[Nix-dev] Underspecified 'disabled' attributes in python-packages.nix

[Luca Bruno]

On 24/02/2015 16:29, Peter Simons wrote:
> Hi guys,
>
> many Python packages specify an attribute that disables build attempts
> in certain packages sets, like this:
>
>     beaker = buildPythonPackage rec {
>       name = "Beaker-1.6.4";
>       disabled = isPy3k;
>       [...]
>     };
>
> Unfortunately, that information does not propagate to other packages
> that use them. The package "almir", for instance, depends on "beaker"
> but *allows* Python 3.x builds. The result is an evaluation error on
> Hydra:
>
>     in job ‘python33Packages.almir.x86_64-linux’:
>     Package ‘python3.3-Beaker-1.6.4’ in ‘/nix/store/vr71jj15vk57p0mb85annpszswhhf7f4-git-export/pkgs/development/python-modules/generic/default.nix:57’ is marked as broken, refusing to evaluate.
>
> As of now, we have dozens of those errors in [1]. I have tried to make
> some headway getting rid of those errors, but manually fixing all those
> under-specified "disabled" attributes is a bit of fools errand, because
> without a doubt those specifications will become inconsistent again over
> time!
>
> Now, we should really try to have Zero evalutation errors on Hydra,
> because those "false" messages drown out real errors, which would need
> fixing. I'm not particularly involved in the maintenance of the Python
> package set, so I'd like to bring this issue to the attention of those
> who know more about Python and work more with Python in Nixpkgs than I
> do. Can we solve this issue somehow in a way that doesn't require human
> beings to fix everything manually?
>
> Best regards,
> Peter
Afaik it's not only a python "disabled" problem. It also happens for
"meta.broken" that doesn't get propagated.