export (current-profile
@@ -31,7 +32,8 @@
package-path-entries
package-provenance
- manifest-entry-with-provenance))
+ manifest-entry-with-provenance
+ manifest-entry-provenance))
;;; Commentary:
;;;
@@ -166,3 +168,31 @@ there."
(#f properties)
(sexp `((provenance ,@sexp)
,@properties)))))))))
+
+(define (manifest-entry-provenance entry)
+ "Return the list of channels ENTRY comes from. Return the empty list if
+that information is missing."
+ (match (assq-ref (manifest-entry-properties entry) 'provenance)
+ ((main extras ...)
+ ;; XXX: Until recently, channel sexps lacked the channel name. For
+ ;; entries created by 'manifest-entry-with-provenance', the first sexp
+ ;; is known to be the 'guix channel, and for the other ones, invent a
+ ;; fallback name (it's OK as the name is just a "pet name").
+ (match (sexp->channel main 'guix)
+ (#f '())
+ (channel
+ (let loop ((extras extras)
+ (counter 1)
+ (channels (list channel)))
+ (match extras
+ (()
+ (reverse channels))
+ ((head . tail)
+ (let* ((name (string->symbol
+ (format #f "channel~a" counter)))
+ (extra (sexp->channel head name)))
+ (if extra
+ (loop tail (+ 1 counter) (cons extra channels))
+ (loop tail counter channels)))))))))
+ (_
+ '())))
diff --git a/guix/scripts/package.scm b/guix/scripts/package.scm
index 2b52016c67..8234a1703d 100644
--- a/guix/scripts/package.scm
+++ b/guix/scripts/package.scm
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@
#:use-module (guix scripts build)
#:use-module (guix transformations)
#:use-module (guix describe)
+ #:autoload (guix channels) (channel-name channel-commit channel->code)
#:autoload (guix store roots) (gc-roots user-owned?)
#:use-module ((guix build utils)
#:select (directory-exists? mkdir-p))
@@ -363,6 +364,54 @@ Alternately, see @command{guix package --search-paths -p ~s}.")
(pretty-print exp port))
exp))))
+(define (channel=? a b)
+ (and (channel-commit a) (channel-commit b)
+ (string=? (channel-commit a) (channel-commit b))))
+
+(define* (export-channels manifest
+ #:optional (port (current-output-port)))
+ (define channels
+ (delete-duplicates
+ (append-map manifest-entry-provenance (manifest-entries manifest))
+ channel=?))
+
+ (define channel-names
+ (delete-duplicates (map channel-name channels)))
+
+ (define table
+ (fold (lambda (channel table)
+ (vhash-consq (channel-name channel) channel table))
+ vlist-null
+ channels))
+
+ (when (null? channels)
+ (leave (G_ "no provenance information for this profile~%")))
+
+ (format port (G_ "\
+;; This channel file can be passed to 'guix pull -C' or to
+;; 'guix time-machine -C' to obtain the Guix revision that was
+;; used to populate this profile.\n"))
+ (newline port)
+ (display "(list\n" port)
+ (for-each (lambda (name)
+ (define indent " ")
+ (match (vhash-foldq* cons '() name table)
+ ((channel extra ...)
+ (unless (null? extra)
+ (display indent port)
+ (format port (G_ "\
+;; Note: these other commits were also used to install \
+some of the packages in this profile:~%"))
+ (for-each (lambda (channel)
+ (format port "~a;; ~s~%"
+ indent (channel-commit channel)))
+ extra))
+ (pretty-print (channel->code channel) port
+ #:per-line-prefix indent))))
+ channel-names)
+ (display ")\n" port)
+ #t)
+
;;;
;;; Command-line options.
@@ -418,6 +467,8 @@ Install, remove, or upgrade packages in a single transaction.\n"))
switch to a generation matching PATTERN"))
(display (G_ "
--export-manifest print a manifest for the chosen profile"))
+ (display (G_ "
+ --export-channels print channels for the chosen profile"))
(display (G_ "
-p, --profile=PROFILE use PROFILE instead of the user's default profile"))
(display (G_ "
@@ -556,6 +607,10 @@ kind of search path~%")
(lambda (opt name arg result arg-handler)
(values (cons `(query export-manifest) result)
#f)))
+ (option '("export-channels") #f #f
+ (lambda (opt name arg result arg-handler)
+ (values (cons `(query export-channels) result)
+ #f)))
(option '(#\p "profile") #t #f
(lambda (opt name arg result arg-handler)
(values (alist-cons 'profile (canonicalize-profile arg)
@@ -882,6 +937,12 @@ processed, #f otherwise."
(export-manifest manifest (current-output-port))
#t))
+ (('export-channels)
+ (let ((manifest (concatenate-manifests
+ (map profile-manifest profiles))))
+ (export-channels manifest (current-output-port))
+ #t))
+
(_ #f))))
--
2.30.0
L
L
Ludovic Courtès wrote on 27 Jan 2021 14:14
Re: bug#45919: [PATCH 0/8] Exporting a manifest and channels from a profile
(address . 45919@debbugs.gnu.org)(name . guix-devel)(address . guix-devel@gnu.org)
87wnvyv7w6.fsf@gnu.org
Hi there!

