Re: [Ghm-discuss] GNU @ FOSDEM 2015

[Alex Sassmannshausen]

Hello,

As suggested by Sylvain, FOSDEM have indeed now gotten back to me to say
that they will be organizing a distributions devroom. They "would like
to refer [us] to the call for papers for the distributions devroom, which
will probably be sent out around mid-October."

So, moving forward this year, I indeed would suggest:
a) if you're ambitious, apply for main track (unlikely to happen)
b) if you have a talk that might fit into any of the devrooms that will
   be confirmed on 1 October, apply for a slot at that devroom directly
   (e.g. the distribution devroom for Guix).

Thanks for your comments on the application!

Best wishes,

Alex

address@hidden writes:

> Hi Alex,
>
> Last year there was one devroom for all distros:
> https://archive.fosdem.org/2014/schedule/track/distributions/
> (and there was a Guix talk already)
>
> Is the goal to get a full devroom?  Debian or Fedora didn't get one,
> so I doubt we can get one through the distro axis.
>
> - Sylvain
>
> On Wed, Sep 10, 2014 at 08:32:05AM +0200, Alex Sassmannshausen wrote:
>> Hello,
>> 
>> Like last year, we decided to apply for a devroom at FOSDEM in Brussels
>> in February.
>> 
>> Last year we were not selected to organize a devroom in the end. The
>> original feedback we received from the organizers suggested they were
>> worried the format of the room might not be technical enough, as it was
>> built around GNU as an organization, philosophy and a practical project
>> around software.
>> 
>> This year our application hence is built around a specific technical
>> project: a GNU distribution built around Guix and software components
>> that are parts of it.
>> 
>> The deadline for the submission of devroom proposals is 15 September, so
>> I thought I'd share our current proposal on this list for the next few
>> days before submitting it.
>> 
>> Feel free to comment if so inclined :-)
>> 
>> Best wishes,
>> 
>> Alex
>> 
>
>> * Devroom name.
>> 
>>   GNU Guix — growing the GNU distribution.
>> 
>> * Devroom description:
>> 
>>   GNU Guix is the foundation for the reference GNU distribution.
>> 
>>   Guix is a functional package manager based on Nix, written in GNU
>>   Guile. Development started just 2 years ago, and it has now reached
>>   a critical juncture: hitherto it was a symbiotic package manager
>>   installed alongside other package managers within distributions. Now
>>   it's also becoming a distribution in its own right.
>> 
>>   Goals of the distro (the niche in the "distro market"):
>>   - transparent, transactional, per-user package-management
>>   - declarative system configuration;
>>   - extensibility from the ground up (where possible core distro
>>     functionality is provided through Guile programs, a language
>>     specifically designed to be hackable and extensible — for example,
>>     at present the init system is provided by dmd, which is written in
>>     Guile);
>>   - secure: builds are performed in isolated environments to
>>     facilitate reproducibility, and can be checked independently by
>>     end-users;
>>   - blurring of lines between developers, distribution maintainers and
>>     end-users:
>>     + high level DSL for describing packages makes packaging easy to
>>       understand for developers and end-users alike, reducing barriers
>>       to distro maintenance contribution;
>>     + support for concurrent system configurations within different
>>       'profiles' allows for on-the-fly system reconfigurations to help
>>       bug-tracking and development.
>> 
>>   The devroom will provide the following content:
>> 
>>   - high level overview of & tutorial on the distribution;
>>   - hacking sessions for packaging software, enhancing the
>>     distribution (installer, package-management tools, user
>>     interfaces);
>>   - discussions & presentations of specific components:
>>     + Secure networking through gnunet:
>>       * integration of the GNU Name Service (peer-to-peer, secure DNS
>>         replacement);
>>       * choice of defaults that help users remain in control (Linux
>>         TCP stealth patch, GNUnet and Tor services, etc.)
>>     + Extending the init system: use Guile (DMD) or established systems?
>>     + Providing kernel hotswapping: supporting hurd development by
>>       providing it as an alternative to linux-libre.
>>     + Extensibility from the ground up: grafting Guile into the heart
>>       of a distro (e.g. GNU Posh, Guix, DMD).
>>   - open discussions on the further development of Guix and the
>>     distro.
>> 
>>   The purpose of the room is to technically progress the distribution
>>   through:
>>   - demonstrations of its viability;
>>   - debates around its technical composition;
>>   - a space where hackers can contribute concrete chunks of code.
>> 
>> * Related URLs
>> 
>>   - GNU Project: http://www.gnu.org
>>   - GNU Guix: http://www.gnu.org/software/guix
>> 
>> * Devroom organisers
>> 
>>   - Alex Sassmannshausen (address@hidden):
>>     co-ordinator and occasional contributor to Guix.
>>   - Ludovic Courtès (address@hidden): maintainer and core developer of
>>     Guix.

-- 
Sent with my mu4e