Re: [PATCH 6/6] emacs: Add interface for system generations.

[Ludovic Courtès]

Alex Kost <address@hidden> skribis:

> Ludovic Courtès (2016-01-12 23:35 +0300) wrote:
>
>> Alex Kost <address@hidden> skribis:
>>
>>> * emacs/guix-main.scm (system-generation-boot-parameters)
>>> (system-generation-param-alist, system-generation-sexps): New procedures.
>>> (entries): Add 'system-generation' entry type.
>>> * emacs/guix-messages.el (guix-result-message): Use the same messages
>>>   for 'generation' and 'system-generation' entry types.
>>> * emacs/guix-ui-system-generation.el: New file.
>>> * emacs.am (ELFILES): Add it.
>>> * doc/emacs.texi (Emacs Commands): Document new commands.
>>> * NEWS: Mention new interface.
>>
>> [...]
>>
>>> +Analogously on GuixSD you can also display system generations:
>>> +
>>> address@hidden @kbd
>>> address@hidden M-x guix-system-generations
>>> address@hidden M-x guix-last-system-generations
>>> address@hidden M-x guix-system-generations-by-time
>>> address@hidden table
>>
>> As simple as this.  :-)
>>
>> And I guess it’s also possible to select generations, delete them, and
>> switch to a specific one, as with M-x guix-generations?
>
> Well yes, but only if emacs was started with root privileges.  At first
> I was going to remove support for deleting/switching system generations
> because of this, but then I left it, as I thought there might exist
> users who run emacs from "root" for some reason, and such manipulating
> system generations may be useful for them.

Sounds reasonable.

>> Though maybe it would have to use
>> “sudo:localhost:/run/current-system/profile” (via Tramp) to be able to
>> modify things.  Maybe it could somehow offer to gain root privileges
>> when performing an action?
>
> I don't see how it can be done, since we use a guile REPL to perform
> such actions (for example, ‘delete-generations’ procedure from (guix
> scripts package) module).  But the REPL is started with the same
> privileges as emacs.

Oh right.  We could use elisp code to delete the symlink (that would
allow us to use Tramp), but it’s probably not worth bothering.

Thanks!

Ludo’.