Getting Started Repl doesnt start on WIndows w/ Oracle Java 15 and 16

[stuartstein777]

Issue Type: Bug

Click nREPL in bottom toolbar
Click Fire Up Getting Started REPL
Click Use Existing Directory
repl fails to start with the error in the terminal:

The output window shows
; Jacking in...
; Starting Jack-in Terminal: java -jar ".calva\deps.clj.jar" -Sdeps "{:deps {nrepl/nrepl {:mvn/version,""0.8.3""},cider/cider-nrepl {:mvn/version,""0.25.11""}}}" -m nrepl.cmdline --middleware "[cider.nrepl/cider-middleware]"

The terminal, on fail, shows:
java -jar ".calva\deps.clj.jar" -Sdeps "{:deps {nrepl/nrepl {:mvn/version,""0.8.3""},cider/cider-nrepl {:mvn/version,""0.25.11""}}}" -m nrepl.cmdline --middleware "[cider.nrepl/cider-middleware]"
Error while parsing option "--config-data {:deps {nrepl/nrepl {:mvn/version,0.8.3},cider/cider-nrepl {:mvn/version,0.25.11}}}": java.lang.NumberFormatException: Invalid number: 0.8.3
Jack-in process exited. Status: 1

Extension version: 2.0.194
VS Code version: Code 1.55.2 (3c4e3df9e89829dce27b7b5c24508306b151f30d, 2021-04-13T09:35:57.887Z)
OS version: Windows_NT x64 10.0.18363

System Info

Item	Value
CPUs	Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-6820HQ CPU @ 2.70GHz (8 x 2712)
GPU Status	2d_canvas: enabled gpu_compositing: enabled multiple_raster_threads: enabled_on oop_rasterization: enabled opengl: enabled_on protected_video_decode: unavailable_off rasterization: enabled skia_renderer: enabled_on video_decode: enabled vulkan: disabled_off webgl: enabled webgl2: enabled
Load (avg)	undefined
Memory (System)	15.89GB (3.60GB free)
Process Argv	--crash-reporter-id 88f8d9b0-038d-493b-8525-6ef9c92ebe8c
Screen Reader	no
VM	0%

e to send. Please paste.

[bpringe]

Thanks for the report.

[PEZ]

Not sure I would label this a bug, at least not if the label is to indicate a bug in our code. It could be, but so far it seems to be rather upstreams and far upstream and tricky to figure out.

There are many layers to this. And some of those are unknown (at least to me), making it extremely difficult. For instance, it is unclear to me how the shell being used is determined. A while back I changed from using the Clojure CLI to deps.clj and a java command line. WorksOnMyMachine(s), and on many more of the ones where the Clojure CLI method didn't work.

(With Leiningen we use a cmd.exe command line.)

I am unsure what the ratio is between Windows machines where it is working and where it is not. Maybe it is 90/10, maybe something else... Everytime I try to fix this it seems to be improved (but what do I know), but also does not nail it 100%. The sample size is not big since most Windows users are wise enough to use WSL for development work.

Neither the Getting Started REPL nor the Standalone REPL can assume WSL. They need to work with the least common denominator. I might give up on this pipe dream at some point, and just tell Windows users that if the Getting Started REPL works, celebrate, and otherwise point them at some longer path to get to test the Clojure REPL plugged to the editor. But I am not there yet. (Probably should figure out how to inform about the longer path meanwhile, but anyway).

There are at least two parameters to the puzzle that I know of.

1. The quoting
2. A shell boolean I can pass to child_process.spawn()

The shell boolean determines if spawn() will use a shell to spawn the command line or just plain Windows. I am not very clear about what that means, but from what I have understood one difference is that more of the user's environment can be assumed to be present in the shell scenario. From experience I also know that it influences the effect of the quoting.

The current command line, let's denote it A, is built using a system where arguments are double quoted, let's denote DQ and double quotes in arguments use ”doubled double quotes”, let's call it DDQ and shell: true:

A: DQ+ DDQ + `shell:true``

• Command line:

  java -jar ".calva\deps.clj.jar" -Sdeps "{:deps {nrepl/nrepl {:mvn/version,""0.8.3""},cider/cider-nrepl {:mvn/version,""0.25.11""}}}"  -m nrepl.cmdline --middleware "[cider.nrepl/cider-middleware]"
  

• WorksOnMyMachines(s)
• Maybe works on 90/100 machines?
• Doesn't work on @stuart's nor @stianalmaas's machines
• The command line doesn't work from a PowerShell prompt
• The command line works from a CMD prompt

Despite not really having the time for this now I just conducted some experiments.

B: DQ + DDQ + shell:false

• Command line:

  java -jar .calva\deps.clj.jar -Sdeps "{:deps {nrepl/nrepl {:mvn/version,""0.8.3""},cider/cider-nrepl {:mvn/version,""0.26.0""}}}"  -m nrepl.cmdline --middleware '[cider.nrepl/cider-middleware]'
  

• OnMyMachine fails in some similar ways regardless if from Calva or from prompts, PS or CMD.

