nix __dump-builtins does not include "derivation"

[hsjobeki]

Describe the bug

As described in the title:
the nix __dump-builtins command does not include any information about the very fundamental "derivation" function of nix

Expected behavior

At least mention the function, or provide the same documentation as on all the other functions.

Priorities

Add 👍 to issues you find important.

[hsjobeki]

@roberth can you maybe help me and assign it to the right person here ?

[roberth]

very fundamental "derivation" function

Seminal, not fundamental ;) The technical reason it's not included is because it's not defined as a regular primop, but rather a wrapper around the simpler and cleaner builtins.strictDerivation.

I don't think we need to care about __dump-builtins itself, an internal command, as long as the user-facing documentation and behavior are ok. I'd exclude the repl for now, because that's blocked on #1652 or a newer approach to that. Any other gaps in documentation can be filled.

@roberth can you maybe help me and assign it to the right person here ?

We can only assign to team members, and generally only for reviews and critical issues, as, considering the backlog, we have to allocate time effectively. We'll be happy to review contributions towards fixing this issue though, or to discuss the implementation strategy.