compat/mingw: rename the symlink, not the target

Since 183ea3ea (Merge branch 'ps/mingw-rename', 2024-11-13),
a new technique is used on Windows to rename files, where supported.
The first step of this technique is to open the file with
`CreateFileW`. At that time, `FILE_ATTRIBUTE_NORMAL` was passed as
the value of the `dwFlagsAndAttributes` argument. In b30404df [2], this
was improved by passing `FILE_FLAG_BACKUP_SEMANTICS`, to support
directories as well as regular files.

However, neither value of `dwFlagsAndAttributes` is sufficient to open
a symbolic link with the correct semantics to rename it. Symlinks on
Windows are reparse points. Attempting to open a reparse point with
`CreateFileW` dereferences the reparse point and opens the target
instead, unless `FILE_FLAG_OPEN_REPARSE_POINT` is included in
`dwFlagsAndAttributes`. This is documented for that flag and in the
"Symbolic Link Behavior" section of the `CreateFileW` docs [3].

This produces a regression where attempting to rename a symlink on
Windows renames its target to the intended new name and location of the
symlink. For example, if `symlink` points to `file`, then running

    git mv symlink symlink-renamed

leaves `symlink` in place and unchanged, but renames `file` to
`symlink-renamed` [4].

This regression is detectable by existing tests in `t7001-mv.sh`, but
the tests must be run by a Windows user with the ability to create
symlinks, and the `ln -s` command used to create the initial symlink
must also be able to create a real symlink (such as by setting the
`MSYS` environment variable to `winsymlinks:nativestrict`). Then
these two tests fail if the regression is present, and pass otherwise:

    38 - git mv should overwrite file with a symlink
    39 - check moved symlink

Let's fix this, so that renaming a symlink again renames the symlink
itself and leaves the target unchanged, by passing

    FILE_FLAG_BACKUP_SEMANTICS | FILE_FLAG_OPEN_REPARSE_POINT

as the `dwFlagsAndAttributes` argument. This is sufficient (and safe)
because including `FILE_FLAG_OPEN_REPARSE_POINT` causes no harm even
when used to open a file or directory that is not a reparse point. In
that case, as noted in [3], this flag is simply ignored.

[1]: https://github.com/git-for-windows/git/commit/183ea3eabf81822506d2cd3aa1dc0727099ebccd
[2]: https://github.com/git-for-windows/git/commit/b30404dfc04a4b087b630aea4ab88a51cd3a7459
[3]: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/api/fileapi/nf-fileapi-createfilew
[4]: https://github.com/git-for-windows/git/issues/5436

Signed-off-by: Eliah Kagan <eliah.kagan@gmail.com>
Signed-off-by: Johannes Schindelin <johannes.schindelin@gmx.de>
Signed-off-by: Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>

diff --git a/compat/mingw.c b/compat/mingw.c
index 1d5b211b548dab1e7e9f59b63cd882be723ab1d5..f524c54d06d96592c02722ec45795505013f2eb7 100644 (file)
--- a/compat/mingw.c
+++ b/compat/mingw.c
@@ -2278,7 +2278,9 @@ repeat:
 
                old_handle = CreateFileW(wpold, DELETE,
                                         FILE_SHARE_WRITE | FILE_SHARE_READ | FILE_SHARE_DELETE,
-                                        NULL, OPEN_EXISTING, FILE_FLAG_BACKUP_SEMANTICS, NULL);
+                                        NULL, OPEN_EXISTING,
+                                        FILE_FLAG_BACKUP_SEMANTICS | FILE_FLAG_OPEN_REPARSE_POINT,
+                                        NULL);
                if (old_handle == INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE) {
                        errno = err_win_to_posix(GetLastError());
                        return -1;