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<?xml version="1.0"?>
<!DOCTYPE book SYSTEM "/nix/current/xml/dtd/docbook/docbookx.dtd"
[
]>

<book>
  <title>Nix: The Manual</title>


  <!--======================================================================-->

  <chapter>
    <title>Introduction</title>

    <para>
      Nix is a system for the automatic creation and distribution of data, such
      as computer programs and other software artifacts.
    </para>

  </chapter>


  <!--======================================================================-->

  <chapter>
    <title>Installation</title>

    <sect1>
      <title>Prerequisites</title>

      <para>
	Nix uses Sleepycat's Berkeley DB and CWI's ATerm library.  However,
	these are fetched automatically as part of the build process.
      </para>

      <para>
	Other than that, you need a good C++ compiler.  GCC 2.95 does not
	appear to work; please use GCC 3.x.
      </para>
    </sect1>

    <sect1>
      <title>Obtaining Nix</title>

      <para>
	Nix can be obtained from its <ulink
	  url='http://losser.st-lab.cs.uu.nl:12080/repos/trace/nix/trunk'>Subversion 
	  repository</ulink>.  For example, the following command will check
	out the latest revision into a directory called
	<filename>nix</filename>:
      </para>

      <screen>
$ svn checkout http://losser.st-lab.cs.uu.nl:12080/repos/trace/nix/trunk nix</screen>

      <para>
	Likewise, specific releases can be obtained from the <ulink
	  url='http://losser.st-lab.cs.uu.nl:12080/repos/trace/nix/tags'>tags
	  directory</ulink> of the repository.  If you don't have Subversion,
	you can download a <ulink
	  url='http://losser.st-lab.cs.uu.nl:12080/dist/trace/'>compressed
	  tar-file</ulink> of the latest revision of the repository.
      </para>

    </sect1>

    <sect1>
      <title>Building Nix</title>

      <para>
	To build Nix, do the following:
      </para>

      <screen>
$ autoreconf -i
$ ./configure <replaceable>options...</replaceable>
$ make
$ make install</screen>

      <para>
	Currently, the only useful switch for <command>configure</command> is
	<option>--prefix=<replaceable>prefix</replaceable></option> to specify
	where Nix is to be installed.  The default installation directory is
	<filename>/nix</filename>.  You can change this to any location you
	like.  You should ensure that you have write permission to the
	installation prefix. 
      </para>

      <warning>
	<para>
	  It is advisable <emphasis>not</emphasis> to change the installation
	  prefix, since doing so will in all likelihood make it impossible to
	  use derivates built on other systems.
	</para>
      </warning>

    </sect1>

  </chapter>


</book>