[RFC 0137] Nix language versioning

rfcs/0137-nix-language-version.md

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+---
+feature: nix-language-version
+start-date: 2022-12-12
+author: @fricklerhandwerk
+co-authors: @thufschmitt @Ericson2314
+shepherd-team: 
+shepherd-leader: 
+related-issues: https://github.com/NixOS/nix/issues/7255
+---
+
+# Summary
+[summary]: #summary
+
+Introduce a convention to determine which version of the Nix language grammar to use for parsing a Nix file.
+
+# Motivation
+[motivation]: #motivation
+
+Currently it's impossible to introduce backwards-incompatible changes to the Nix language without breaking existing setups.
+This proposal is first step towards overcoming that limitation.
+
+# Detailed design
+[design]: #detailed-design
+
+Introduce a magic comment in the first line of a Nix file:
+
+    #? Nix <version>
+
+where `<version>` is a released version of Nix the given file is intended to work with.
+
+If no magic comment is present, Nix 2.12 – the stable release at the time this RFC was accepted – is assumed.
+
+Add an appropriate parameter to commands that allow encoding the same information where where files are not involved.
+
+# Examples and Interactions
+[examples-and-interactions]: #examples-and-interactions
+
+```nix
+#? Nix 2.12
+"nothing"
+```
+
+# Arguments
+[advantages]: #advantages
+
+* (+) Makes explicit what can be expected to work.
+* (+) Enables communicating language changes systematically.
+* (+) Backwards-compatible
+  * (+) Allows for gradual adoption: opt-in until semantics is implemented in Nix *and* the first backwards-incompatible change to the language is introduced.
+* (+) Visually unintrusive
+* (+) Self-describing and human-readable
+* (+) Follows a well-known convention of using [magic numbers in files](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_number_(programming)#In_files)
+* (-) May make the appearance that changing the language is harmless.
+  * (+) The convention itself is harmless and independent of the development culture around the language.
+* (-) The syntax of the magic comment is arbitrary.
+* (-) There is a chance of abusing the magic comment for more metadata in the future. Let's avoid that.
+* (-) At least one form of comment is forever bound to begin with `#` to maintain compatibility.
+* (-) It requires significant additional effort to implement and maintain an appropriate system to make use of the version information.
+
+# Alternatives
+[alternatives]: #alternatives
+
+- Never introduce backwards-incompatible changes to the language.
+
+  * (+) No additional effort required.
+  * (-) Requires additions to be made very carefully.
+  * (-) Makes solving some well-known problems impossible.
+
+- Use the output of [`builtins.langVersion`] for specifying the version of the Nix language.
+
+  * (+) This would serve other Nix language evaluators which are not and should not be tied to the rest of Nix.
+  * (-) `builtins.langVersion` is currently only internal and undocumented.
+    * (+) Documentation is easy to add.
+      * (-) Requires adding another built-in to the public API.
+    * (-) Using a language feature requires an additional steps from users to determine the current version.
+      * (+) We can add a command line option such that it is not more effort than `nix --version`.
+        * (-) Requires adding another command line option to the public API.
+  * (+) The Nix language version is decoupled Nix version numbering.
+    * (+) It changes less often than the Nix version.
+      * (-) That was probably due to making changes being so hard.
+    * (-) There are two version numbers to keep track of.
+  * (-) The magic comment should reflect that it's specifying the *Nix language* version, which would make it longer.
+    * (-) Renaming the Nix language will be impossible once the mechanism is part of stable Nix.
+
+[`builtins.langVersion`]: https://github.com/NixOS/nix/blob/26c7602c390f8c511f326785b570918b2f468892/src/libexpr/primops.cc#L3952-L3957
+
+- Use a magic string that is incompatible with evaluators prior to the feature, e.g. `%? Nix <version>`.
+
+  * (+) Makes clear that the file is not intended to be used without explicit handling of compatibility.
+    * (-) Cannot be introduced gradually.
+  * (+) Such a breaking change could also be reserved for later iterations of the Nix language.
+
+# Prior art
+
+- [Rust `edition` field]
+
+  Rust has an easier problem to solve. Cargo files are written in TOML, so the `edition` information does not have to be part of Rust itself.
+
+- [Flakes `edition` field]
+
+  There had been an attempt to include an `edition` field into the Flakes schema.
+  It did not solve the problem of having to evaluate the Nix expression using *some* version of the grammar.
+
+[Rust `edition` field]: https://doc.rust-lang.org/cargo/reference/manifest.html#the-edition-field
+[Flakes `edition` field]: https://discourse.nixos.org/t/nix-2-8-0-released/18714/6
+
+# Unresolved questions
+[unresolved]: #unresolved-questions
+
+- Is the proposed magic number already in use in [other file formats](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_number_(programming)#In_files)?
+- Should we allow multiple known-good versions in one line?
+
+# Future work
+[future]: #future-work
+
+- Define semantics, that is, what exactly to do with the information given in the magic comment.
+- Define rules deciding when a change to the language is appropriate to avoid proliferation and limit complexity of implementation.