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| -rw-r--r-- | doc/manual/release-notes.xml | 292 |
1 files changed, 247 insertions, 45 deletions
diff --git a/doc/manual/release-notes.xml b/doc/manual/release-notes.xml index 8eb59ab4952a..5147f1f2f832 100644 --- a/doc/manual/release-notes.xml +++ b/doc/manual/release-notes.xml @@ -9,26 +9,228 @@ <section xml:id="ssec-relnotes-1.7"><title>Release 1.7 (TBA)</title> -<para>This release has the following changes:</para> +<para>In addition to the usual bug fixes, this release has the +following new features:</para> <itemizedlist> <listitem> + <para>Antiquotation is now allowed inside of quoted attribute + names (e.g. <literal>set."${foo}"</literal>). In the case where + the attribute name is just a single antiquotation, the quotes can + be dropped (e.g. the above example can be written + <literal>set.${foo}</literal>). If an attribute name inside of a + set declaration evaluates to <literal>null</literal> (e.g. + <literal>{ ${null} = false; }</literal>), then that attribute is + not added to the set.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>Experimental support for cryptographically signed binary + caches. See <link + xlink:href="https://github.com/NixOS/nix/commit/0fdf4da0e979f992db75cc17376e455ddc5a96d8">the + commit for details</link>.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>An experimental new substituter, + <command>download-via-ssh</command>, that fetches binaries from + remote machines via SSH. Specifying the flags <literal>--option + use-ssh-substituter true --option ssh-substituter-hosts + <replaceable>user@hostname</replaceable></literal> will cause Nix + to download binaries from the specified machine, if it has + them.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para><command>nix-store -r</command> and + <command>nix-build</command> have a new flag, + <option>--check</option>, that builds a previously built + derivation again, and prints an error message if the output is not + exactly the same. This helps to verify whether a derivation is + truly deterministic. For example: + +<screen> +$ nix-build '<nixpkgs>' -A patchelf +<replaceable>…</replaceable> +$ nix-build '<nixpkgs>' -A patchelf --check +<replaceable>…</replaceable> +error: derivation `/nix/store/1ipvxs…-patchelf-0.6' may not be deterministic: + hash mismatch in output `/nix/store/4pc1dm…-patchelf-0.6.drv' +</screen> + + </para> + + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>The <command>nix-instantiate</command> flags + <option>--eval-only</option> and <option>--parse-only</option> + have been renamed to <option>--eval</option> and + <option>--parse</option>, respectively.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para><command>nix-instantiate</command>, + <command>nix-build</command> and <command>nix-shell</command> now + have a flag <option>--expr</option> (or <option>-E</option>) that + allows you to specify the expression to be evaluated as a command + line argument. For instance, <literal>nix-instantiate --eval -E + '1 + 2'</literal> will print <literal>3</literal>.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para><command>nix-shell</command> improvements:</para> + + <itemizedlist> + + <listitem> + <para>It has a new flag, <option>--packages</option> (or + <option>-p</option>), that sets up a build environment + containing the specified packages from Nixpkgs. For example, + the command + +<screen> +$ nix-shell -p sqlite xorg.libX11 hello +</screen> + + will start a shell in which the given packages are + present.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>It now uses <filename>shell.nix</filename> as the + default expression, falling back to + <filename>default.nix</filename> if the former doesn’t + exist. This makes it convenient to have a + <filename>shell.nix</filename> in your project to set up a + nice development environment.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>It evaluates the derivation attribute + <varname>shellHook</varname>, if set. Since + <literal>stdenv</literal> does not normally execute this hook, + it allows you to do <command>nix-shell</command>-specific + setup.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>It preserves the user’s timezone setting.</para> + </listitem> + + </itemizedlist> + + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>In chroots, Nix now sets up a <filename>/dev</filename> + containing only a minimal set of devices (such as + <filename>/dev/null</filename>). Note that it only does this if + you <emphasis>don’t</emphasis> have <filename>/dev</filename> + listed in your <option>build-chroot-dirs</option> setting; + otherwise, it will bind-mount the <literal>/dev</literal> from + outside the chroot.</para> + + <para>Similarly, if you don’t have <filename>/dev/pts</filename> listed + in <option>build-chroot-dirs</option>, Nix will mount a private + <literal>devpts</literal> filesystem on the chroot’s + <filename>/dev/pts</filename>.</para> + + </listitem> + + <listitem> <para>New built-in function: <function>builtins.toJSON</function>, which returns a JSON representation of a value.</para> </listitem> - <listitem><para><command>nix-setuid-helper</command> is - gone.</para></listitem> + <listitem> + <para><command>nix-env -q</command> has a new flag + <option>--json</option> to print a JSON representation of the + installed or available packages.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para><command>nix-env</command> now supports meta attributes with + more complex values, such as attribute sets.