Re: Guix beyond 1.0: let’s have a roadmap!

[Ludovic Courtès]

Pierre Neidhardt <address@hidden> skribis:

> Ludovic Courtès <address@hidden> writes:
>
>>> Plus I think profiles are still maybe the most confusing thing to a
>>> newcomer and they are not explicit in the configuration.
>>
>> In what way do you think profiles are confusing to a newcomer?  Looking
>> at this with a fresh eye would be helpful!
>
> I agree with this, I would welcome moving the profile chapter to the
> foreground.  I expect it to be something new to the majority of the
> users.
>
> Like many other "modern" concepts in Guix, we need to teach them
> explicitly, since implicit teaching can discourage many users.
>
> For instance, we can explain how to use a manifest to maintain the
> default profile, how to use "guix install -p PROFILE..." to maintain a
> separate profile, how to effectively use them by either call
> ~/my-profile/bin/my-program or by sourcing etc/profile, etc.

That makes sense to me.  Perhaps we could have a “Managing Profiles”
section right before or after “Invoking guix package”, and/or move
introductory material from “Invoking guix package” into a new “Package
Management Overview” section right before “Invoking guix package”, and
explicitly introduce the notion of a profile and give examples like
those you mention.

That’d be a welcome improvement!

Ludo’.