XmlProvider captures current directory at design time

[kkm000]

When compiling in Visual Studio 2013, FSharp.Data version="2.2.0" targetFramework="net45".

This works only when foo.xml is in the same directory where the executable file built. Runtime current directory seems not to have any effect. Setting "Working directory" in project properties or changing the current directory with Directory.SetCurrentDirectory is ignored.

type NamesDotXml = XmlProvider<"<items><item weight='10'>James</item></items>">
let loadNames (filename:string) =  NamesDotXml.Load(filename).Items
let n = loadNames("foo.xml")

Workaround, this works as expected, foo.xml is correctly found in the current directory. Both the Working Directory project setting and a runtime change with Directory.SetCurrentDirectory are respected:

type NamesDotXml = XmlProvider<"<items><item weight='10'>James</item></items>">
let loadNames (filename:string) =  NamesDotXml.Load(System.IO.File.OpenText(filename)).Items
let n = loadNames("foo.xml")

[github-actions]

🤖 This is an automated response from Repo Assist.

Thanks for the detailed report! The behaviour you're seeing is by design in the current implementation, and here's why:

When XmlProvider.Load(filename) is called at runtime with a relative path, the path is resolved relative to AppDomain.CurrentDomain.BaseDirectory (the application's binary directory), not Directory.GetCurrentDirectory(). This means that Directory.SetCurrentDirectory(...) and the "Working Directory" project setting have no effect on Load(string).

The relevant code is in IO.fs:

| Runtime -> AppDomain.CurrentDomain.BaseDirectory.TrimEnd('\\', '/')

The workaround you found is the recommended approach for dynamic/relative paths:

let n = loadNames(System.IO.File.OpenText("foo.xml"))
// or equivalently:
let n = NamesDotXml.Load(System.IO.File.OpenText("foo.xml"))

This works because File.OpenText uses the actual current working directory.

Other options for runtime path control:

• Use absolute paths: NamesDotXml.Load(Path.GetFullPath("foo.xml"))
• Use a StreamReader: NamesDotXml.Load(new System.IO.StreamReader("foo.xml"))

Note that the ResolutionFolder static parameter on the provider only affects design-time path resolution, not runtime.

This issue is 10 years old — if you're still experiencing this in FSharp.Data 7.x, please re-open or comment. Otherwise it may be worth closing as "by design" with the workaround documented.

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