Ludovic Courtès <ludo@gnu.org> skribis:

Toggle quote (7 lines)
> Here’s a simple but oft-requested feature (I remember discussing
> with Pierre and Simon a year ago at the Guix Days about ways to
> implement it—time flies!): these patches provide ‘guix package
> --export-manifest’ and ‘--export-channels’. These options spit
> a manifest and a channel spec, respectively, with the goal of
> helping users who wish to migrate to the declarative model.

I’m rather happy with this patch set but since this is something we’ve
discussed several times in the past, I think it’d be great if those
interested could chime in and comment:


I’ll leave a few more days and then… push!

TIA,
Ludo’.
Z
Z
zimoun wrote on 27 Jan 2021 22:02
Re: [bug#45919] [PATCH 0/8] Exporting a manifest and channels from a profile
(name . Ludovic Courtès)(address . ludo@gnu.org)
86bldahz42.fsf@gmail.com
Hi Ludo,

On Wed, 27 Jan 2021 at 14:14, Ludovic Courtès <ludo@gnu.org> wrote:
Toggle quote (17 lines)
> Ludovic Courtès <ludo@gnu.org> skribis:
>
>> Here’s a simple but oft-requested feature (I remember discussing
>> with Pierre and Simon a year ago at the Guix Days about ways to
>> implement it—time flies!): these patches provide ‘guix package
>> --export-manifest’ and ‘--export-channels’. These options spit
>> a manifest and a channel spec, respectively, with the goal of
>> helping users who wish to migrate to the declarative model.
>
> I’m rather happy with this patch set but since this is something we’ve
> discussed several times in the past, I think it’d be great if those
> interested could chime in and comment:
>
> https://issues.guix.gnu.org/45919
>
> I’ll leave a few more days and then… push!

You are looking at me? :-)

Well, the feature is nice! At first, I thought that it could be a bit
smarter than using only one commit. But as you said, the aim is for
transitioning. Maybe a future improvement should to list somewhere in
the comments which commit provides which set of packages. It could
help… or not. :-)

Using Docker, it works. Let describe how in case people are interested.


On machine A, I have:

Toggle snippet (28 lines)
$ guix describe -f channels
(list (channel
(name 'guix)
(url "https://git.savannah.gnu.org/git/guix.git")
(commit
"cb68ae668af2ade4b0777d82f227e5462768e9e5")
(introduction
(make-channel-introduction
"9edb3f66fd807b096b48283debdcddccfea34bad"
(openpgp-fingerprint
"BBB0 2DDF 2CEA F6A8 0D1D E643 A2A0 6DF2 A33A 54FA")))))

$ cat ~/.config/guix/manifests/python.scm
(specifications->manifest
(append
'("python"
)
(map
(lambda (pkg)
(string-append "python-" pkg))
'("ipython"
"numpy"
"matplotlib"
"scipy"
"biopython"
))))

And I generate a Docker pack with:

Toggle snippet (5 lines)
$ guix pack -f docker --save-provenance -m ~/.config/guix/manifests/python.scm
/gnu/store/wxymmnxdvdvf08ifsfy39xjaxilhrigk-docker-pack.tar.gz


Then on machine B, after fetching this tarball, I run:

Toggle snippet (6 lines)
$ docker load < /tmp/img/wxymmnxdvdvf08ifsfy39xjaxilhrigk-docker-pack.tar.gz
$ docker images
REPOSITORY TAG IMAGE ID CREATED SIZE
python-python-ipython-python-numpy latest 49ddfedf1e27 51 years ago 1.45GB

And it works as expected:

Toggle snippet (34 lines)
$ docker run -ti python-python-ipython-python-numpy:latest python3
Python 3.8.2 (default, Jan 1 1970, 00:00:01)
[GCC 7.5.0] on linux
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>> import this
The Zen of Python, by Tim Peters

Beautiful is better than ugly.
Explicit is better than implicit.
Simple is better than complex.
Complex is better than complicated.
Flat is better than nested.
Sparse is better than dense.
Readability counts.
Special cases aren't special enough to break the rules.
Although practicality beats purity.
Errors should never pass silently.
Unless explicitly silenced.
In the face of ambiguity, refuse the temptation to guess.
There should be one-- and preferably only one --obvious way to do it.
Although that way may not be obvious at first unless you're Dutch.
Now is better than never.
Although never is often better than *right* now.
If the implementation is hard to explain, it's a bad idea.
If the implementation is easy to explain, it may be a good idea.
Namespaces are one honking great idea -- let's do more of those!
>>> import numpy as np
>>> A = np.array([[1,0,1],[0,1,0],[0,0,1]])
>>> _, s, _ = np.linalg.svd(A); s; abs(s[0] - 1./s[2])
array([1.61803399, 1. , 0.61803399])
0.0
>>>

Neat!

