The file simple_plain.nix contains code, and comments explaining the code,
that shows how the plain Nix language can be used to create your own packages.
Use the command nix-build simple_plain.nix to build and install the package
defined in simple_plain.nix.
The Nix language has some great abilities, but also some unintuitive features.
The Nixpkgs, the de-facto library of Nix packages, abuses the unintuitive
features extensively, and witout adhering to any standards, so the code in
Nixpkgs discourages newcomers from trying to write their own packages in Nix.
In other words, the stdenv of Nixpkgs, despite its name, has no "standards",
or very low standards.
The problem is exacerbated by new/cryptic terms (e.g. derivation,
instantiation, etc.), and the tools, like nix-shell, that fail to provide a
clean working environment for developing Nix packages; even nix-shell --pure
does not provide you with a clean-enough environment.
The code in this project serves to show that one can use the plain Nix language, the builtin features, and some of its command-line utilities, to create one's own packages, in a clean environment. This project also aims to not use the cryptic terms for explanations.