Fix: absolute glob-paths silently match no files in publish command

[Copilot]

Microsoft.Extensions.FileSystemGlobbing.Matcher.AddInclude() only accepts relative patterns — passing absolute paths (common in CI where env vars expand to absolute paths) caused silent zero-match results.

Description

The fix introduces a new Utilities subsystem with two units — GlobMatcher and PathHelpers — that encapsulate general-purpose file-system helpers. Program.cs delegates to GlobMatcher.FindMatchingFiles() for the publish command. PathHelpers has been moved from the SelfTest subsystem into Utilities as it is a general-purpose utility.

GlobMatcher unit (src/DemaConsulting.VersionMark/Utilities/GlobMatcher.cs)

• FindMatchingFiles — detects absolute patterns via Path.IsPathRooted(); routes them through a per-pattern matcher rooted at the correct directory, while all relative patterns continue to be matched against cwd as before. Results are deduplicated via a HashSet (using a file-system-appropriate comparer) before the final sorted return.
• SplitAbsolutePattern (internal helper) — locates the last directory separator before the first wildcard (*, ?, [) to split an absolute pattern into a root directory and a relative glob pattern; handles edge cases:
  • No wildcards → Path.GetDirectoryName / Path.GetFileName
  • Forward-slash root patterns like /*.json → root is the platform path root (/ on Unix, \ on Windows)
  • Windows drive-root patterns like C:\*.json → root normalised to C:\ (not C:)

PathHelpers unit (src/DemaConsulting.VersionMark/Utilities/PathHelpers.cs)

Moved from SelfTest to Utilities. No logic changes — only the namespace (DemaConsulting.VersionMark.Utilities) and documentation updated to reflect its new general-purpose home.

Tests

• test/.../Utilities/GlobMatcherTests.cs — 10 unit tests covering: relative pattern matching, absolute path pattern matching, single-file absolute path (no wildcard), mixed absolute and relative patterns, empty pattern array, no-match patterns, forward-slash root pattern (/*.json, all platforms asserting the platform-specific root), and Windows drive-root pattern (C:\*.json, Windows only).
• test/.../Utilities/PathHelpersTests.cs — moved from SelfTest/; all 10 existing tests unchanged.
• Publishing_Run_WithAbsoluteGlobPattern_ReadsMatchingFiles — sets cwd to a different directory to confirm matching is independent of cwd when an absolute pattern is supplied.

Documentation and traceability

• Requirements: docs/reqstream/version-mark/utilities.yaml (+ VersionMark-Utilities-SafePath) + docs/reqstream/version-mark/utilities/glob-matcher.yaml + docs/reqstream/version-mark/utilities/path-helpers.yaml
• Design docs: docs/design/version-mark/utilities.md + docs/design/version-mark/utilities/glob-matcher.md + docs/design/version-mark/utilities/path-helpers.md; docs/design/definition.yaml updated to include Utilities chapters and remove stale self-test/path-helpers.md entry
• Verification docs: docs/verification/version-mark/utilities.md + docs/verification/version-mark/utilities/glob-matcher.md + docs/verification/version-mark/utilities/path-helpers.md; docs/verification/definition.yaml updated similarly
• Updated requirements.yaml, docs/design/introduction.md, docs/design/version-mark.md, docs/design/version-mark/self-test.md, docs/verification/version-mark.md, docs/verification/version-mark/self-test.md, and .reviewmark.yaml

Type of Change

• Bug fix (non-breaking change which fixes an issue)
• New feature (non-breaking change which adds functionality)
• Breaking change (fix or feature that would cause existing functionality to not work as expected)
• Documentation update
• Code quality improvement

Related Issues

Pre-Submission Checklist

Before submitting this pull request, ensure you have completed the following:

Build and Test

• Code builds successfully and all tests pass: pwsh ./build.ps1
• Code produces zero warnings

Code Quality

• New code has appropriate XML documentation comments
• Static analyzer warnings have been addressed

Quality Checks

Please run the following checks before submitting:

• All linters pass: pwsh ./lint.ps1

Testing

• Added unit tests for new functionality
• Updated existing tests if behavior changed
• All tests follow the AAA (Arrange, Act, Assert) pattern
• Test coverage is maintained or improved

Documentation

• Updated README.md (if applicable)
• Updated docs/ documentation (if applicable)
• Added code examples for new features (if applicable)
• Updated requirements.yaml (if applicable)

Additional Notes

Relative patterns are unchanged in behaviour. Mixed invocations (some absolute, some relative) are handled correctly. The GlobMatcher and PathHelpers units are self-contained within the Utilities subsystem and have no dependency on Program or Context, making them independently testable.