So far, so good. Well, let extract the ’manifest’ from this Docker
blob.

Toggle snippet (10 lines)
$ docker export -o /tmp/img/re-pack.tar $(docker ps -a --format "{{.ID}}" | head -n1)
$ tar -xf /tmp/img/re-pack.tar $(tar -tf /tmp/img/re-pack.tar | grep 'profile/manifest')
$ cat gnu/store/7frdchgf5sqw8b83azsml3lw0h52gfbk-profile/manifest | grep -E "(\(\"python|cb68ae)" | head -n5
(("python"
"cb68ae668af2ade4b0777d82f227e5462768e9e5")
("python-ipython"
(("python-backcall"
("python-pyzmq"

Now, a trick to get the channels and specifications:

Toggle snippet (35 lines)
$ ./pre-inst-env guix package -p /tmp/img/gnu/store/7frdchgf5sqw8b83azsml3lw0h52gfbk-profile --export-channels
;; This channel file can be passed to 'guix pull -C' or to
;; 'guix time-machine -C' to obtain the Guix revision that was
;; used to populate this profile.

(list
(channel
(name 'guix)
(url "https://git.savannah.gnu.org/git/guix.git")
(commit
"cb68ae668af2ade4b0777d82f227e5462768e9e5")
(introduction
(make-channel-introduction
"9edb3f66fd807b096b48283debdcddccfea34bad"
(openpgp-fingerprint
"BBB0 2DDF 2CEA F6A8 0D1D E643 A2A0 6DF2 A33A 54FA"))))
)

$ ./pre-inst-env guix package -p /tmp/img/gnu/store/7frdchgf5sqw8b83azsml3lw0h52gfbk-profile --export-manifest
$ ./pre-inst-env guix package -p /tmp/img/gnu/store/7frdchgf5sqw8b83azsml3lw0h52gfbk-profile --export-manifest
;; This "manifest" file can be passed to 'guix package -m' to reproduce
;; the content of your profile. This is "symbolic": it only specifies
;; package names. To reproduce the exact same profile, you also need to
;; capture the channels being used, as returned by "guix describe".
;; See the "Replicating Guix" section in the manual.

(specifications->manifest
(list "python"
"python-ipython"
"python-numpy"
"python-matplotlib"
"python-scipy"
"python-biopython"))

Awesome!


The unexpected is this channels and manifests files do not reproduce the
same Docker pack tarball:

Toggle snippet (28 lines)
$ guix describe
Generation 99 Jan 05 2021 16:56:39 (current)
guix-past 829923f
repository URL: https://gitlab.inria.fr/guix-hpc/guix-past
branch: master
commit: 829923f01f894f1e687735627025ada26230832f
guix-bimsb a8b539d
repository URL: https://github.com/BIMSBbioinfo/guix-bimsb
branch: master
commit: a8b539d61a359060c35f3cb34c7edd1d9d14241d
bimsb-nonfree 4084e63
repository URL: https://github.com/BIMSBbioinfo/guix-bimsb-nonfree.git
branch: master
commit: 4084e63c9c0d662780870aded9f5a6ca1b063780
guix-science cf87b05
repository URL: https://github.com/guix-science/guix-science.git
branch: master
commit: cf87b0501c4a38b96edf41025a27bf1cb91f521a
guix 957f0c4
repository URL: https://git.savannah.gnu.org/git/guix.git
branch: master
commit: 957f0c40327ce00f53db22737e3775ce616ac258

$ guix time-machine -C /tmp/img/channels.scm -- pack -f docker --save-provenance -m /tmp/img/manifest.scm
Updating channel 'guix' from Git repository at 'https://git.savannah.gnu.org/git/guix.git'...
/gnu/store/xzk604g8gysv4azn7sf9nylr6iah97gl-docker-pack.tar.gz

To compare with
/gnu/store/wxymmnxdvdvf08ifsfy39xjaxilhrigk-docker-pack.tar.gz.

On a third machine, I get:
/gnu/store/wxymmnxdvdvf08ifsfy39xjaxilhrigk-docker-pack.tar.gz

Well, that’s another story and I have not inspected yet the
derivations and what could be wrong on the machine B.


