bazel-contrib / bazel-contrib/rules_python
sys.path[0] breaks out of runfile tree.
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Description
# 🐞 bug report
### Affected Rule
`py_binary`, `py_test`.
### Is this a regression?
No
### Description
When Python initializes it adds the directory of the script to the [`sys.path`](https://docs.python.org/3/library/sys.html#sys.path):
> As initialized upon program startup, the first item of this list, path[0], is the directory containing the script that was used to invoke the Python interpreter. If the script directory is not available (e.g. if the interpreter is invoked interactively or if the script is read from standard input), path[0] is the empty string, which directs Python to search modules in the current directory first. Notice that the script directory is inserted before the entries inserted as a result of PYTHONPATH.
This would imply that a `py` target such as `{REPO_DIR}/bazel-bin/{target_path}/{target}.runfiles/{script_path}/{python_script}.py` would cause `{REPO_DIR}/bazel-bin/{target_path}/{target}.runfiles/{script_path}/` to be inserted as `sys.path[0]`.
However, because the script is a symlink to the _real_ python script in the repository, Python follows the symlink and appends the actual underlying directory to `sys.path[0]`, in this case: `{REPO_DIR}/{script_path}/`. This issue was raised in Python's bug tracker and noted as expected behaviour that won't be fixed [issue17639](https://bugs.python.org/issue17639).
This allows the script to "break out" of the runfiles tree and import code from the same directory which it does not necessarily have access to via `src` or `deps`.
This causes issues when creating multiple targets in the same directory which should not automatically depend on each other.
For example, given:
```
repo/
src/
main.py
foo.py
```
`main` can depend on `foo` without the file being explicitly listed in the BUILD file.
## 🔬 Minimal Reproduction
`src/BUILD`
```py3
package(default_visibility = ["//visibility:public"])
py_binary(
name = "main",
srcs = ["main.py"],
python_version = "PY3",
srcs_version = "PY3",
)
```
`src/main.py`
```py3
import sys
import foo
print(sys.path[0])
```
`src/foo.py`
```py3
print("foo imported")
```
The output of `bazel run //src:main` will be:
```
{REPO}/src/
foo imported
```
Which should not be possible where `foo.py` is not an input to `//src:main`.
## 🌍 Your Environment
**Operating System:**
macOS 11.0.1 (20B29)
**Output of `bazel version`:**
Build label: 3.7.0-homebrew
Build target: bazel-out/darwin-opt/bin/src/main/java/com/google/devtools/build/lib/bazel/BazelServer_deploy.jar
Build time: Sat Nov 14 13:29:41 2020 (1605360581)
Build timestamp: 1605360581
Build timestamp as int: 1605360581
**Rules_python version:**
0.1.0
**Anything else relevant?**
The most obvious solution that comes to mind for this would be to copy into the runfile tree rather than symlinking. It seems unlikely this is going to change upstream in Python.
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Assessment
This issue has not been assessed yet.