[Nix-dev] Proposal: adding fetchapt support to nixpkgs

[Arnold Krille]

On Tue, 25 Oct 2016 04:42:28 +0000 Chuan-kai Lin <chklin at gmail.com>
wrote:
> I have been thinking about adding Debian-package-fetching
> functionality (tentatively named fetchapt) into nixpkgs, and I'd like
> to hear your thoughts.
> 
> First, why would anyone want such a thing?
> 
> Nixpkgs retrieves some unfree software (e.g., google-chrome) through
> binary packages in Debian packaging format, through vendor
> repositories (e.g., dl.google.com).  Currently, retrieving the binary
> packages involves manually specifying package version number and hash
> value in a nixpkg. This approach has a few advantages; for example,
> users can look at nixpkg and determine exactly which version of the
> software is being installed.

This is _the_ argument for nix. I think its even the reason why nix was
invented. It gives you reproducible builds, generations, deployments,
machines. All from one git-revision. If you take that away by fetching
the actual software version each time the expression is evaluated, you
loose that. The builds will not be deterministic anymore. So on your
test-system the new chrome release will be stable. But when you finally
approve it for the production environment, the upstream/debian package
will already have changed…

- Arnold
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