Rework future tense in user-facing messages

src/libcmd/installables.cc

@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@ SourceExprCommand::SourceExprCommand()
         .shortName = 'f',
         .description =
             "Interpret [*installables*](@docroot@/command-ref/new-cli/nix.md#installables) as attribute paths relative to the Nix expression stored in *file*. "
-            "If *file* is the character -, then a Nix expression will be read from standard input. "
+            "If *file* is the character -, then a Nix expression is read from standard input. "
             "Implies `--impure`.",
         .category = installablesCategory,
         .labels = {"file"},

src/libexpr/include/nix/expr/eval-settings.hh

@@ -132,7 +132,7 @@ struct EvalSettings : Config
     Setting<bool> restrictEval{
         this, false, "restrict-eval",
         R"(
-          If set to `true`, the Nix evaluator will not allow access to any
+          If set to `true`, the Nix evaluator doesn't allow access to any
           files outside of
           [`builtins.nixPath`](@docroot@/language/builtins.md#builtins-nixPath),
           or to URIs outside of
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@ struct EvalSettings : Config
         R"(
           By default, Nix allows [Import from Derivation](@docroot@/language/import-from-derivation.md).
 
-          When this setting is `true`, Nix will log a warning indicating that it performed such an import.
+          When this setting is `true`, Nix logs a warning indicating that it performed such an import.
           This option has no effect if `allow-import-from-derivation` is disabled.
         )"
         };
@@ -167,9 +167,9 @@ struct EvalSettings : Config
         R"(
           By default, Nix allows [Import from Derivation](@docroot@/language/import-from-derivation.md).
 
-          With this option set to `false`, Nix will throw an error when evaluating an expression that uses this feature,
+          With this option set to `false`, Nix throws an error when evaluating an expression that uses this feature,
           even when the required store object is readily available.
-          This ensures that evaluation will not require any builds to take place,
+          This ensures that evaluation doesn't require any builds to take place,
           regardless of the state of the store.
         )"};
 
@@ -188,8 +188,8 @@ struct EvalSettings : Config
 
     Setting<bool> traceFunctionCalls{this, false, "trace-function-calls",
         R"(
-          If set to `true`, the Nix evaluator will trace every function call.
-          Nix will print a log message at the "vomit" level for every function
+          If set to `true`, the Nix evaluator traces every function call.
+          Nix prints a log message at the "vomit" level for every function
           entrance and function exit.
 
               function-trace entered undefined position at 1565795816999559622
@@ -234,8 +234,8 @@ struct EvalSettings : Config
 
     Setting<bool> ignoreExceptionsDuringTry{this, false, "ignore-try",
         R"(
-          If set to true, ignore exceptions inside 'tryEval' calls when evaluating nix expressions in
-          debug mode (using the --debugger flag). By default the debugger will pause on all exceptions.
+          If set to true, ignore exceptions inside 'tryEval' calls when evaluating Nix expressions in
+          debug mode (using the --debugger flag). By default the debugger pauses on all exceptions.
         )"};
 
     Setting<bool> traceVerbose{this, false, "trace-verbose",
@@ -247,7 +247,7 @@ struct EvalSettings : Config
     Setting<bool> builtinsTraceDebugger{this, false, "debugger-on-trace",
         R"(
           If set to true and the `--debugger` flag is given, the following functions
-          will enter the debugger like [`builtins.break`](@docroot@/language/builtins.md#builtins-break).
+          enter the debugger like [`builtins.break`](@docroot@/language/builtins.md#builtins-break):
 
           * [`builtins.trace`](@docroot@/language/builtins.md#builtins-trace)
           * [`builtins.traceVerbose`](@docroot@/language/builtins.md#builtins-traceVerbose)
@@ -269,7 +269,7 @@ struct EvalSettings : Config
 
     Setting<bool> builtinsAbortOnWarn{this, false, "abort-on-warn",
         R"(
-          If set to true, [`builtins.warn`](@docroot@/language/builtins.md#builtins-warn) will throw an error when logging a warning.
+          If set to true, [`builtins.warn`](@docroot@/language/builtins.md#builtins-warn) throws an error when logging a warning.
 
           This will give you a stack trace that leads to the location of the warning.
 

src/libexpr/primops.cc

@@ -346,7 +346,7 @@ static RegisterPrimOp primop_import({
       > }
       > ```
       >
-      >  then the following `foo.nix` will give an error:
+      >  then the following `foo.nix` throws an error:
       >
       >  ```nix
       >  # foo.nix
@@ -916,7 +916,7 @@ static RegisterPrimOp primop_ceil({
         a NixInt and if `*number* < -9007199254740992` or `*number* > 9007199254740992`.
 
