Automation for building and installation

[palmskog]

The current HOLBA building and installation process requires many manual steps, such as installing a custom HOL4. This issue is about outlining and documenting possible improvements (automation) of building, installation, and packaging, which could facilitate wider use of the library.

• Investigate using Nix for repeatable from-scratch builds and installation.
• Investigate scripting of Docker images to (1) enable CI builds and (2) enable local builds and development, inspiration could be taken from the Coq docker images.

[didriklundberg]

Can you describe the advantages of using Nix compared to performing the steps in "Simple setup" in a single script?

Also, what would be the advantages of the use of Docker images for CI builds compared to our current setup using Travis?

I think we need a more concrete list of the pros and cons here.