`ninja t` builds test/format but fails at runtime due to missing extension libraries

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    • Type: Technical Debt
    • Resolution: Fixed
    • Priority: Minor - P4
    • WT12.0.0, 9.0.0-rc0
    • Affects Version/s: None
    • Component/s: Build
    • None
    • Storage Engines, Storage Engines - Persistence
    • 0.038
    • SE Persistence backlog
    • None

      Issue Summary

      When building the test/format binary (t) using ninja t, the build completes successfully, but the binary fails at startup with dlopen errors for extension libraries such as libwiredtiger_reverse_collator.so. The error message indicates that the expected extension libraries are missing from the build directory:

      [WT_VERB_DEFAULT][ERROR]: dlopen(../../ext/collators/reverse/libwiredtiger_reverse_collator.so):
  tried: '.../build/ext/collators/reverse/libwiredtiger_reverse_collator.so' (no such file or directory)
t: FAILED: create_database: wiredtiger_open: No such file or directory

      A full ninja build resolves the issue, as it includes the extension libraries. Subsequent ninja t builds work because the libraries are already present.

      Context

      • format.h hardcodes BUILDDIR = "../../" relative to the t binary location.
      • With -DEXT_LIBPATH="" (set by CMake), t resolves extension library paths as ../../ext/collators/reverse/libwiredtiger_reverse_collator.so.
      • Extension libraries are CMake MODULE targets under ext/ and are not link-time dependencies of test_format, so ninja t does not build them unless explicitly specified.
      • Builtin extensions (compiled as OBJECT_LIBRARY into libwiredtiger) do not require separate dlopen or build steps.

      Proposed Solution

      • Add add_dependencies() in test/format/CMakeLists.txt for each extension MODULE library required at runtime.
      • Use get_target_property(TYPE) to ensure only MODULE_LIBRARY targets are included, excluding builtin OBJECT_LIBRARY extensions.
      • This change ensures ninja t builds all necessary runtime libraries without impacting incremental builds.

      Example Patch

      --- a/test/format/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/test/format/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -44,5 +44,22 @@ create_test_executable(test_format
 # for sanitizers to work correctly.
 set_target_properties(test_format PROPERTIES LINKER_LANGUAGE CXX)
 target_compile_options(test_format PRIVATE -DEXT_LIBPATH="")
+
+# t uses dlopen() at runtime to load extension MODULE libraries from ../../ext/ (relative to the
+# binary). Those libraries are not link-time dependencies, so ninja t won't build them unless we
+# declare them here. Only add MODULE libraries — builtin extensions are OBJECT libraries already
+# compiled into libwiredtiger and don't need a separate dlopen().
+foreach(ext_target
+        wiredtiger_reverse_collator
+        wiredtiger_lz4 wiredtiger_snappy wiredtiger_zlib wiredtiger_zstd
+        wiredtiger_rotn wiredtiger_sodium)
+    if(TARGET ${ext_target})
+        get_target_property(_ext_type ${ext_target} TYPE)
+        if(_ext_type STREQUAL "MODULE_LIBRARY")
+            add_dependencies(test_format ${ext_target})
+        endif()
+    endif()
+endforeach()
+
 add_test(NAME test_format COMMAND ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/smoke.sh)
 set_tests_properties(test_format PROPERTIES LABELS "check")

      Original Slack thread
      This ticket was generated by AI from a Slack thread.

            Assignee:
            Etienne Petrel
            Reporter:
            Memento Slack Bot
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            Watchers:
            2 Start watching this issue

              Created:
              Updated:
              Resolved: