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Diffstat (limited to 'doc/manual/src/language')
| -rw-r--r-- | doc/manual/src/language/advanced-attributes.md | 257 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | doc/manual/src/language/builtin-constants.md | 20 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | doc/manual/src/language/builtins-prefix.md | 16 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | doc/manual/src/language/builtins-suffix.md | 1 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | doc/manual/src/language/constructs.md | 354 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | doc/manual/src/language/derivations.md | 161 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | doc/manual/src/language/index.md | 13 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | doc/manual/src/language/operators.md | 28 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | doc/manual/src/language/values.md | 261 |
9 files changed, 1111 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/doc/manual/src/language/advanced-attributes.md b/doc/manual/src/language/advanced-attributes.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..2e7e80ed0 --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/manual/src/language/advanced-attributes.md @@ -0,0 +1,257 @@ +# Advanced Attributes + +Derivations can declare some infrequently used optional attributes. + + - [`allowedReferences`]{#adv-attr-allowedReferences}\ + The optional attribute `allowedReferences` specifies a list of legal + references (dependencies) of the output of the builder. For example, + + ```nix + allowedReferences = []; + ``` + + enforces that the output of a derivation cannot have any runtime + dependencies on its inputs. To allow an output to have a runtime + dependency on itself, use `"out"` as a list item. This is used in + NixOS to check that generated files such as initial ramdisks for + booting Linux don’t have accidental dependencies on other paths in + the Nix store. + + - [`allowedRequisites`]{#adv-attr-allowedRequisites}\ + This attribute is similar to `allowedReferences`, but it specifies + the legal requisites of the whole closure, so all the dependencies + recursively. For example, + + ```nix + allowedRequisites = [ foobar ]; + ``` + + enforces that the output of a derivation cannot have any other + runtime dependency than `foobar`, and in addition it enforces that + `foobar` itself doesn't introduce any other dependency itself. + + - [`disallowedReferences`]{#adv-attr-disallowedReferences}\ + The optional attribute `disallowedReferences` specifies a list of + illegal references (dependencies) of the output of the builder. For + example, + + ```nix + disallowedReferences = [ foo ]; + ``` + + enforces that the output of a derivation cannot have a direct + runtime dependencies on the derivation `foo`. + + - [`disallowedRequisites`]{#adv-attr-disallowedRequisites}\ + This attribute is similar to `disallowedReferences`, but it + specifies illegal requisites for the whole closure, so all the + dependencies recursively. For example, + + ```nix + disallowedRequisites = [ foobar ]; + ``` + + enforces that the output of a derivation cannot have any runtime + dependency on `foobar` or any other derivation depending recursively + on `foobar`. + + - [`exportReferencesGraph`]{#adv-attr-exportReferencesGraph}\ + This attribute allows builders access to the references graph of + their inputs. The attribute is a list of inputs in the Nix store + whose references graph the builder needs to know. The value of + this attribute should be a list of pairs `[ name1 path1 name2 + path2 ... ]`. The references graph of each *pathN* will be stored + in a text file *nameN* in the temporary build directory. The text + files have the format used by `nix-store --register-validity` + (with the deriver fields left empty). For example, when the + following derivation is built: + + ```nix + derivation { + ... + exportReferencesGraph = [ "libfoo-graph" libfoo ]; + }; + ``` + + the references graph of `libfoo` is placed in the file + `libfoo-graph` in the temporary build directory. + + `exportReferencesGraph` is useful for builders that want to do + something with the closure of a store path. Examples include the + builders in NixOS that generate the initial ramdisk for booting + Linux (a `cpio` archive containing the closure of the boot script) + and the ISO-9660 image for the installation CD (which is populated + with a Nix store containing the closure of a bootable NixOS + configuration). + + - [`impureEnvVars`]{#adv-attr-impureEnvVars}\ + This attribute allows you to specify a list of environment variables + that should be passed from the environment of the calling user to + the builder. Usually, the environment is cleared completely when the + builder is executed, but with this attribute you can allow specific + environment variables to be passed unmodified. For example, + `fetchurl` in Nixpkgs has the line + + ```nix + impureEnvVars = [ "http_proxy" "https_proxy" ... ]; + ``` + + to make it use the proxy server configuration specified by the user + in the environment variables `http_proxy` and friends. + + This attribute is only allowed in *fixed-output derivations* (see + below), where impurities such as these are okay since (the hash + of) the output is known in advance. It is ignored for all