> This is precisely what every linux distro does. Nix isn't providing novel functionality for bootable OS images.
None of them provide native, single-source-of-truth declarative configuration that is easy to reason about, pure, and guaranteed to deliver sane results every time (vs. something managed via a classic CM system). Oh, also one that it symmetrical to the way the distribution itself is built and managed.
> But a bigger question for the ergonomics of NixOS: Are NixOS and Nix prebuilding for ARM now?
> None of them provide native, single-source-of-truth declarative configuration that is easy to reason about, pure, and guaranteed to deliver sane results every time (vs. something managed via a classic CM system).
Firstly: the Nix language isn't pure. And neither are some base Nix library functions.
Secondly: You may find it easy to reason about. Many of us have not had that experience. Trying to do work as a developer, I felt it was absolutely miserable the instant I needed to depend on a new package or a new runtime. Every language had slightly different conventions and rules. You had to relearn how any specific package worked to integrate it with another, because there often wasn't sanity. And if you DID need to somehow interface with something outside of Nix (say, a vendor binary not in Nix) you had to use an unreliable environment hack.
And of course, the tutorials and docs didn't actually cover the majority of concerns on how to add new stuff folks will inevitably have, except for a trivial C executable.
In one case, after spending a week working out how to add a package to enable a Haskell binding to said package correctly, I submitted package updates that took MONTHS to propagate into the main repo, so I had to start pushing my fork of the nix repo from machine to machine via github on my own to manage multiple machines. It was pretty ridiculous and I regretted my choices.
I like the Nix philosophy. I respect a lot of the people on the project. But I am not a fan of the "it is all fine and well-baked and I'm sure you can use it too" approach a lot of Nix proponents decide to take.
You could absolutely arrive at a solid installable image for ANY major Linux distro.
But a bigger question for the ergonomics of NixOS: Are NixOS and Nix prebuilding for ARM now?