Merge pull request #5585 from jtojnar/env-a

doc: De-emphasize nix-env without -A

9 files changed, 79 insertions, 60 deletions

diff --git a/doc/manual/src/command-ref/nix-env.md b/doc/manual/src/command-ref/nix-env.md
index 5217510d7..8d6abaf52 100644
--- a/doc/manual/src/command-ref/nix-env.md
+++ b/doc/manual/src/command-ref/nix-env.md
@@ -238,7 +238,16 @@ a number of possible ways:
 
 ## Examples
 
-To install a specific version of `gcc` from the active Nix expression:
+To install a package using a specific attribute path from the active Nix expression:
+
+```console
+$ nix-env -iA gcc40mips
+installing `gcc-4.0.2'
+$ nix-env -iA xorg.xorgserver
+installing `xorg-server-1.2.0'
+```
+
+To install a specific version of `gcc` using the derivation name:
 
 ```console
 $ nix-env --install gcc-3.3.2
@@ -246,6 +255,9 @@ installing `gcc-3.3.2'
 uninstalling `gcc-3.1'
 ```
 
+Using attribute path for selecting a package is preferred,
+as it is much faster and there will not be multiple matches.
+
 Note the previously installed version is removed, since
 `--preserve-installed` was not specified.
 
@@ -256,13 +268,6 @@ $ nix-env --install gcc
 installing `gcc-3.3.2'
 ```
 
-To install using a specific attribute:
-
-```console
-$ nix-env -i -A gcc40mips
-$ nix-env -i -A xorg.xorgserver
-```
-
 To install all derivations in the Nix expression `foo.nix`:
 
 ```console
@@ -374,22 +379,29 @@ For the other flags, see `--install`.
 ## Examples
 
 ```console
-$ nix-env --upgrade gcc
+$ nix-env --upgrade -A nixpkgs.gcc
 upgrading `gcc-3.3.1' to `gcc-3.4'
 ```
 
+When there are no updates available, nothing will happen:
+
 ```console
-$ nix-env -u gcc-3.3.2 --always (switch to a specific version)
-upgrading `gcc-3.4' to `gcc-3.3.2'
+$ nix-env --upgrade -A nixpkgs.pan
 ```
 
+Using `-A` is preferred when possible, as it is faster and unambiguous but
+it is also possible to upgrade to a specific version by matching the derivation name:
+
 ```console
-$ nix-env --upgrade pan
-(no upgrades available, so nothing happens)
+$ nix-env -u gcc-3.3.2 --always
+upgrading `gcc-3.4' to `gcc-3.3.2'
 ```
 
+To try to upgrade everything
+(matching packages based on the part of the derivation name without version):
+
 ```console
-$ nix-env -u (try to upgrade everything)
+$ nix-env -u
 upgrading `hello-2.1.2' to `hello-2.1.3'
 upgrading `mozilla-1.2' to `mozilla-1.4'
 ```
diff --git a/doc/manual/src/command-ref/opt-common.md b/doc/manual/src/command-ref/opt-common.md
index 47862bc09..7ee1a26bc 100644
--- a/doc/manual/src/command-ref/opt-common.md
+++ b/doc/manual/src/command-ref/opt-common.md
@@ -162,11 +162,11 @@ Most Nix commands accept the following command-line options:
     }: ...
     ```
 
-    So if you call this Nix expression (e.g., when you do `nix-env -i
+    So if you call this Nix expression (e.g., when you do `nix-env -iA
     pkgname`), the function will be called automatically using the
     value [`builtins.currentSystem`](../expressions/builtins.md) for
     the `system` argument. You can override this using `--arg`, e.g.,
-    `nix-env -i pkgname --arg system \"i686-freebsd\"`. (Note that
+    `nix-env -iA pkgname --arg system \"i686-freebsd\"`. (Note that
     since the argument is a Nix string literal, you have to escape the
     quotes.)
 
diff --git a/doc/manual/src/expressions/simple-building-testing.md b/doc/manual/src/expressions/simple-building-testing.md
index 6f730a936..7f0d8f841 100644
--- a/doc/manual/src/expressions/simple-building-testing.md
+++ b/doc/manual/src/expressions/simple-building-testing.md
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Building and Testing
 
-You can now try to build Hello. Of course, you could do `nix-env -i
+You can now try to build Hello. Of course, you could do `nix-env -f . -iA
 hello`, but you may not want to install a possibly broken package just
 yet. The best way to test the package is by using the command
 `nix-build`, which builds a Nix expression and creates a symlink named
diff --git a/doc/manual/src/introduction.md b/doc/manual/src/introduction.md
index 93ec502c1..d87487a07 100644
--- a/doc/manual/src/introduction.md
+++ b/doc/manual/src/introduction.md
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ there after an upgrade.  This means that you can _roll back_ to the
 old version:
 
 ```console
-$ nix-env --upgrade some-packages
+$ nix-env --upgrade -A nixpkgs.some-package
 $ nix-env --rollback
 ```
 
