From: "Johannes Schindelin via GitGitGadget" <gitgitgadget@gmail.com>
To: git@vger.kernel.org
Cc: Johannes Schindelin <johannes.schindelin@gmx.de>,
Johannes Schindelin <johannes.schindelin@gmx.de>
Subject: [PATCH 1/2] mingw: optionally use legacy (non-POSIX) delete semantics
Date: Tue, 28 Apr 2026 12:52:47 +0000 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <97508e91b62c91b77447dbba39a84770682591a8.1777380768.git.gitgitgadget@gmail.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <pull.2103.git.1777380768.gitgitgadget@gmail.com>
From: Johannes Schindelin <johannes.schindelin@gmx.de>
At some point between Windows 10 Build 17134.1304 and Build 18363.657,
the default behavior of `DeleteFileW()` was changed to use POSIX
semantics (https://stackoverflow.com/a/60512798). Under those semantics,
a file can be deleted even when another process holds an active
`MapViewOfFile` view on it: the directory entry is removed immediately,
but the underlying data persists until the last handle is closed.
On older Windows versions (and Windows 10 builds before that change),
`DeleteFileW()` uses legacy semantics where deletion fails outright if
any process holds a file mapping.
To allow testing code paths that depend on the legacy behavior, introduce
a `GIT_TEST_LEGACY_DELETE` environment variable. When set, `mingw_unlink()`
uses `SetFileInformationByHandle()` with `FileDispositionInfo` (the
non-POSIX variant) instead of `DeleteFileW()`, forcing legacy delete
semantics regardless of the Windows version.
Signed-off-by: Johannes Schindelin <johannes.schindelin@gmx.de>
---
compat/mingw.c | 47 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++--
1 file changed, 45 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)
diff --git a/compat/mingw.c b/compat/mingw.c
index 2023c16db6..04f9aa3922 100644
--- a/compat/mingw.c
+++ b/compat/mingw.c
@@ -449,20 +449,63 @@ static wchar_t *normalize_ntpath(wchar_t *wbuf)
return wbuf;
}
+/*
+ * Use SetFileInformationByHandle(FileDispositionInfo) to force legacy
+ * (non-POSIX) delete semantics. On Windows 11, DeleteFileW() uses POSIX
+ * delete semantics internally, allowing deletion even with active
+ * MapViewOfFile views. This helper simulates Windows 10 behavior where
+ * deletion fails if a file mapping exists.
+ *
+ * Returns nonzero on success (like DeleteFileW), 0 on failure.
+ */
+static int legacy_delete_file(const wchar_t *wpathname)
+{
+ FILE_DISPOSITION_INFO fdi = { TRUE };
+ DWORD gle;
+ HANDLE h = CreateFileW(wpathname, DELETE,
+ FILE_SHARE_READ | FILE_SHARE_WRITE |
+ FILE_SHARE_DELETE,
+ NULL, OPEN_EXISTING,
+ FILE_FLAG_OPEN_REPARSE_POINT, NULL);
+ if (h == INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE)
+ return 0;
+
+ if (SetFileInformationByHandle(h, FileDispositionInfo,
+ &fdi, sizeof(fdi))) {
+ CloseHandle(h);
+ return 1;
+ }
+ gle = GetLastError();
+ CloseHandle(h);
+ SetLastError(gle);
+ return 0;
+}
+
+static int try_delete_file(const wchar_t *wpathname, int use_legacy)
+{
+ if (use_legacy)
+ return legacy_delete_file(wpathname);
+ return DeleteFileW(wpathname);
+}
+
int mingw_unlink(const char *pathname, int handle_in_use_error)
{
+ static int use_legacy_delete = -1;
int tries = 0;
wchar_t wpathname[MAX_PATH];
if (xutftowcs_path(wpathname, pathname) < 0)
return -1;
- if (DeleteFileW(wpathname))
+ if (use_legacy_delete < 0)
+ use_legacy_delete = !!getenv("GIT_TEST_LEGACY_DELETE");
+
+ if (try_delete_file(wpathname, use_legacy_delete))
return 0;
do {
/* read-only files cannot be removed */
_wchmod(wpathname, 0666);
- if (!_wunlink(wpathname))
+ if (try_delete_file(wpathname, use_legacy_delete))
return 0;
if (!is_file_in_use_error(GetLastError()))
break;
--
gitgitgadget
next prev parent reply other threads:[~2026-04-28 12:52 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 11+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2026-04-28 12:52 [PATCH 0/2] maintenance(geometric): avoid deadlocks on Windows 10 Johannes Schindelin via GitGitGadget
2026-04-28 12:52 ` Johannes Schindelin via GitGitGadget [this message]
2026-05-04 14:12 ` [PATCH 1/2] mingw: optionally use legacy (non-POSIX) delete semantics Patrick Steinhardt
2026-05-07 12:49 ` Johannes Schindelin
2026-04-28 12:52 ` [PATCH 2/2] maintenance(geometric): do release the `.idx` files before repacking Johannes Schindelin via GitGitGadget
2026-04-28 15:01 ` [PATCH 0/2] maintenance(geometric): avoid deadlocks on Windows 10 Derrick Stolee
2026-05-04 14:12 ` Patrick Steinhardt
2026-05-07 12:51 ` [PATCH v2 " Johannes Schindelin via GitGitGadget
2026-05-07 12:51 ` [PATCH v2 1/2] mingw: optionally use legacy (non-POSIX) delete semantics Johannes Schindelin via GitGitGadget
2026-05-07 12:51 ` [PATCH v2 2/2] maintenance(geometric): do release the `.idx` files before repacking Johannes Schindelin via GitGitGadget
2026-05-08 13:20 ` [PATCH v2 0/2] maintenance(geometric): avoid deadlocks on Windows 10 Patrick Steinhardt
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