The /*.json forward-slash root pattern test (GlobMatcher_SplitAbsolutePattern_ForwardSlashRootPattern_SplitsToRootAndRelative) runs on all platforms without a skip guard. On Unix, Path.GetPathRoot("/*.json") returns "/" and on Windows it returns "\" (rooted to the current drive's root); the test asserts the platform-specific expected value, covering the empty-rootDir fallback branch on both. The only platform-conditional test is the Windows drive-letter case (C:\*.json), which is genuinely not applicable on Unix.

FindMatchingFiles selects the deduplication HashSet comparer based on file-system case-sensitivity: OrdinalIgnoreCase on Windows (case-insensitive file system) and Ordinal on Linux/macOS (case-sensitive file system), ensuring distinct files like a.json and A.json are never incorrectly merged on case-sensitive platforms.

[Malcolmnixon]

@copilot That pattern-matching is a lot to bolt into Program.cs - I think it warrants being another software-unit possibly under a Utilities subsystem. Please move the glob-matching logic there and remember to:

• Add new requirements for the subsystem and unit
• Add design documentation for the subsystem and unit
• Add verification documentation for the subsystem and unit
• Add tests for the subsystem and unit (including absolute and relative patterns, and single-file)

[Copilot]

@copilot That pattern-matching is a lot to bolt into Program.cs - I think it warrants being another software-unit possibly under a Utilities subsystem. Please move the glob-matching logic there and re...

Done in commit d20c0f3. The glob-matching logic has been moved to a new Utilities subsystem with a GlobMatcher unit (src/DemaConsulting.VersionMark/Utilities/GlobMatcher.cs). Program.cs now delegates to GlobMatcher.FindMatchingFiles.

Added alongside:

• 8 unit tests in test/.../Utilities/GlobMatcherTests.cs (relative, absolute, single-file, mixed, empty, no-match)
• Requirements: docs/reqstream/version-mark/utilities.yaml + docs/reqstream/version-mark/utilities/glob-matcher.yaml
• Design docs: docs/design/version-mark/utilities.md + docs/design/version-mark/utilities/glob-matcher.md
• Verification docs: docs/verification/version-mark/utilities.md + docs/verification/version-mark/utilities/glob-matcher.md
• Updated requirements.yaml, docs/design/introduction.md, docs/design/version-mark.md, docs/verification/version-mark.md, and .reviewmark.yaml

[Malcolmnixon]

@copilot now that there's a Utilities subsystem, should PathHelpers be moved to it?

[Copilot]

@copilot now that there's a Utilities subsystem, should PathHelpers be moved to it?

Yes — done in commit ede720a. PathHelpers is now part of the Utilities subsystem alongside GlobMatcher. Updated: source file (new namespace), Validation.cs and 5 test files (using statement), requirements/design/verification docs, introduction.md, and .reviewmark.yaml.

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

This PR fixes publish glob resolution so absolute glob patterns (common in CI) correctly match files by introducing a Utilities subsystem and routing publish-time matching through it.

Changes:

• Added Utilities.GlobMatcher to support matching both relative and absolute glob patterns (with dedup + stable sort).
• Moved PathHelpers from SelfTest into Utilities and updated references across source/tests/docs.
• Added/updated tests and requirements/design/verification documentation to cover the new Utilities subsystem.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 26 out of 27 changed files in this pull request and generated 5 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
test/DemaConsulting.VersionMark.Tests/Utilities/PathHelpersTests.cs	Updates PathHelpers tests to the new Utilities namespace.
test/DemaConsulting.VersionMark.Tests/Utilities/GlobMatcherTests.cs	Adds unit tests for absolute/relative glob matching and pattern splitting.
test/DemaConsulting.VersionMark.Tests/SelfTest/SelfTestTests.cs	Updates imports to use Utilities.PathHelpers.
test/DemaConsulting.VersionMark.Tests/Publishing/PublishingTests.cs	Adds integration test ensuring publish works with an absolute glob pattern independent of cwd.
test/DemaConsulting.VersionMark.Tests/ProgramTests.cs	Updates import to use Utilities.PathHelpers.
test/DemaConsulting.VersionMark.Tests/IntegrationTests.cs	Updates import to use Utilities.PathHelpers.
test/DemaConsulting.VersionMark.Tests/Capture/CaptureTests.cs	Updates import to use Utilities.PathHelpers.
src/DemaConsulting.VersionMark/Utilities/PathHelpers.cs	Moves PathHelpers into Utilities namespace (no logic change).
src/DemaConsulting.VersionMark/Utilities/GlobMatcher.cs	Implements absolute+relative glob matching with SplitAbsolutePattern helper.
src/DemaConsulting.VersionMark/SelfTest/Validation.cs	Updates to use Utilities.PathHelpers.
src/DemaConsulting.VersionMark/Program.cs	Replaces inline matcher logic with GlobMatcher.FindMatchingFiles.
requirements.yaml	Adds Utilities requirements includes and removes old SelfTest PathHelpers include.
docs/verification/version-mark/utilities/path-helpers.md	Updates test location reference after moving tests.
docs/verification/version-mark/utilities/glob-matcher.md	Adds Utilities GlobMatcher verification chapter.
docs/verification/version-mark/utilities.md	Adds Utilities subsystem verification chapter.
docs/verification/version-mark/self-test.md	Updates SelfTest verification scope now that PathHelpers moved out.
docs/verification/version-mark.md	Updates subsystem list to include Utilities.
docs/reqstream/version-mark/utilities/path-helpers.yaml	Adds PathHelpers unit requirements under Utilities.
docs/reqstream/version-mark/utilities/glob-matcher.yaml	Adds GlobMatcher unit requirements.
docs/reqstream/version-mark/utilities.yaml	Adds Utilities subsystem requirements linking to GlobMatcher/PathHelpers.
docs/design/version-mark/utilities/path-helpers.md	Adds Utilities PathHelpers design chapter.
docs/design/version-mark/utilities/glob-matcher.md	Adds Utilities GlobMatcher design chapter.
docs/design/version-mark/utilities.md	Adds Utilities subsystem design chapter.
docs/design/version-mark/self-test.md	Updates SelfTest design scope now that PathHelpers moved out.
docs/design/version-mark.md	Updates publish-mode flow to include Utilities glob resolution step.
docs/design/introduction.md	Updates system overview to include Utilities subsystem.
.reviewmark.yaml	Replaces SelfTest PathHelpers review with Utilities subsystem/unit reviews.