@@ -122,7 +122,7 @@ Nix expressions generally describe how to build a package from
 source, so an installation action like
 
 ```console
-$ nix-env --install firefox
+$ nix-env --install -A nixpkgs.firefox
 ```
 
 _could_ cause quite a bit of build activity, as not only Firefox but
diff --git a/doc/manual/src/package-management/basic-package-mgmt.md b/doc/manual/src/package-management/basic-package-mgmt.md
index 9702a29eb..50c6d3c2d 100644
--- a/doc/manual/src/package-management/basic-package-mgmt.md
+++ b/doc/manual/src/package-management/basic-package-mgmt.md
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ collection; you could write your own Nix expressions based on Nixpkgs,
 or completely new ones.)
 
 You can manually download the latest version of Nixpkgs from
-<http://nixos.org/nixpkgs/download.html>. However, it’s much more
+<https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs>. However, it’s much more
 convenient to use the Nixpkgs [*channel*](channels.md), since it makes
 it easy to stay up to date with new versions of Nixpkgs. Nixpkgs is
 automatically added to your list of “subscribed” channels when you
@@ -47,41 +47,45 @@ $ nix-channel --update
 You can view the set of available packages in Nixpkgs:
 
 ```console
-$ nix-env -qa
-aterm-2.2
-bash-3.0
-binutils-2.15
-bison-1.875d
-blackdown-1.4.2
-bzip2-1.0.2
+$ nix-env -qaP
+nixpkgs.aterm                       aterm-2.2
+nixpkgs.bash                        bash-3.0
+nixpkgs.binutils                    binutils-2.15
+nixpkgs.bison                       bison-1.875d
+nixpkgs.blackdown                   blackdown-1.4.2
+nixpkgs.bzip2                       bzip2-1.0.2
 …
 ```
 
-The flag `-q` specifies a query operation, and `-a` means that you want
+The flag `-q` specifies a query operation, `-a` means that you want
 to show the “available” (i.e., installable) packages, as opposed to the
-installed packages. If you downloaded Nixpkgs yourself, or if you
-checked it out from GitHub, then you need to pass the path to your
-Nixpkgs tree using the `-f` flag:
+installed packages, and `-P` prints the attribute paths that can be used
+to unambiguously select a package for installation (listed in the first column).
+If you downloaded Nixpkgs yourself, or if you checked it out from GitHub,
+then you need to pass the path to your Nixpkgs tree using the `-f` flag:
 
 ```console
-$ nix-env -qaf /path/to/nixpkgs
+$ nix-env -qaPf /path/to/nixpkgs
+aterm                               aterm-2.2
+bash                                bash-3.0
+…
 ```
 
 where */path/to/nixpkgs* is where you’ve unpacked or checked out
 Nixpkgs.
 
-You can select specific packages by name:
+You can filter the packages by name:
 
 ```console
-$ nix-env -qa firefox
-firefox-34.0.5
-firefox-with-plugins-34.0.5
+$ nix-env -qaP firefox
+nixpkgs.firefox-esr                 firefox-91.3.0esr
+nixpkgs.firefox                     firefox-94.0.1
 ```
 
 and using regular expressions:
 
 ```console
-$ nix-env -qa 'firefox.*'
+$ nix-env -qaP 'firefox.*'
 ```
 
 It is also possible to see the *status* of available packages, i.e.,
@@ -89,11 +93,11 @@ whether they are installed into the user environment and/or present in
 the system:
 
 ```console
-$ nix-env -qas
+$ nix-env -qaPs
 …
--PS bash-3.0
---S binutils-2.15
-IPS bison-1.875d
+-PS  nixpkgs.bash                bash-3.0
+--S  nixpkgs.binutils            binutils-2.15
+IPS  nixpkgs.bison               bison-1.875d
 …
 ```
 
@@ -106,13 +110,13 @@ which is Nix’s mechanism for doing binary deployment. It just means that
 Nix knows that it can fetch a pre-built package from somewhere
 (typically a network server) instead of building it locally.
 
-You can install a package using `nix-env -i`. For instance,
+You can install a package using `nix-env -iA`. For instance,
 
 ```console
-$ nix-env -i subversion
+$ nix-env -iA nixpkgs.subversion
 ```
 
-will install the package called `subversion` (which is, of course, the
+will install the package called `subversion` from `nixpkgs` channel (which is, of course, the
 [Subversion version management system](http://subversion.tigris.org/)).
 
 > **Note**
@@ -122,7 +126,7 @@ will install the package called `subversion` (which is, of course, the
 > binary cache <https://cache.nixos.org>; it contains binaries for most
 > packages in Nixpkgs. Only if no binary is available in the binary
 > cache, Nix will build the package from source. So if `nix-env
-> -i subversion` results in Nix building stuff from source, then either
+> -iA nixpkgs.subversion` results in Nix building stuff from source, then either
 > the package is not built for your platform by the Nixpkgs build
 > servers, or your version of Nixpkgs is too old or too new. For
 > instance, if you have a very recent checkout of Nixpkgs, then the
@@ -133,7 +137,10 @@ will install the package called `subversion` (which is, of course, the
 > using a Git checkout of the Nixpkgs tree), you will get binaries for
 > most packages.
 
