nix-super/doc/manual/expressions/arguments-variables.xml

<section xmlns="http://docbook.org/ns/docbook"
      xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"
      xmlns:xi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude"
      version="5.0"
      xml:id='sec-arguments'>

<title>Arguments and Variables</title>

<para>The Nix expression in <xref linkend='ex-hello-nix' /> is a
function; it is missing some arguments that have to be filled in
somewhere.  In the Nix Packages collection this is done in the file
<filename>pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix</filename>, where all Nix
expressions for packages are imported and called with the appropriate
arguments. Here are some fragments of
<filename>all-packages.nix</filename>, with annotations of what they
mean:</para>

<programlisting>
...

rec { ①

  hello = import ../applications/misc/hello/ex-1 ② { ③
    inherit fetchurl stdenv perl;
  };

  perl = import ../development/interpreters/perl { ④
    inherit fetchurl stdenv;
  };

  fetchurl = import ../build-support/fetchurl {
    inherit stdenv; ...
  };

  stdenv = ...;

}
</programlisting>

<orderedlist>

  <listitem>
    <para>This file defines a set of attributes, all of which are
    concrete derivations (i.e., not functions).  In fact, we define a
    <emphasis>mutually recursive</emphasis> set of attributes.  That
    is, the attributes can refer to each other.  This is precisely
    what we want since we want to <quote>plug</quote> the
    various packages into each other.</para>
  </listitem>

  <listitem>

    <para>Here we <emphasis>import</emphasis> the Nix expression for
    GNU Hello.  The import operation just loads and returns the
    specified Nix expression. In fact, we could just have put the
    contents of <xref linkend='ex-hello-nix' /> in
    <filename>all-packages.nix</filename> at this point.  That
    would be completely equivalent, but it would make the file rather
    bulky.</para>

    <para>Note that we refer to
    <filename>../applications/misc/hello/ex-1</filename>, not
    <filename>../applications/misc/hello/ex-1/default.nix</filename>.
    When you try to import a directory, Nix automatically appends
    <filename>/default.nix</filename> to the file name.</para>

  </listitem>

  <listitem>

    <para>This is where the actual composition takes place.  Here we
    <emphasis>call</emphasis> the function imported from
    <filename>../applications/misc/hello/ex-1</filename> with a set
    containing the things that the function expects, namely
    <varname>fetchurl</varname>, <varname>stdenv</varname>, and
    <varname>perl</varname>.  We use inherit again to use the
    attributes defined in the surrounding scope (we could also have
    written <literal>fetchurl = fetchurl;</literal>, etc.).</para>

    <para>The result of this function call is an actual derivation
    that can be built by Nix (since when we fill in the arguments of
    the function, what we get is its body, which is the call to
    <varname>stdenv.mkDerivation</varname> in <xref
    linkend='ex-hello-nix' />).</para>

    <note><para>Nixpkgs has a convenience function
    <function>callPackage</function> that imports and calls a
    function, filling in any missing arguments by passing the
    corresponding attribute from the Nixpkgs set, like this:

<programlisting>
hello = callPackage ../applications/misc/hello/ex-1 { };
</programlisting>

    If necessary, you can set or override arguments:

<programlisting>
hello = callPackage ../applications/misc/hello/ex-1 { stdenv = myStdenv; };
</programlisting>

    </para></note>

  </listitem>

  <listitem>

    <para>Likewise, we have to instantiate Perl,
    <varname>fetchurl</varname>, and the standard environment.</para>

  </listitem>

</orderedlist>

</section>