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-rw-r--r--doc/guix.texi31
1 files changed, 17 insertions, 14 deletions
diff --git a/doc/guix.texi b/doc/guix.texi
index 8483dbb4af..648db47a8a 100644
--- a/doc/guix.texi
+++ b/doc/guix.texi
@@ -2219,9 +2219,19 @@ incomplete, outdated, or open to discussions. Please discuss it on
The GNU system supports a consistent whole-system configuration
mechanism. By that we mean that all aspects of the global system
configuration---such as the available system services, timezone and
-locale settings, user accounts---are configured in a single place. Such
+locale settings, user accounts---are declared in a single place. Such
a @dfn{system configuration} can be @dfn{instantiated}---i.e., effected.
+One of the advantages of putting all the system configuration under the
+control of Guix is that it supports transactional system upgrades, and
+makes it possible to roll-back to a previous system instantiation,
+should something go wrong with the new one (@pxref{Features}). Another
+one is that it makes it easy to replicate the exact same configuration
+across different machines, or at different points in time, without
+having to resort to additional administration tools layered on top of
+the system's own tools.
+@c Yes, we're talking of Puppet, Chef, & co. here. ↑
+
This section describes this mechanism. First we focus on the system
administrator's viewpoint---explaining how the system is configured and
instantiated. Then we show how this mechanism can be extended, for
@@ -2253,7 +2263,7 @@ Linux-Libre kernel, initial RAM disk, and boot loader looks like this:
(gnu packages guile) ; Guile
(gnu packages linux)) ; procps, psmisc
-(define %komputilo
+(define komputilo
(operating-system
(host-name "komputilo")
(timezone "Europe/Paris")
@@ -2275,10 +2285,11 @@ Linux-Libre kernel, initial RAM disk, and boot loader looks like this:
@end lisp
This example should be self-describing. The @code{packages} field lists
-packages provides by the various @code{(gnu packages ...)} modules above;
-these are the packages that will be globally visible on the system, for
-all user accounts, in addition to the per-user profiles (@pxref{Invoking
-guix package}).
+packages provided by the various @code{(gnu packages ...)} modules above
+(@pxref{Package Modules}). These are the packages that will be globally
+visible on the system, for all user accounts---i.e., in every user's
+@code{PATH} environment variable---in addition to the per-user profiles
+(@pxref{Invoking guix package}).
The @code{services} field lists @dfn{system services} to be made
available when the system starts. The @var{%standard-services} list,
@@ -2315,14 +2326,6 @@ the packages, configuration files, and other supporting files needed to
instantiate @var{os}.
@end deffn
-One of the advantages of putting all the system configuration under the
-control of Guix is that it makes it possible to roll-back to a previous
-system instantiation, should anything go wrong with the new one.
-Another one is that it makes it easy to replicate the very same
-configuration across different machines, or at different points in time,
-without having to resort to additional administration tools layered on
-top of the system's own tools.
-@c Yes, we're talking of Puppet, Chef, & co. here. ↑
@node Defining Services
@subsection Defining Services