From 025086edeaa6fc39ee8b5bc6fcad3cc64c2fd0c2 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Eelco Dolstra Date: Wed, 14 Sep 2005 18:50:45 +0000 Subject: * Release notes in Docbook; ASCII release notes (i.e., the `NEWS' file) is now generated from that using `w3m' and some XSL hackery. --- doc/manual/Makefile.am | 19 +- doc/manual/introduction.xml | 11 +- doc/manual/quote-literals.xsl | 46 +++ doc/manual/release-notes.xml | 505 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ doc/manual/writing-nix-expressions.xml | 5 + 5 files changed, 581 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-) create mode 100644 doc/manual/quote-literals.xsl create mode 100644 doc/manual/release-notes.xml (limited to 'doc') diff --git a/doc/manual/Makefile.am b/doc/manual/Makefile.am index 81367fd14..2cc376612 100644 --- a/doc/manual/Makefile.am +++ b/doc/manual/Makefile.am @@ -37,7 +37,24 @@ manual.html: $(MANUAL_SRCS) manual.is-valid images $(XSLTPROC) --nonet --xinclude --output manual.html \ $(docbookxsl)/html/docbook.xsl manual.xml -all-local: manual.html + +NEWS_OPTS = \ + --stringparam generate.toc "article nop" \ + --stringparam section.autolabel.max.depth 0 \ + --stringparam header.rule 0 + +NEWS.html: release-notes.xml + $(XSLTPROC) --nonet --xinclude --output $@ $(NEWS_OPTS) \ + $(docbookxsl)/html/docbook.xsl release-notes.xml + +NEWS.txt: release-notes.xml + $(XSLTPROC) --nonet --xinclude quote-literals.xsl release-notes.xml | \ + $(XSLTPROC) --nonet --output $@.tmp.html $(NEWS_OPTS) \ + $(docbookxsl)/html/docbook.xsl - + w3m -dump $@.tmp.html > $@ + + +all-local: manual.html NEWS.html NEWS.txt install-data-local: manual.html $(INSTALL) -d $(DESTDIR)$(datadir)/nix/manual diff --git a/doc/manual/introduction.xml b/doc/manual/introduction.xml index 9f94b2d53..fb6e79fcb 100644 --- a/doc/manual/introduction.xml +++ b/doc/manual/introduction.xml @@ -130,8 +130,8 @@ collection. It also discusses some advanced topics, such as setting up a Nix-based build farm, and doing service deployment using Nix. -Some background information on Nix can be found in three -papers. The ICSE 2004 paper Some background information on Nix can be found in a +number of papers. The ICSE 2004 paper Imposing a Memory Management Discipline on Software Deployment discusses the hashing mechanism used to @@ -144,7 +144,10 @@ Deployment gives a more general discussion of Nix from a system-administration perspective. The CBSE 2005 paper Efficient Upgrading in a Purely Functional Component Deployment Model - is about transparent patch deployment in -Nix. + is about transparent patch deployment in Nix. +Finally, the SCM-12 paper +Service Configuration Management shows how services (e.g., web +servers) can be deployed and managed through Nix. diff --git a/doc/manual/quote-literals.xsl b/doc/manual/quote-literals.xsl new file mode 100644 index 000000000..acc7c8a0b --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/manual/quote-literals.xsl @@ -0,0 +1,46 @@ + + + + + + + `' + + + + + + + + + + + +
+ + + +
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + diff --git a/doc/manual/release-notes.xml b/doc/manual/release-notes.xml new file mode 100644 index 000000000..669fcc26f --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/manual/release-notes.xml @@ -0,0 +1,505 @@ + + + +
Nix Release Notes + + +
Release 0.9 + +NOTE: this version of Nix uses Berkeley DB 4.3 instead of 4.2. +The database is upgraded automatically, but you should be careful not +to use old versions of Nix that still use Berkeley DB 4.2. In +particular, if you use a Nix installed through Nix, you should run + + +$ nix-store --clear-substitutes + +first. + + + + + Unpacking of patch sequences is much faster now + since we no longer do redundant unpacking and repacking of + intermediate paths. + + Nix now uses Berkeley DB 4.3. + + The derivation primitive is + lazier. Attributes of dependent derivations can mutually refer to + each other (as long as there are no data dependencies on the + outPath and drvPath attributes + computed by derivation). + + For example, the expression derivation + attrs now evaluates to (essentially) + + +attrs // { + type = "derivation"; + outPath = derivation! attrs; + drvPath = derivation! attrs; +} + + where derivation! is a primop that does the + actual derivation instantiation (i.e., it does what + derivation used to do). The advantage is that + it allows commands such as nix-env -qa and + nix-env -i to be much faster since they no longer + need to instantiate all derivations, just the + name attribute. + + Also, it allows derivations to cyclically reference each + other, for example, + + +webServer = derivation { + ... + hostName = "svn.cs.uu.nl"; + services = [svnService]; +}; + +svnService = derivation { + ... + hostName = webServer.hostName; +}; + + Previously, this would yield a black hole (infinite recursion). + + + + nix-build now defaults to using + ./default.nix if no Nix expression is + specified. + + nix-instantiate, when applied to + a Nix expression that evaluates to a function, will call the + function automatically if all its arguments have + defaults. + + Nix now uses libtool to build dynamic libraries. + This reduces the size of executables. + + A new list concatenation operator + ++. For example, [1 2 3] ++ [4 5 + 6] evaluates to [1 2 3 4 5 + 6]. + + Some currently undocumented primops to support + low-level build management using Nix (i.e., using Nix as a Make + replacement). See the commit messages for r3578 + and r3580. + + Various bug fixes and performance + improvements. + + + +