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[Malcolmnixon]

@copilot apply changes based on the comments in this thread

[Copilot]

@copilot apply changes based on the comments in this thread

Done in commit 1227063. Applied all review comments:

• docs/design/definition.yaml and docs/verification/definition.yaml: removed stale self-test/path-helpers.md entries; added the three Utilities chapters (utilities.md, utilities/glob-matcher.md, utilities/path-helpers.md)
• GlobMatcherTests.cs: added GlobMatcher_SplitAbsolutePattern_UnixRootPattern_SplitsToRootAndRelative (skips on Windows) and GlobMatcher_SplitAbsolutePattern_WindowsDriveRootPattern_SplitsToDriveRootAndRelative (skips on non-Windows)
• docs/verification/version-mark.md: updated the Utilities bullet to mention both GlobMatcher and PathHelpers
• SelfTestTests.cs: removed "and PathHelpers working together" from the class summary

[Malcolmnixon]

@copilot Is it appropriate to skip the unix pattern on windows? Is there still a test that uses the absolute (via slash or backslash but without drive letter) pattern on windows?

[Copilot]

@copilot Is it appropriate to skip the unix pattern on windows? Is there still a test that uses the absolute (via slash or backslash but without drive letter) pattern on windows?

The skip was not appropriate — it was unnecessary. In .NET, Path.GetPathRoot("/*.json") returns "/" on both Unix and Windows (Windows treats a leading / as rooted to the current drive), and SplitAbsolutePattern produces ("/", "*.json") on both platforms via the same empty-rootDir fallback path. So the test covers the "absolute via slash without drive letter" case on Windows too.

Fixed in commit d894e84: removed the Assert.SkipUnless(!IsWindows()) and renamed the test method from _UnixRootPattern_ to _ForwardSlashRootPattern_ to make it clear the test runs everywhere. The only remaining platform-conditional test is the C:\*.json drive-letter case which genuinely cannot be parsed by Unix.

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

Copilot reviewed 28 out of 29 changed files in this pull request and generated 1 comment.

[Malcolmnixon]

@copilot It fails on windows with:

Failed DemaConsulting.VersionMark.Tests.Utilities.GlobMatcherTests.GlobMatcher_SplitAbsolutePattern_ForwardSlashRootPattern_SplitsToRootAndRelative [2 ms]
  Error Message:
   Assert.Equal() Failure: Strings differ
           ↓ (pos 0)
Expected: "/"
Actual:   "\\"
           ↑ (pos 0)

[Copilot]

@copilot It fails on windows with:

...

Fixed in commit 1b51ebc. Two changes:

1. Test: Path.GetPathRoot("/*.json") returns "\" on Windows and "/" on Unix. The test now asserts OperatingSystem.IsWindows() ? @"\" : "/" so it passes correctly on both platforms — the empty-rootDir fallback branch of SplitAbsolutePattern is still exercised everywhere.

2. Production code: FindMatchingFiles now selects the dedup HashSet comparer based on file-system case-sensitivity — OrdinalIgnoreCase on Windows, Ordinal on Linux/macOS — so distinct files like a.json and A.json are no longer incorrectly collapsed on case-sensitive file systems.