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| -rw-r--r-- | doc/guix.texi | 55 |
1 files changed, 51 insertions, 4 deletions
diff --git a/doc/guix.texi b/doc/guix.texi index 3b1c72460d..28bdfb2152 100644 --- a/doc/guix.texi +++ b/doc/guix.texi @@ -80,6 +80,7 @@ Documentation License.'' * Package Management:: Package installation, upgrade, etc. * Programming Interface:: Using Guix in Scheme. * Utilities:: Package management commands. +* GNU Distribution:: Software for your friendly GNU system. * Acknowledgments:: Thanks! * GNU Free Documentation License:: The license of this manual. @@ -131,6 +132,10 @@ Guix has a command-line interface allowing users to build, install, upgrade, and remove packages, as well as a Scheme programming interface. The remainder of this manual describes them. +Last but not least, Guix is used to build a distribution of the GNU +system, with many GNU and non-GNU free software packages. @xref{GNU +Distribution}. + @c ********************************************************************* @node Installation @chapter Installation @@ -427,7 +432,7 @@ Each @file{/nix/store} package directory name contains a hash of all the inputs that were used to build that package---compiler, libraries, build scripts, etc. This direct correspondence allows users to make sure a given package installation matches the current state of their -distribution. +distribution, and helps maximize @dfn{reproducibility}. @c FIXME: Remove footnote when it's implemented. This foundation allows Guix to support @dfn{transparent binary/source @@ -538,9 +543,9 @@ the store. @item --list-available[=@var{regexp}] @itemx -A [@var{regexp}] -List packages currently available in the software distribution. When -@var{regexp} is specified, list only installed packages whose name -matches @var{regexp}. +List packages currently available in the software distribution +(@pxref{GNU Distribution}). When @var{regexp} is specified, list only +installed packages whose name matches @var{regexp}. For each package, print the following items separated by tabs: its name, its version string, the parts of the package (@code{out} for the main @@ -1058,6 +1063,48 @@ the @code{package-derivation} procedure of the @code{(guix packages)} module, and to the @code{build-derivations} procedure of the @code{(guix store)} module. +@c ********************************************************************* +@node GNU Distribution +@chapter GNU Distribution + +Guix comes with a distribution of free software@footnote{The term +``free'' here refers to the +@url{http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html,freedom provided to +users of that software}.} that form the basis of the GNU system. This +includes core GNU packages such as GNU libc, GCC, and Binutils, as well +as many GNU and non-GNU applications. The complete list of available +packages can be seen by running @command{guix-package} (@pxref{Invoking +guix-package}): + +@example +guix-package --list-available +@end example + +The package definitions of the distribution may are provided by Guile +modules in the @code{(gnu packages ...)} name space---for instance, the +@code{(gnu packages emacs)} module exports a variable named +@code{emacs}, which is bound to a @code{<package>} object +(@pxref{Defining Packages}). The @code{(gnu packages)} module provides +facilities for searching for packages. + +The distribution is fully @dfn{bootstrapped} and @dfn{self-contained}: +each package is built based solely on other packages in the +distribution. The root of this dependency graph is a small set of +@dfn{bootstrap binaries}, provided by the @code{(gnu packages +bootstrap)} module. These are statically-linked binaries of the core +tools without which building anything at all would be impossible. + + +Our goal is to build a practical 100% free software distribution of +Linux-based and other variants of GNU, with a focus on the promotion and +tight integration of GNU components, and an emphasis on programs and +tools that help users exert that freedom. + +Building this distribution is a cooperative effort, and you are invited +to join! Please get in touch with us on @email{bug-guix@@gnu.org}. We +welcome ideas, bug reports, patches, and anything that may be helpful to +the project. + @c ********************************************************************* @node Acknowledgments |