+ + + +
Release 0.8 (April 11, 2005) + +NOTE: the hashing scheme in Nix 0.8 changed (as detailed below). +As a result, nix-pull manifests and channels built +for Nix 0.7 and below will now work anymore. However, the Nix +expression language has not changed, so you can still build from +source. Also, existing user environments continue to work. Nix 0.8 +will automatically upgrade the database schema of previous +installations when it is first run. + +If you get the error message + + +you have an old-style manifest `/nix/var/nix/manifests/[...]'; please +delete it + +you should delete previously downloaded manifests: + + +$ rm /nix/var/nix/manifests/* + +If nix-channel gives the error message + + +manifest `http://catamaran.labs.cs.uu.nl/dist/nix/channels/[channel]/MANIFEST' +is too old (i.e., for Nix <= 0.7) + +then you should unsubscribe from the offending channel +(nix-channel --remove +URL; leave out +/MANIFEST), and subscribe to the same URL, with +channels replaced by channels-v3 +(e.g., +http://catamaran.labs.cs.uu.nl/dist/nix/channels-v3/nixpkgs-unstable). + +Nix 0.8 has the following improvements: + + + + The cryptographic hashes used in store paths are now + 160 bits long, but encoded in base-32 so that they are still only 32 + characters long (e.g., + /nix/store/csw87wag8bqlqk7ipllbwypb14xainap-atk-1.9.0). (This is + actually a 160 bit truncation of a SHA-256 hash.) + + Big cleanups and simplifications of the basic store + semantics. The notion of "closure store expressions" is gone (and + so is the notion of "successors"); the file system references of a + store path are now just stored in the database. + + For instance, given any store path, you can query its closure: + + +$ nix-store -qR $(which firefox) +... lots of paths ... + + Also, Nix now remembers for each store path the derivation that + built it (the "deriver"): + + +$ nix-store -qR $(which firefox) +/nix/store/4b0jx7vq80l9aqcnkszxhymsf1ffa5jd-firefox-1.0.1.drv + + So to see the build-time dependencies, you can do + + +$ nix-store -qR $(nix-store -qd $(which firefox)) + + or, in a nicer format: + + +$ nix-store -q --tree $(nix-store -qd $(which firefox)) + + + + File system references are also stored in reverse. For + instance, you can query all paths that directly or indirectly use a + certain Glibc: + + +$ nix-store -q --referers-closure \ + /nix/store/8lz9yc6zgmc0vlqmn2ipcpkjlmbi51vv-glibc-2.3.4 + + + + + + The concept of fixed-output derivations has been + formalised. Previously, functions such as + fetchurl in Nixpkgs used a hack (namely, + explicitly specifying a store path hash) to prevent changes to, say, + the URL of the file from propagating upwards through the dependency + graph, causing rebuilds of everything. This can now be done cleanly + by specifying the outputHash and + outputHashAlgo attributes. Nix itself checks + that the content of the output has the specified hash. (This is + important for maintaining certain invariants necessary for future + work on secure shared stores.) + + One-click installation :-) It is now possible to + install any top-level component in Nixpkgs directly, through the web + - see, e.g., http://catamaran.labs.cs.uu.nl/dist/nixpkgs-0.8/. All + you have to do is associate + /nix/bin/nix-install-package with the MIME type + application/nix-package (or the extension + .nixpkg), and clicking on a package link will + cause it to be installed, with all appropriate dependencies. If you + just want to install some specific application, this is easier than + subscribing to a channel. + + nix-store -r + PATHS now builds all the + derivations PATHS in parallel. Previously it did them sequentially + (though exploiting possible parallelism between subderivations). + This is nice for build farms. + + nix-channel has new operations + and + . + + New ways of installing components into user + environments: + + + + Copy from another user environment: + + +$ nix-env -i --from-profile .../other-profile firefox + + + + Install a store derivation directly (bypassing the + Nix expression language entirely): + + +$ nix-env -i /nix/store/z58v41v21xd3...-aterm-2.3.1.drv + + (This is used to implement nix-install-package, + which is therefore immune to evolution in the Nix expression + language.) + + Install an already built store path directly: + + +$ nix-env -i /nix/store/hsyj5pbn0d9i...