When loading a derivation from a JSON, malformed input would trigger
cryptic "assertion failed" errors. Simply replacing calls to `operator []`
with calls to `.at()` was not enough, as this would cause json.execptions
to be printed verbatim.
Display nice error messages instead and give some indication where the
error happened.
*Before:*
```
$ echo 4 | nix derivation add
error: [json.exception.type_error.305] cannot use operator[] with a string argument with number
$ nix derivation show nixpkgs#hello | nix derivation add
Assertion failed: (it != m_value.object->end()), function operator[], file /nix/store/8h9pxgq1776ns6qi5arx08ifgnhmgl22-nlohmann_json-3.11.2/include/nlohmann/json.hpp, line 2135.
$ nix derivation show nixpkgs#hello | jq '.[] | .name = 5' | nix derivation add
error: [json.exception.type_error.302] type must be string, but is object
$ nix derivation show nixpkgs#hello | jq '.[] | .outputs = { out: "/nix/store/8j3f8j-hello" }' | nix derivation add
error: [json.exception.type_error.302] type must be object, but is string
```
*After:*
```
$ echo 4 | nix derivation add
error: Expected JSON of derivation to be of type 'object', but it is of type 'number'
$ nix derivation show nixpkgs#hello | nix derivation add
error: Expected JSON object to contain key 'name' but it doesn't
$ nix derivation show nixpkgs#hello | jq '.[] | .name = 5' | nix derivation add
error: Expected JSON value to be of type 'string' but it is of type 'number'
$ nix derivation show nixpkgs#hello | jq '.[] | .outputs = { out: "/nix/store/8j3f8j-hello" }' | nix derivation add
error:
… while reading key 'outputs'
error: Expected JSON value to be of type 'object' but it is of type 'string'
```
Over the last year or so I've run into several use cases where I need to
parse and/or serialize URLs for use by `builtins.fetchTree` or
`builtins.getFlake`, largely in order to produce _lockfile-like_ files
for lang2nix frameworks or tools which use `nix` internally to drive
builds.
I've gone through the painstaking process of emulating
`nix::FlakeRef::fromAttrs` and `nix::parseFlakeRef` several times with
mixed success; but these are difficult to create and even harder to
maintain if I hope to stay aligned with changes to the real
parser/serializer.
I understand why adding new `builtins` isn't something we want to do
flagrantly. I'm recommending this addition simply because I keep
encountering use cases where I need to parse/serialize these URIs in
`nix` expressions, and I want a reliable solution.
Co-authored-by: Eelco Dolstra <edolstra@gmail.com>
Co-authored-by: John Ericson <git@JohnEricson.me>
the original change broke many pre-existing anchor links.
also change formatting of the constants listing slightly:
- the type should not be part of the anchor
- add highlight to the "impure only" note
* clarify wording on args@ default handling
Most importantly use shorter sentences and emphasize the key point that defaults aren't taken into account
Co-authored-by: Robert Hensing <roberth@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: John Ericson <git@JohnEricson.me>
this is a how-to guide which should not be in the reference manual.
it also refers to `nix-env`, which should not be the first thing readers
of the reference manual encounter, as it behaves very differently in
spirit from the rest of Nix.
slightly reword the documentation to be more concise and informative.
Grouping our tests should make it easier to understand the intent than
one long poorly-arranged list. It also is convenient for running just
the tests for a specific component when working on that component.
We need at least one test group so this isn't dead code; I decided to
collect the tests for the `ca-derivations` and `dynamic-derivations`
experimental features in groups. Do
```bash
make ca.test-group -jN
```
and
```bash
make dyn-drv.test-group -jN
```
to try running just them.
I originally did this as part of #8397 for being able to just the local
overlay store alone. I am PRing it separately now so we can separate
general infra from new features.
Co-authored-by: Valentin Gagarin <valentin.gagarin@tweag.io>
* Lang now verifies errors and parse output
* Some new miscellaneous tests
* Easy way to update the tests
* Document workflow in manual
* Use `!` not `~` as separater char for sed
It is confusing to use `~` when we are talking about paths and home
directories!
