Subject: bug#30093: Installing python-ipython breaks Gnome on Fedora.

From: Maxim Cournoyer <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 04 Oct 2020 14:25:47 -0400

Hello,

Fis Trivial <[email-masked]> writes:

>>
>> so I
>> still think it might be best to deal with the problems on a case by case
>> basis.
>>
>
> I tried to find out what would Fedora set *GI_TYPELIB_PATH* if guix didn't.
> It turns out, nothing. If I comment out the line containing *GI_TYPELIB_PATH*
> in ~/.guix-profile/etc/profile, the variable won't be exist.
> Is there any suggestion for what I can do, to let guix have this variable, while
> Fedora wouldn't see it?

I think a bold, but definitive approach at fixing this problem would be
to never use known environment variables in Guix search paths
specifications.

Instead, we should introduce custom Guix-specific flavors of the same
variables, e.g. GUIX_GI_TYPELIB_PATH.  That's more work (need to write
and maintain patches that add those Guix-specific variables along their
regular flavor), but that'd mean we can set all the variables we want
not worrying about breaking a foreign distribution.

What do you think?

Maxim