-aterm-2.3.1 + + + + Install the result of a Nix expression specified + as a command-line argument: + + +$ nix-env -f .../i686-linux.nix -i -E 'x: x.firefoxWrapper' + + The difference with the normal installation mode is that + does not use the name + attributes of derivations. Therefore, this can be used to + disambiguate multiple derivations with the same + name. + + + + A hash of the contents of a store path is now stored + in the database after a succesful build. This allows you to check + whether store paths have been tampered with: nix-store + --verify --check-contents. + + + + Implemented a concurrent garbage collector. It is now + always safe to run the garbage collector, even if other Nix + operations are happening simultaneously. + + However, there can still be GC races if you use + nix-instantiate and nix-store + --realise directly to build things. To prevent races, + use the flag of those commands. + + + + The garbage collector now finally deletes paths in + the right order (i.e., topologically sorted under the + references relation), thus making it safe to + interrupt the collector without risking a store that violates the + closure invariant. + + Likewise, the substitute mechanism now downloads + files in the right order, thus preserving the closure invariant at + all times. + + The result of nix-build is now + registered as a root of the garbage collector. If the + ./result link is deleted, the GC root + disappears automatically. + + + + The behaviour of the garbage collector can be changed + globally by setting options in + /nix/etc/nix/nix.conf. + + + + gc-keep-derivations specifies + whether deriver links should be followed when searching for live + paths. + + gc-keep-outputs specifies + whether outputs of derivations should be followed when searching + for live paths. + + env-keep-derivations + specifies whether user environments should store the paths of + derivations when they are added (thus keeping the derivations + alive). + + + + + + New nix-env query flags + and + . + + fetchurl allows SHA-1 and SHA-256 + in addition to MD5. Just specify the attribute + sha1 or sha256 instead of + md5. + + Manual updates. + + + + + +
+ + + +
Release 0.7 (January 12, 2005) + + + + Binary patching. When upgrading components using + pre-built binaries (through nix-pull / nix-channel), Nix can + automatically download and apply binary patches to already installed + components instead of full downloads. Patching is "smart": if there + is a *sequence* of patches to an installed component, Nix will use + it. Patches are currently generated automatically between Nixpkgs + (pre-)releases. + + Simplifications to the substitute + mechanism. + + Nix-pull now stores downloaded manifests in + /nix/var/nix/manifests. + + Metadata on files in the Nix store is canonicalised + after builds: the last-modified timestamp is set to 0 (00:00:00 + 1/1/1970), the mode is set to 0444 or 0555 (readable and possibly + executable by all; setuid/setgid bits are dropped), and the group is + set to the default. This ensures that the result of a build and an + installation through a substitute is the same; and that timestamp + dependencies are revealed. + + + +
+ + + +
Release 0.6 (November 14, 2004) + + + + + Rewrite of the normalisation engine. + + + + Multiple builds can now be performed in parallel + (option ). + + Distributed builds. Nix can now call a shell + script to forward builds to Nix installations on remote + machines, which may or may not be of the same platform + type. + + Option allows + recovery from broken substitutes. + + Option causes + building of other (unaffected) derivations to continue if one + failed. + + + + + + + + Improvements to the garbage collector (i.e., it + should actually work now). + + Setuid Nix installations allow a Nix store to be + shared among multiple users. + + Substitute registration is much faster + now. + + A utility nix-build to build a + Nix expression and create a symlink to the result int the current + directory; useful for testing Nix derivations. + + Manual updates. + + + + nix-env changes: + + + + Derivations for other platforms are filtered out + (which can be overriden using + ). + + by default now + uninstall previous derivations with the same + name. + + allows upgrading to a + specific version. + + New operation + to remove profile + generations (necessary for effective garbage + collection). + + Nicer output (sorted, + columnised). + + + + + + + + More sensible verbosity levels all around (builder + output is now shown always, unless is + given). + + + + Nix expression language changes: + + + + New language construct: with + E1; + E2 brings all attributes + defined in the attribute set E1 in + scope in E2. + + Added a map + function. + + Various new operators (e.g., string + concatenation). + + + + + + + + Expression evaluation is much + faster. + + An Emacs mode for editing Nix expressions (with + syntax highlighting and indentation) has been + added. + + Many bug fixes. + + + +
+ + + +
Release 0.5 and earlier + +Please refer to the Subversion commit log messages. + +
+ + + +
diff --git a/doc/manual/writing-nix-expressions.xml b/doc/manual/writing-nix-expressions.xml index d9c78dbec..222092f63 100644 --- a/doc/manual/writing-nix-expressions.xml +++ b/doc/manual/writing-nix-expressions.xml @@ -1046,6 +1046,11 @@ weakest binding). contains an attribute named id. + + e1 ++ e2 + right + List concatenation. + e1 + e2 left -- cgit v1.2.3