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diff --git a/doc/builders/trivial-builders.xml b/doc/builders/trivial-builders.xml new file mode 100644 index 00000000000..c99425620b1 --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/builders/trivial-builders.xml @@ -0,0 +1,79 @@ +<chapter xmlns="http://docbook.org/ns/docbook" + xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" + xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude" + xml:id="chap-trivial-builders"> + <title>Trivial builders</title> + + <para> + Nixpkgs provides a couple of functions that help with building derivations. The most important one, <function>stdenv.mkDerivation</function>, has already been documented above. The following functions wrap <function>stdenv.mkDerivation</function>, making it easier to use in certain cases. + </para> + + <variablelist> + <varlistentry> + <term> + <literal>runCommand</literal> + </term> + <listitem> + <para> + This takes three arguments, <literal>name</literal>, <literal>env</literal>, and <literal>buildCommand</literal>. <literal>name</literal> is just the name that Nix will append to the store path in the same way that <literal>stdenv.mkDerivation</literal> uses its <literal>name</literal> attribute. <literal>env</literal> is an attribute set specifying environment variables that will be set for this derivation. These attributes are then passed to the wrapped <literal>stdenv.mkDerivation</literal>. <literal>buildCommand</literal> specifies the commands that will be run to create this derivation. Note that you will need to create <literal>$out</literal> for Nix to register the command as successful. + </para> + <para> + An example of using <literal>runCommand</literal> is provided below. + </para> +<programlisting> +(import <nixpkgs> {}).runCommand "my-example" {} '' + echo My example command is running + + mkdir $out + + echo I can write data to the Nix store > $out/message + + echo I can also run basic commands like: + + echo ls + ls + + echo whoami + whoami + + echo date + date +'' +</programlisting> + </listitem> + </varlistentry> + <varlistentry> + <term> + <literal>runCommandCC</literal> + </term> + <listitem> + <para> + This works just like <literal>runCommand</literal>. The only difference is that it also provides a C compiler in <literal>buildCommand</literal>’s environment. To minimize your dependencies, you should only use this if you are sure you will need a C compiler as part of running your command. + </para> + </listitem> + </varlistentry> + <varlistentry> + <term> + <literal>writeTextFile</literal>, <literal>writeText</literal>, <literal>writeTextDir</literal>, <literal>writeScript</literal>, <literal>writeScriptBin</literal> + </term> + <listitem> + <para> + These functions write <literal>text</literal> to the Nix store. This is useful for creating scripts from Nix expressions. <literal>writeTextFile</literal> takes an attribute set and expects two arguments, <literal>name</literal> and <literal>text</literal>. <literal>name</literal> corresponds to the name used in the Nix store path. <literal>text</literal> will be the contents of the file. You can also set <literal>executable</literal> to true to make this file have the executable bit set. + </para> + <para> + Many more commands wrap <literal>writeTextFile</literal> including <literal>writeText</literal>, <literal>writeTextDir</literal>, <literal>writeScript</literal>, and <literal>writeScriptBin</literal>. These are convenience functions over <literal>writeTextFile</literal>. + </para> + </listitem> + </varlistentry> + <varlistentry> + <term> + <literal>symlinkJoin</literal> + </term> + <listitem> + <para> + This can be used to put many derivations into the same directory structure. It works by creating a new derivation and adding symlinks to each of the paths listed. It expects two arguments, <literal>name</literal>, and <literal>paths</literal>. <literal>name</literal> is the name used in the Nix store path for the created derivation. <literal>paths</literal> is a list of paths that will be symlinked. These paths can be to Nix store derivations or any other subdirectory contained within. + </para> + </listitem> + </varlistentry> + </variablelist> +</chapter> |