ocaml / ocaml/dune

Bug/Request `--context` should work the same with dune build and dune exec

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build cli
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OCaml
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Description

This issue is part of a series of comments, criticisms, and requests on dune I gathered during my last visit at Inria. If some of these seem trivial or incoherent at face value, I'd wager we should press the authors for more context.
Everything below is paraphrased from my notes.

Observed Unexpected Behavior

dune exec --context=foo will correctly use the context defined in the dune-project file.
However, dune build --context=foo will not, and will build with all defined contexts at once.

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 comparing how dune exec --context=foo and dune build --context=foo interpret the contexts defined in dune-project. Trace the command entry points and run both commands with multiple contexts; done means dune build --context=foo builds only the foo context, matching dune exec.

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
35/100

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