* Release notes in Docbook; ASCII release notes (i.e., the `NEWS'

  file) is now generated from that using `w3m' and some XSL hackery.

1 files changed, 0 insertions, 327 deletions

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-Version 0.9
-
-NOTE: this version of Nix uses Berkeley DB 4.3 instead of 4.2.  The
-database is upgraded automatically, but you should be careful not to
-use old versions of Nix that still use Berkeley DB 4.2.  In
-particular, if you use a Nix installed through Nix, you should run
-
-  nix-store --clear-substitutes
-
-first.
-
-* Unpacking of patch sequences is much faster now since we no longer
-  do redundant unpacking and repacking of intermediate paths.
-
-* Nix now uses Berkeley DB 4.3.
-
-* The `derivation' primitive is lazier.  Attributes of dependent
-  derivations can mutually refer to each other (as long as there are
-  no data dependencies on the `outPath' and `drvPath' attributes
-  computed by `derivation').
-
-  For example, the expression `derivation attrs' now evaluates to
-  (essentially)
-
-    attrs // {
-      type = "derivation";
-      outPath = derivation! attrs;
-      drvPath = derivation! attrs;
-    }
-
-  where `derivation!' is a primop that does the actual derivation
-  instantiation (i.e., it does what `derivation' used to do).  The
-  advantage is that it allows commands such as `nix-env -qa' and
-  `nix-env -i' to be much faster since they no longer need to
-  instantiate all derivations, just the `name' attribute.
-
-  Also, it allows derivations to cyclically reference each other, for
-  example,
-
-    webServer = derivation {
-      ...
-      hostName = "svn.cs.uu.nl";
-      services = [svnService];
-    };
-
-    svnService = derivation {
-      ...
-      hostName = webServer.hostName;
-    };
-
-  Previously, this would yield a black hole (infinite recursion).
-
-* `nix-build' now defaults to using `./default.nix' if no Nix
-  expression is specified.
-
-* `nix-instantiate', when applied to a Nix expression that evaluates
-  to a function, will call the function automatically if all its
-  arguments have defaults.
-
-* Nix now uses libtool to build dynamic libraries.  This reduces the
-  size of executables.
-
-* A new list concatenation operator `++'.  For example, `[1 2 3] ++ [4
-  5 6]' evaluates to `[1 2 3 4 5 6]'.
-  
-* Some currently undocumented primops to support low-level build
-  management using Nix (i.e., using Nix as a Make replacement).  See
-  the commit message for r3578 and r3580.
-
-* Various bug fixes and performance improvements.
-  
-
-Version 0.8 (April 11, 2005)
-
-NOTE: the hashing scheme in Nix 0.8 changed (as detailed below).  As a
-result, `nix-pull' manifests and channels built for Nix 0.7 and below
-will now work anymore.  However, the Nix expression language has not
-changed, so you can still build from source.  Also, existing user
-environments continue to work.  Nix 0.8 will automatically upgrade the
-database schema of previous installations when it is first run.
-
-If you get the error message
-
-  you have an old-style manifest `/nix/var/nix/manifests/[...]';
-  please delete it
-
-you should delete previously downloaded manifests:
-
-  $ rm /nix/var/nix/manifests/*
-
-If `nix-channel' gives the error message
-
-  manifest `http://catamaran.labs.cs.uu.nl/dist/nix/channels/[channel]/MANIFEST'
-  is too old (i.e., for Nix <= 0.7)
-
-then you should unsubscribe from the offending channel (`nix-channel
---remove URL'; leave out `/MANIFEST'), and subscribe to the same URL,
-with `channels' replaced by `channels-v3' (e.g.,
-http://catamaran.labs.cs.uu.nl/dist/nix/channels-v3/nixpkgs-unstable).
-
-Nix 0.8 has the following improvements:
-
-* The cryptographic hashes used in store paths are now 160 bits long,
-  but encoded in base-32 so that they are still only 32 characters
-  long (e.g., /nix/store/csw87wag8bqlqk7ipllbwypb14xainap-atk-1.9.0).