other + derivations. + + > **Warning** + > + > `impureEnvVars` implementation takes environment variables from + > the current builder process. When a daemon is building its + > environmental variables are used. Without the daemon, the + > environmental variables come from the environment of the + > `nix-build`. + + - [`outputHash`]{#adv-attr-outputHash}; [`outputHashAlgo`]{#adv-attr-outputHashAlgo}; [`outputHashMode`]{#adv-attr-outputHashMode}\ + These attributes declare that the derivation is a so-called + *fixed-output derivation*, which means that a cryptographic hash of + the output is already known in advance. When the build of a + fixed-output derivation finishes, Nix computes the cryptographic + hash of the output and compares it to the hash declared with these + attributes. If there is a mismatch, the build fails. + + The rationale for fixed-output derivations is derivations such as + those produced by the `fetchurl` function. This function downloads a + file from a given URL. To ensure that the downloaded file has not + been modified, the caller must also specify a cryptographic hash of + the file. For example, + + ```nix + fetchurl { + url = "http://ftp.gnu.org/pub/gnu/hello/hello-2.1.1.tar.gz"; + sha256 = "1md7jsfd8pa45z73bz1kszpp01yw6x5ljkjk2hx7wl800any6465"; + } + ``` + + It sometimes happens that the URL of the file changes, e.g., because + servers are reorganised or no longer available. We then must update + the call to `fetchurl`, e.g., + + ```nix + fetchurl { + url = "ftp://ftp.nluug.nl/pub/gnu/hello/hello-2.1.1.tar.gz"; + sha256 = "1md7jsfd8pa45z73bz1kszpp01yw6x5ljkjk2hx7wl800any6465"; + } + ``` + + If a `fetchurl` derivation was treated like a normal derivation, the + output paths of the derivation and *all derivations depending on it* + would change. For instance, if we were to change the URL of the + Glibc source distribution in Nixpkgs (a package on which almost all + other packages depend) massive rebuilds would be needed. This is + unfortunate for a change which we know cannot have a real effect as + it propagates upwards through the dependency graph. + + For fixed-output derivations, on the other hand, the name of the + output path only depends on the `outputHash*` and `name` attributes, + while all other attributes are ignored for the purpose of computing + the output path. (The `name` attribute is included because it is + part of the path.) + + As an example, here is the (simplified) Nix expression for + `fetchurl`: + + ```nix + { stdenv, curl }: # The curl program is used for downloading. + + { url, sha256 }: + + stdenv.mkDerivation { + name = baseNameOf (toString url); + builder = ./builder.sh; + buildInputs = [ curl ]; + + # This is a fixed-output derivation; the output must be a regular + # file with SHA256 hash sha256. + outputHashMode = "flat"; + outputHashAlgo = "sha256"; + outputHash = sha256; + + inherit url; + } + ``` + + The `outputHashAlgo` attribute specifies the hash algorithm used to + compute the hash. It can currently be `"sha1"`, `"sha256"` or + `"sha512"`. + + The `outputHashMode` attribute determines how the hash is computed. + It must be one of the following two values: + + - `"flat"`\ + The output must be a non-executable regular file. If it isn’t, + the build fails. The hash is simply computed over the contents + of that file (so it’s equal to what Unix commands like + `sha256sum` or `sha1sum` produce). + + This is the default. + + - `"recursive"`\ + The hash is computed over the NAR archive dump of the output + (i.e., the result of [`nix-store + --dump`](../command-ref/nix-store.md#operation---dump)). In + this case, the output can be anything, including a directory + tree. + + The `outputHash` attribute, finally, must be a string containing + the hash in either hexadecimal or base-32 notation. (See the + [`nix-hash` command](../command-ref/nix-hash.md) for information + about converting to and from base-32 notation.) + + - [`__contentAddressed`]{#adv-attr-__contentAddressed} + If this **experimental** attribute is set to true, then the derivation + outputs will be stored in a content-addressed location rather than the + traditional input-addressed one. + This only has an effect if the `ca-derivation` experimental feature is enabled. + + Setting this attribute also requires setting `outputHashMode` and `outputHashAlgo` like for *fixed-output derivations* (see above). + + - [`passAsFile`]{#adv-attr-passAsFile}\ + A list of names of attributes that should be passed via files rather + than environment variables. For example, if you have + + ```nix + passAsFile = ["big"]; + big = "a very long string"; + ``` + + then when the builder runs, the environment variable `bigPath` + will contain the absolute path to a temporary file containing `a + very long string`. That is, for any attribute *x* listed in + `passAsFile`, Nix will pass an environment variable `xPath` + holding the path of the file containing the value of attribute + *x*. This is useful when you need to pass large strings to a + builder, since most operating systems impose a limit on the size + of the environment (typically, a few hundred kilobyte). + + - [`preferLocalBuild`]{#adv-attr-preferLocalBuild}\ + If this attribute is set to `true` and [distributed building is + enabled](../advanced-topics/distributed-builds.md), then, if + possible, the derivation will be built