There are also quite a few attempts at "Nix without NixLang". In the ecosystem, I can think of Nickel (a different configuration language, but one with strong typing), Garn (Nix but using TypeScript), and Guix (Nix but using Scheme, and also kind of an ecosystem fork I think?). The common link behind all of them is that they all still have Nix in their DNA, i.e. using a Nix store with Nix derivations under the hood
Outside Nix, there's Brioche (my project!), and there's also Vorpal and Tangram, all of which are "Nix-like" but are from-scratch projects instead of using any Nix tooling
So I definitely agree that Nix as an _idea_ is right, and I definitely also agree that NixLang is a blocker for mass adoption. Personally though, I think if you dig deeper, there are other places that could use improvement beyond just the language itself (but nothing that would necessarily be a show-stopper for adoption IMO). But that's why my project is a "Nix-like"-- there are things that I think Nix could / should do, but which aren't really compatible with the way Nix itself works. One example: Brioche works without having a global store path-- it's per-user instead so that it can be installed rootlessly-- which doesn't really map well to how Nix itself handles store paths and dependencies
So point is, I agree Nix is the right model, but I think the _real_ gold lies outside Nix itself (...with the side note that I'm obviously biased!)
I’ll check out your project - everything you say here resonates with me, especially the rootless nature.
What we probably need, long term, is a content addressable store, local first, secure, and freely shareable. Layering this on top of POSIX filesystems feels awkward and difficult to trust. But this is the fundamental building block of Nix-like systems and would make the move from rootless to system-wide a mostly trivial exercise.
Outside Nix, there's Brioche (my project!), and there's also Vorpal and Tangram, all of which are "Nix-like" but are from-scratch projects instead of using any Nix tooling
So I definitely agree that Nix as an _idea_ is right, and I definitely also agree that NixLang is a blocker for mass adoption. Personally though, I think if you dig deeper, there are other places that could use improvement beyond just the language itself (but nothing that would necessarily be a show-stopper for adoption IMO). But that's why my project is a "Nix-like"-- there are things that I think Nix could / should do, but which aren't really compatible with the way Nix itself works. One example: Brioche works without having a global store path-- it's per-user instead so that it can be installed rootlessly-- which doesn't really map well to how Nix itself handles store paths and dependencies
So point is, I agree Nix is the right model, but I think the _real_ gold lies outside Nix itself (...with the side note that I'm obviously biased!)