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<pawprint>where can i read about where to get and how to install a guix-based OS ? <pawprint>are there any plans to allow guix to work on any bsd systems? <pawprint>hmm.. i'm trying to get gnu-usb-install-0.7.x86_64 to boot under virtualbox <pawprint>trying to add it as an "exist hard drive", but it's not liking it <pawprint>VBoxManage internalcommands createrawvmdk -filename gnu-usb-install-0.7.x86_64.vmdk -rawdisk gnu-usb-install-0.7.x86_64 <pawprint>then the newly created vmdk can be added as an existing hard drive in virtualbox <jmd>pawprint: So far as I'm aware, the package manager should be installable on BSD. <jmd>But to ask for Guix (the OS) to work on BSD, is like asking GNU/Linux to work on Windows. <mark_weaver>the fundamental problem is that there have to be bootstrap binaries for your platform <mark_weaver>and those bootstrap binaries are built for GNU/Linux only. <mark_weaver>we aim to support GNU/Hurd as well, and I suppose there's no reason why we could at some point target a BSD kernel, but we don't have any plans to support non-GNU userland (libc, etc) <jmd>Not really a fundamental problem. But fixing it would require someone with knowledge about BSD. <mark_weaver>it's not a fundamental problem, but it would likely require a lot of workarounds in a large number of packages. <mark_weaver>so we'd end up with a lot more patching and more complex recipes, thus distracting us from more important things. <mark_weaver>anyway, this was not my decision, it was civodul's. so if you disagree, talk to him about it. <pawprint>there aren't many bootstrap binaries required, right? <pawprint>so couldn't someone with a bsd system just statically compile a few binaries for you to get things started? <jmd>pawprint: I think it would be possible. Yes. <pawprint>i understand the point about a lack of glibc, though <jmd>What does BSD use for a standard C library ? <pawprint>i don't know what the standard is, but i know there are some small glibc alternatives like uclibc, musl, dietlibc, etc <pawprint>some software that doesn't need the more sophisticated glibc features can be built against those <pawprint>anyway, i suppose there's nothing stopping bsd folks from using inspiration from the nix/guix projects to write their own versions <pawprint>but i guess there's never going to be a port <pawprint>after running "guix system init /mnt/etc/config.scm /mnt" (where confg.scm is just the example /etc/configuration-template.scm) i get an error <pawprint>"/gnu/store/r32il5bc546cjf71iywb3j7a18jhmq09-grub-2.00/sbin/grub-probe: error: cannot find a GRUB drive for /dev/sdX. Check your device map." <pawprint>i need to actually edit that sample config <pawprint>when i boot from the system i created with "guix system init /mnt/etc/config.scm /mnt", why does "su - alice" prompt for a password despite me running that command as root? <pawprint>the password that it's prompting me for is the pw for the alice account <mark_weaver>pawprint: everything we build in guix is built against our own bootstrap binaries, which includes our own glibc. we wouldn't want to use BSD libc. <pawprint>even if it made your system more portable? <mark_weaver>however, it might be okay to make a variant of our glibc that works on a BSD kernel. <mark_weaver>even when you install Guix on a GNU/Linux system, it doesn't use any libraries from the host system at all. <jxself>pawprint: Does it not make sense for the GNU System to use its own C library? <pawprint>right, but i guess the issue is whether guix insists on using a library that can only work on linux, or would allow the use of a library that works on both linux and bsd <mark_weaver>Debian runs glibc on a FreeBSD kernel, doesn't it? (I confess I don't know for certain) <pawprint>"Debian GNU/kFreeBSD is a port that consists of GNU userland using the GNU C library on top of FreeBSD's kernel, coupled with the regular Debian package set." <mark_weaver>anyway, my understanding is that portability to non-GNU systems is not a goal for us. however, it _might_ be okay if it can be done without adding noticably to our ongoing maintenance burden. <mark_weaver>and it _might_ be that using GNU libc on a BSD kernel would require relatively little work. we are unlikely to want to use another C library.