ocaml / ocaml/dune

Dune 3 cannot delete files named `NUL` on Windows

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windows
Dominant language
OCaml
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Description

When there's a cycle in dependencies (I guess) or for some other reason a NUL file can be produced in the _build directory. Dune fails to remove it. It can be tricky to remove them: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/17883481/delete-a-file-named-nul-on-windows.

Error: Conflict between the following libraries:
- "lwt.unix" in _build/default/src/unix
- "lwt.unix" in
  "C:\\Users\\antonin\\.opam\\ocaml-variants.4.13.1+mingw64c\\lib\\lwt\\unix"
  -> required by library "lwttester" in _build/default/test
-> required by executable main in test/ppx/dune:2
-> required by _build/default/test/ppx/main.exe
-> required by %{exe:main.exe} at test/ppx/dune:10
-> required by alias test/ppx/runtest in test/ppx/dune:7
$ dune clean
Error: rmdir(_build\default\src\unix): Directory not empty
$ ls _build/default/src/unix
NUL

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by reproducing the issue on Windows with the dependency-cycle scenario and dune clean, focusing on _build/default/src/unix/NUL. The issue names no source file or test; done means cleanup removes the NUL entry and completes without the directory-not-empty error.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
ocaml
Domain
build-system
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
38/100

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