C#•5mo ago

Relative paths with assemblies calling each other

I have parent_dir/HaploDeep/models/some_files.onnx, parent_dir/HaploDeep/HaploDeep.cs and parent_dir/HaploDeep.Tests/Tests.cs In HaploDeep.cs I want to open models/files.onnx so I do

        private readonly string[] _modelPaths =
        [
            @"models\model_1.onnx",
            @"models\model_2.onnx",
            @"models\model_3.onnx",
            @"models\model_4.onnx",
            @"models\model_5.onnx"
        ];
        // Load them by using the array _modelPaths

        private readonly string[] _modelPaths =
        [
            @"models\model_1.onnx",
            @"models\model_2.onnx",
            @"models\model_3.onnx",
            @"models\model_4.onnx",
            @"models\model_5.onnx"
        ];
        // Load them by using the array _modelPaths

but when I call the unit tests it says System.IO.IOException: Model file models\model_1.onnx does not exists. I tried to do that:

            string basePath = AppDomain.CurrentDomain.BaseDirectory;
            _modelPaths = [
                Path.Combine(basePath, @"models\model_1.onnx"),
                Path.Combine(basePath, @"models\model_2.onnx"),
                Path.Combine(basePath, @"models\model_3.onnx"),
                Path.Combine(basePath, @"models\model_4.onnx"),
                Path.Combine(basePath, @"models\model_5.onnx")
            ];
            // Load them by using the array _modelPaths

            string basePath = AppDomain.CurrentDomain.BaseDirectory;
            _modelPaths = [
                Path.Combine(basePath, @"models\model_1.onnx"),
                Path.Combine(basePath, @"models\model_2.onnx"),
                Path.Combine(basePath, @"models\model_3.onnx"),
                Path.Combine(basePath, @"models\model_4.onnx"),
                Path.Combine(basePath, @"models\model_5.onnx")
            ];
            // Load them by using the array _modelPaths

in HaploDeep.cs But then when running my unit tests I have the same, it thinks the relative paths are relative to HaploDeep.Tests path: System.IO.IOException: Model file C:\...\HaploDeep.Tests\bin\Debug\net8.0\models\model_1.onnx does not exi... I've been using Python for years and if a path was relative in library 1, when library 2 would use library 1, the paths would be relative to library 1; not to library 2. And here I'm really confused. Would really appreciate some help, I've been banging my head on this for the past hour

8 Replies

Omnissiah•5mo ago

either you move the models in a third directory so that's independent from the projects themselves or you estabilish that Tests project depends on HaploDeep and search the models in there (there are other possiblities but i would keep it simple)

JasonnnOP•5mo ago

By modifying the .csproj? I'm trying to use that:

  <None Include="..\HaploDeep\models\*.onnx">
    <CopyToOutputDirectory>Always</CopyToOutputDirectory>
    <Link>models\%(Filename)%(Extension)</Link>
  </None>

  <None Include="..\HaploDeep\models\*.onnx">
    <CopyToOutputDirectory>Always</CopyToOutputDirectory>
    <Link>models\%(Filename)%(Extension)</Link>
  </None>

It looks like it works but I'd like to make sure that sounds ok and not like a dirty trick to experienced people?

Omnissiah•5mo ago

i wouldn't do that i intended it in a more of a "logical" way in the sense that i meant you could hard-write that the path to the models must go outside HaploDeep.Tests and then inside HaploDeep, so they always must be together, because in the end that how it is at the moment

JasonnnOP•5mo ago

Ah I see But the day I want to distribute the software (Imagine we're not talking about unit tests but a proper software that needs to use my other library HaploDeep) I would be forced to do that, otherwise the "models" folder doesn't end up in the bin which is the thing to distribute, right? I'm fairly new to C# sorry if I'm jsut spitting out nonsense

Omnissiah•5mo ago

i wouldn't say this is about just c#, in general it's about a strategy of distribution if you hard-code a path then you can say to the potential user "put the stuff there" if the project has this path in a configuration file then the user can choose to put a relative path or an absolute one bin is the compiled stuff, but when you distribute that you would still have to build a folder where everything sits right especially in cases where there are resources like this

JasonnnOP•5mo ago

ah yeah i guess a configuration file makes sense thanks!! why did you think that using Include in the .csproj wouldn't be good practice?

Omnissiah•5mo ago

mainly because it seems like a problem that should be solved before that point if artifacts like these gets copied around then it can happen that the project folder gets messy and stuff works in unexpected ways because you don't remember there's this step in the building process or other not funny things

JasonnnOP•5mo ago

I see, thanks

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Relative paths with assemblies calling each other