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doc: Update note on Emacs packages. 

* doc/guix.texi ("Emacs packages"): Expand note to talk about differences
between native compilation upstream and as used in Guix.
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Liliana Marie Prikler 2024-06-23 15:17:07 +02:00
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@ -1878,15 +1878,28 @@ running Emacs with the @option{--no-site-file} option (@pxref{Init
File,,, emacs, The GNU Emacs Manual}).
@quotation Note
Emacs can now compile packages natively. Under the default
configuration, this means that Emacs packages will now be
just-in-time (JIT) compiled as you use them, and the results
stored in a subdirectory of your @code{user-emacs-directory}.
Most Emacs variants are now capable of doing native compilation.
The approach taken by Guix Emacs however differs greatly
from the approach taken upstream.
Furthermore, the build system for Emacs packages transparently
supports native compilation, but note, that
@code{emacs-minimal}---the default Emacs for building
packages---has been configured without native compilation.
Upstream Emacs compiles packages just-in-time and typically places
shared object files in a special folder within your
@code{user-emacs-directory}.
These shared objects within said folder are organized in a
flat hierarchy, and their file names contain two hashes to
verify the original file name and contents of the source code.
Guix Emacs on the other hand prefers to compile packages ahead-of-time.
Shared objects retain much of the original file name and no hashes
are added to verify the original file name or the contents of the file.
Crucially, this allows Guix Emacs and packages built against it
to be grafted (@pxref{Security Updates, grafts}), but at the same time,
Guix Emacs lacks the hash-based verification of source code baked
into upstream Emacs. As this naming schema is trivial to exploit,
we disable just-in-time compilation.
Further note, that @code{emacs-minimal}---the default Emacs
for building packages---has been configured without native compilation.
To natively compile your emacs packages ahead of time, use a
transformation like @option{--with-input=emacs-minimal=emacs}.
@end quotation