locally instead of forwarded + to a remote machine. This is appropriate for trivial builders + where the cost of doing a download or remote build would exceed + the cost of building locally. + + - [`allowSubstitutes`]{#adv-attr-allowSubstitutes}\ + If this attribute is set to `false`, then Nix will always build this + derivation; it will not try to substitute its outputs. This is + useful for very trivial derivations (such as `writeText` in Nixpkgs) + that are cheaper to build than to substitute from a binary cache. + + > **Note** + > + > You need to have a builder configured which satisfies the + > derivation’s `system` attribute, since the derivation cannot be + > substituted. Thus it is usually a good idea to align `system` with + > `builtins.currentSystem` when setting `allowSubstitutes` to + > `false`. For most trivial derivations this should be the case. diff --git a/doc/manual/src/language/builtin-constants.md b/doc/manual/src/language/builtin-constants.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..78d066a82 --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/manual/src/language/builtin-constants.md @@ -0,0 +1,20 @@ +# Built-in Constants + +Here are the constants built into the Nix expression evaluator: + + - `builtins`\ + The set `builtins` contains all the built-in functions and values. + You can use `builtins` to test for the availability of features in + the Nix installation, e.g., + + ```nix + if builtins ? getEnv then builtins.getEnv "PATH" else "" + ``` + + This allows a Nix expression to fall back gracefully on older Nix + installations that don’t have the desired built-in function. + + - [`builtins.currentSystem`]{#builtins-currentSystem}\ + The built-in value `currentSystem` evaluates to the Nix platform + identifier for the Nix installation on which the expression is being + evaluated, such as `"i686-linux"` or `"x86_64-darwin"`. diff --git a/doc/manual/src/language/builtins-prefix.md b/doc/manual/src/language/builtins-prefix.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..c631a8453 --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/manual/src/language/builtins-prefix.md @@ -0,0 +1,16 @@ +# Built-in Functions + +This section lists the functions built into the Nix expression +evaluator. (The built-in function `derivation` is discussed above.) +Some built-ins, such as `derivation`, are always in scope of every Nix +expression; you can just access them right away. But to prevent +polluting the namespace too much, most built-ins are not in +scope. Instead, you can access them through the `builtins` built-in +value, which is a set that contains all built-in functions and values. +For instance, `derivation` is also available as `builtins.derivation`. + +<dl> + <dt><code>derivation <var>attrs</var></code>; + <code>builtins.derivation <var>attrs</var></code></dt> + <dd><p><var>derivation</var> is described in + <a href="derivations.md">its own section</a>.</p></dd> diff --git a/doc/manual/src/language/builtins-suffix.md b/doc/manual/src/language/builtins-suffix.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..a74db2857 --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/manual/src/language/builtins-suffix.md @@ -0,0 +1 @@ +</dl> diff --git a/doc/manual/src/language/constructs.md b/doc/manual/src/language/constructs.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..1c01f2cc7 --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/manual/src/language/constructs.md @@ -0,0 +1,354 @@ +# Language Constructs + +## Recursive sets + +Recursive sets are just normal sets, but the attributes can refer to +each other. For example, + +```nix +rec { + x = y; + y = 123; +}.x +``` + +evaluates to `123`. Note that without `rec` the binding `x = y;` would +refer to the variable `y` in the surrounding scope, if one exists, and +would be invalid if no such variable exists. That is, in a normal +(non-recursive) set, attributes are not added to the lexical scope; in a +recursive set, they are. + +Recursive sets of course introduce the danger of infinite recursion. For +example, the expression + +```nix +rec { + x = y; + y = x; +}.x +``` + +will crash with an `infinite recursion encountered` error message. + +## Let-expressions + +A let-expression allows you to define local variables for an expression. +For instance, + +```nix +let + x = "foo"; + y = "bar"; +in x + y +``` + +evaluates to `"foobar"`. + +## Inheriting attributes + +When defining a set or in a let-expression it is often convenient to +copy variables from the surrounding lexical scope (e.g., when you want +to propagate attributes). This can be shortened using the `inherit` +keyword. For instance, + +```nix +let x = 123; in +{ inherit x; + y = 456; +} +``` + +is equivalent to + +```nix +let x = 123; in +{ x = x; + y = 456; +} +``` + +and both evaluate to `{ x = 123; y = 456; }`. (Note that this works +because `x` is added to the lexical scope by the `let` construct.) It is +also possible to inherit attributes from another set. For instance, in +this fragment from `all-packages.nix`, + +```nix +graphviz = (import ../tools/graphics/graphviz) { + inherit fetchurl stdenv libpng libjpeg expat x11 yacc; + inherit (xlibs) libXaw; +}; + +xlibs = { + libX11 = ...; + libXaw = ...; + ... +} + +libpng = ...; +libjpg = ...; +... +``` + +the set used in the function call to the function defined in +`../tools/graphics/graphviz` inherits a number of variables from the +surrounding scope (`fetchurl` ... `yacc`), but also inherits `libXaw` +(the X Athena Widgets) from the `xlibs` (X11 client-side libraries) set. + +Summarizing the fragment + +```nix +... +inherit x y z; +inherit (src-set) a b c; +... +``` + +is equivalent to + +```nix +... +x = x; y = y; z = z; +a = src-set.a; b = src-set.b; c = src-set.c; +... +``` + +when used while defining local variables in a let-expression or while +defining a set. + +## Functions + +Functions have the following form: + +```nix +pattern: body +``` + +The pattern specifies what the argument of the function must look like, +and binds variables in the body to (parts of) the argument. There are +three kinds of patterns: + + - If a pattern is a single identifier, then the function matches any + argument. Example: + + ```nix + let negate = x: !x; + concat = x: y: x + y; + in if negate true then concat "foo" "bar" else "" + ``` + + Note that `concat` is a function that takes one argument and returns + a function that takes another argument. This allows partial + parameterisation (i.e., only filling some of the arguments of a + function); e.g., + + ```nix + map (concat "foo") [ "bar" "bla" "abc" ] + ``` + + evaluates to `[ "foobar" "foobla" "fooabc" ]`. + + - A *set pattern* of the form `{ name1, name2, …, nameN }` matches a + set containing the listed attributes, and binds the values of those + attributes to variables in the function body. For example, the + function + + ```nix + { x, y, z }: z + y + x + ``` + + can only be called with a set containing exactly the attributes `x`, + `y` and `z`. No other attributes are allowed. If you want to allow + additional arguments, you can use an ellipsis (`...`): + + ```nix + { x, y, z, ... }: z + y + x + ``` + + This works on any set that contains at least the three named + attributes. + + It is possible to provide *default values* for attributes, in + which case they are allowed to be missing. A default value is + specified by writing `name ? e`, where *e* is an arbitrary + expression. For example, + + ```nix + { x, y ? "foo", z ? "bar" }: z + y + x + ``` + + specifies a function that only requires an attribute named `x`, but + optionally accepts `y` and `z`. + + - An `@`-pattern provides a means of referring to the whole value + being matched: + + ```nix + args@{ x, y, z, ... }: z + y + x + args.a + ``` + + but can also be written as: + + ```nix + { x, y, z, ... } @ args: z + y + x + args.a + ``` + + Here `args` is bound to the entire argument, which is further + matched against the pattern `{ x, y, z, + ... }`. `@`-pattern makes mainly sense with an ellipsis(`...`) as + you can access attribute names as `a`, using `args.a`, which was + given as an additional attribute to the function. + + > **Warning** + > + > The `args@` expression is bound to the argument passed to the + > function which means that attributes with defaults that aren't + > explicitly specified in the function call won't cause an + > evaluation error, but won't exist in `args`. + > + > For instance + > + > ```nix + > let + > function = args@{ a ? 23, ... }: args; + > in + > function {} + > ```` + > + > will evaluate to an empty attribute set. + +Note that functions do not have names. If you want to give them a name, +you can bind them to an attribute, e.g., + +```nix +let concat = { x, y }: x + y; +in concat { x = "foo"; y = "bar"; } +``` + +## Conditionals + +Conditionals look like this: + +```nix +if e1 then e2 else e3 +``` + +where *e1* is an expression that should evaluate to a Boolean value +(`true` or `false`). + +## Assertions + +Assertions are generally used to check that certain requirements on or +between features and dependencies hold. They look like this: + +```nix +assert e1; e2 +``` + +where *e1* is an expression that should evaluate to a Boolean value. If +it evaluates to `true`, *e2* is returned; otherwise expression +evaluation is aborted and a backtrace is printed. + +Here is a Nix expression for the Subversion package that shows how +assertions can be used:. + +```nix +{ localServer ? false +, httpServer ? false +, sslSupport ? false +, pythonBindings ? false +, javaSwigBindings ? false +, javahlBindings ? false +, stdenv, fetchurl +, openssl ? null, httpd ? null, db4 ? null, expat, swig ? null, j2sdk ? null +}: + +assert localServer -> db4 != null; ① +assert httpServer -> httpd != null && httpd.expat == expat; ② +assert sslSupport -> openssl != null && (httpServer -> httpd.openssl == openssl); ③ +assert pythonBindings -> swig != null && swig.pythonSupport; +assert javaSwigBindings -> swig != null && swig.javaSupport; +assert javahlBindings -> j2sdk != null; + +stdenv.mkDerivation { + name = "subversion-1.1.1"; + ... + openssl = if sslSupport then openssl else null; ④ + ... +} +``` + +The points of interest are: + +1. This assertion states that if Subversion is to have support for + local repositories, then Berkeley DB is needed. So if the Subversion + function is called with the `localServer` argument set to `true` but + the `db4` argument set to `null`, then the evaluation fails. + + Note that `->` is the [logical + implication](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truth_table#Logical_implication) + Boolean operation. + +2. This is a more subtle condition: if Subversion is built with Apache + (`httpServer`) support, then the Expat library (an XML library) used + by Subversion should be same as the one used by Apache. This is + because in this configuration Subversion code ends up being linked + with Apache code, and if the Expat libraries do not match, a build- + or runtime link error or incompatibility might occur. + +3. This assertion says that in order for Subversion to have SSL support + (so that it can access `https` URLs), an OpenSSL library must be + passed. Additionally, it says that *if* Apache support is enabled, + then Apache's OpenSSL should match Subversion's. (Note that if + Apache support is not enabled, we don't care about Apache's + OpenSSL.) + +4. The conditional here is not really related to assertions, but is + worth pointing out: it ensures that if SSL support is disabled, then + the Subversion derivation is not dependent on OpenSSL, even if a + non-`null` value was passed. This prevents an unnecessary rebuild of + Subversion if OpenSSL changes. + +## With-expressions + +A *with-expression*, + +```nix +with e1; e2 +``` + +introduces the set *e1* into the lexical scope of the expression *e2*. +For instance, + +```nix +let as = { x = "foo"; y = "bar"; }; +in with as; x + y +``` + +evaluates to `"foobar"` since the `with` adds the `x` and `y` attributes +of `as` to the lexical scope in the expression `x + y`. The most common +use of `with` is in conjunction with the `import` function. E.g., + +```nix +with (import ./definitions.nix); ... +``` + +makes all attributes defined in the file `definitions.nix` available as +if they were defined locally in a `let`-expression. + +The bindings introduced by `with` do not shadow bindings introduced by +other means, e.g. + +```nix +let a = 3; in with { a = 1; }; let a = 4; in with { a = 2; }; ... +``` + +establishes the same scope as + +```nix +let a = 1; in let a = 2; in let a = 3; in let a = 4; in ... +``` + +## Comments + +Comments can be single-line, started with a `#` character, or +inline/multi-line, enclosed within `/* ... */`. diff --git a/doc/manual/src/language/derivations.md b/doc/manual/src/language/derivations.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..3391ec0d8 --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/manual/src/language/derivations.md @@ -0,0 +1,161 @@ +# Derivations + +The most important built-in function is `derivation`, which is used to +describe a single derivation (a build action). It takes as input a set, +the attributes of which specify the inputs of the build. + + - There must be an attribute named [`system`]{#attr-system} whose value must be a + string specifying a Nix system type, such as `"i686-linux"` or + `"x86_64-darwin"`. (To figure out your system type, run `nix -vv + --version`.) The build can only be performed on a machine and + operating system matching the system type. (Nix can automatically + [forward builds for other + platforms](../advanced-topics/distributed-builds.md) by forwarding + them to other machines.) + + - There must be an attribute named `name` whose value must be a + string. This is used as a symbolic name for the package by + `nix-env`, and it is appended to the output paths of the derivation. + + - There must be an attribute named `builder` that identifies the + program that is executed to perform the build. It can be either a + derivation or a source (a local file reference, e.g., + `./builder.sh`). + + - Every attribute is passed as an environment variable to the builder. + Attribute values are translated to environment variables as follows: + + - Strings and numbers are just passed verbatim. + + - A *path* (e.g., `../foo/sources.tar`) causes the referenced file + to be copied to the store; its location in the store is put in + the environment variable. The idea is that all sources should + reside in the Nix store, since all inputs to a derivation should + reside in the Nix store. + + - A *derivation* causes that derivation to be built prior to the + present derivation; its default output path is put in the + environment variable. + + - Lists of the previous types are also allowed. They are simply + concatenated, separated by spaces. + + - `true` is passed as the string `1`, `false` and `null` are + passed as an empty string. + + - The optional attribute `args` specifies command-line arguments to be + passed to the builder. It should be a list. + + - The optional attribute `outputs` specifies a list of symbolic + outputs of the derivation. By default, a derivation produces a + single output path, denoted as `out`. However, derivations can + produce multiple output paths. This is useful because it allows + outputs to be downloaded or garbage-collected separately. For + instance, imagine a library package that provides a dynamic library, + header files, and documentation. A program that links against the + library doesn’t need the header files and documentation at runtime, + and it doesn’t need the documentation at build time. Thus, the + library package could specify: + + ```nix + outputs = [ "lib" "headers" "doc" ]; + ``` + + This will cause Nix to pass environment variables `lib`, `headers` + and `doc` to the builder containing the intended store paths of each + output. The builder would typically do something like + + ```bash + ./configure \ + --libdir=$lib/lib \ + --includedir=$headers/include \ + --docdir=$doc/share/doc + ``` + + for an