Re: File search progress: database review and question on triggers

[Ludovic Courtès]

Pierre Neidhardt <mail@ambrevar.xyz> skribis:

>> “Something” needs to build the file-to-package database (which is what
>> you’re working on), and then there needs to be a way for users to fetch
>> that database.  This is all orthogonal to substitutes, as I see it,
>> which is why I think we need to think about integrating it maybe with
>> ‘guix publish’ on the server side and (guix channels) on the client
>> side.
>
> If the database is filled on =guix build=, then the substitute server
> would automatically have a filesearch database.
>
> Question: How do I hook onto =guix build=?

You would need a build-completion hook in the daemon, which doesn’t
exist (yet!).  Note also that at this level we only see derivations, not
packages.

>> Ah got it; having a database known to correspond to a specific commit is
>> even better.
>>
>> However, note that it could take time for the server to provide the
>> complete database for a commit (the time for as many packages as
>> possible to be built), so clients may want to refresh it anyway, or even
>> perhaps to use an older database.
>
> Indeed, and that's why I think we need to include a timestamp: if the
> client's database timestamp is older than that of the substitute server
> database, then we re-fetch it.

Yeah, maybe that can work.

Thanks,
Ludo’.