Cheers,
simon
L
L
Ludovic Courtès wrote on 27 Jan 2021 22:54
control message for bug #45896
(address . control@debbugs.gnu.org)
87lfceujub.fsf@gnu.org
block 45896 by 45919
quit
L
L
Ludovic Courtès wrote on 28 Jan 2021 16:54
Re: [bug#45919] [PATCH 0/8] Exporting a manifest and channels from a profile
(name . zimoun)(address . zimon.toutoune@gmail.com)
8735ylm4zx.fsf@gnu.org
Hi,

zimoun <zimon.toutoune@gmail.com> skribis:

Toggle quote (20 lines)
> On Wed, 27 Jan 2021 at 14:14, Ludovic Courtès <ludo@gnu.org> wrote:
>> Ludovic Courtès <ludo@gnu.org> skribis:
>>
>>> Here’s a simple but oft-requested feature (I remember discussing
>>> with Pierre and Simon a year ago at the Guix Days about ways to
>>> implement it—time flies!): these patches provide ‘guix package
>>> --export-manifest’ and ‘--export-channels’. These options spit
>>> a manifest and a channel spec, respectively, with the goal of
>>> helping users who wish to migrate to the declarative model.
>>
>> I’m rather happy with this patch set but since this is something we’ve
>> discussed several times in the past, I think it’d be great if those
>> interested could chime in and comment:
>>
>> https://issues.guix.gnu.org/45919
>>
>> I’ll leave a few more days and then… push!
>
> You are looking at me? :-)

Yes, but not just. :-)

Toggle quote (8 lines)
> Well, the feature is nice! At first, I thought that it could be a bit
> smarter than using only one commit. But as you said, the aim is for
> transitioning. Maybe a future improvement should to list somewhere in
> the comments which commit provides which set of packages. It could
> help… or not. :-)
>
> Using Docker, it works. Let describe how in case people are interested.

[...]

Toggle quote (2 lines)
> Awesome!

Woow, thanks for explaining the experiment, it’s a nice one! Would be
worth turning into a blog post, maybe for hpc.guix.info?

Toggle quote (39 lines)
> The unexpected is this channels and manifests files do not reproduce the
> same Docker pack tarball:
>
> $ guix describe
> Generation 99 Jan 05 2021 16:56:39 (current)
> guix-past 829923f
> repository URL: https://gitlab.inria.fr/guix-hpc/guix-past
> branch: master
> commit: 829923f01f894f1e687735627025ada26230832f
> guix-bimsb a8b539d
> repository URL: https://github.com/BIMSBbioinfo/guix-bimsb
> branch: master
> commit: a8b539d61a359060c35f3cb34c7edd1d9d14241d
> bimsb-nonfree 4084e63
> repository URL: https://github.com/BIMSBbioinfo/guix-bimsb-nonfree.git
> branch: master
> commit: 4084e63c9c0d662780870aded9f5a6ca1b063780
> guix-science cf87b05
> repository URL: https://github.com/guix-science/guix-science.git
> branch: master
> commit: cf87b0501c4a38b96edf41025a27bf1cb91f521a
> guix 957f0c4
> repository URL: https://git.savannah.gnu.org/git/guix.git
> branch: master
> commit: 957f0c40327ce00f53db22737e3775ce616ac258
>
> $ guix time-machine -C /tmp/img/channels.scm -- pack -f docker --save-provenance -m /tmp/img/manifest.scm
> Updating channel 'guix' from Git repository at 'https://git.savannah.gnu.org/git/guix.git'...
> /gnu/store/xzk604g8gysv4azn7sf9nylr6iah97gl-docker-pack.tar.gz
>
> To compare with
> /gnu/store/wxymmnxdvdvf08ifsfy39xjaxilhrigk-docker-pack.tar.gz.
>
> On a third machine, I get:
> /gnu/store/wxymmnxdvdvf08ifsfy39xjaxilhrigk-docker-pack.tar.gz
>
> Well, that’s another story and I have not inspected yet the
> derivations and what could be wrong on the machine B.

You’d have to check the differences. It may be that provenance data
differs, for example because the second attempt includes data about
channels that are actually unused. (That’s the whole problem of
provenance data: it’s not a one-to-one mapping and it’s not a bijection
either.)

Thanks for trying it out!

Ludo’.
P
P
Pierre Neidhardt wrote on 28 Jan 2021 18:04
Re: bug#45919: [PATCH 0/8] Exporting a manifest and channels from a profile
(name . guix-devel)(address . guix-devel@gnu.org)
871re5t2lg.fsf@ambrevar.xyz
Hi Ludo!

Ludovic Courtès <ludo@gnu.org> writes:

Toggle quote (17 lines)
> Ludovic Courtès <ludo@gnu.org> skribis:
>
>> Here’s a simple but oft-requested feature (I remember discussing
>> with Pierre and Simon a year ago at the Guix Days about ways to
>> implement it—time flies!): these patches provide ‘guix package
>> --export-manifest’ and ‘--export-channels’. These options spit
>> a manifest and a channel spec, respectively, with the goal of
>> helping users who wish to migrate to the declarative model.
>
> I’m rather happy with this patch set but since this is something we’ve
> discussed several times in the past, I think it’d be great if those
> interested could chime in and comment:
>
> https://issues.guix.gnu.org/45919
>
> I’ll leave a few more days and then… push!

