[Guix packaging] DoctorWkt/Apout #40

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opened 2026-08-14 13:16:34 +00:00 by htayj · 1 comment

htayj commented

2026-08-14 13:16:34 +00:00

(Migrated from github.com)

Candidate

Upstream canonical URL: https://github.com/DoctorWkt/Apout
Source pinned commit/release when known: bd9af21bd8bb2fa956dcda5db0b0aeec2cffc8f7 (default-branch snapshot checked 2026-08-14)
Target concrete installed deliverable: apout PDP-11 Unix a.out user-mode emulator
Primary category: emulator
Tags: historical-computing, pdp-11
Primary language normalized: C
Build system: gnu-build-system with custom make phase
SPDX expression: GPL-3.0-only
License status: confirmed-free
License evidence: The upstream LICENSE/COPYING was previously inspected at the pinned snapshot and identifies GPL-3.0-only.
Difficulty: moderate — Legacy C compiler flags require a small modernization patch and supplied historical binaries need validation.
Workflow state: research
Existing Guix coverage: Checked 2026-08-14: GNU Guix, Nonguix, Guix Science, Guix HPC, Guix Past, Guix 'R Us, and RDE; no equivalent package with the same upstream origin was found.

Scope and blockers

Build only the host user-mode apout executable, not a guest system image.

Acceptance checks

guix lint -L. <package-name> and guix build -L. <package-name> pass once a package definition exists.
Run apout against a supplied historical a.out fixture with networking disabled.

Imported from GitHub issue/PR. Originally posted by htayj on 2026-08-14T13:16:34Z.

## Candidate - Upstream canonical URL: https://github.com/DoctorWkt/Apout - Source pinned commit/release when known: `bd9af21bd8bb2fa956dcda5db0b0aeec2cffc8f7` (default-branch snapshot checked 2026-08-14) - Target concrete installed deliverable: apout PDP-11 Unix a.out user-mode emulator - Primary category: emulator - Tags: historical-computing, pdp-11 - Primary language normalized: C - Build system: gnu-build-system with custom make phase - SPDX expression: GPL-3.0-only - License status: confirmed-free - License evidence: The upstream LICENSE/COPYING was previously inspected at the pinned snapshot and identifies GPL-3.0-only. - Difficulty: moderate — Legacy C compiler flags require a small modernization patch and supplied historical binaries need validation. - Workflow state: research - Existing Guix coverage: Checked 2026-08-14: GNU Guix, Nonguix, Guix Science, Guix HPC, Guix Past, Guix 'R Us, and RDE; no equivalent package with the same upstream origin was found. ## Scope and blockers Build only the host user-mode apout executable, not a guest system image. ## Acceptance checks - `guix lint -L. <package-name>` and `guix build -L. <package-name>` pass once a package definition exists. - Run apout against a supplied historical a.out fixture with networking disabled. --- Imported from [GitHub issue/PR](https://github.com/htayj/guix-channel/issues/40). Originally posted by [htayj](https://github.com/htayj) on 2026-08-14T13:16:34Z.

htayj commented

2026-08-25 12:14:06 +00:00

(Migrated from github.com)

Goocastle recorded disposition: implementation-ready.

Created implementation ticket: #604.

Canonical upstream is https://github.com/DoctorWkt/Apout at the fixed master commit bd9af21bd8bb2fa956dcda5db0b0aeec2cffc8f7 (the local source snapshot larsbrinkhoff-apout-source records Guix version 0-bd9af21, codeload hash 1w7xckknr3acdsf2d7vg4vib93m7kh65lr212gqwhr0db9nxn551; upstream identifies this tree as Apout 2.4.0). The pinned tree contains the complete host C emulator and Makefile target apout, has no configure step, generated assets, vendored dependency graph, or build-time downloads, and links only -lm against the normal target C/POSIX runtime, so it is source-buildable with gnu-build-system plus the standard target GCC/make/libc toolchain and no nonstandard inputs or guest OS image. Use a new module tay/packages/apout.scm importing (tay packages larsbrinkhoff-a-f), guix build-system gnu, guix gexp, guix build utils, and guix packages; define package apout from that exact source, delete configure, replace build with an explicit make apout phase using CC=$(cc-for-target), and disable the nonexistent upstream check target. Do not use upstream install, which hard-codes /usr/local: install apout to $out/bin, apout.1 to $out/share/man/man1, and README/CHANGES/LIMITATIONS/TODO/LICENSE/COPYRIGHT under $out/share/doc/apout-0-bd9af21. Apply one small Makefile patch changing the default preprocessor flag -DEMUv1 to -DEMUV1: the README, defines.h, aout.c, ke11a.c, and v1trap.c all use EMUV1, so the upstream spelling otherwise silently omits first/second-edition support. Pass deterministic APOUT_OPTIONS=-DEMU211 -DEMUV1 -DNATIVES -DAPOUT_DONT_ASSUME_ROOT in the make flags; the last supported upstream option makes invocation fail rather than defaulting absolute guest paths to the host /. No wrapper or guest filesystem belongs in the output. At runtime users must set APOUT_ROOT to a user-owned guest root; preserve optional APOUT_UNIX_VERSION for ambiguous 0407 a.out files. NATIVES and the trap code deliberately execute native programs and directly call host filesystem/process/socket APIs, so document that APOUT_ROOT is not a security sandbox and do not claim network isolation from the package itself. The upstream LICENSE is GPL version 3 only; COPYRIGHT records Warren Toomey and the Eric A. Edwards-derived PDP-11 simulator code, and bsd_signal.c preserves the Berkeley notice. Use Guix license:gpl3 and install both LICENSE and COPYRIGHT; no other bundled executable or asset needs a separate license review. Local inspection shows no apout executable package: larsbrinkhoff-apout-source is preservation-only, and the issue inventory found no same-origin equivalent in GNU Guix, Nonguix, Guix Science, Guix HPC, Guix Past, Guix 'R Us, or RDE. Add tests/apout-smoke.sh as the meaningful proof: require a supplied, provenance- and redistribution-cleared historical PDP-11 a.out fixture (prefer a fixed V7 cal/echo fixture with an expected transcript; do not fetch or package an unlicensed TUHS binary or a guest image), obtain the apout output path with guix build -L. apout or accept it as the sole argument, and fail if the fixture is absent. Run the probe from a fresh temporary HOME, XDG_CONFIG_HOME, XDG_DATA_HOME, XDG_CACHE_HOME, current directory, and APOUT_ROOT, under unshare --user --map-root-user --net or the Guix no-network build sandbox with failure if an isolated namespace cannot be established. Set APOUT_UNIX_VERSION=V7 when applicable, invoke $out/bin/apout against the fixture with its fixed argument and assert exit status plus the exact expected historical-program output, verify unset APOUT_ROOT is rejected with the supported diagnostic, grep installed LICENSE/COPYRIGHT notices, and compare a pre/post manifest of the package output to prove the run wrote only into temporary state. After implementation, the precise acceptance commands are guix lint -L. apout and guix build -L. apout; this research disposition does not claim either package proof.