-  (This is actually a 160 bit truncation of a SHA-256 hash.)
-
-* Big cleanups and simplifications of the basic store semantics.  The
-  notion of "closure store expressions" is gone (and so is the notion
-  of "successors"); the file system references of a store path are now
-  just stored in the database.
-
-  For instance, given any store path, you can query its closure:
-
-    $ nix-store -qR $(which firefox)
-    ... lots of paths ...
-
-  Also, Nix now remembers for each store path the derivation that
-  built it (the "deriver"):
-
-    $ nix-store -qR $(which firefox)
-    /nix/store/4b0jx7vq80l9aqcnkszxhymsf1ffa5jd-firefox-1.0.1.drv
-
-  So to see the build-time dependencies, you can do
-  
-    $ nix-store -qR $(nix-store -qd $(which firefox))
-
-  or, in a nicer format:
-
-    $ nix-store -q --tree $(nix-store -qd $(which firefox))
-
-  File system references are also stored in reverse.  For instance,
-  you can query all paths that directly or indirectly use a certain
-  Glibc:
-
-    $ nix-store -q --referers-closure \
-        /nix/store/8lz9yc6zgmc0vlqmn2ipcpkjlmbi51vv-glibc-2.3.4
-
-* The concept of fixed-output derivations has been formalised.
-  Previously, functions such as `fetchurl' in Nixpkgs used a hack
-  (namely, explicitly specifying a store path hash) to prevent changes
-  to, say, the URL of the file from propagating upwards through the
-  dependency graph, causing rebuilds of everything.  This can now be
-  done cleanly by specifying the `outputHash' and `outputHashAlgo'
-  attributes.  Nix itself checks that the content of the output has
-  the specified hash.  (This is important for maintaining certain
-  invariants necessary for future work on secure shared stores.)
-
-* One-click installation :-)  It is now possible to install any
-  top-level component in Nixpkgs directly, through the web - see,
-  e.g., http://catamaran.labs.cs.uu.nl/dist/nixpkgs-0.8/.  All you
-  have to do is associate `/nix/bin/nix-install-package' with the MIME
-  type `application/nix-package' (or the extension `.nixpkg'), and
-  clicking on a package link will cause it to be installed, with all
-  appropriate dependencies.  If you just want to install some specific
-  application, this is easier than subscribing to a channel.
-
-* `nix-store -r PATHS' now builds all the derivations PATHS in
-  parallel.  Previously it did them sequentially (though exploiting
-  possible parallelism between subderivations).  This is nice for
-  build farms.
-
-* `nix-channel' has new operations `--list' and `--remove'.
-
-* New ways of installing components into user environments:
-
-  - Copy from another user environment:
-
-      $ nix-env -i --from-profile .../other-profile firefox
-
-  - Install a store derivation directly (bypassing the Nix expression
-    language entirely):
-
-      $ nix-env -i /nix/store/z58v41v21xd3...-aterm-2.3.1.drv
-
-    (This is used to implement `nix-install-package', which is
-    therefore immune to evolution in the Nix expression language.)
-
-  - Install an already built store path directly:
-
-      $ nix-env -i /nix/store/hsyj5pbn0d9i...-aterm-2.3.1
-
-  - Install the result of a Nix expression specified as a command-line
-    argument:
-
-      $ nix-env -f .../i686-linux.nix -i -E 'x: x.firefoxWrapper'
-
-    The difference with the normal installation mode is that `-E' does
-    not use the `name' attributes of derivations.  Therefore, this can
-    be used to disambiguate multiple derivations with the same name.
-
-* A hash of the contents of a store path is now stored in the database
-  after a succesful build.  This allows you to check whether store
-  paths have been tampered with: `nix-store --verify --check-contents'.
-    
-* Implemented a concurrent garbage collector.  It is now always safe
-  to run the garbage collector, even if other Nix operations are
-  happening simultaneously.
-
-  However, there can still be GC races if you use `nix-instantiate'
-  and `nix-store -r' directly to build things.  To prevent races, use
-  the `--add-root' flag of those commands.
