[Nix-dev] Popularizing Nixpkgs/Nix/NixOS among FLOSS (Free/Libre and Open Source Software) developers

[Wout Mertens]

Pretty sure this will happen automatically once nixpkgs is more
user-friendly.

Imagine that for example the Discourse team could, instead of distributing
a VM, say "install nix and run nix-env -i discourse", which would install
the ruby environment and the required services on any Unix.

Right now, you can't do that, because ruby on nixpkgs isn't quite there,
and several environment variables are required, and we don't have
nixpkgs-level services.

It's totally doable, just not in place right now.
And it would rock.

Wout.
On Oct 4, 2014 3:37 AM, "Anderson Torres" <torres.anderson.85 at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Hello, Nixers!
>
> I was thinking on it some days ago. How about popularize NixOS among
> FLOSS software developers?
>
> It is very common among FLOSS developers to point out precompiled
> packages or some similar facilities for the most famous operating
> systems and distros, like Ubuntu/Debian/Fedora mirrors, Slackware
> unofficial slackbuilds, AUR Archlinux, Gentoo overlays, the famous
> *BSD freshports/pkgsrc...
>
> Why not to contact some of them we are packaging and ask them to cite
> us out? It would be a good idea in many sights:
>
> - We would become more famous, which would attract more hackers to our
> projects;
>
> - We would suggest bugfixes on various softwares, namely those full of
> hackings on Nixpkgs. The Nixpkgs approach is a bit different from
> those of other distros/OSes and it helps to find some obscure bugs,
> mainly the lack of a serious dependency control and some tacit
> assumptions (like ldconfig, absolute paths, undocumented features,
> etc.);
>
> - Our suggestions would be a valuable benefit from all other package
> managers - after all, we are suggesting bugfixes on serious,
> insidious, hard-to-find packaging bugs.
>
> - We can serve as an indirect buildfarm for most of FLOSS world, with
> our Hydra servers. Well, I don't know if our Hydra server is really
> prepared for a so hard and huge task, but it would be even improved
> by donations from great companies (we would be famous now, remember?
> :D )
>
>
> What about this, guys?
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