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>The <option>-A</option> flag now allows attribute names with + dots in them, e.g. + +<screen> +$ nix-instantiate --eval '<nixos>' -A 'config.systemd.units."nscd.service".text' +</screen> - <listitem><para>Now antiquotation is allowed inside of quoted - attribute names (e.g. <literal>set."${foo}"</literal>). In the - case where the attribute name is just a single antiquotation, - the quotes can be dropped (e.g. the above example can be written - <literal>set.${foo}</literal>). If an attribute name inside of a - set declaration evaluates to <literal>null</literal> (e.g. - <literal>{ ${null} = false; }</literal>), then that attribute is not - added to the set.</para></listitem> + </para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>The <option>--max-freed</option> option to + <command>nix-store --gc</command> now accepts a unit + specifier. For example, <literal>nix-store --gc --max-freed + 1G</literal> will free up to 1 gigabyte of disk space.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>Nix now heuristically detects whether a build failure was + due to a disk-full condition. In that case, the build is not + flagged as “permanently failed”. This is mostly useful for Hydra, + which needs to distinguish between permanent and transient build + failures.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>There is a new symbol <literal>__curPos</literal> that + expands to an attribute set containing its file name and line and + column numbers, e.g. <literal>{ file = "foo.nix"; line = 10; + column = 5; }</literal>. There also is a new builtin function, + <varname>unsafeGetAttrPos</varname>, that returns the position of + an attribute. This is used by Nixpkgs to provide location + information in error messages, e.g. + +<screen> +$ nix-build '<nixpkgs>' -A libreoffice --argstr system x86_64-darwin +error: the package ‘libreoffice-4.0.5.2’ in ‘.../applications/office/libreoffice/default.nix:263’ + is not supported on ‘x86_64-darwin’ +</screen> + + </para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>The garbage collector is now more concurrent with other Nix + processes because it releases certain locks earlier.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>The binary tarball installer has been improved. You can now + install Nix by running: + +<screen> +$ bash <(curl https://nixos.org/nix/install) +</screen> + + </para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>The command <command>nix-setuid-helper</command> is + gone.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>Nix no longer uses Automake, but instead has a + non-recursive, GNU Make-based build system.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>All installed libraries now have the prefix + <literal>libnix</literal>. In particular, this gets rid of + <literal>libutil</literal>, which could clash with libraries with + the same name from other packages.</para> + </listitem> </itemizedlist> @@ -606,7 +808,7 @@ Friesdorf, Mats Erik Andersson and Shea Levy.</para> <para>When using the Nix daemon, the <option>-s</option> flag in <command>nix-env -qa</command> is now much faster.</para> </listitem> - + </itemizedlist> </section> @@ -636,7 +838,7 @@ previous release. Here are the most significant:</para> <filename>/nix/var/nix/manifests</filename>, resulting in a significant speedup.</para> </listitem> - + <listitem> <para>Nix now has an search path for expressions. The search path is set using the environment variable <envar>NIX_PATH</envar> and @@ -673,7 +875,7 @@ previous release. Here are the most significant:</para> you can write <literal>{ "foo-1.2" = …; "bla bla" = …; }."bla bla"</literal>.</para> </listitem> - + <listitem> <para>Attribute selection can now provide a default value using the <literal>or</literal> operator. For instance, the expression @@ -872,7 +1074,7 @@ features:</para> </programlisting> This is useful, for instance, in NixOS configuration files.</para> - + </listitem> <listitem> @@ -889,7 +1091,7 @@ features:</para> which causes <command>uname</command> to return <literal>i686</literal> in child processes.</para> </listitem> - + <listitem> <para>Various improvements to the <literal>chroot</literal> support. Building in a <literal>chroot</literal> works quite well @@ -906,12 +1108,12 @@ features:</para> <listitem> <para>Support for large (> 4 GiB) files in NAR archives.</para> </listitem> - + <listitem> <para>Various (performance) improvements to the remote build mechanism.</para> </listitem> - + <listitem> <para>New primops: <varname>builtins.addErrorContext</varname> (to add a string to stack traces — useful for debugging), @@ -1050,8 +1252,8 @@ the following derivations will be built: the following paths will be downloaded/copied (30.02 MiB): /nix/store/4m8pvgy2dcjgppf5b4cj5l6wyshjhalj-samba-3.2.4 /nix/store/7h1kwcj29ip8vk26rhmx6bfjraxp0g4l-libunwind-0.98.6 - ...</screen> - + ...</screen> + </para></listitem> <listitem><para>Language features: @@ -1091,7 +1293,7 @@ the following paths will be downloaded/copied (30.02 MiB): division). <!-- <varname>builtins.genericClosure</varname> --> </para></listitem> - + </itemizedlist> </para></listitem> @@ -1162,7 +1364,7 @@ on Nix. Here is an (incomplete) list:</para> <literal>nix-env -p /nix/var/nix/profiles/browser --set firefox</literal> lets the profile named <filename>browser</filename> contain just Firefox.