NixOS: Difference between revisions

Nix parses ''Nix expressions'' written in the [[Nix expression language]]; these are pure functions taking dependencies as arguments and producing ''derivation'' specifying a reproducible build environment for the package. The package is then built the ''Nix store'', receiving a unique address specified by a cryptographic hash of the build's dependency graph followed by the package name and version, for example <code>/nix/store/nawl092prjblbhvv16kxxbk6j9gkgcqm-git-2.14.1</code>. This allows Nix to simultaneously install different versions of the same package, and even different builds of the same version, for example variants built with different compilers.