Eelco Dolstra is a computer scientist and software engineer known for his work in the field of software deployment and package management. He is the creator of the [[Nix]] package manager and the [[NixOS]] Linux distribution.
Dolstra studied computer science at the University of Twente in the Netherlands, where he obtained his Ph.D. in 2004. His research focused on software deployment, specifically on how to make it more reliable and reproducible. This led him to develop Nix, a purely functional package manager that allows users to manage software packages without interfering with each other.
Nix provides a declarative approach to package management, which means that users can specify exactly which versions of software packages they want to use, along with any necessary dependencies. This ensures that software installations are reproducible across different systems, making it easier to deploy and maintain complex software environments.
In addition to Nix, Dolstra also developed NixOS, a Linux distribution that is built around the Nix package manager. NixOS takes the concept of declarative package management further by allowing users to define their entire system configuration using a single configuration file. This makes it easier to manage system upgrades and rollbacks without worrying about conflicts or inconsistencies.
Dolstra's work on Nix has had a significant impact on the field of software deployment and package management. His ideas have influenced other tools and systems in this area, such as Docker and Guix.
Currently, Dolstra works as a senior engineer at [[Tweag IO|Tweag I/O]], a company focused on developing open-source software solutions for complex problems. He continues to contribute to the development of Nix and actively promotes its use through various talks and presentations at conferences.
Overall, Eelco Dolstra is recognized as an influential figure in the world of software deployment and package management due to his creation of Nix and his ongoing contributions to this field.
# References
```dataview
Table title as Title, authors as Authors
where contains(authors, "Eelco Dolstra")
```