-
-* The garbage collector now finally deletes paths in the right order
-  (i.e., topologically sorted under the `references' relation), thus
-  making it safe to interrupt the collector without risking a store
-  that violates the closure invariant.
-
-* Likewise, the substitute mechanism now downloads files in the right
-  order, thus preserving the closure invariant at all times.
-
-* The result of `nix-build' is now registered as a root of the garbage
-  collector.  If the `./result' link is deleted, the GC root
-  disappears automatically.
-
-* The behaviour of the garbage collector can be changed globally by
-  setting options in `/nix/etc/nix/nix.conf'.
-
-  - `gc-keep-derivations' specifies whether deriver links should be
-    followed when searching for live paths.
-
-  - `gc-keep-outputs' specifies whether outputs of derivations should
-    be followed when searching for live paths.
-  
-  - `env-keep-derivations' specifies whether user environments should
-    store the paths of derivations when they are added (thus keeping
-    the derivations alive).
-
-* New `nix-env' query flags `--drv-path' and `--out-path'.
-
-* `fetchurl' allows SHA-1 and SHA-256 in addition to MD5.  Just
-  specify the attribute `sha1' or `sha256' instead of `md5'.
-
-* Manual updates.
-
-  
-Version 0.7 (January 12, 2005)
-
-* Binary patching.  When upgrading components using pre-built binaries
-  (through nix-pull / nix-channel), Nix can automatically download and
-  apply binary patches to already installed components instead of full
-  downloads.  Patching is "smart": if there is a *sequence* of patches
-  to an installed component, Nix will use it.  Patches are currently
-  generated automatically between Nixpkgs (pre-)releases.
-
-* Simplifications to the substitute mechanism.
-
-* Nix-pull now stores downloaded manifests in /nix/var/nix/manifests.
-
-* Metadata on files in the Nix store is canonicalised after builds:
-  the last-modified timestamp is set to 0 (00:00:00 1/1/1970), the
-  mode is set to 0444 or 0555 (readable and possibly executable by
-  all; setuid/setgid bits are dropped), and the group is set to the
-  default.  This ensures that the result of a build and an
-  installation through a substitute is the same; and that timestamp
-  dependencies are revealed.
-
-
-Version 0.6 (November 14, 2004)
-
-Major changes include the following:
-
-* Rewrite of the normalisation engine.
-
-  * Multiple builds can now be performed in parallel (option `-j').
-
-  * Distributed builds.  Nix can now call a shell script to forward
-    builds to Nix installations on remote machines, which may or may
-    not be of the same platform type.
-
-  * Option `--fallback' allows recovery from broken substitutes.
-
-  * Option `--keep-going' causes building of other (unaffected)
-    derivations to continue if one failed.
-    
-* Improvements to the garbage collector (i.e., it should actually work
-  now).
-
-* Setuid Nix installations allow a Nix store to be shared among
-  multiple users.
-
-* Substitute registration is much faster now.
-
-* A utility `nix-build' to build a Nix expression and create a symlink
-  to the result int the current directory; useful for testing Nix
-  derivations.
-
-* Manual updates.
-
-* `nix-env' changes:
-
-  * Derivations for other platforms are filtered out (which can be
-    overriden using `--system-filter').
-
-  * `--install' by default now uninstall previous derivations with the
-    same name.
-
-  * `--upgrade' allows upgrading to a specific version.
-
-  * New operation `--delete-generations' to remove profile
-    generations (necessary for effective garbage collection).
-
-  * Nicer output (sorted, columnised).
-
-* More sensible verbosity levels all around (builder output is now
-  shown always, unless `-Q' is given).
-
-* Nix expression language changes:
-
-  * New language construct: `with E1; E2' brings all attributes
-    defined in the attribute set E1 in scope in E2.
-
-  * Added a `map' function.
-
-  * Various new operators (e.g., string concatenation).
-
-* Expression evaluation is much faster.
-
-* An Emacs mode for editing Nix expressions (with syntax highlighting
-  and indentation) has been added.
-
-* Many bug fixes.
-
-
-Version 0.5 and earlier
-
-Please refer to the Subversion commit log messages.