Hi Julien, On Sun, 10 May 2020 at 14:13, Julien Lepiller <jul...@lepiller.eu> wrote:
> The proposal was about suggesting anotger nameqwhen no package was found, not > to install something else. Sorry I misinterpreted. > >Well, do you have specific example in mind? > > $ guix install gcc > guix install: error: gcc: unknown package > Hint: did you mean `guix install gcc-toolchain`? > > Since not being able to install gcc is surprising, and you don't always know > about gcc-toolchain. I understand even if this one is the wrong example. :-) It even deserves an entry in the manual. Well, but I understand what you mean. > $ guix install gpg > Hint: did you mean `guix install gnupg`? The question is: why do you type 'gpg'? I mean, the upstream name is really GnuPG so it is not one "stupid" Guix devs arbitrary rename because in their infinite wisdom they decided to. ;-) Well, do you type 'gpg' because a) it is the name of the binary? or b) it is the name of the package in your previous favourite distro? If it is a), then a proposal by Pierre named "filesearch" is floating around. And this should improve the situation. If it is b), then I do not see how to improve the situation in the general case. But maybe there is some well-known cases. > Often a name is used to refer to a package, and it's annoying to go through a > search, especially when you have to filter a big output. I agree. From my point the issue is that "guix search" is not doing the job and the improvement should come from this. And your 'gpg' example is a good one, IMHO: --8<---------------cut here---------------start------------->8--- $ guix search gpg | recsel -C -p name,relevance name: signing-party relevance: 16 name: qgpgme relevance: 15 name: libgpg-error relevance: 14 name: python2-gpg relevance: 11 name: python-gpg relevance: 11 name: ledger-agent relevance: 9 name: python2-pygpgme relevance: 8 name: python-pygpgme relevance: 8 name: gpgme relevance: 8 name: kgpg relevance: 6 name: jetring relevance: 6 name: emacs-pinentry relevance: 6 name: trezor-agent relevance: 5 name: python-trezor-agent relevance: 5 name: keepkey-agent relevance: 5 name: qtpass relevance: 2 name: pinentry relevance: 2 name: pinentry-tty relevance: 2 name: pinentry-qt relevance: 2 name: pinentry-gtk2 relevance: 2 name: pinentry-gnome3 relevance: 2 name: pinentry-emacs relevance: 2 name: pinentry-efl relevance: 2 name: kleopatra relevance: 2 name: gnupg relevance: 2 name: gnupg relevance: 2 name: git-remote-gcrypt relevance: 2 name: gajim relevance: 2 name: emacs-extend-smime relevance: 2 name: assword relevance: 2 --8<---------------cut here---------------end--------------->8--- The expected package 'gnupg' appears... piouf! I fully agree that the experience with "guix search" is frustating. And maybe using both the 'upstream-name' and an extra 'properties' such as 'alternative-names' or 'extra-keywords' should help for discoverability. WDYT? All the best, simon
