Re: package manager guix on Windows and OSX

[Edouard Klein]

Hi !

The real problem will not be the languages (guile or C++), but the
system calls used by Guix.

Guix makes use of some recent (less than 2 decades) and somewhat
advanced features of the Linux kernel, such as namespaces.

To port Guix to another operating system such as BSD (including OSX),
one would have to translate these calls.

For example, Guix is the only software I've actually encountered that
can not run in SmartOS' emulation of Linux, because the system calls it
uses are not implemented there.

I would love for Guix to be a Multi Kernel package manager (I mean it
works on the Hurd also, but I have never encountered a Hurd user in real
life). My dream would be to port Guix to Plan 9 ;-)




jbranso@dismail.de writes:

> June 24, 2021 2:26 PM, "Patricio Martínez" <maxxcan@disroot.org> wrote:
>
>> Do anyone know the posibilities about install Guix on another system
>> diferent of Linux?
>
> Awesome! I love speculating on topics I know virtually nothing about!  Most
> of my information comes from a mailing list thread that is about a year old.
> So the situation may be better than I describe it.  :)
>
> The easiest way is to use GNU Guix on Windows is WSL (Windows subsystem
> for Linux):
>
> https://www.mail-archive.com/guile-user@gnu.org/msg12167.html
>
> I'm not a big fan of that, because of Window's history of "embrace, extend,
> extinguish."  And that only lets you run Guix in Windows...what about Mac? 
> The Hurd?  React Os?  Redox Os?
>
> https://www.mail-archive.com/guile-user@gnu.org/msg12173.html
>
>
> GNU Guix runs entirely on GNU Guile with some C++ for the build daemon.
>
> C++ is fairly portable. That bit should be possible to port, though I
> believe that the development plan is to eventually rewrite the C++ build
> daemon in GNU Guile.
>
> GNU Guile is the tricky bit.  To the best of my knowledge, the newer
> versions of GNU Guile run exclusively on GNU/Linux, which is NOT the
> fault of the Guile developers!  It's REALLY HARD to port things to all
> OSes.  None of the Guile developers are paid for their fabulous work.
> And it's not like Windows or Mac make it easy to port to their platform.
>
> https://www.mail-archive.com/guile-user@gnu.org/msg12172.html
>
> Though, the Lilypond developers did get guile 2.2 version working on Windows.
>
> https://www.mail-archive.com/guile-user@gnu.org/msg12163.html
>
> So did the gnucash guys for GNU Guile 2.2, but it is fairly tough to
> get it to build:
>
> https://www.mail-archive.com/guile-user@gnu.org/msg12164.html
>
> Also, it's a 32-bit GNU Guile that was ported to windows and it does
> not supports thread.
>
> Also Guile 3.0's JIT works on lightening, which is a C library (program ?).
> And I do not know if that supports Windows.  But C is really portable.  :)
>
>> Thanks you very much and sorry for my english
>
> It was marvelous English! You should teach it!