If you're already familiar with Linux, then #nixos is great, and all you need is a good degree in computer science to be able to write the configuration files. If you have one of those, you can learn it in about six months. If you haven't? Well, then it'll be about three years and six months.
Yes, and don't get me wrong, I very much appreciate #nixos and am using it on two of my home servers, and using nix to manage packages on my Macs. I do think there's something in the suggestion that it's easier if you don't have to un-learn a lot of stuff first! And, while I do have a couple of CS degrees to help me, I must confess my functional programming is rusty, not having had a use for it since my undergrad exams until now :-)
@quentinsf Being able to reapply as much know-how as possible is most definitely the preferred learning experience.
I don't really see how that angle is all that possible in the specific scenario though. Mostly it just looks like yet another docs challenge: making it aboundantly clear that NixOS is a very different Linux experience.
IMO my primary advantage was not computer science, but that I came in with the clear mindset that I was about to learn something very different.
@maralorn I think the challenge here will be to parse the expressions in RestartSec. I.e. it can also be something like "4m 20s" even though the option name suggests something different.
Plop.js is awesome. I wanted it on non-node projects. But I'd need to list node, package.json, package.lock and have node_modules themselves in the project folder, right? Not any more.
Now it's a development shell dependency. Keeping Node itself outside of the project. Just the plopfile, and the templates need to be present.
@maralorn yeahhh I have git in my prompt and for some queries in nixpkgs it took about a second or so to render which is way longer then my tolerance for prompt latency. I guess you don't have that problem with jj?
@athas I have a pretty large feature surface with all my systems and nixos-unstable broke too often for me. Blocking updates. So yeah, I follow the stable channels. And yes, they get backports.
Man, the longer I have :nixos: #NixOS and :manjaro: #Manjaro running in parallel, the more annoyed I am by the :archlinux: #ArchLinux way, e.g.:
· Python update ⇒ all python-based #AUR packages must be rebuilt. #pipx-installed packages also need reinstallation.
· separation between distro repos and AUR is anoying. 'yay -Syu' (or whatever) never really works in one go (be it some stupid sudo prompt later)
· so many AUR packages don't build reliably or at all.
...
@hasnep@nobodyinperson When I moved to Linux I would maintain markdown files with notes & instructions on what I'd done and how to repeat. Nix let me skip the human step in executing my instructions.