Subject: [bug#48924] Add systemd

From: Leo Prikler <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2021 19:11:18 +0200

Hi,

Am Freitag, den 11.06.2021, 18:39 +0200 schrieb Ludovic Courtès:
> > This was in part already discussed in IRC, but to reiterate, I
> > think
> > that the systemd package should be usable in some capacity -- be
> > it,
> > that we can run systemd as user daemons or be it, that we can
> > *meaningfully* link free software against it.  Note however, that
> > the
> > latter most likely implies the first, since there's no meaningful
> > linkage against systemd without one of its daemons running.
> 
> Given the maintenance cost, we’d need a more convincing argument than
> “should be usable”.  :-)
> 
> So it seems to me that we’re done with it as far as inclusion in Guix
> is concerned.  Thoughts?
> 
> It’s typically a situation where an external channel is more
> appropriate, IMO.
I'm definitely leaning towards not including it as-is/perhaps having it
in an external channel as well, but I don't think "high maintenance"
should generally be a deterrent against a functioning package (or
rather the only reason to keep a package from being included).  Guix
already has packages, that I would consider to be of higher
maintenance, e.g. GNOME, and I do think it would help Guix users if
(parts of) systemd became a viable option.  I am simply doubting the
functionality of this package as it currently exists.

That said, I don't think myself to be in a place to make accurate
judgements about entry requirements.  I suggested “should be usable” as
a bare minimum because it seemed easy to convey.  There are also other
things to consider, like coding style, adherence to packaging
guidelines, etc. with maintainability somewhere among them, but I can't
really phrase all of those well into a simple sentence.  I also think
that some reviewer should be able to take an already functioning
package description and perform cosmetic changes to transform it into
one better suited for Guix, though that might be a bit of a
controversial statement.

Regards,
Leo