`DerivedPath::Built` and `DerivationGoal` were previously using a
regular set with the convention that the empty set means all outputs.
But it is easy to forget about this rule when processing those sets.
Using `OutputSpec` forces us to get it right.
Prior to this change, we had a bunch of ad-hoc string manipulation code
scattered around. This made it hard to figure out what data model for
string contexts is.
Now, we still store string contexts most of the time as encoded strings
--- I was wary of the performance implications of changing that --- but
whenever we parse them we do so only through the
`NixStringContextElem::parse` method, which handles all cases. This
creates a data type that is very similar to `DerivedPath` but:
- Represents the funky `=<drvpath>` case as properly distinct from the
others.
- Only encodes a single output, no wildcards and no set, for the
"built" case.
(I would like to deprecate `=<path>`, after which we are in spitting
distance of `DerivedPath` and could maybe get away with fewer types, but
that is another topic for another day.)
This has the same goal as b13fd4c58e81b2b2b0d72caa5ce80de861622610,but
achieves it in a different way in order to not break
`nix why-depends --derivation`.
This makes 'nix develop' set the Linux personality in the same way
that the actual build does, allowing a command like 'nix develop
nix#devShells.i686-linux.default' on x86_64-linux to work correctly.
why-depends assumed that we knew the output path of the second argument.
For CA derivations, we might not know until it's built. One way to solve
this would be to build the second installable to get the output path.
In this case we don't need to, though. If the first installable (A)
depends on the second (B), then getting the store path of A will
necessitate having the store path B. The contrapositive is, if the store
path of B is not known (i.e. it's a CA derivation which hasn't been
built), then A does not depend on B.
after discussing this with multiple people, I'm convinced that "build
task" is more precise: a derivation is not an action, but inert until it
is built. also it's easier to pronounce.
proposal: use "build task" for the generic concept "description of how
to derive new files from the contents of existing files". then it will
be easier to distinguish what we mean by "derivation" (a specific data
structure and Nix language value type) and "store derivation" (a
serialisation of a derivation into a file in the Nix store).
