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31 lines
1.5 KiB
Text
31 lines
1.5 KiB
Text
= Stop reading this chapter!
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When I first began using Nix, it seemed logical to start by learning the Nix language.
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However, after following an in-depth tutorial,
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I found that I didn't know how to do anything useful with the language!
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It wasn't until later that I understood what I was missing:
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a guide to the most useful library functions.
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When working with Nix or NixOS,
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it's very rare that you'll want to write something from scratch.
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Instead, you'll use one of the many library functions
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that make things easier and shield you from the underlying complexity.
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Many of these functions are language-specific,
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and the documentation for them may be inadequate.
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Often the easiest (or only) way to learn to use them
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is to find an example that does something similar to what you want,
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and then modify the function parameters to suit your needs.
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At this point you've learned enough of the Nix language
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to do the majority of common Nix tasks.
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So when I say "Stop reading this chapter!", I'm only half-joking.
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Instead I suggest that you _skim_ the rest of this chapter,
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paying special attention to anything marked with icon:exclamation-circle[].
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Then move on to the following chapters
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where you will learn how to develop and package software using Nix.
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Afterward, come back to this chapter and read it in more detail.
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While writing this book, I anticipated that readers would want to skip around,
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alternating between pure learning and learning-by-doing.
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I've tried to structure the book to support that;
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sometimes repeating information from earlier chapters that you might have skipped.
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