Link to the thread for other people:
https://nitter.net/dmitriid/status/1439957729909559298#mJu (@Arkham) proposed a solution:
1- Finding the commit hash of of nixpkgs which contains a specific version of a dependency (e.g. ruby 2.6.3) and use that to bring in the dependency
2- If a specific version does not exist in any of the hashes, we should patch the `.nix` file and build the dependency ourselves. This causes all other transitive dependencies to be rebuilt.
Arguments against 1:
Why should we rely on an external thrid-party webservice to find the hashes of a specific package? This should be integrated to the `nix` tooling. Hope the community incorporates history search into the tooling :)
Arguments against 2:
@dimitriid says the solution is cumbersome.
Arguments for 2:
- What if rvm or nvm don't have a specific version or deprecate that version from their repos? At least there is a solution via Nix.
- What are you going to do for other languages which don't have a package/VM manager like Java, C/C++, etc? At least the Nix solution is universal and you don't have to learn the tooling of every technology.
I think @technomancy over at Lobste.rs has a wise take on this issue:
https://lobste.rs/s/emyfhx/ditch_your_version_manager#c_5acg...
> I feel like Nix/Guix vs Docker is like … do you want the right idea with not-enough-polish-applied, or do you want the wrong idea with way-too-much-polish-applied?
Ju (@Arkham) proposed a solution:
1- Finding the commit hash of of nixpkgs which contains a specific version of a dependency (e.g. ruby 2.6.3) and use that to bring in the dependency
2- If a specific version does not exist in any of the hashes, we should patch the `.nix` file and build the dependency ourselves. This causes all other transitive dependencies to be rebuilt.
Arguments against 1:
Why should we rely on an external thrid-party webservice to find the hashes of a specific package? This should be integrated to the `nix` tooling. Hope the community incorporates history search into the tooling :)
Arguments against 2:
@dimitriid says the solution is cumbersome.
Arguments for 2:
- What if rvm or nvm don't have a specific version or deprecate that version from their repos? At least there is a solution via Nix.
- What are you going to do for other languages which don't have a package/VM manager like Java, C/C++, etc? At least the Nix solution is universal and you don't have to learn the tooling of every technology.
I think @technomancy over at Lobste.rs has a wise take on this issue: https://lobste.rs/s/emyfhx/ditch_your_version_manager#c_5acg...
> I feel like Nix/Guix vs Docker is like … do you want the right idea with not-enough-polish-applied, or do you want the wrong idea with way-too-much-polish-applied?