Autoconf-style package. You can refer to each output of a + derivation by selecting it as an attribute, e.g. + + ```nix + buildInputs = [ pkg.lib pkg.headers ]; + ``` + + The first element of `outputs` determines the *default output*. + Thus, you could also write + + ```nix + buildInputs = [ pkg pkg.headers ]; + ``` + + since `pkg` is equivalent to `pkg.lib`. + +The function `mkDerivation` in the Nixpkgs standard environment is a +wrapper around `derivation` that adds a default value for `system` and +always uses Bash as the builder, to which the supplied builder is passed +as a command-line argument. See the Nixpkgs manual for details. + +The builder is executed as follows: + + - A temporary directory is created under the directory specified by + `TMPDIR` (default `/tmp`) where the build will take place. The + current directory is changed to this directory. + + - The environment is cleared and set to the derivation attributes, as + specified above. + + - In addition, the following variables are set: + + - `NIX_BUILD_TOP` contains the path of the temporary directory for + this build. + + - Also, `TMPDIR`, `TEMPDIR`, `TMP`, `TEMP` are set to point to the + temporary directory. This is to prevent the builder from + accidentally writing temporary files anywhere else. Doing so + might cause interference by other processes. + + - `PATH` is set to `/path-not-set` to prevent shells from + initialising it to their built-in default value. + + - `HOME` is set to `/homeless-shelter` to prevent programs from + using `/etc/passwd` or the like to find the user's home + directory, which could cause impurity. Usually, when `HOME` is + set, it is used as the location of the home directory, even if + it points to a non-existent path. + + - `NIX_STORE` is set to the path of the top-level Nix store + directory (typically, `/nix/store`). + + - For each output declared in `outputs`, the corresponding + environment variable is set to point to the intended path in the + Nix store for that output. Each output path is a concatenation + of the cryptographic hash of all build inputs, the `name` + attribute and the output name. (The output name is omitted if + it’s `out`.) + + - If an output path already exists, it is removed. Also, locks are + acquired to prevent multiple Nix instances from performing the same + build at the same time. + + - A log of the combined standard output and error is written to + `/nix/var/log/nix`. + + - The builder is executed with the arguments specified by the + attribute `args`. If it exits with exit code 0, it is considered to + have succeeded. + + - The temporary directory is removed (unless the `-K` option was + specified). + + - If the build was successful, Nix scans each output path for + references to input paths by looking for the hash parts of the input + paths. Since these are potential runtime dependencies, Nix registers + them as dependencies of the output paths. + + - After the build, Nix sets the last-modified timestamp on all files + in the build result to 1 (00:00:01 1/1/1970 UTC), sets the group to + the default group, and sets the mode of the file to 0444 or 0555 + (i.e., read-only, with execute permission enabled if the file was + originally executable). Note that possible `setuid` and `setgid` + bits are cleared. Setuid and setgid programs are not currently + supported by Nix. This is because the Nix archives used in + deployment have no concept of ownership information, and because it + makes the build result dependent on the user performing the build. diff --git a/doc/manual/src/language/index.md b/doc/manual/src/language/index.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..c4b3abf75 --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/manual/src/language/index.md @@ -0,0 +1,13 @@ +# Nix Language + +The Nix language is a pure, lazy, functional language. Purity +means that operations in the language don't have side-effects (for +instance, there is no variable assignment). Laziness means that +arguments to functions are evaluated only when they are needed. +Functional means that functions are “normal” values that can be passed +around and manipulated in interesting ways. The language is not a +full-featured, general purpose language. Its main job is to describe +packages, compositions of packages, and the variability within packages. + +This section presents the various features of the language. + diff --git a/doc/manual/src/language/operators.md b/doc/manual/src/language/operators.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..32398189d --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/manual/src/language/operators.md @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +# Operators + +The table below lists the operators in the Nix language, in +order of precedence (from strongest to weakest binding). + +| Name | Syntax | Associativity | Description | Precedence | +| ------------------------ | ----------------------------------- | ------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------- | +| Select | *e* `.` *attrpath* \[ `or` *def* \] | none | Select attribute denoted by the attribute path *attrpath* from set *e*. (An attribute path is a dot-separated list of attribute names.) If the attribute doesn’t exist, return *def* if provided, otherwise abort evaluation. | 1 | +| Application | *e1* *e2* | left | Call function *e1* with argument *e2*. | 2 | +| Arithmetic Negation | `-` *e* | none | Arithmetic negation. | 3 | +| Has Attribute | *e* `?