-Naturally, packages can also be uninstalled:
+Naturally, packages can also be uninstalled. Unlike when installing, you will
+need to use the derivation name (though the version part can be omitted),
+instead of the attribute path, as `nix-env` does not record which attribute
+was used for installing:
 
 ```console
 $ nix-env -e subversion
@@ -143,7 +150,7 @@ Upgrading to a new version is just as easy. If you have a new release of
 Nix Packages, you can do:
 
 ```console
-$ nix-env -u subversion
+$ nix-env -uA nixpkgs.subversion
 ```
 
 This will *only* upgrade Subversion if there is a “newer” version in the
diff --git a/doc/manual/src/package-management/binary-cache-substituter.md b/doc/manual/src/package-management/binary-cache-substituter.md
index bdc5038fc..ef738794b 100644
--- a/doc/manual/src/package-management/binary-cache-substituter.md
+++ b/doc/manual/src/package-management/binary-cache-substituter.md
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ The daemon that handles binary cache requests via HTTP, `nix-serve`, is
 not part of the Nix distribution, but you can install it from Nixpkgs:
 
 ```console
-$ nix-env -i nix-serve
+$ nix-env -iA nixpkgs.nix-serve
 ```
 
 You can then start the server, listening for HTTP connections on
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ On the client side, you can tell Nix to use your binary cache using
 `--option extra-binary-caches`, e.g.:
 
 ```console
-$ nix-env -i firefox --option extra-binary-caches http://avalon:8080/
+$ nix-env -iA nixpkgs.firefox --option extra-binary-caches http://avalon:8080/
 ```
 
 The option `extra-binary-caches` tells Nix to use this binary cache in
diff --git a/doc/manual/src/package-management/profiles.md b/doc/manual/src/package-management/profiles.md
index fbbfb7320..d1a2580d4 100644
--- a/doc/manual/src/package-management/profiles.md
+++ b/doc/manual/src/package-management/profiles.md
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ just Subversion 1.1.2 (arrows in the figure indicate symlinks). This
 would be what we would obtain if we had done
 
 ```console
-$ nix-env -i subversion
+$ nix-env -iA nixpkgs.subversion
 ```
 
 on a set of Nix expressions that contained Subversion 1.1.2.
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ environment is generated based on the current one. For instance,
 generation 43 was created from generation 42 when we did
 
 ```console
-$ nix-env -i subversion firefox
+$ nix-env -iA nixpkgs.subversion nixpkgs.firefox
 ```
 
 on a set of Nix expressions that contained Firefox and a new version of
@@ -127,7 +127,7 @@ All `nix-env` operations work on the profile pointed to by
 (abbreviation `-p`):
 
 ```console
-$ nix-env -p /nix/var/nix/profiles/other-profile -i subversion
+$ nix-env -p /nix/var/nix/profiles/other-profile -iA nixpkgs.subversion
 ```
 
 This will *not* change the `~/.nix-profile` symlink.
diff --git a/doc/manual/src/package-management/ssh-substituter.md b/doc/manual/src/package-management/ssh-substituter.md
index 6e5e258bc..c59933f61 100644
--- a/doc/manual/src/package-management/ssh-substituter.md
+++ b/doc/manual/src/package-management/ssh-substituter.md
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ automatically fetching any store paths in Firefox’s closure if they are
 available on the server `avalon`:
 
 ```console
-$ nix-env -i firefox --substituters ssh://alice@avalon
+$ nix-env -iA nixpkgs.firefox --substituters ssh://alice@avalon
 ```
 
 This works similar to the binary cache substituter that Nix usually
diff --git a/doc/manual/src/quick-start.md b/doc/manual/src/quick-start.md
index 71205923b..b54e73500 100644
--- a/doc/manual/src/quick-start.md
+++ b/doc/manual/src/quick-start.md
@@ -19,19 +19,19 @@ to subsequent chapters.
    channel:
 
    ```console
-   $ nix-env -qa
-   docbook-xml-4.3
-   docbook-xml-4.5
-   firefox-33.0.2
-   hello-2.9
-   libxslt-1.1.28
+   $ nix-env -qaP
+   nixpkgs.docbook_xml_dtd_43                    docbook-xml-4.3
+   nixpkgs.docbook_xml_dtd_45                    docbook-xml-4.5
+   nixpkgs.firefox                               firefox-33.0.2
+   nixpkgs.hello                                 hello-2.9
+   nixpkgs.libxslt                               libxslt-1.1.28
    …
    ```
 
 1. Install some packages from the channel:
 
    ```console
-   $ nix-env -i hello
+   $ nix-env -iA nixpkgs.hello
    ```
 
    This should download pre-built packages; it should not build them