Re: [Ghm-discuss] GNU @ FOSDEM 2015

[beuc]

Hi Alex,

Last year there was one devroom for all distros:
https://archive.fosdem.org/2014/schedule/track/distributions/
(and there was a Guix talk already)

Is the goal to get a full devroom?  Debian or Fedora didn't get one,
so I doubt we can get one through the distro axis.

- Sylvain

On Wed, Sep 10, 2014 at 08:32:05AM +0200, Alex Sassmannshausen wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> Like last year, we decided to apply for a devroom at FOSDEM in Brussels
> in February.
> 
> Last year we were not selected to organize a devroom in the end. The
> original feedback we received from the organizers suggested they were
> worried the format of the room might not be technical enough, as it was
> built around GNU as an organization, philosophy and a practical project
> around software.
> 
> This year our application hence is built around a specific technical
> project: a GNU distribution built around Guix and software components
> that are parts of it.
> 
> The deadline for the submission of devroom proposals is 15 September, so
> I thought I'd share our current proposal on this list for the next few
> days before submitting it.
> 
> Feel free to comment if so inclined :-)
> 
> Best wishes,
> 
> Alex
> 

> * Devroom name.
> 
>   GNU Guix — growing the GNU distribution.
> 
> * Devroom description:
> 
>   GNU Guix is the foundation for the reference GNU distribution.
> 
>   Guix is a functional package manager based on Nix, written in GNU
>   Guile. Development started just 2 years ago, and it has now reached
>   a critical juncture: hitherto it was a symbiotic package manager
>   installed alongside other package managers within distributions. Now
>   it's also becoming a distribution in its own right.
> 
>   Goals of the distro (the niche in the "distro market"):
>   - transparent, transactional, per-user package-management
>   - declarative system configuration;
>   - extensibility from the ground up (where possible core distro
>     functionality is provided through Guile programs, a language
>     specifically designed to be hackable and extensible — for example,
>     at present the init system is provided by dmd, which is written in
>     Guile);
>   - secure: builds are performed in isolated environments to
>     facilitate reproducibility, and can be checked independently by
>     end-users;
>   - blurring of lines between developers, distribution maintainers and
>     end-users:
>     + high level DSL for describing packages makes packaging easy to
>       understand for developers and end-users alike, reducing barriers
>       to distro maintenance contribution;
>     + support for concurrent system configurations within different
>       'profiles' allows for on-the-fly system reconfigurations to help
>       bug-tracking and development.
> 
>   The devroom will provide the following content:
> 
>   - high level overview of & tutorial on the distribution;
>   - hacking sessions for packaging software, enhancing the
>     distribution (installer, package-management tools, user
>     interfaces);
>   - discussions & presentations of specific components:
>     + Secure networking through gnunet:
>       * integration of the GNU Name Service (peer-to-peer, secure DNS
>         replacement);
>       * choice of defaults that help users remain in control (Linux
>         TCP stealth patch, GNUnet and Tor services, etc.)
>     + Extending the init system: use Guile (DMD) or established systems?
>     + Providing kernel hotswapping: supporting hurd development by
>       providing it as an alternative to linux-libre.
>     + Extensibility from the ground up: grafting Guile into the heart
>       of a distro (e.g. GNU Posh, Guix, DMD).
>   - open discussions on the further development of Guix and the
>     distro.
> 
>   The purpose of the room is to technically progress the distribution
>   through:
>   - demonstrations of its viability;
>   - debates around its technical composition;
>   - a space where hackers can contribute concrete chunks of code.
> 
> * Related URLs
> 
>   - GNU Project: http://www.gnu.org
>   - GNU Guix: http://www.gnu.org/software/guix
> 
> * Devroom organisers
> 
>   - Alex Sassmannshausen (address@hidden):
>     co-ordinator and occasional contributor to Guix.
>   - Ludovic Courtès (address@hidden): maintainer and core developer of
>     Guix.