Re: distinguishing between applications and libraries

[Ricardo Wurmus]

Hi Robert,

> Has it been considered to track applications and libraries
> separately? Along the lines of:
>
> - package definitions could have a `type` field, or a `library`
>   flag or similar

This dichotomy falls apart with many bioinformatics packages that
provide both libraries and executables, where neither of the two types
is prioritized.

> - `guix search` would ignore library packages by default

I think it’s valid for users to want to install libraries.  For Python,
for example, installing modules that don’t provide any executables
appears to be the norm.

--
Ricardo