[Nix-dev] Getting nix-0.15 into *.rpm packaging

[Jeff Johnson]

This is likely of little interest to anyone
already using NixOS.

But in order to use NixOS one does need to
bootstrap through some means. And one
of those means is *.rpm packages for Nix.

Your current nix-0.15 packages are rather deficient
(I'm not at all surprised ;-)

But some rather simple changes would make nix rpm packages
acceptable to be included with various distros.

I've done some of the necessary changes to make nix acceptable
for inclusion in RPM based distros here:

    http://jbj.org/files/nix/nix-0.15-1.src.rpm

Visiting "dependency hell" to use bzip2 *.rpm externally,
and perhaps to put libATerm in its own sub-package
would be the remaining steps.

(aside)
Note that the nix-0.15 API is currently unusable because
nix is in transition to something else instead. The transition
is fine, but you might want to permit use of Nix includes
and libraries during the transition. I (for one) am
attempting to link with Nix libraries in order to
use the Nix expression parser. Without resurrecting
libATerm somehow, the includes/libraries in nix-0.15 are
useless.

Any interest in better *.rpm packaging for nix?

BTW, I giggled quite a bit at this comment in the nix.spec file:

	# Hack to make that shitty RPM scanning hack shut up.

No offense taken whatsoever, just, well, its really a Perl, not an RPM,
problem. Until Perl hackers cease to practice their Artistic license,
well, there really isn't a better solution. JMHO.

Note that I've removed the need for the dependency in nix*.rpm by eliminating
/usr/bin/perl usage. WORKSFORME, YMMV.

73 de Jeff