Thanks a lot for working on this, I'll try to give it a shot tomorrow! :)

--
Pierre Neidhardt
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B
B
Bengt Richter wrote on 28 Jan 2021 18:57
Re: [bug#45919] [PATCH 0/8] Exporting a manifest and channels from a profile
(name . zimoun)(address . zimon.toutoune@gmail.com)
20210128175726.GA6094@LionPure
Attachment: file
P
P
Pierre Neidhardt wrote on 29 Jan 2021 18:57
Re: bug#45919: [PATCH 0/8] Exporting a manifest and channels from a profile
(name . guix-devel)(address . guix-devel@gnu.org)
874kizsk0z.fsf@ambrevar.xyz
Hi again!

I just had a cursory look, and my main concern is that maybe exposing
commands is one more thing to learn for the user, and one more step to
run to get a simple file.

Instead, what about doing what system profiles already do with

/run/current-system/channels.scm
/run/current-system/configuration.scm

and store the result of the proposed commands directly in
$PROFILE/channels.scm and $PROFILE/manifest-spec.scm, on each profile
upgrade?

We could add a warning comment at the top, explaining the limitations of
these files (that it does not represent the profile faithfully).

Thoughts?

Last, just a nit: what about listing the packages corresponding to the
commented commits next to them? For instance

Toggle snippet (12 lines)
(list
;; Note: these other commits were also used to install some of the packages in this profile:
;; "458cb25b9e7e7c954f468023abea2bebb5d8c75b" monolith obs calibre
;; "4969b51d175497bfcc354c91803e9d70542b7113" 0ad augustus
;; "3d85c3ec652feb22824f355538b51e6955ded361" nyxt
;; ...
;; "b76b1d3fb65fec98b96a2b4cfa984316dd956a29" tectonic
(channel
(name 'guix)
...

Thanks for working on this, Ludo!

Cheers!

--
Pierre Neidhardt
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----

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bclXp6brbCFE6k7oGsfUZk/nwrnO6KKGrAiuW5cdkefNdDtqCVG2qz4+VOEhbPOc
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=0xwb
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

Z
Z
zimoun wrote on 29 Jan 2021 19:57
Re: [bug#45919] [PATCH 0/8] Exporting a manifest and channels from a profile
(name . guix-devel)(address . guix-devel@gnu.org)
865z3fh8pn.fsf@gmail.com
Hi Pierre and Ludo,

On Fri, 29 Jan 2021 at 18:57, Pierre Neidhardt <mail@ambrevar.xyz> wrote:
Toggle quote (15 lines)
> Hi again!
>
> I just had a cursory look, and my main concern is that maybe exposing
> commands is one more thing to learn for the user, and one more step to
> run to get a simple file.
>
> Instead, what about doing what system profiles already do with
>
> /run/current-system/channels.scm
> /run/current-system/configuration.scm
>
> and store the result of the proposed commands directly in
> $PROFILE/channels.scm and $PROFILE/manifest-spec.scm, on each profile
> upgrade?

If I understand correctly, Pierre, you are proposing 2 things: 1) only
one command and 2) export by default in $PROFILE. Right?

Yeah, sounds a good idea to me. Even if #2 seems a bit of re-work for
the patch set. :-)

Toggle quote (16 lines)
> Last, just a nit: what about listing the packages corresponding to the
> commented commits next to them? For instance
>
> --8<---------------cut here---------------start------------->8---
> (list
> ;; Note: these other commits were also used to install some of the packages in this profile:
> ;; "458cb25b9e7e7c954f468023abea2bebb5d8c75b" monolith obs calibre
> ;; "4969b51d175497bfcc354c91803e9d70542b7113" 0ad augustus
> ;; "3d85c3ec652feb22824f355538b51e6955ded361" nyxt
> ;; ...
> ;; "b76b1d3fb65fec98b96a2b4cfa984316dd956a29" tectonic
> (channel
> (name 'guix)
> ...
> --8<---------------cut here---------------end--------------->8---

I agree. I did the same note. :-)


Cheers,
simon
Z
Z
zimoun wrote on 29 Jan 2021 20:13
(name . Bengt Richter)(address . bokr@bokr.com)
8635yjh7z5.fsf@gmail.com
Hi Bengt,

On Thu, 28 Jan 2021 at 18:57, Bengt Richter <bokr@bokr.com> wrote:

Toggle quote (3 lines)
> Thank you for your tutorial-style and resource-reference-footnoted
> posts!

Thanks! I am happy if it helps. «Déformation professionnelle»¹ :-)

Cheers,
simon


¹: French pun with «professional training» and «stretched profession».
P
P
Pierre Neidhardt wrote on 29 Jan 2021 22:51
(name . guix-devel)(address . guix-devel@gnu.org)
87eei3quma.fsf@ambrevar.xyz
zimoun <zimon.toutoune@gmail.com> writes:

Toggle quote (19 lines)
>> I just had a cursory look, and my main concern is that maybe exposing
>> commands is one more thing to learn for the user, and one more step to
>> run to get a simple file.
>>
>> Instead, what about doing what system profiles already do with
>>
>> /run/current-system/channels.scm
>> /run/current-system/configuration.scm
>>
>> and store the result of the proposed commands directly in
>> $PROFILE/channels.scm and $PROFILE/manifest-spec.scm, on each profile
>> upgrade?
>
> If I understand correctly, Pierre, you are proposing 2 things: 1) only
> one command and 2) export by default in $PROFILE. Right?
>
> Yeah, sounds a good idea to me. Even if #2 seems a bit of re-work for
> the patch set. :-)

Sorry, misunderstanding :)
I'm proposing:

1) Zero command :p

2) On every profile modification (install, upgrade, removal), store the
channel description and the manifest specification (as produced by this
patch commands) to $GUIX_PROFILE/channels.scm and
$GUIX_PROFILE/manifest-spec.scm, respectively.