</para></listitem> - + <listitem><para><command>nix-env</command> now maintains meta-information about installed packages in profiles. The @@ -1171,7 +1373,7 @@ on Nix. Here is an (incomplete) list:</para> <varname>homepage</varname>. The command <literal>nix-env -q --xml --meta</literal> shows all meta-information.</para></listitem> - + <listitem><para><command>nix-env</command> now uses the <varname>meta.priority</varname> attribute of derivations to resolve filename collisions between packages. Lower priority values denote @@ -1227,7 +1429,7 @@ on Nix. Here is an (incomplete) list:</para> </para></listitem> - + <listitem><para><command>nix-env -q</command> now has a flag <option>--prebuilt-only</option> (<option>-b</option>) that causes <command>nix-env</command> to show only those derivations whose @@ -1238,7 +1440,7 @@ on Nix. Here is an (incomplete) list:</para> <command>nix-env -i</command> and <command>nix-env -u</command> to filter out derivations for which no pre-built binary is available.</para></listitem> - + <listitem><para>The new option <option>--argstr</option> (in <command>nix-env</command>, <command>nix-instantiate</command> and @@ -1254,7 +1456,7 @@ on Nix. Here is an (incomplete) list:</para> <parameter>paths</parameter> that shows the build log of the given paths.</para></listitem> - + <!-- <listitem><para>TODO: semantic cleanups of string concatenation etc. (mostly in r6740).</para></listitem> @@ -1312,12 +1514,12 @@ on Nix. Here is an (incomplete) list:</para> <literal>md5</literal>. You can pass either a hexadecimal or a base-32 encoding of the hash.</para></listitem> - + <listitem><para>Nix can now perform builds in an automatically generated “chroot”. This prevents a builder from accessing stuff outside of the Nix store, and thus helps ensure purity. This is an experimental feature.</para></listitem> - + <listitem><para>The new command <command>nix-store --optimise</command> reduces Nix store disk space usage by finding @@ -1325,7 +1527,7 @@ on Nix. Here is an (incomplete) list:</para> It typically reduces the size of the store by something like 25-35%.</para></listitem> - + <listitem><para><filename>~/.nix-defexpr</filename> can now be a directory, in which case the Nix expressions in that directory are combined into an attribute set, with the file names used as the @@ -1411,10 +1613,10 @@ irreversible.</para></warning> <itemizedlist> - + <!-- Usability / features --> - + <listitem><para><command>nix-env</command> usability improvements: <itemizedlist> @@ -1450,9 +1652,9 @@ irreversible.</para></warning> most packages in Nixpkgs don’t have yet).</para></listitem> </itemizedlist> - + </para></listitem> - + <listitem><para>New language features: @@ -1475,7 +1677,7 @@ irreversible.</para></warning> You can write arbitrary expressions within <literal>${<replaceable>...</replaceable>}</literal>, not just identifiers.</para></listitem> - + <listitem><para>Multi-line string literals.</para></listitem> <listitem><para>String concatenations can now involve @@ -1517,7 +1719,7 @@ irreversible.</para></warning> Very convenient whenever you have some package on your machine and you want to copy it somewhere else.</para></listitem> - + <listitem><para>XML support: <itemizedlist> @@ -1540,7 +1742,7 @@ irreversible.</para></warning> </itemizedlist> </para></listitem> - + <listitem><para>You can now unambiguously specify which derivation to build or install in <command>nix-env</command>, @@ -1554,7 +1756,7 @@ irreversible.</para></warning> <replaceable>foo</replaceable></literal>. <literal>nix-env -q --attr</literal> shows the attribute names corresponding to each derivation.</para></listitem> - + <listitem><para>If the top-level Nix expression used by <command>nix-env</command>, <command>nix-instantiate</command> or @@ -1565,7 +1767,7 @@ irreversible.</para></warning> <replaceable>value</replaceable></option> can be used to specify function arguments on the command line.</para></listitem> - + <listitem><para><literal>nix-install-package --url <replaceable>URL</replaceable></literal> allows a package to be installed directly from the given URL.</para></listitem> @@ -1611,7 +1813,7 @@ irreversible.</para></warning> </para></listitem> - + <listitem><para>Garbage collector improvements: <itemizedlist> @@ -1643,12 +1845,12 @@ irreversible.</para></warning> from the Nix store. It won’t delete reachable (non-garbage) paths unless <option>--ignore-liveness</option> is specified.</para></listitem> - + </itemizedlist> </para></listitem> - + <listitem><para>Berkeley DB 4.4’s process registry feature is used to recover from crashed Nix processes.</para></listitem> @@ -1814,7 +2016,7 @@ svnService = derivation { };</programlisting> Previously, this would yield a black hole (infinite recursion).</para> - + </listitem> <listitem><para><command>nix-build</command> now defaults to using @@ -1956,7 +2158,7 @@ $ nix-store -q --referrers-closure \ /nix/store/8lz9yc6zgmc0vlqmn2ipcpkjlmbi51vv-glibc-2.3.4</screen> </para> - + </listitem> <listitem><para>The concept of fixed-output derivations has been @@ -2220,7 +2422,7 @@ $ nix-env -f .../i686-linux.nix -i -E 'x: x.firefoxWrapper'</screen> columnised).</para></listitem> </itemizedlist> - + </para> </listitem> @@ -2234,7 +2436,7 @@ $ nix-env -f .../i686-linux.nix -i -E 'x: x.firefoxWrapper'</screen> <para>Nix expression language changes: <itemizedlist> - + <listitem><para>New language construct: <literal>with <replaceable>E1</replaceable>; <replaceable>E2</replaceable></literal> brings all attributes |