[bug#66426] [PATCH 00/65] Export %default-gnu-imported-modules and %default-gnu-modules.

[Maxim Cournoyer]

Hi Liliana,

Liliana Marie Prikler <liliana.prikler@gmail.com> writes:

> Am Montag, dem 09.10.2023 um 15:36 -0400 schrieb Maxim Cournoyer:
>> Hello,
>> 
>> Liliana Marie Prikler <liliana.prikler@gmail.com> writes:
>> 
>> > Am Montag, dem 09.10.2023 um 12:33 -0400 schrieb Maxim Cournoyer:
>> > > This series introduces default variable bindings for the default
>> > > gnu-build-system IMPORTED-MODULES and MODULES values.  The lack
>> > > of a %default-gnu-modules caused enough confusion, as made
>> > > apparent by this series.
>> > If we're going to do this anyway, let's go big: add modules and
>> > imported-modules to the fields of build-system and allow users to
>> > use that.
>> 
>> I don't understand; what would that look like in practice?  Isn't
>> this already how it works?  Build systems have #:modules and
>> #:imported-modules arguments, which are provided via the 'arguments'
>> field of a package.
> Well, no.   The build-system record currently contains a name,
> description and lowering procedure, but no "immediately helpful" data
> for package writers.
>
>> > Perhaps also add short-hands so that (default-modules gnu)
>> > expands to (build-system-modules gnu-build-system) and likewise for
>> > imported-modules.
>> 
>> Ah!  I understand the idea now.  It feels a bit strange to me to
>> attach such metadata to the build-system record itself though.  At
>> any rate, we could discuss this separately and do it in a future
>> iteration, perhaps?
>> The series posted here already has value in itself, and if we ever go
>> to attach this information to build system objects instead of plain
>> variables, we could use sed to adjust the code base.
>> 
>> What do yo think?
> Hmm, at the very least I'd like to bikeshed the variable names, hence
> my suggestion to encode it into the build system itself, which would
> allow any name locally.  %default-anything reads weird to me, plus it's
> a mouthful for imported modules.

It seems conventional to me: we have %default-subtitute-urls,
%default-channels, %default-include (thousands of matches for
'%default-' upon grepping).

> WDYT about %gnu-build-modules and %gnu-build-system-modules, where
> %gnu-build-system-modules keeps its current intent for being imported?
> Alternatively we could also rename it to %gnu-build-imported-modules
> with a deprecated alias.

People have been adding %gnu-build-system-modules to #:modules
erroneously.  Not renaming that would ensure this keeps happening.
Having 'imported-modules' in the name seems like it'd make things a bit
easier to remember; thus, I think the proposed naming is adequate?

-- 
Thanks,
Maxim