         If the datatype of *number* is neither a NixInt (signed 64-bit integer) nor a NixFloat
-        (IEEE-754 double-precision floating-point number), an evaluation error will be thrown.
+        (IEEE-754 double-precision floating-point number), an evaluation error is thrown.
     )",
     .fun = prim_ceil,
 });
@@ -1003,15 +1003,15 @@ static RegisterPrimOp primop_tryEval({
       Try to shallowly evaluate *e*. Return a set containing the
       attributes `success` (`true` if *e* evaluated successfully,
       `false` if an error was thrown) and `value`, equalling *e* if
-      successful and `false` otherwise. `tryEval` will only prevent
+      successful and `false` otherwise. `tryEval` only prevents
       errors created by `throw` or `assert` from being thrown.
-      Errors `tryEval` will not catch are for example those created
+      Errors `tryEval` doesn't catch are, for example, those created
       by `abort` and type errors generated by builtins. Also note that
       this doesn't evaluate *e* deeply, so `let e = { x = throw ""; };
-      in (builtins.tryEval e).success` will be `true`. Using
+      in (builtins.tryEval e).success` is `true`. Using
       `builtins.deepSeq` one can get the expected result:
       `let e = { x = throw ""; }; in
-      (builtins.tryEval (builtins.deepSeq e e)).success` will be
+      (builtins.tryEval (builtins.deepSeq e e)).success` is
       `false`.
 
       `tryEval` intentionally does not return the error message, because that risks bringing non-determinism into the evaluation result, and it would become very difficult to improve error reporting without breaking existing expressions.
@@ -1109,7 +1109,7 @@ static RegisterPrimOp primop_trace({
       If the
       [`debugger-on-trace`](@docroot@/command-ref/conf-file.md#conf-debugger-on-trace)
       option is set to `true` and the `--debugger` flag is given, the
-      interactive debugger will be started when `trace` is called (like
+      interactive debugger is started when `trace` is called (like
       [`break`](@docroot@/language/builtins.md#builtins-break)).
     )",
     .fun = prim_trace,
@@ -1158,7 +1158,7 @@ static RegisterPrimOp primop_warn({
 
       If the
       [`abort-on-warn`](@docroot@/command-ref/conf-file.md#conf-abort-on-warn)
-      option is set, the evaluation will be aborted after the warning is printed.
+      option is set, the evaluation is aborted after the warning is printed.
       This is useful to reveal the stack trace of the warning, when the context is non-interactive and a debugger can not be launched.
     )",
     .fun = prim_warn,
@@ -1635,7 +1635,7 @@ static RegisterPrimOp primop_placeholder({
     .name = "placeholder",
     .args = {"output"},
     .doc = R"(
-      Return at
+      Return an
       [output placeholder string](@docroot@/store/derivation/index.md#output-placeholder)
       for the specified *output* that will be substituted by the corresponding
       [output path](@docroot@/glossary.md#gloss-output-path)
@@ -1800,7 +1800,7 @@ static RegisterPrimOp primop_baseNameOf({
 
       After this, the *base name* is returned as previously described, assuming `/` as the directory separator. (Note that evaluation must be platform independent.)
 
-      This is somewhat similar to the [GNU `basename`](https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/manual/html_node/basename-invocation.html) command, but GNU `basename` will strip any number of trailing slashes.
+      This is somewhat similar to the [GNU `basename`](https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/manual/html_node/basename-invocation.html) command, but GNU `basename` strips any number of trailing slashes.
     )",
     .fun = prim_baseNameOf,
 });
@@ -1999,9 +1999,9 @@ static RegisterPrimOp primop_findFile(PrimOp {
       > ]
       > ```
       >
-      > and a *lookup-path* value `"nixos-config"` will cause Nix to try `/home/eelco/Dev/nixos-config` and `/etc/nixos` in that order and return the first path that exists.
+      > and a *lookup-path* value `"nixos-config"` causes Nix to try `/home/eelco/Dev/nixos-config` and `/etc/nixos` in that order and return the first path that exists.
 
-      If `path` starts with `http://` or `https://`, it is interpreted as the URL of a tarball that will be downloaded and unpacked to a temporary location.
+      If `path` starts with `http://` or `https://`, it is interpreted as the URL of a tarball to be downloaded and unpacked to a temporary location.
       The tarball must consist of a single top-level directory.
 
