doc: Explain what's special about the (gnu packages ...) name space.

* doc/guix.texi (Invoking guix package): Explain where packages are
  searched for and link to "Package Modules".
  (Defining Packages) <example>: Use 'define-module' clause instead of
  'use-modules'.  Explain why and link to "Package Modules".
  (Invoking guix build): Explain where packages aer searched for and
  link to "Package Modules".
  (Package Modules): Explain that (gnu packages ...) is scanned.
master
Ludovic Courtès 2014-03-07 10:21:34 +01:00
parent 583103416d
commit e7f34eb0dc
1 changed files with 37 additions and 13 deletions

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@ -699,7 +699,9 @@ such as @code{guile-1.8.8}. If no version number is specified, the
newest available version will be selected. In addition, @var{package}
may contain a colon, followed by the name of one of the outputs of the
package, as in @code{gcc:doc} or @code{binutils-2.22:lib}
(@pxref{Packages with Multiple Outputs}).
(@pxref{Packages with Multiple Outputs}). Packages with a corresponding
name (and optionally version) are searched for among the GNU
distribution modules (@pxref{Package Modules}).
@cindex propagated inputs
Sometimes packages have @dfn{propagated inputs}: these are dependencies
@ -1212,10 +1214,11 @@ example, the package definition, or @dfn{recipe}, for the GNU Hello
package looks like this:
@example
(use-modules (guix packages)
(guix download)
(guix build-system gnu)
(guix licenses))
(define-module (gnu packages hello)
#:use-module (guix packages)
#:use-module (guix download)
#:use-module (guix build-system gnu)
#:use-module (guix licenses))
(define hello
(package
@ -1237,13 +1240,19 @@ package looks like this:
@noindent
Without being a Scheme expert, the reader may have guessed the meaning
of the various fields here. This expression binds variable @var{hello}
of the various fields here. This expression binds variable @code{hello}
to a @code{<package>} object, which is essentially a record
(@pxref{SRFI-9, Scheme records,, guile, GNU Guile Reference Manual}).
This package object can be inspected using procedures found in the
@code{(guix packages)} module; for instance, @code{(package-name hello)}
returns---surprise!---@code{"hello"}.
In the example above, @var{hello} is defined into a module of its own,
@code{(gnu packages hello)}. Technically, this is not strictly
necessary, but it is convenient to do so: all the packages defined in
modules under @code{(gnu packages @dots{})} are automatically known to
the command-line tools (@pxref{Package Modules}).
There are a few points worth noting in the above package definition:
@itemize
@ -1778,10 +1787,14 @@ guix build @var{options} @var{package-or-derivation}@dots{}
@var{package-or-derivation} may be either the name of a package found in
the software distribution such as @code{coreutils} or
@code{coreutils-8.20}, or a derivation such as
@file{/nix/store/@dots{}-coreutils-8.19.drv}. Alternatively, the
@code{--expression} option may be used to specify a Scheme expression
that evaluates to a package; this is useful when disambiguation among
several same-named packages or package variants is needed.
@file{/nix/store/@dots{}-coreutils-8.19.drv}. In the former case, a
package with the corresponding name (and optionally version) is searched
for among the GNU distribution modules (@pxref{Package Modules}).
Alternatively, the @code{--expression} option may be used to specify a
Scheme expression that evaluates to a package; this is useful when
disambiguation among several same-named packages or package variants is
needed.
The @var{options} may be zero or more of the following:
@ -2183,7 +2196,7 @@ the load. To check whether a package has a @code{debug} output, use
@section Package Modules
From a programming viewpoint, the package definitions of the
distribution are provided by Guile modules in the @code{(gnu packages
GNU distribution are provided by Guile modules in the @code{(gnu packages
@dots{})} name space@footnote{Note that packages under the @code{(gnu
packages @dots{})} module name space are not necessarily ``GNU
packages''. This module naming scheme follows the usual Guile module
@ -2192,8 +2205,19 @@ as part of the GNU system, and @code{packages} identifies modules that
define packages.} (@pxref{Modules, Guile modules,, guile, GNU Guile
Reference Manual}). For instance, the @code{(gnu packages emacs)}
module exports a variable named @code{emacs}, which is bound to a
@code{<package>} object (@pxref{Defining Packages}). The @code{(gnu
packages)} module provides facilities for searching for packages.
@code{<package>} object (@pxref{Defining Packages}).
The @code{(gnu packages @dots{})} module name space is special: it is
automatically scanned for packages by the command-line tools. For
instance, when running @code{guix package -i emacs}, all the @code{(gnu
packages @dots{})} modules are scanned until one that exports a package
object whose name is @code{emacs} is found. This package search
facility is implemented in the @code{(gnu packages)} module.
Users can store package definitions in modules with different
names---e.g., @code{(my-packages emacs)}. In that case, commands such
as @command{guix package} and @command{guix build} have to be used with
the @code{-e} option so that they know where to find the package.
The distribution is fully @dfn{bootstrapped} and @dfn{self-contained}:
each package is built based solely on other packages in the