($GUIX_PROFILE being the target profile, of course.)

Does that make more sense?

--
Pierre Neidhardt
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L
L
Ludovic Courtès wrote on 30 Jan 2021 14:55
Re: bug#45919: [PATCH 0/8] Exporting a manifest and channels from a profile
(name . Pierre Neidhardt)(address . mail@ambrevar.xyz)
87o8h6fs1n.fsf_-_@gnu.org
Hi Pierre,

Pierre Neidhardt <mail@ambrevar.xyz> skribis:

Toggle quote (18 lines)
> I just had a cursory look, and my main concern is that maybe exposing
> commands is one more thing to learn for the user, and one more step to
> run to get a simple file.
>
> Instead, what about doing what system profiles already do with
>
> /run/current-system/channels.scm
> /run/current-system/configuration.scm
>
> and store the result of the proposed commands directly in
> $PROFILE/channels.scm and $PROFILE/manifest-spec.scm, on each profile
> upgrade?
>
> We could add a warning comment at the top, explaining the limitations of
> these files (that it does not represent the profile faithfully).
>
> Thoughts?

Here are practical issues that come to mind:

• It would only work for newer profiles, created after the feature has
been implemented (maybe that’s okay).

• The generated files might use APIs that, in the meantime, got
deprecated or changed somehow. This is in contrast with
‘--export-profile’, which interprets ‘manifest’ (a versioned file
format) and produces code that can use the API du jour.

• One would still have to learn about these two files, and pick the
right “manifest” file.

• For users of ‘-m my-manifest.scm’, we would need to store
‘my-manifest.scm’ as is instead of generating an approximation
thereof.

We already discussed these issues at length earlier. :-) Again, I agree
that following what we do with /run/current-system would be nice, but
the situation is different due to imperative operations.

Hmm, needs more thought…

Toggle quote (14 lines)
> Last, just a nit: what about listing the packages corresponding to the
> commented commits next to them? For instance
>
> (list
> ;; Note: these other commits were also used to install some of the packages in this profile:
> ;; "458cb25b9e7e7c954f468023abea2bebb5d8c75b" monolith obs calibre
> ;; "4969b51d175497bfcc354c91803e9d70542b7113" 0ad augustus
> ;; "3d85c3ec652feb22824f355538b51e6955ded361" nyxt
> ;; ...
> ;; "b76b1d3fb65fec98b96a2b4cfa984316dd956a29" tectonic
> (channel
> (name 'guix)
> ...

Would be nice.

Thanks for your feedback!

Ludo’.
Z
Z
zimoun wrote on 30 Jan 2021 15:31
Re: [bug#45919] [PATCH 0/8] Exporting a manifest and channels from a profile
(name . guix-devel)(address . guix-devel@gnu.org)
86sg6ifqdc.fsf@gmail.com
Hi,

On Fri, 29 Jan 2021 at 22:51, Pierre Neidhardt <mail@ambrevar.xyz> wrote:

Toggle quote (2 lines)
> Sorry, misunderstanding :)

Have a drink together is missing because these times we have
communication issues. :-)

Toggle quote (13 lines)
> I'm proposing:
>
> 1) Zero command :p
>
> 2) On every profile modification (install, upgrade, removal), store the
> channel description and the manifest specification (as produced by this
> patch commands) to $GUIX_PROFILE/channels.scm and
> $GUIX_PROFILE/manifest-spec.scm, respectively.
>
> ($GUIX_PROFILE being the target profile, of course.)
>
> Does that make more sense?

Yes, but it needs a lot of re-work and change, IMHO. And we ends with 3
files: $GUIX_PROFILE/manifest capturing the states of $GUIX_PROFILE and
the 2 others deducing an approximation of these states. Well, IMHO,
automatically produce this approximation at each «action» on the profile
adds complexity and I am not convinced it is worth.

Cheers,
simon
L
L
Ludovic Courtès wrote on 30 Jan 2021 22:23
Re: bug#45919: [PATCH 0/8] Exporting a manifest and channels from a profile
(name . zimoun)(address . zimon.toutoune@gmail.com)
87wnvup19d.fsf_-_@gnu.org
Hi,

zimoun <zimon.toutoune@gmail.com> skribis:

Toggle quote (6 lines)
> Yes, but it needs a lot of re-work and change, IMHO. And we ends with 3
> files: $GUIX_PROFILE/manifest capturing the states of $GUIX_PROFILE and
> the 2 others deducing an approximation of these states. Well, IMHO,
> automatically produce this approximation at each «action» on the profile
> adds complexity and I am not convinced it is worth.

