rbenv version-file command- printing "${RBENV_ROOT}/version" even when the file doesn't exist

[impostorsguides]

Hey y'all, I noticed that rbenv version-file will default to printing "${RBENV_ROOT}/version" if the following two things are true:

• no directory was specified as an argument, and
• no .ruby-version was found for either RBENV_DIR or PWD.

There is a test which covers this behavior here, whose description states "prints global file if no version files exist".

I get why ${RBENV_ROOT}/version would be printed if it truly exists and performs the setting of the Ruby version, but printing it even if it doesn't exist is counter-intuitive to me. The language (set by /usr/local/rbenv/version) seems to imply that the file actually exists, as does the language detect the file that sets in the "Summary" comments at the top of the command file.

Perhaps that interpretation is subjective; I'm happy to stipulate that. But I might be confused if I had encountered this behavior in the wild and I hadn't yet read the source code. From the way this person phrased their question, I might not be the only one who is similarly confused.

I'm guessing there's some context I'm missing which explains the behavior, just curious what that is. Is it perhaps correct to say that the filepath printed by the command represents "where the version is expected to reside", rather than "where the version does reside"? Thanks for your help.

[mislav]

Is it perhaps correct to say that the filepath printed by the command represents "where the version is expected to reside", rather than "where the version does reside"?

That is correct. The command rbenv version-file not only prints locations of existing files, but also prints a location of a file that, when created, would have dictated the version. I admit this is not clear and potentially confusing.

This is our current documentation for the command:

% rbenv version-file --help
Usage: rbenv version-file [<dir>]

Detect the file that sets the current rbenv version

This could definitely be better document. What do you think we could add to the documentation to clarify this?

[impostorsguides]

RE: the output of the command itself, assuming that brevity is a concern, what do you think about something like the following?

system (set by ${RBENV_ROOT}/version, if it exists)

This could obviously be applied to non-system output as well.

[mislav]

RE: the output of the command itself, assuming that brevity is a concern, what do you think about something like the following?

system (set by ${RBENV_ROOT}/version, if it exists)

We cannot change the format of rbenv version-file output since that would break scripts.

[impostorsguides]

How about updating the rbenv-version-file command's docs to something like what you said above?

# Usage: rbenv version-file [<dir>]
# Summary: Detect the file that sets the current rbenv version.
#
# Prints locations of existing files.  If no file found, prints a location
# of a file that, when created, would have dictated the version.

[mislav]

@impostorsguides Sounds great! PR welcome.

[impostorsguides]

PR submitted here by my other GH account.