Restrictions on arguments to PathRelativePathTo in a "long path aware" environment

Question

For a long path aware process on Windows 10, I'm trying to understand what the argument restrictions are when using the windows shell method PathRelativePathTo.

In my example below, I'm using C# via pinvoke to call the method.
I've given multiple examples below and their output. Note:

• All of the examples give directory paths for "from" and file paths for "to" (none of these paths actually exist on disk)
• My observations are that
  • Paths under the "short" MAX_PATH length (260) return success with the expected result.
  • Some paths over the "short" MAX_PATH return success with the correct result.
  • Some paths over the "short" MAX_PATH return success with the wrong answer (yikes!)
  • Some much longer paths return an Error. However, it is not at some fixed max length.

Source:

    class Program
    {
        static class Native
        {
            // https://www.pinvoke.net/default.aspx/shlwapi.pathrelativepathto
            // https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/api/shlwapi/nf-shlwapi-pathrelativepathtoa
            [DllImport("shlwapi.dll", SetLastError = true, CharSet = CharSet.Auto)]
            [return: MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Bool)]
            internal static extern bool PathRelativePathTo([Out] StringBuilder pszPath, [In] string pszFrom, [In] int dwAttrFrom, [In] string pszTo, [In] int dwAttrTo);
        }

        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            string pszFrom, pszTo;
            int i = 0;

            // #1 At "short" max path (259)
            // Succeeds with right answer
            pszFrom = @"c:\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCD123456789";
            pszTo = @"c:\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCD123456789\abcdefghijklmnop.txt";
            TestPathRelativePathTo(++i, pszFrom, pszTo);

            // #2 One over "short" max path
            // Succeeds with right answer
            pszFrom = @"c:\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCD1234567890";
            pszTo = @"c:\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCD1234567890\abcdefghijklmnop.txt";
            TestPathRelativePathTo(++i, pszFrom, pszTo);

            // #3 Shortest path (by experiment) that returned the wrong answer
            pszFrom = @"c:\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRS\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCD1234567890";
            pszTo = @"c:\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRS\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCD1234567890\b.txt";
            TestPathRelativePathTo(++i, pszFrom, pszTo);

            // #4: Long path that errors out
            // Errors out
            pszFrom = @"c:\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZABCDEFGH\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890";
            pszTo = @"c:\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZABCDEFGH\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\b.txt";
            TestPathRelativePathTo(++i, pszFrom, pszTo);

            // #5: Same as previous except one character removed from beginning of first folder
            // Succeeds, but wrong return result
            pszFrom = @"c:\BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZABCDEFGH\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890";
            pszTo = @"c:\BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZABCDEFGH\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\b.txt";
            TestPathRelativePathTo(++i, pszFrom, pszTo);

            // #6: Same as previous except 3 characters added to filename. 
            // Succeeds, but wrong return result
            pszFrom = @"c:\BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZABCDEFGH\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890";
            pszTo = @"c:\BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZABCDEFGH\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\b123.txt";
            TestPathRelativePathTo(++i, pszFrom, pszTo);
        }

        static void TestPathRelativePathTo(int i, string pszFromDir, string pszToFile)
        {
            int maxResult = 10000;
            StringBuilder result = new StringBuilder(maxResult);
            Console.WriteLine($"#{i}: Calling PathRelativePathTo(...): pszFrom.Length: {pszFromDir.Length}; pszTo.Length {pszToFile.Length} ");
            bool bRet = Native.PathRelativePathTo(result, pszFromDir, (int)FileAttributes.Directory, pszToFile, (int)FileAttributes.Normal);
            if (!bRet)
            {
                // *Edit*: As pointed out in the comments, PathRelativePathTo does not set last error, so this part of the code is incorrect, it should really just print out that the method returned false.
                // https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/shawnfa/2004/09/10/formatmessage-shortcut-for-win32-error-codes/
                int currentError = Marshal.GetLastWin32Error();
                var errorMessage = new Win32Exception(currentError).Message;
                Console.WriteLine($"  Error: {errorMessage}");
            }
            else
            {
                Console.WriteLine($"  Result: {result}");
            }
        }
    }

Output:

#1: Calling PathRelativePathTo(...): pszFrom.Length: 238; pszTo.Length 259
  Result: .\abcdefghijklmnop.txt
#2: Calling PathRelativePathTo(...): pszFrom.Length: 239; pszTo.Length 260
  Result: .\abcdefghijklmnop.txt
#3: Calling PathRelativePathTo(...): pszFrom.Length: 259; pszTo.Length 265
  Result: ..\ABCD1234567890\b.txt
#4: Calling PathRelativePathTo(...): pszFrom.Length: 481; pszTo.Length 487
  Error: The system cannot find the file specified
#5: Calling PathRelativePathTo(...): pszFrom.Length: 480; pszTo.Length 486
  Result: .\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\b.txt
#6: Calling PathRelativePathTo(...): pszFrom.Length: 480; pszTo.Length 489
  Result: .\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ1234567890\b123.txt

Questions:

• What is the expected behavior of PathRelativePathTo with respect to the above?
• Is it only expected to work properly with paths under the "short" MAX_PATH limit (and the rest of the behavior is undefined)?
• Is there something else in the .net framework I can use instead (Note: I see that .NET Core has Path.GetRelativePath, but I can't (yet) use that)?

Answer 1

在 如何在 .NET 中获取绝对或标准化文件路径？ 我懂了

public static string NormalizePath(string path)
{
    return Path.GetFullPath(new Uri(path).LocalPath)
           .TrimEnd(Path.DirectorySeparatorChar, Path.AltDirectorySeparatorChar)
           .ToUpperInvariant();
}

所以我将从这开始规范化两个路径（另请参阅https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/jeremykuhne/2016/04/21/path-normalization/，以防涵盖更多情况）

然后我将它们分成子路径的数组/列表（例如使用How does one extract everyfolder name from a path? 中的方法之一）

从那里我会找到最多 N 个常见的第一部分。

然后我从第一条路径的 C 部分（又名 CN）计数中减去 N 来得到有多少 ..\ 我需要添加到第一条路径才能回到公共路径。

最后，我将在删除前 N 个项目后添加 toPath 的其余部分并返回结果路径

我想一旦找到规范化路径，您也可以通过字符串解析（无需拆分列表）来做到这一点（以避免额外的存储）。这个想法是，您会找到公共字符串前缀，然后如果公共部分没有以路径分隔符结尾，则修剪它的最后一部分（因为这将是一个巧合的额外公共部分，例如 c:\a \test1 和 c:\a\test2 具有公共路径 c:\a\ 而不是 c:\a\test （通过简单的公共前缀字符串提取获得）。

或者，您可以使用一种算法，该算法返回每个 \ 的字符索引，在循环中同时处理两个标准化路径（每个步骤一个），这样您就不需要存储额外的东西。其逻辑与上述逻辑类似。