Yeah.

Actually, part of the code would be shared anyway, so we could always go
with ‘--export-manifest’ first and think about adding the extra files
later. (Though I’m still unsure about these extra files, TBH.)

Ludo’.
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Ryan Prior wrote on 31 Jan 2021 06:08
896b9daa9aa2a999e30ab09736679408ebb41d9b@hey.com
On January 30, 2021, "Ludovic Courtès" <ludo@gnu.org> wrote:
Toggle quote (4 lines)
> Actually, part of the code would be shared anyway, so we could always
> go
> with ‘--export-manifest’ first and think about adding the extra files
> later. (Though I’m still unsure about these extra files, TBH.)
I do like the extra files. It feels cozy to me, like you have your
little profile directory and it has a manifest and a list of channels in
it, that makes it feel more complete. Like having the family pictures on
the wall.
The question of what happens if you don't update a profile for a long
time and how Guix handles those files moves on is a good one. I think
those files should have an indication in there of what version of Guix
was used to produce them, such that you can time-machine back to ensure
you're compatible.
I don't think there's much drawback to having both the auto-generated
files and a command that generates them. That seems more discoverable -
you might happen across the files when you poke into a profile, or you
might notice the command while reading the docs or the help output.
Glad to see this capability land any which way, this is something that
comes up often!
While we're considering putting a manifest in the profile, is this a
good time to also bring up the idea of renaming the "manifest" file? It
confuses more people all the time. I'd be inclined to rename it
"profile-metadata" or "lockfile". 
Attachment: file
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Pierre Neidhardt wrote on 31 Jan 2021 18:26
(name . Ludovic Courtès)(address . ludo@gnu.org)
875z3dqaq5.fsf@ambrevar.xyz
Hi!

Ludovic Courtès <ludo@gnu.org> writes:

Toggle quote (5 lines)
> Here are practical issues that come to mind:
>
> • It would only work for newer profiles, created after the feature has
> been implemented (maybe that’s okay).

Indeed, I think it's OK! :)

Toggle quote (5 lines)
> • The generated files might use APIs that, in the meantime, got
> deprecated or changed somehow. This is in contrast with
> ‘--export-profile’, which interprets ‘manifest’ (a versioned file
> format) and produces code that can use the API du jour.

/run/current-system/configuration.scm suffers from the same problem.
But with the manifest we could do better, we could include a version
number one way or another.
Besides, since it comes together with channels.scm, we know which Guix
was used, so we always have access to the Guix with the right API to
install the manifest.

All in all, I think this is not a problem.

Toggle quote (3 lines)
> • One would still have to learn about these two files, and pick the
> right “manifest” file.

I think it would be easier than a command. See below.

Toggle quote (4 lines)
> • For users of ‘-m my-manifest.scm’, we would need to store
> ‘my-manifest.scm’ as is instead of generating an approximation
> thereof.

Which seems easy to do, isn't it?


Another use-case which I find useful and comes close to this feature is
that of channel/manifest versioning, in the sense of keeping these files
under version control for instance in a Git repository. This can be
useful to keep the history of everything, even deleted generations, or
even in case of hardware failure.

To that end, it'd be nice if we could export these files automatically
to a designated location.

Example: I update ~/my-profile and it automatically produces / overwrite
~/repos/guix-profile-metadata.git/my-profile/channels.scm and
~/repos/guix-profile-metadata.git/my-profile/manifest.scm.

This way I can commit these 2 files in my guix-profile-metadata.git
repository.

Food for thoughts :)

--
Pierre Neidhardt
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Ludovic Courtès wrote on 1 Feb 2021 14:25
(name . Pierre Neidhardt)(address . mail@ambrevar.xyz)
8735yfhqcd.fsf_-_@gnu.org
Hi,

Pierre Neidhardt <mail@ambrevar.xyz> skribis:

Toggle quote (2 lines)
> Ludovic Courtès <ludo@gnu.org> writes:

[...]

Toggle quote (7 lines)
>> • The generated files might use APIs that, in the meantime, got
>> deprecated or changed somehow. This is in contrast with
>> ‘--export-profile’, which interprets ‘manifest’ (a versioned file
>> format) and produces code that can use the API du jour.
>
> /run/current-system/configuration.scm suffers from the same problem.

Not really because it’s precisely the file that you gave to build the
system. So you know you can run:

cd /run/current-system
guix time-machine -C channels.scm -- system reconfigure configuration.scm

and it’ll work (modulo the documented caveats).

Toggle quote (6 lines)
> But with the manifest we could do better, we could include a version
> number one way or another.
> Besides, since it comes together with channels.scm, we know which Guix
> was used, so we always have access to the Guix with the right API to
> install the manifest.

Right.