* Test test suite itself (`test/lang-test/infra.sh`)
Additionally, run shellcheck on `tests/lang.sh` to help ensure it is
correct, now that is is more complex.
Co-authored-by: Robert Hensing <roberth@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: Valentin Gagarin <valentin.gagarin@tweag.io>
This is done in roughly the same way builtin functions are documented.
Also auto-link experimental features for primops, subsuming PR #8371.
Co-authored-by: Eelco Dolstra <edolstra@gmail.com>
Co-authored-by: Robert Hensing <roberth@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: Valentin Gagarin <valentin.gagarin@tweag.io>
- Improved API docs from comment
- Exit codes are for `nix-build`, not just `nix-store --release`
- Make note in tests so the magic numbers are not surprising
Picking up where #8387 left off.
Deleting store info corrected (there is a foot-gun in Nix with
`--delete-generations old`!)
Also a few things are cleaned up based on feedback.
Co-authored-by: Valentin Gagarin <valentin.gagarin@tweag.io>
Co-authored-by: Eelco Dolstra <edolstra@gmail.com>
Uninstall instructions were moved to their own page in #8267. The
overall section link was redirected in #8286, but platform-specific
links (which I give out frequently when I triage installer trouble)
weren't included.
This is generally a fine practice: Putting implementations in headers
makes them harder to read and slows compilation. Unfortunately it is
necessary for templates, but we can ameliorate that by putting them in a
separate header. Only files which need to instantiate those templates
will need to include the header with the implementation; the rest can
just include the declaration.
This is now documenting in the contributing guide.
Also, it just happens that these polymorphic serializers are the
protocol agnostic ones. (Worker and serve protocol have the same logic
for these container types.) This means by doing this general template
cleanup, we are also getting a head start on better indicating which
code is protocol-specific and which code is shared between protocols.
While this is not actually a notion in the implementation, it is
explicitly described in the thesis and quite important for understanding
how the store works.
Co-authored-by: John Ericson <git@JohnEricson.me>
Co-authored-by: Robert Hensing <roberth@users.noreply.github.com>
Introduce what substituters "are" in the configuration option entry.
Remove arbitrary line breaks for easier editing in the future.
Link glossary some more.
Co-authored-by: Robert Hensing <roberth@users.noreply.github.com>
Co-authored-by: John Ericson <git@JohnEricson.me>
packages and configurations are not really a concept in Nix or the Nix language. the idea of transforming files into other files clearly captures what it's all about, and the new phrasing should make the term "derivation" more obvious both in terms of meaning and origin.
Add support to --list-generations
as another way to say
nix-env --profile /nix/var/nix/profiles/per-user/$USER/channels --list-generations
the way we did for nix-channel --rollback [generation id]
The primop `builtins.replaceStrings` currently always strictly evaluates the
replacement strings, however time and space are wasted for their computation
if the corresponding pattern do not occur in the input string. This commit
makes the evaluation of the replacement strings lazy by deferring their
evaluation to when the corresponding pattern are matched and memoize the result
for efficient retrieval on subsequent matches.
The testcases for replaceStrings was updated to check for lazy evaluation
of the replacements. A note was also added in the release notes to
document the behavior change.
it's more likely for readers to find it right there.
this also slightly rewords examples to make them stand out better.
in the long run there probably needs to be a dedicated section on formal syntax, and better highlighting of examples.
e.g. nix-env -e subversion => nix-env --uninstall subversion
The aim is to make the documentation less cryptic for newcomers and the
long options are more self-documenting.
The change was made with the following script:
<https://github.com/aschmolck/convert-short-nix-opts-to-long-ones>
and sanity checked visually.
This gives some more context and should clarify why it works that way.
Also link it from the section on `NIX_USER_CONF_FILES`.
Co-authored-by: John Ericson <git@JohnEricson.me>
`/etc/bash.bashrc` is backed up as `/etc/bash.bashrc.backup-before-nix`,
but since other changes might have been introduced in the meantime we can't
just tell the user to revert.
add anchor to `builtins.derivation` and list some built-in functions that are
exposed in the global scope.
I decided not to list everything, because we probably don't want to
encourage people using them that way.
Robert Hensing
Jörg Thalheim