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diff --git a/nixpkgs/pkgs/applications/science/math/sage/README.md b/nixpkgs/pkgs/applications/science/math/sage/README.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000000..26e91fc63133 --- /dev/null +++ b/nixpkgs/pkgs/applications/science/math/sage/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,78 @@ +# Sage on nixos + +Sage is a pretty complex package that depends on many other complex packages and patches some of those. As a result, the sage nix package is also quite complex. + +Don't feel discouraged to fix, simplify or improve things though. The individual files have comments explaining their purpose. The most importent ones are `default.nix` linking everything together, `sage-src.nix` adding patches and `sagelib.nix` building the actual sage package. + +## The sage build is broken + +First you should find out which change to nixpkgs is at fault (if you don't already know). You can use `git-bisect` for that (see the manpage). + +If the build broke as a result of a package update, try those solutions in order: + +- search the [sage trac](https://trac.sagemath.org/) for keywords like "Upgrade <package>". Maybe somebody has already proposed a patch that fixes the issue. You can then add a `fetchpatch` to `sage-src.nix`. + +- check if [gentoo](https://github.com/cschwan/sage-on-gentoo/tree/master/sci-mathematics/sage), [debian](https://salsa.debian.org/science-team/sagemath/tree/master/debian) or [arch linux](https://git.archlinux.org/svntogit/community.git/tree/trunk?h=packages/sagemath) already solved the problem. You can then again add a `fetchpatch` to `sage-src.nix`. If applicable you should also [propose the patch upstream](#proposing-a-sage-patch). + +- fix the problem yourself. First clone the sagemath source and then check out the sage version you want to patch: + +``` +[user@localhost ~]$ git clone git://github.com/sagemath/sage.git +[user@localhost ~]$ cd sage +[user@localhost sage]$ git checkout 8.2 # substitute the relevant version here +``` + +Then make the needed changes and generate a patch with `git diff`: + +``` +[user@localhost ~]$ <make changes> +[user@localhost ~]$ git diff -u > /path/to/nixpkgs/pkgs/applications/science/math/sage/patches/name-of-patch.patch +``` + +Now just add the patch to `sage-src.nix` and test your changes. If they fix the problem, [propose them upstream](#proposing-a-sage-patch) and add a link to the trac ticket. + +- pin the package version in `default.nix` and add a note that explains why that is necessary. + + +## Proposing a sage patch + +You can [login the sage trac using GitHub](https://trac.sagemath.org/login). Your username will then be `gh-<your-github-name>`. The only other way is to request a trac account via email. After that refer to [git the hard way](http://doc.sagemath.org/html/en/developer/manual_git.html#chapter-manual-git) in the sage documentation. The "easy way" requires a non-GitHub account (requested via email) and a special tool. The "hard way" is really not all that hard if you're a bit familiar with git. + +Here's the gist, assuming you want to use ssh key authentication. First, [add your public ssh key](https://trac.sagemath.org/prefs/sshkeys). Then: + +``` +[user@localhost ~]$ git clone git://github.com/sagemath/sage.git +[user@localhost ~]$ cd sage +[user@localhost sage]$ git remote add trac git@trac.sagemath.org:sage.git -t master +[user@localhost sage]$ git checkout -b u/gh-<your-github-username>/<your-branch-name> develop +[user@localhost sage]$ <make changes> +[user@localhost sage]$ git add . +[user@localhost sage]$ git commit +[user@localhost sage]$ git show # review your changes +[user@localhost sage]$ git push --set-upstream trac u/gh-<your-github-username>/<your-branch-name> +``` + +You now created a branch on the trac server (you *must* follow the naming scheme as you only have push access to branches with the `u/gh-<your-github-username>/` prefix). +Now you can [create a new trac ticket](https://trac.sagemath.org/newticket). +- Write a description of the change +- set the type and component as appropriate +- write your real name in the "Authors" field +- write `u/gh-<your-github-username>/<your-branch-name>` in the "Branch" field +- click "Create ticket" +- click "Modify" on the top right of your ticket (for some reason you can only change the ticket status after you have created it) +- set the ticket status from `new` to `needs_review` +- click "Save changes" + +Refer to sages [Developer's Guide](http://doc.sagemath.org/html/en/developer/index.html) for further details. + +## I want to update sage + +You'll need to change the `version` field in `sage-src.nix`. Afterwards just try to build and let nix tell you which patches no longer apply (hopefully because they were adopted upstream). Remove those. + +Hopefully the build will succeed now. If it doesn't and the problem is obvious, fix it as described in [The sage build is broken](#the-sage-build-is-broken). +If the problem is not obvious, you can try to first update sage to an intermediate version (remember that you can also set the `version` field to any git revision of sage) and locate the sage commit that introduced the issue. You can even use `git-bisect` for that (it will only be a bit tricky to keep track of which patches to apply). Hopefully after that the issue will be obvious. + +## Well, that didn't help! + +If you couldn't fix the problem, create a GitHub issue on the nixpkgs repo and ping @timokau (or whoever is listed in the `maintainers` list of the sage package). +Describe what you did and why it didn't work. Afterwards it would be great if you help the next guy out and improve this documentation! |