Imported from GitHub comment. Originally posted by htayj on 2026-08-25T12:14:06Z.

Goocastle recorded disposition: implementation-ready. Created implementation ticket: #604. Canonical upstream is https://github.com/DoctorWkt/Apout at the fixed master commit bd9af21bd8bb2fa956dcda5db0b0aeec2cffc8f7 (the local source snapshot larsbrinkhoff-apout-source records Guix version 0-bd9af21, codeload hash 1w7xckknr3acdsf2d7vg4vib93m7kh65lr212gqwhr0db9nxn551; upstream identifies this tree as Apout 2.4.0). The pinned tree contains the complete host C emulator and Makefile target apout, has no configure step, generated assets, vendored dependency graph, or build-time downloads, and links only -lm against the normal target C/POSIX runtime, so it is source-buildable with gnu-build-system plus the standard target GCC/make/libc toolchain and no nonstandard inputs or guest OS image. Use a new module tay/packages/apout.scm importing (tay packages larsbrinkhoff-a-f), guix build-system gnu, guix gexp, guix build utils, and guix packages; define package apout from that exact source, delete configure, replace build with an explicit make apout phase using CC=$(cc-for-target), and disable the nonexistent upstream check target. Do not use upstream install, which hard-codes /usr/local: install apout to $out/bin, apout.1 to $out/share/man/man1, and README/CHANGES/LIMITATIONS/TODO/LICENSE/COPYRIGHT under $out/share/doc/apout-0-bd9af21. Apply one small Makefile patch changing the default preprocessor flag -DEMUv1 to -DEMUV1: the README, defines.h, aout.c, ke11a.c, and v1trap.c all use EMUV1, so the upstream spelling otherwise silently omits first/second-edition support. Pass deterministic APOUT_OPTIONS=-DEMU211 -DEMUV1 -DNATIVES -DAPOUT_DONT_ASSUME_ROOT in the make flags; the last supported upstream option makes invocation fail rather than defaulting absolute guest paths to the host /. No wrapper or guest filesystem belongs in the output. At runtime users must set APOUT_ROOT to a user-owned guest root; preserve optional APOUT_UNIX_VERSION for ambiguous 0407 a.out files. NATIVES and the trap code deliberately execute native programs and directly call host filesystem/process/socket APIs, so document that APOUT_ROOT is not a security sandbox and do not claim network isolation from the package itself. The upstream LICENSE is GPL version 3 only; COPYRIGHT records Warren Toomey and the Eric A. Edwards-derived PDP-11 simulator code, and bsd_signal.c preserves the Berkeley notice. Use Guix license:gpl3 and install both LICENSE and COPYRIGHT; no other bundled executable or asset needs a separate license review. Local inspection shows no apout executable package: larsbrinkhoff-apout-source is preservation-only, and the issue inventory found no same-origin equivalent in GNU Guix, Nonguix, Guix Science, Guix HPC, Guix Past, Guix 'R Us, or RDE. Add tests/apout-smoke.sh as the meaningful proof: require a supplied, provenance- and redistribution-cleared historical PDP-11 a.out fixture (prefer a fixed V7 cal/echo fixture with an expected transcript; do not fetch or package an unlicensed TUHS binary or a guest image), obtain the apout output path with guix build -L. apout or accept it as the sole argument, and fail if the fixture is absent. Run the probe from a fresh temporary HOME, XDG_CONFIG_HOME, XDG_DATA_HOME, XDG_CACHE_HOME, current directory, and APOUT_ROOT, under unshare --user --map-root-user --net or the Guix no-network build sandbox with failure if an isolated namespace cannot be established. Set APOUT_UNIX_VERSION=V7 when applicable, invoke $out/bin/apout against the fixture with its fixed argument and assert exit status plus the exact expected historical-program output, verify unset APOUT_ROOT is rejected with the supported diagnostic, grep installed LICENSE/COPYRIGHT notices, and compare a pre/post manifest of the package output to prove the run wrote only into temporary state. After implementation, the precise acceptance commands are guix lint -L. apout and guix build -L. apout; this research disposition does not claim either package proof. --- Imported from [GitHub comment](https://github.com/htayj/guix-channel/issues/40#issuecomment-5410213774). Originally posted by [htayj](https://github.com/htayj) on 2026-08-25T12:14:06Z.