Ludovic Courtès writes: > So, now that 1.3.0 is out the door, what’s next?!
> What’s your wish list? What do you feel an urge to hack on? :-) There are two improvements on my Guix wish list. 1) Make the core parts of Guix reproducible ** I do not know if this fits into the 4-6 month time frame mentioned. 2) Alternative kernel ** Motivated by 1. ** Longer term beyond 6 months. 1) Make the core parts of Guix reproducible Many core parts of Guix are not reproducible. If more core parts of Guix were reproducible it would benefit all Guix users. There are several core parts of Guix that are not reproducible including: * Linux-libre https://issues.guix.gnu.org/24028#2 Note: I like what the Linux-libre project is doing. This is likely a result of Linux not being reproducible. * Many guix-* https://issues.guix.gnu.org/48487#0 * Guile https://issues.guix.gnu.org/48490#0 * nss 3.59 on the master branch https://issues.guix.gnu.org/40316#5 * Emacs https://issues.guix.gnu.org/35085#7 Note: A good text editor is important. nvi, vim and neovim are reproducible for me. Emacs is more than a text editor and that is a part of why it is not reproducible. 2) Alternative kernel It is important to have a reproducible kernel. Linux-libre is not reproducible (see 1 above). Linux-libre has not been reproducible for an extended period of time. Linux-libre not being reproducible was reported in 2016 <https://issues.guix.gnu.org/24028#0>. <https://odysee.com/@Lunduke:e/LinuxSucks2021:1> provides an interesting thought exercise. What free libre kernel would Guix use if Linux was no longer a viable option? I do not agree with all their points. The point on Linux complexity increasing rapidly (13:29-17:56) is the one I would be most concerned about. Both Linux-libre not being reproducible and the idea that Linux might not be viable in the future highlight the importance (and potential urgency) of having an alternative free libre kernel that Guix can run on. It is great that work is already underway to get Guix to run on the Gnu Hurd microkernel. I think the design concept of a microkernel make them more resistant to the problem of increasing complexity at the kernel level when compared to monolithic kernels. With microkernels the increased complexity is pushes out to user processes. This allows the user (or their operating system) to choose the level of complexity. <http://www.microkernel.info/> is a listing of microkernel projects.