       The URLs of the tarballs from the official `nixos.org` channels can be abbreviated as `channel:<channel-name>`.
@@ -2148,7 +2148,7 @@ static RegisterPrimOp primop_readDir({
       Return the contents of the directory *path* as a set mapping
       directory entries to the corresponding file type. For instance, if
       directory `A` contains a regular file `B` and another directory
-      `C`, then `builtins.readDir ./A` will return the set
+      `C`, then `builtins.readDir ./A` returns the set
 
       ```nix
       { B = "regular"; C = "directory"; }
@@ -2183,8 +2183,8 @@ static RegisterPrimOp primop_outputOf({
       [input placeholder string](@docroot@/store/derivation/index.md#input-placeholder)
       if needed.
 
-      If the derivation has a statically-known output path (i.e. the derivation output is input-addressed, or fixed content-addressed), the output path will just be returned.
-      But if the derivation is content-addressed or if the derivation is itself not-statically produced (i.e. is the output of another derivation), an input placeholder will be returned instead.
+      If the derivation has a statically-known output path (i.e. the derivation output is input-addressed, or fixed content-addressed), the output path is returned.
+      But if the derivation is content-addressed or if the derivation is itself not-statically produced (i.e. is the output of another derivation), an input placeholder is returned instead.
 
       *`derivation reference`* must be a string that may contain a regular store path to a derivation, or may be an input placeholder reference.
       If the derivation is produced by a derivation, you must explicitly select `drv.outPath`.
@@ -2197,7 +2197,7 @@ static RegisterPrimOp primop_outputOf({
         "out"
       ```
 
-      will return a input placeholder for the output of the output of `myDrv`.
+      returns an input placeholder for the output of the output of `myDrv`.
 
       This primop corresponds to the `^` sigil for [deriving paths](@docroot@/glossary.md#gloss-deriving-paths), e.g. as part of installable syntax on the command line.
     )",
@@ -2583,12 +2583,12 @@ static RegisterPrimOp primop_filterSource({
       >
       > `filterSource` should not be used to filter store paths. Since
       > `filterSource` uses the name of the input directory while naming
-      > the output directory, doing so will produce a directory name in
+      > the output directory, doing so produces a directory name in
       > the form of `<hash2>-<hash>-<name>`, where `<hash>-<name>` is
       > the name of the input directory. Since `<hash>` depends on the
-      > unfiltered directory, the name of the output directory will
-      > indirectly depend on files that are filtered out by the
-      > function. This will trigger a rebuild even when a filtered out
+      > unfiltered directory, the name of the output directory
+      > indirectly depends on files that are filtered out by the
+      > function. This triggers a rebuild even when a filtered out
       > file is changed. Use `builtins.path` instead, which allows
       > specifying the name of the output directory.
 
@@ -2603,8 +2603,8 @@ static RegisterPrimOp primop_filterSource({
       }
       ```
 
-      However, if `source-dir` is a Subversion working copy, then all
-      those annoying `.svn` subdirectories will also be copied to the
+      However, if `source-dir` is a Subversion working copy, then all of
+      those annoying `.svn` subdirectories are also copied to the
       store. Worse, the contents of those directories may change a lot,
       causing lots of spurious rebuilds. With `filterSource` you can
       filter out the `.svn` directories:
@@ -2624,8 +2624,8 @@ static RegisterPrimOp primop_filterSource({
       `"regular"`, `"directory"`, `"symlink"` or `"unknown"` (for other
       kinds of files such as device nodes or fifos — but note that those
       cannot be copied to the Nix store, so if the predicate returns
-      `true` for them, the copy will fail). If you exclude a directory,
-      the entire corresponding subtree of *e2* will be excluded.
+      `true` for them, the copy fails). If you exclude a directory,
+      the entire corresponding subtree of *e2* is excluded.
     )",
     .fun = prim_filterSource,
 });
@@ -2699,7 +2699,7 @@ static RegisterPrimOp primop_path({
 
         - sha256\
           When provided, this is the expected hash of the file at the
-          path. Evaluation will fail if the hash is incorrect, and
+          path. Evaluation fails if the hash is incorrect, and
           providing a hash allows `builtins.path` to be used even when the
           `pure-eval` nix config option is on.
     )",
@@ -4837,7 +4837,7 @@ void EvalState::createBaseEnv(const EvalSettings & evalSettings)
         .type = nInt,
         .doc = R"(
           Return the [Unix time](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unix_time) at first evaluation.
-          Repeated references to that name will re-use the initially obtained value.
+          Repeated references to that name re-use the initially obtained value.
 
