Previously, errors while printing values in `nix repl` would be printed
in `«error: ...»` brackets rather than displayed normally:
```
nix-repl> legacyPackages.aarch64-darwin.pythonPackages.APScheduler
«error: Package ‘python-2.7.18.7’ in /nix/store/6s0m1qc31zw3l3kq0q4wd5cp3lqpkq0q-source/pkgs/development/interpreters/python/cpython/2.7/default.nix:335 is marked as insecure, refusing to evaluate.»
```
Now, errors will be displayed normally if they're emitted at the
top-level of an expression:
```
nix-repl> legacyPackages.aarch64-darwin.pythonPackages.APScheduler
error:
… in the condition of the assert statement
at /nix/store/6s0m1qc31zw3l3kq0q4wd5cp3lqpkq0q-source/lib/customisation.nix:268:17:
267| in commonAttrs // {
268| drvPath = assert condition; drv.drvPath;
| ^
269| outPath = assert condition; drv.outPath;
… in the left operand of the OR (||) operator
at /nix/store/6s0m1qc31zw3l3kq0q4wd5cp3lqpkq0q-source/pkgs/development/interpreters/python/passthrufun.nix:28:45:
27| if lib.isDerivation value then
28| lib.extendDerivation (valid value || throw "${name} should use `buildPythonPackage` or `toPythonModule` if it is to be part of the Python packages set.") {} value
| ^
29| else
(stack trace truncated; use '--show-trace' to show the full trace)
error: Package ‘python-2.7.18.7’ in /nix/store/6s0m1qc31zw3l3kq0q4wd5cp3lqpkq0q-source/pkgs/development/interpreters/python/cpython/2.7/default.nix:335 is marked as insecure, refusing to evaluate.
```
Errors emitted in nested structures (like e.g. when printing `nixpkgs`)
will still be printed in brackets.
Pretty-print values in the REPL by printing each item in a list or
attrset on a separate line. When possible, single-item lists and
attrsets are printed on one line, as long as they don't contain a nested
list, attrset, or thunk.
Before:
```
{ attrs = { a = { b = { c = { }; }; }; }; list = [ 1 ]; list' = [ 1 2 3 ]; }
```
After:
```
{
attrs = {
a = {
b = {
c = { };
};
};
};
list = [ 1 ];
list' = [
1
2
3
];
}
```
This extends the `error: cannot coerce a TYPE to a string` message
to print the value that could not be coerced. This helps with debugging
by making it easier to track down where the value is being produced
from, especially in errors with deep or unhelpful stack traces.
Previously, there were two mostly-identical value printers -- one in
`libexpr/eval.cc` (which didn't force values) and one in
`libcmd/repl.cc` (which did force values and also printed ANSI color
codes).
This PR unifies both of these printers into `print.cc` and provides a
`PrintOptions` struct for controlling the output, which allows for
toggling whether values are forced, whether repeated values are tracked,
and whether ANSI color codes are displayed.
Additionally, `PrintOptions` allows tuning the maximum number of
attributes, list items, and bytes in a string that will be displayed;
this makes it ideal for contexts where printing too much output (e.g.
all of Nixpkgs) is distracting. (As requested by @roberth in
https://github.com/NixOS/nix/pull/9554#issuecomment-1845095735)
Please read the tests for example output.
Future work:
- It would be nice to provide this function as a builtin, perhaps
`builtins.toStringDebug` -- a printing function that never fails would
be useful when debugging Nix code.
- It would be nice to support customizing `PrintOptions` members on the
command line, e.g. `--option to-string-max-attrs 1000`.