I think this indicates that OnMyMachine PowerShell is used when shell:false. So trying with single quotes (SQ) and backslash quoted double quotes (BDQ).

C: SQ + BDQ + shell:false

• Command line:

  java -jar .calva\deps.clj.jar -Sdeps '{:deps {nrepl/nrepl {:mvn/version,\"0.8.3\"},cider/cider-nrepl {:mvn/version,\"0.26.0\"}}}'  -m nrepl.cmdline --middleware '[cider.nrepl/cider-middleware]'
  

• OnMyMachine Getting Started REPL command fails with

  Error building classpath. Don't know how to create ISeq from: clojure.lang.Symbol
  

• OnMyMachine this works from the PS prompt
• OnMyMachine this fails from the CMD prompt, with the exact same message as with the Getting Started REPL command

So, now maybe that indicates the command is being run through the CMD shell after all? At least OnMyMachine... What about other people's machines?

I'm stuck for now. Maybe I should try with a cmd.exe command line like with Leiningen. Even if I know I have tried that at some point too, but there are many moving parts so maybe the right combination has never been tried...

[borkdude]

You can diagnose how CLI args get passed through to Clojure command line args like this with babashka:

bb -e "*command-line-args*" -- 1 2 3
("1" "2" "3")

E.g. in cmd.exe:

bb -e "*command-line-args*" -- -Sdeps "{:mvn/version """1.10.3"""}"
("-Sdeps" "{:mvn/version \"1.10.3\"}")

In Powershell:

bb -e "*command-line-args*" -- -Sdeps '{:mvn/version \"1.10.3\"}'
("-Sdeps" "{:mvn/version \"1.10.3\"}")

I don't understand what cmd.exe and Powershell have to do with this if you are launching the process from NodeJS. The shell isn't involved in that case.
When shelling out from Java on Windows I usually have to apply this trick:

https://github.com/babashka/process/blob/eba04e6c35814296e5bb383804f801aee912cba1/src/babashka/process.clj#L152

PS: you can install babashka on Windows easily with scoop:

https://github.com/littleli/scoop-clojure

[PEZ]

Thanks!

I don't understand what cmd.exe and Powershell have to do with this if you are launching the process from NodeJS. The shell isn't involved in that case.

I don't really understand this, as must be obvious from my comment above. But something is interpreting the command line and needs quoting of some kind. And it seems that this something is different on different machines. Also I want the command line echoed to work if the user copies it and pastes it on the prompt. In which case it is good to know which kind of prompt. And, since the shell option to spawn() makes a difference in the quoting, I think maybe the shell is involved in that case, even if I don't know which shell.

I'll try that trick of yours now...

[borkdude]

From https://nodejs.org/api/child_process.html#child_process_spawning_bat_and_cmd_files_on_windows:

Spawning .bat and .cmd files on Windows#
The importance of the distinction between child_process.exec() and child_process.execFile() can vary based on platform. On Unix-type operating systems (Unix, Linux, macOS) child_process.execFile() can be more efficient because it does not spawn a shell by default. On Windows, however, .bat and .cmd files are not executable on their own without a terminal, and therefore cannot be launched using child_process.execFile(). When running on Windows, .bat and .cmd files can be invoked using child_process.spawn() with the shell option set, with child_process.exec(), or by spawning cmd.exe and passing the .bat or .cmd file as an argument (which is what the shell option and child_process.exec() do). In any case, if the script filename contains spaces it needs to be quoted.

Since you are launching java I think you can get away with NOT using the shell option (unlike when you are running the clojure CLI which is a shell script).

[borkdude]

FWIW, this older clj-kondo plugin for VSCode ran the clj-kondo binary in this way:

https://github.com/marcomorain/clojure-lint/blob/86f699258d7478d44237241ecf1f0be914170887/src/extension.ts#L55

AFAIK it worked cross-platform (and probably still works)

[PEZ]

I don't think we can use execFile() because Calva jack-in is not fire-and-forget, we need to be able to communicate with the process. Anyway, we use spawn() in about an identical way as in that example, which never enters double quote hell.

[PEZ]

Since you are launching java I think you can get away with NOT using the shell option (unlike when you are running the clojure CLI which is a shell script)

I think so too. Just haven't succeeded with that yet. Not for lack of trying.

[lread]

@PEZ at one point I decided I would figure Windows shell escaping out and started taking notes.
I did not get very far before my mind got very numb.
Here are my nascent notes for what they are worth: https://github.com/lread/info-process-builder

[PEZ]

Thanks @lread . I'll certainly check that out because I have also tried to lay this puzzle and I get dizzy. 😄

[PEZ]

The quoting problems seems to have been a red herring. In my Windows dev environment I have removed the quoting out of the picture (latest #1164 VSIX also has this build) which worked on that machine until I upgraded Java.

So the failure seems to be introduced somewhere between Java 8 and Java 15, I haven't bisected it down further than that right now.

Now I am actually stuck again. Can't think of a single thing I can try to make this work. I am hoping som sleep will help.