` *attrpath* | none | Test whether set *e* contains the attribute denoted by *attrpath*; return `true` or `false`. | 4 | +| List Concatenation | *e1* `++` *e2* | right | List concatenation. | 5 | +| Multiplication | *e1* `*` *e2*, | left | Arithmetic multiplication. | 6 | +| Division | *e1* `/` *e2* | left | Arithmetic division. | 6 | +| Addition | *e1* `+` *e2* | left | Arithmetic addition. | 7 | +| Subtraction | *e1* `-` *e2* | left | Arithmetic subtraction. | 7 | +| String Concatenation | *string1* `+` *string2* | left | String concatenation. | 7 | +| Not | `!` *e* | none | Boolean negation. | 8 | +| Update | *e1* `//` *e2* | right | Return a set consisting of the attributes in *e1* and *e2* (with the latter taking precedence over the former in case of equally named attributes). | 9 | +| Less Than | *e1* `<` *e2*, | none | Arithmetic/lexicographic comparison. | 10 | +| Less Than or Equal To | *e1* `<=` *e2* | none | Arithmetic/lexicographic comparison. | 10 | +| Greater Than | *e1* `>` *e2* | none | Arithmetic/lexicographic comparison. | 10 | +| Greater Than or Equal To | *e1* `>=` *e2* | none | Arithmetic/lexicographic comparison. | 10 | +| Equality | *e1* `==` *e2* | none | Equality. | 11 | +| Inequality | *e1* `!=` *e2* | none | Inequality. | 11 | +| Logical AND | *e1* `&&` *e2* | left | Logical AND. | 12 | +| Logical OR | *e1* <code>||</code> *e2* | left | Logical OR. | 13 | +| Logical Implication | *e1* `->` *e2* | none | Logical implication (equivalent to <code>!e1 || e2</code>). | 14 | diff --git a/doc/manual/src/language/values.md b/doc/manual/src/language/values.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..f09400d02 --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/manual/src/language/values.md @@ -0,0 +1,261 @@ +# Data Types + +## Primitives + +- <a id="type-string" href="#type-string">String</a> + + *Strings* can be written in three ways. + + The most common way is to enclose the string between double quotes, + e.g., `"foo bar"`. Strings can span multiple lines. The special + characters `"` and `\` and the character sequence `${` must be + escaped by prefixing them with a backslash (`\`). Newlines, carriage + returns and tabs can be written as `\n`, `\r` and `\t`, + respectively. + + You can include the result of an expression into a string by + enclosing it in `${...}`, a feature known as *antiquotation*. The + enclosed expression must evaluate to something that can be coerced + into a string (meaning that it must be a string, a path, or a + derivation). For instance, rather than writing + + ```nix + "--with-freetype2-library=" + freetype + "/lib" + ``` + + (where `freetype` is a derivation), you can instead write the more + natural + + ```nix + "--with-freetype2-library=${freetype}/lib" + ``` + + The latter is automatically translated to the former. A more + complicated example (from the Nix expression for + [Qt](http://www.trolltech.com/products/qt)): + + ```nix + configureFlags = " + -system-zlib -system-libpng -system-libjpeg + ${if openglSupport then "-dlopen-opengl + -L${mesa}/lib -I${mesa}/include + -L${libXmu}/lib -I${libXmu}/include" else ""} + ${if threadSupport then "-thread" else "-no-thread"} + "; + ``` + + Note that Nix expressions and strings can be arbitrarily nested; in + this case the outer string contains various antiquotations that + themselves contain strings (e.g., `"-thread"`), some of which in + turn contain expressions (e.g., `${mesa}`). + + The second way to write string literals is as an *indented string*, + which is enclosed between pairs of *double single-quotes*, like so: + + ```nix + '' + This is the first line. + This is the second line. + This is the third line. + '' + ``` + + This kind of string literal intelligently strips indentation from + the start of each line. To be precise, it strips from each line a + number of spaces equal to the minimal indentation of the string as a + whole (disregarding the indentation of empty lines). For instance, + the first and second line are indented two spaces, while the third + line is indented four spaces. Thus, two spaces are stripped from + each line, so the resulting string is + + ```nix + "This is the first line.\nThis is the second line.\n This is the third line.\n" + ``` + + Note that the whitespace and newline following the opening `''` is + ignored if there is no non-whitespace text on the initial line. + + Antiquotation (`${expr}`) is supported in indented strings. + + Since `${` and `''` have special meaning in indented strings, you + need a way to quote them. `$` can be escaped by prefixing it with + `''` (that is, two single quotes), i.e., `''$`. `''` can be escaped + by prefixing it with `'`, i.e., `'''`. `$` removes any special + meaning from the following `$`. Linefeed, carriage-return and tab + characters can be written as `''\n`, `''\r`, `''\t`, and `''\` + escapes any other character. + + Indented strings are primarily useful in that they allow multi-line + string literals to follow the indentation of the enclosing Nix + expression, and that less escaping is typically necessary for + strings representing languages such as shell scripts and + configuration files because `''` is much less common than `"`. + Example: + + ```nix + stdenv.mkDerivation { + ... + postInstall = + '' + mkdir $out/bin $out/etc + cp foo $out/bin + echo "Hello World" > $out/etc/foo.conf + ${if enableBar then "cp bar $out/bin" else ""} + ''; + ... + } + ``` + + Finally, as a convenience, *URIs* as defined in appendix B of + [RFC 2396](http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2396.txt) can be written *as + is*, without quotes. For instance, the string + `"http://example.org/foo.tar.bz2"` can also be written as + `http://example.org/foo.tar.bz2`. + +- <a id="type-number" href="#type-number">Number</a> + + Numbers, which can be *integers* (like `123`) or *floating point* + (like `123.43` or `.27e13`). + + Numbers are type-compatible: pure integer operations will always + return integers, whereas any operation involving at least one + floating point number will have a floating point number as a result. + +- <a id="type-path" href="#type-path">Path</a> + + *Paths*, e.g., `/bin/sh` or `./builder.sh`. A path must contain at + least one slash to be recognised as such. For instance, `builder.sh` + is not a path: it's parsed as an expression that selects the + attribute `sh` from the variable `builder`. If the file name is + relative, i.e., if it does not begin with a slash, it is made + absolute at parse time relative to the directory of the Nix + expression that contained it. For instance, if a Nix expression in + `/foo/bar/bla.nix` refers to `../xyzzy/fnord.nix`, the absolute path + is `/foo/xyzzy/fnord.nix`. + + If the first component of a path is a `~`, it is interpreted as if + the rest of the path were relative to the user's home directory. + e.g. `~/foo` would be equivalent to `/home/edolstra/foo` for a user + whose home directory is `/home/edolstra`. + + Paths can also be specified between angle brackets, e.g. + `<nixpkgs>`. This means that the directories listed in the + environment variable `NIX_PATH` will be searched for the given file + or directory name. + + Antiquotation is supported in any paths except those in angle brackets. + `./${foo}-${bar}.nix` is a more convenient way of writing + `./. + "/" + foo + "-" + bar + ".nix"` or `./. + "/${foo}-${bar}.nix"`. At + least one slash must appear *before* any antiquotations for this to be + recognized as a path. `a.${foo}/b.${bar}` is a syntactically valid division + operation. `./a.${foo}/b.${bar}` is a path. + +- <a id="type-boolean" href="#type-boolean">Boolean</a> + + *Booleans* with values `true` and `false`. + +- <a id="type-null" href="#type-null">Null</a> + + The null value, denoted as `null`. + +## List + +Lists are formed by enclosing a whitespace-separated list of values +between square brackets. For example, + +```nix +[ 123 ./foo.nix "abc" (f { x = y; }) ] +``` + +defines a list of four elements, the last being the result of a call to +the function `f`. Note that function calls have to be enclosed in +parentheses. If they had been omitted, e.g., + +```nix +[ 123 ./foo.nix "abc" f { x = y; } ] +``` + +the result would be a list of five elements, the fourth one being a +function and the fifth being a set. + +Note that lists are only lazy in values, and they are strict in length. + +## Attribute Set + +An attribute set is a collection of name-value-pairs (called *attributes*) enclosed in curly brackets (`{ }`). + +Names and values are separated by an equal sign (`=`). +Each value is an arbitrary expression terminated by a semicolon (`;`). + +Attributes can appear in any order. +An attribute name may only occur once. + +Example: + +```nix +{ + x = 123; + text = "Hello"; + y = f { bla = 456; }; +} +``` + +This defines a set with attributes named `x`, `text`, `y`. + +Attributes can be selected from a set using the `.` operator. For +instance, + +```nix +{ a = "Foo"; b = "Bar"; }.a +``` + +evaluates to `"Foo"`. It is possible to provide a default value in an +attribute selection using the `or` keyword. For example, + +```nix +{ a = "Foo"; b = "Bar"; }.c or "Xyzzy" +``` + +will evaluate to `"Xyzzy"` because there is no `c` attribute in the set. + +You can use arbitrary double-quoted strings as attribute names: + +```nix +{ "foo ${bar}" = 123; "nix-1.0" = 456; }."foo ${bar}" +``` + +This will evaluate to `123` (Assuming `bar` is antiquotable). In the +case where an attribute name is just a single antiquotation, the quotes +can be dropped: + +```nix +{ foo = 123; }.${bar} or 456 +``` + +This will evaluate to `123` if `bar` evaluates to `"foo"` when coerced +to a string and `456` otherwise (again assuming `bar` is antiquotable). + +In the special case where an attribute name inside of a set declaration +evaluates to `null` (which is normally an error, as `null` is not +antiquotable), that attribute is simply not added to the set: + +```nix +{ ${if foo then "bar" else null} = true; } +``` + +This will evaluate to `{}` if `foo` evaluates to `false`. + +A set that has a `__functor` attribute whose value is callable (i.e. is +itself a function or a set with a `__functor` attribute whose value is +callable) can be applied as if it were a function, with the set itself +passed in first , e.g., + +```nix +let add = { __functor = self: x: x + self.x; }; + inc = add // { x = 1; }; +in inc 1 +``` + +evaluates to `2`. This can be used to attach metadata to a function +without the caller needing to treat it specially, or to implement a form +of object-oriented programming, for example. |