Clarification on Windows drive letters for add2line test
Developer seeks clarification on whether non-letter characters like underscores or brackets can function as drive letters on Windows, impacting add2line test c…
This discussion revolves around fixing test cases for the add2line utility on Windows. Following a previous exchange about drive letters, the original author of the fix is seeking clarification from Jan Beulich regarding whether characters other than standard letters (like underscores or square brackets) can act as drive letters on Windows. This clarification is needed to ensure the test cases accurately cover Windows path variations.
- reviewer
Asks for clarification on Windows drive letter concepts.
“No, I meant underscores or square brackets as "drive letters".”
- proposer
Expresses surprise at the suggestion and states they are not a Windows expert.
“Huh? 8) I've never heard of anything like that… Although I'm not a Windows guru…”
Technical Tradeoffs
- Ensures test cases accurately reflect Windows path conventions.
- Requires understanding of nuanced Windows file system behavior.
In Details
This is a brief exchange within a testsuite maintenance thread for binutils. The core of the discussion is a clarification request about Windows path handling, specifically whether non-alphabetic characters can be interpreted as drive letters by utilities like add2line. The participants are trying to ensure test cases correctly simulate Windows file system behavior.
- add2line
- A utility that converts addresses into line numbers and function names, typically used for debugging and backtraces.
- testsuite
- A collection of tests designed to verify the correctness of a software program.
- Windows drive letters
- In Windows, drive letters (e.g., C:, D:) are used to identify storage volumes. The discussion explores whether other characters might also function similarly in certain contexts.
- MinGW
- Minimalist GNU for Windows, a software development environment for creating Windows applications using GNU compilers and tools.