microsoft / microsoft/WindowsAppSDK
Lifetime of activation arguments is too short and unclear
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- Dominant language
- C++
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Description
Describe the bug
The activation arguments have a short lifetime, which makes it easy to hit errors when trying to use them. The main issue is that this includes the data in the arguments, so one has to know to copy it out instead of just keeping a reference to it.
The documentation for AppInstance.GetActivatedEventArgs mentions that
for packaged apps, this method will only return the arguments the first time it is called in an app. So, you should call it as early as possible during activation, as the arguments may become unavailable later.
but it does not mention that even if one calls it early and stores the value for later, it may also become unavailable.
For file activation, the arguments' lifetime is tied to the caller process, so GetActivatedEventArgs may not even work the first time. See #5481
For activation redirection, the activation arguments are only valid during the Activated event. So, again, it is not possible to store the arguments and use them later.
Steps to reproduce the bug
.
Expected behavior
No response
Screenshots
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NuGet package version
None
Packaging type
No response
Windows version
No response
IDE
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Additional context
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Contributor guide
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First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start with the AppInstance.GetActivatedEventArgs API and the activation-redirection and file-activation behavior described in the issue; review related issue #5481. Determine the documented lifetime for each activation path and whether the reported unavailability is expected or requires a fix, then verify the resulting behavior or documentation.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- cpp
- Domain
- api, desktop
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 35/100