Nushell core team meeting 2024-04-17

Attendees

• Filip
• Ian
• Stefan
• Jack
• Michael
• Devyn
• Andy
• Wind
• Jakub
• Darren

Agenda

• benchmarks
• echo
• #12344 use of -- and how to be consistent, re: #11435?
• Any final thoughts on plugin commands?
• Stepped ranges #12537: syntax change or possibly removal?

Discussed Topics

Benchmark

• different frameworks available (Filip has several competing PRs)
  • divan
    • fresh
    • no file output
    • simpler code
    • manual work needed to compare changes (Filip built a manual parsing script)
  • criterion
    • old
    • statistics/file output
  • tango
    • really young
    • A/B testing of two commits/branches in parallel
    • (you can still run a single)
    • little bit more setup
    • supports file output
    • doesn't use proc macros
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    • not supported on Windows without nightly
    • Filip has been in active contact with the dev
  • callgrind
    • no current PR
    • not a library, not a Rust thing
    • would need a script
    • not timing-sensitive (should be more comparable)

→ Use Tango without git.

echo

change to the echo semantics stirring debates

previously trying to emulate bash expectations

• if redirected just yielding a value
• if bare trying to print

Strong muscle memory present for both

edge cases:

# echo and then echo in a closure, redirecting the whole thing
do { echo a; echo b } | lines
# this would have printed a and then returned [b]
# now it just returns [b]

reasons to use echo:

echo foo | save foo.txt
# rather than
"foo" | save foo.txt

# it makes lists
echo a b c # ⇒ [a b c]

-- arguments when invoking nu

• argument quoting challenges
  • let's not build our own command injection risk
• -- as a consistent marker for no more special (flags) parsing?
• Should nu -c get special input?
• step by step, devyn taking the lead

plugin family of commands (replacing register)

• Plugin commands (register replacement) proposal
  • Devyn: probably be able to keep register for 1 deprecated release
  • plugin add would not have to be a hard parser keyword
• packaging/distribution of plugins
  • nupm is designed with plugins in mind
  • plugins can be written in any language / arbitrary binary
  • uses a build script for nupm
    • you could hide a download in here as well (no guaranteed signature validation through that)
  • Jack?: pre-built distribution
    • security/build-infra?
    • target matrix to support (tier-1 targets and how to handle the oddbals)
• custom plugin files for:
  • development
  • overlays/custom virtualenvs

nupm

• General chat on supply chain security/challenges providing sound builds
  • worth comparing notes with
    • AUR
    • cargo folks
• Darren: are we getting ready to include it with the standard library?
• Jakub: registry work to share packages

.......... or the ranges

1..2..10
# is going with a step 1
# as the syntax is indicating the **next** element

counting vs striding style

• counting: mathy continuation
  • e.g. haskell enumeration syntax
• striding: define the step we take
  • e.g. Python's slice operator/range

This doesn't currently work:

Tool for slicing

[1 2 3 4 5 6 7] | range 0..2..6
# expect ⇒ [1 3 5 7]