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Earlier quoted context omitted.
Alpine linux has a /etc/apk/world which is just a full list of all the packages currently installed I'm not a fan of nix but I'd say the nixos repository is fairly mature.
nixpkgs is (and has been for many years) the largest and most up to date package set by a very large margin. source: https://repology.org/
1. It tries to replace ALL package managers due its extreme philosophy. I had a lot of issues when it tries to replace Cargo for example
2. It uses a functional language, which will lose 95% of users
3. It never had a great user experience especially if you’re new and trying to learn or if you’re not using linux or if you bring your own tools (e.g. vscode)
I think something like that could totally exist one day, but it’ll have to restart from scratch on a cleaner base IMO
If you're interested in trying out NixOS I highly recommend either running it as an WSL2 VM[1] if you have a Windows machine or deploying it on a cheap VPS[2] to play around with.
I personally still use a Win11 desktop for compat with Adobe software and a few other bits and pieces, but I do all my serious work on a NixOS WSL2 VM.
I like the idea of nixos. Having one file responsible for all packages installed on the system is way better than what traditional distro use. I just don't like the quality of the packages. It would be nice if someone could do something like a os wide packages.json but for a mature packages repository like Debian.
Alpine linux has a /etc/apk/world which is just a full list of all the packages currently installed I'm not a fan of nix but I'd say the nixos repository is fairly mature.
Alpine also sounds like a nice system but I'd bet it has an even worse issue with bad packages because of musl.
Honestly, I don’t really understand the advantages (or the point of) NixOS over something like Docker.
Docker is not reproducible, you just apt-get install what you want hoping that the RUN commands get you a version that is still compatible with your software and doesn't break anything. With NixOS, you can pin the specific hash of every software, and you don't need the entire Ubuntu 20.04 in a container to deploy a webapp.
NixOS is honestly the single most game-changing thing I've been introduced to in my last decade of experience in tech. If you're interested in trying out NixOS I highly recommend either running it as an WSL2 VM[1] if you have a Windows machine or deploying it on a cheap VPS[2] to play around with. I personally still use a Win11 desktop for compat with Adobe software and a few other bits and pieces, but I do all my se…
To me, I tried Nix, got frustrated with packages, realized I'm just using someone else's abstractions for defining configuration files (with the same kind of quality you'd find on Ansible galaxy), and realized it's not solving a problem I have.
I think the idea is good but execution is poor to reach mass adoption because: 1. It tries to replace ALL package managers due its extreme philosophy. I had a lot of issues when it tries to replace Cargo for example 2. It uses a functional language, which will lose 95% of users 3. It never had a great user experience especially if you’re new and trying to learn or if you’re not using linux or if you bring your own to…
That being said, it's really not that difficult to use tools in their original form on Nix is you want. You can create temporary FHS shells in which tools just work. I do this with Python, as I can't be bothered to do it the "right" way when I just want to run some random script from github.
NixOS is honestly the single most game-changing thing I've been introduced to in my last decade of experience in tech. If you're interested in trying out NixOS I highly recommend either running it as an WSL2 VM[1] if you have a Windows machine or deploying it on a cheap VPS[2] to play around with. I personally still use a Win11 desktop for compat with Adobe software and a few other bits and pieces, but I do all my se…
I keep seeing this from people online but I have yet to see Nix in the wild at any large organization. For such a "game-changing" thing, it certainly doesn't have the meat space following you see online. To me, I tried Nix, got frustrated with packages, realized I'm just using someone else's abstractions for defining configuration files (with the same kind of quality you'd find on Ansible galaxy), and realized it's n…
I think the idea is good but execution is poor to reach mass adoption because: 1. It tries to replace ALL package managers due its extreme philosophy. I had a lot of issues when it tries to replace Cargo for example 2. It uses a functional language, which will lose 95% of users 3. It never had a great user experience especially if you’re new and trying to learn or if you’re not using linux or if you bring your own to…
I’ve encountered NixOS through Replit and thought it was such a fantastic way to manage environments, when I’m using things like ASDF and Bash scripts for installs, I’d love this.
Then comes the question “I won’t commit to something like this and I don’t know why”, and you just articulated it for me.