It’s a shame that it didn’t get more traction. We probably wouldn’t have needed Docker or any of the gazillion package managers that are proliferating today if it had.
100% feel this way too. So much of the reason why we use containers is just not spreading crap all over the filesystem. It's why single binary distributables made popular by Golang are such a winner, ex: Caddy.
> the filesystem is the database
is such an epiphany for GoboLinux, truly atomic.
Of course nix also has one quite big issue, and that it is input addressed rather than content addressed, but its moving towards content addressed model which will reduce rebuilds and resource use https://nixos.wiki/wiki/Ca-derivations
Edit, additionally, yes. Such distributions are suitable for essentially any task for which any other distribution is suitable. The primary caution that I would offer anyone when venturing away from RHEL/Debian is how much you trust whatever organization to still be around in five years. If you're comfortable managing everything yourself, pick whatever; otherwise, it's "safest" to choose something that either contractually will still be around (RHEL), or is governed in a way that ensures some continuity (Debian).