bug#22629: Channels!

[Mark H Weaver]

Hi Ludovic,

address@hidden (Ludovic Courtès) writes:
> Currently third-party channels are expected to provide nothing but
> package modules.

I'd like to say again that I have grave concerns that this could be the
death-knell for long-term innovation in Guix.  It's likely that whenever
a change is proposed that will break these third-party channels, there
will be resistance, and efforts to preserve backward compatibility.

Even things as seemingly innocuous as moving a package from one module
to another will impact these third-party channels, not to mention
changing our internal APIs or making fundamental changes to the way
packages are specified.

Part of why I'm so interested in Guix is because it currently has nearly
unconstrained potential to grow into something far more beautiful and
elegant than it is today.

I fear that with the introduction of channels, that potential will be
drastically curtailed, and that we're essentially trading our future
potential for what will in practice, most likely, be primarily used to
facilitate the use of non-free software on Guix.

When I start to see signs of resistance to changes for the sake of
third-party channels, then I'll know I was right to be fearful, and
Guix will become far less interesting to me.

       Mark