           Example:
 
@@ -4852,7 +4852,7 @@ void EvalState::createBaseEnv(const EvalSettings & evalSettings)
           1683705525
           ```
 
-          The [store path](@docroot@/store/store-path.md) of a derivation depending on `currentTime` will differ for each evaluation, unless both evaluate `builtins.currentTime` in the same second.
+          The [store path](@docroot@/store/store-path.md) of a derivation depending on `currentTime` differs for each evaluation, unless both evaluate `builtins.currentTime` in the same second.
         )",
         .impureOnly = true,
     });

src/libexpr/primops/context.cc

@@ -240,7 +240,7 @@ static RegisterPrimOp primop_getContext({
       The string context tracks references to derivations within a string.
       It is represented as an attribute set of [store derivation](@docroot@/glossary.md#gloss-store-derivation) paths mapping to output names.
 
-      Using [string interpolation](@docroot@/language/string-interpolation.md) on a derivation will add that derivation to the string context.
+      Using [string interpolation](@docroot@/language/string-interpolation.md) on a derivation adds that derivation to the string context.
       For example,
 
       ```nix

src/libexpr/primops/fetchClosure.cc

@@ -214,7 +214,7 @@ static RegisterPrimOp primop_fetchClosure({
     .doc = R"(
       Fetch a store path [closure](@docroot@/glossary.md#gloss-closure) from a binary cache, and return the store path as a string with context.
 
-      This function can be invoked in three ways, that we will discuss in order of preference.
+      This function can be invoked in three ways that we will discuss in order of preference.
 
       **Fetch a content-addressed store path**
 

src/libexpr/primops/fetchTree.cc

@@ -191,7 +191,7 @@ static void fetchTree(
                 input.to_string());
         else
             state.error<EvalError>(
-                "in pure evaluation mode, '%s' will not fetch unlocked input '%s'",
+                "in pure evaluation mode, '%s' doesn't fetch unlocked input '%s'",
                 fetcher, input.to_string()).atPos(pos).debugThrow();
     }
 
@@ -243,7 +243,7 @@ static RegisterPrimOp primop_fetchTree({
       That is, `fetchTree` is idempotent.
 
       Downloads are cached in `$XDG_CACHE_HOME/nix`.
-      The remote source will be fetched from the network if both are true:
+      The remote source is fetched from the network if both are true:
       - A NAR hash is supplied and the corresponding store path is not [valid](@docroot@/glossary.md#gloss-validity), that is, not available in the store
 
         > **Note**
@@ -338,7 +338,7 @@ static RegisterPrimOp primop_fetchTree({
 
           > **Note**
           >
-          > If the URL points to a local directory, and no `ref` or `rev` is given, Nix will only consider files added to the Git index, as listed by `git ls-files` but use the *current file contents* of the Git working directory.
+          > If the URL points to a local directory, and no `ref` or `rev` is given, Nix only considers files added to the Git index, as listed by `git ls-files` but use the *current file contents* of the Git working directory.
 
         - `ref` (String, optional)
 
@@ -681,7 +681,7 @@ static RegisterPrimOp primop_fetchGit({
         This option has no effect once `shallow` cloning is enabled.
 
         By default, the `ref` value is prefixed with `refs/heads/`.
-        As of 2.3.0, Nix will not prefix `refs/heads/` if `ref` starts with `refs/`.
+        As of 2.3.0, Nix doesn't prefix `refs/heads/` if `ref` starts with `refs/`.
 
       - `submodules` (default: `false`)
 
@@ -840,7 +840,7 @@ static RegisterPrimOp primop_fetchGit({
           }
           ```
 
-          Nix will refetch the branch according to the [`tarball-ttl`](@docroot@/command-ref/conf-file.md#conf-tarball-ttl) setting.
+          Nix refetches the branch according to the [`tarball-ttl`](@docroot@/command-ref/conf-file.md#conf-tarball-ttl) setting.
 
           This behavior is disabled in [pure evaluation mode](@docroot@/command-ref/conf-file.md#conf-pure-eval).
 
@@ -851,9 +851,9 @@ static RegisterPrimOp primop_fetchGit({
           ```
 
       If the URL points to a local directory, and no `ref` or `rev` is
-      given, `fetchGit` will use the current content of the checked-out
-      files, even if they are not committed or added to Git's index. It will
-      only consider files added to the Git repository, as listed by `git ls-files`.
+      given, `fetchGit` uses the current content of the checked-out
+      files, even if they are not committed or added to Git's index. It
+      only considers files added to the Git repository, as listed by `git ls-files`.
     )",
     .fun = prim_fetchGit,
 });