2020-03-14 00:02:54 +01:00
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---
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title: "Lets Learn Nix"
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date: 2020-03-13T21:50:47Z
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draft: false
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---
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## Background
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[Nix][wtf-nix] may be the most useful tool that I use. I consider it as valuable
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as [Git][wtf-git] or [Emacs][wtf-emacs]. My friend, David ([@dmjio][who-dmjio]),
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first introduced me to Nix when we worked together at a Haskell startup in
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NYC. Before this, I had been managing my system configuration using software
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that I wrote -- first in Bash, then in Python, then in Golang.
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It took me awhile to understand Nix. I left the NYC startup, joined Google, and
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relocated to London. Here I met another Nix-enlightened monk, Vincent
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([@tazjin][who-tazjin]), who patiently taught me enough Nix to become
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self-reliant and productive.
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Many resources exist to learn Nix; the Nix community on IRC continues to help me
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and others effectively use Nix. I'm creating this series to write the tutorials
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that I would have found useful when I started learning Nix. If you are just
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beginning your Nix journey, I hope these tutorials help you.
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## Goals
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I aim to make each tutorial in the "Let's Learn Nix" series:
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- Actionable: Readers will be writing code.
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- Digestible: Readers should be able to finish each tutorial in fifteen minutes.
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- Reproducible: Readers should expect the output of their code to match what
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these tutorials claim they should see.
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## About the author
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My name is William ([@wpcarro][who-wpcarro]). My three favorite tools are Git,
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2020-03-14 00:14:03 +01:00
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Emacs, and Nix. I am an American expat currently working at Google in
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London. While during the day I primarily write Java, Python, and TypeScript, I
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2020-03-14 00:02:54 +01:00
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prefer functional programming. I use Nix to deploy software and manage the
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multiple machines across which I work.
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## Let's Begin
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Before we get started, Nix is a programming language. To familiarize yourself
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with the syntax, semantics, and idioms, consider reading this brief [Nix One
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Pager][nix-1p]. I recommend keeping it around as a reference.
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When I was first learning Nix, I wanted to use it to manage my dotfiles. Our
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first tutorial will help you get started: [Let's Learn Nix:
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Dotfiles][lln-dotfiles]
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[wtf-nix]: https://nixos.org
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[wtf-git]: https://git-scm.com
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[wtf-emacs]: https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs
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[who-dmjio]: https://twitter.com/dmjio
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2020-03-14 00:10:06 +01:00
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[who-tazjin]: https://twitter.com/tazjin
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2020-03-14 00:02:54 +01:00
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[who-wpcarro]: https://twitter.com/wpcarro
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[lln-dotfiles]: /lets-learn-nix-dotfiles
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[nix-1p]: https://github.com/tazjin/nix-1p
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