Nix, the language? It's very good for derivations (big, composed k:v maps), but it doesn't feel like a lisp, nor would I want to try using it for docker-compose or a config for pre-commit or an omega one description of an ML model parameterisation.
Then again I'd love to be shown that this partially-considered opinion is wrong.
(Also, isn't Nix's inadequacy as a lisp one of the reasons for the existence of Guix?)
Re:XML is better than YAML
by otabdeveloper4 on Thursday September 21, 2023 @05:47AM
(#37595401)
Nix is JSON + arrow functions + variables.
The only difference between Nix and a hypothetical JSON++ is that Nix is lazy by default.
I.e., it is nothing at all like any Lisp.
I actually use Nix to generate YAML files for GitHub Actions in one of my repositories. It allows me to share code between multiple actions and be consistent with versions/formatting.
That's a really nice use case! Could you provide a link?
Sorry, didn't see this comment. It is here: https://github.com/thiagokokada/nix-configs
In the `actions` directory is all the Nix files. There is some glue code in `lib/flakes` to generate the YAML files from Nix.
I wish more tooling used Nix, it's a great lisp that isn't ugly.