69 lines
3.6 KiB
Markdown
69 lines
3.6 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: "About Lix"
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description: "A strictly-better implementation of the Nix language."
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date: "2024-04-27"
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author: "Lix Team"
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---
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**Lix** is an implementation of the Nix _functional package management_ language. Originally
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codified by [CppNix](https://github.com/NixOS/nix/), the Nix language allows you to create
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packages that can be used for anything from **putting configuration files into place** to
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**declaratively managing an entire system**.
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That means that, with a few well-written Nix expressions, one
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can easily configure a system into a known state -- and the packages that are created this
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way are guaranteed to run _exactly the same way_ on any system of the same architecture.
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As a fork of CppNix, Lix is designed to be fully compatible with the original CppNix
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implementation -- but also designed to allow evolution of the language and tooling, so
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its developers can improve usability and ergonomics without sacrificing correctness.
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### Why use Nix?
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If you're not familiar with the Nix approach, we recommend checking out some of the
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[writing on the subject](https://nixos.org/guides/nix-pills/01-why-you-should-give-it-a-try.html).
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## Why Lix?
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The **Nix language** is used for a variety of applications ranging from individual computers
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to clusters of critical infrastructure. With this in mind, the Lix team has been working to
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provide a collection of necessary improvements over CppNix:
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- **Built for a community, not for a corporation.** <br>
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Lix is built by a team of open-source volunteers -- and exists to provide a alternative to the
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commercial interests that have long plagued both upstream CppNix and corporate-authored forks.
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We're proud to stand by our open [conflict of interest statements](/team#conflict-of-interest-statements),
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and proud to listen to community voices on issues of sponsorship, direction, and moderation.
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- **A safe community for developers of all backgrounds.** <br>
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Lix is developed by a diverse group of users -- and accordingly is committed to providing a
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space that's safe for users and developers typically underrepresented in technical projects.
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We take moderation seriously, and are committed to preventing bad actors from driving out
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marginalized groups.
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- **A correct implementation of the Nix language.** <br>
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Recent versions of the CppNix project have introduced significant regressions -- so much so
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that the upstream [Nixpkgs](https://github.com/nixos/nixpkgs) team has opted to remain several
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versions behind. Lix is forked from the last truly-stable version of CppNix -- but has both
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introduced new features and backported a number of features from newer versions without
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sacrificing correctness.
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- **A more modern implementation of Nix.** <br>
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Lix is designed for evolution of its codebase. Lix already uses the more modern
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[meson build system](https://mesonbuild.com/), which improves developer usability and decreases build times.
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Plans include a gradual, piecewise introduction of the memory-safe [Rust](https://www.rust-lang.org/)
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programming language -- to both supplement and replace sections of the current C++ codebase.
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- **A language with room to grow.** <br>
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Unlike upstream Nix, Lix intends to be an evolving language -- a robust language versioning
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system will allow the language to grow and evolve without sacrificing backwards-compatibility or correctness.
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And room to grow means room for **usability and ergonomics improvements** -- both in the langauge and in
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tooling.
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<br>
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## Community, Team & Governance
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**Looking for information about the people behind the project?** <br>
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Check out our [community](/community) and [team](/team) pages.
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