SerenityOS/serenity

Everywhere: Audit usages of LexicalPath

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#21,450 opened on Oct 14, 2023

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help wanted

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Description

Given directory tree

./
  a/
    b/
  e -> a/b

e/.. will refer to a, not .. However, since Directory::create lexically canonicalizes path, running Directory::create("e/..", Directory::CreateDirectories::No) will result in . being opened.

This results in inconsistency between our tar and GNU's tar if ran from . with arguments -cv e/.. -f /dev/null. I'm sure this is not the only place where we assume LexicalPath::canonicalize does not change what path refers to.

Although such resolution is not the most intuitive behavior, I think it should be fixed for the sake of consistency.

I am planning on addressing situation with paths altogether, so I made this issue mostly as a reminder for myself.

Contributor guide

Research direction
Identify all uses of LexicalPath::canonicalize in the codebase, especially in Directory::create and similar filesystem operations. Understand when canonicalize changes the resolved path. Propose ways to avoid unexpected path resolution or add documentation to clarify behavior.
Tech stack
cpp
Domain
operating systems
Issue type
Bug
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
Half day
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
Active
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
Clear
Prerequisites
GitC++
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
50