Toggle quote (11 lines)
>> • One would still have to learn about these two files, and pick the
>> right “manifest” file.
>
> I think it would be easier than a command. See below.
>
>> • For users of ‘-m my-manifest.scm’, we would need to store
>> ‘my-manifest.scm’ as is instead of generating an approximation
>> thereof.
>
> Which seems easy to do, isn't it?

I take it that you’re volunteering? :-)

Nothing’s difficult, but in this case we’d need to pass the original
manifest down to ‘profile-generation’. Requires some redesign.

Toggle quote (16 lines)
> Another use-case which I find useful and comes close to this feature is
> that of channel/manifest versioning, in the sense of keeping these files
> under version control for instance in a Git repository. This can be
> useful to keep the history of everything, even deleted generations, or
> even in case of hardware failure.
>
> To that end, it'd be nice if we could export these files automatically
> to a designated location.
>
> Example: I update ~/my-profile and it automatically produces / overwrite
> ~/repos/guix-profile-metadata.git/my-profile/channels.scm and
> ~/repos/guix-profile-metadata.git/my-profile/manifest.scm.
>
> This way I can commit these 2 files in my guix-profile-metadata.git
> repository.

I guess you could do that either with ‘cp
~/.guix-profile/{channels,manifest.scm …’ or with ‘guix package
--export-manifest … > …’.

But again, that’s not really the goal here. The goal is to help users
willing to migrate from the “imperative” mode to the declarative mode.
Once you’re using a manifest, probably you’ll want to put that under
version control, but that’s already the case.

Thanks,
Ludo’.
L
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Ludovic Courtès wrote on 1 Feb 2021 14:30
(name . Ryan Prior)(address . ryanprior@hey.com)
87v9bbgbju.fsf_-_@gnu.org
Hi,

Ryan Prior <ryanprior@hey.com> skribis:

Toggle quote (5 lines)
> I don't think there's much drawback to having both the auto-generated
> files and a command that generates them. That seems more discoverable -
> you might happen across the files when you poke into a profile, or you
> might notice the command while reading the docs or the help output.

Note that the ‘manifest’ file starts with a comment. This patch set
updates this comment so it mentions ‘--export-channels’.

Toggle quote (3 lines)
> Glad to see this capability land any which way, this is something that
> comes up often!

Heh, good. :-)

Toggle quote (5 lines)
> While we're considering putting a manifest in the profile, is this a
> good time to also bring up the idea of renaming the "manifest" file? It
> confuses more people all the time. I'd be inclined to rename it
> "profile-metadata" or "lockfile". 

It’s the kind of thing that can’t really be changed, or at least not
without a looong transition period, because older ‘guix package’
commands wouldn’t recognize profiles that lack a ‘manifest’ file.

Thanks for your feedback,
Ludo’.
P
P
Pierre Neidhardt wrote on 1 Feb 2021 16:32
(name . Ludovic Courtès)(address . ludo@gnu.org)
87v9bbolbq.fsf@ambrevar.xyz
Ludovic Courtès <ludo@gnu.org> writes:

Toggle quote (23 lines)
> Hi,
>
> Pierre Neidhardt <mail@ambrevar.xyz> skribis:
>
>> Ludovic Courtès <ludo@gnu.org> writes:
>
> [...]
>
>>> • The generated files might use APIs that, in the meantime, got
>>> deprecated or changed somehow. This is in contrast with
>>> ‘--export-profile’, which interprets ‘manifest’ (a versioned file
>>> format) and produces code that can use the API du jour.
>>
>> /run/current-system/configuration.scm suffers from the same problem.
>
> Not really because it’s precisely the file that you gave to build the
> system. So you know you can run:
>
> cd /run/current-system
> guix time-machine -C channels.scm -- system reconfigure configuration.scm
>
> and it’ll work (modulo the documented caveats).

Ha, actually no, it won't always work! :)
Configuration.scm is only the file passed to `guix system reconfigure`,
but is this file inherits from other user Guile modules, then the
configuration.scm won't be sufficient to regenerate the system.

You could argue that it's a user problem, but still, there is an
"impurity" here! :p

Toggle quote (3 lines)
> But again, that’s not really the goal here. The goal is to help users
> willing to migrate from the “imperative” mode to the declarative mode.

Sure, but my thinking is that we could hit two birds we one stone here.
If we only think one half of the problem, we might end up with too many
commands or an interface that's not flexible enough.

Toggle quote (3 lines)
> Once you’re using a manifest, probably you’ll want to put that under
> version control, but that’s already the case.

The channels.scm files are missing though.

My two cents! :)

Cheers!

--
Pierre Neidhardt
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Ludovic Courtès wrote on 1 Feb 2021 18:04
87im7bk9dm.fsf_-_@gnu.org
Hi!

So I went ahead and pushed this patch series as
15078567c17851ef0f2b017119f305e0d5e8a140.

We can always improve from here, and hopefully getting actual user
feedback will help us see the pros and cons of this option.

Thanks!

Ludo’.
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