Tidy up the semantics of Command.arguments[0] (#210)

Bazel Buildfarm, Buildgrid and Buildbarn all perform resolution relative
to the working directory of an action; not the input root directory.
Instead of requiring that all implementations are updated, we should
consider just altering the spec.

Performing resolution relative to the input root directory can also be
very tricky, as it means that argv[0] as visible to the calling process
must also be rewritten. Applications may get confused otherwise. For
example, consider the case where the working directory is "foo" and
argv[0] is "bar/baz". In that case argv[0] as visible to the calling
process must become "../bar/baz" or be made absolute. Making it absolute
is inconsistent with what Bazel does right now. Attempting to keep it
relative can be complex when symbolic links are involved.

Furthermore, the specification doesn't mention what kind of path
separators are used for argv[0]. The only reasonable solution here is to
use path separators that are native to the host, as successive arguments
also need to be provided in that form.

2 files changed, 30 insertions, 6 deletions

diff --git a/build/bazel/remote/execution/v2/remote_execution.pb.go b/build/bazel/remote/execution/v2/remote_execution.pb.go
index 64dbae8..1375a3e 100755
--- a/build/bazel/remote/execution/v2/remote_execution.pb.go
+++ b/build/bazel/remote/execution/v2/remote_execution.pb.go
@@ -470,9 +470,21 @@ type Command struct {
 	sizeCache     protoimpl.SizeCache
 	unknownFields protoimpl.UnknownFields
 
-	// The arguments to the command. The first argument must be the path to the
-	// executable, which must be either a relative path, in which case it is
-	// evaluated with respect to the input root, or an absolute path.
+	// The arguments to the command.
+	//
+	// The first argument specifies the command to run, which may be either an
+	// absolute path, a path relative to the working directory, or an unqualified
+	// path (without path separators) which will be resolved using the operating
+	// system's equivalent of the PATH environment variable. Path separators
+	// native to the operating system running on the worker SHOULD be used. If the
+	// `environment_variables` list contains an entry for the PATH environment
+	// variable, it SHOULD be respected. If not, the resolution process is
+	// implementation-defined.
+	//
+	// Changed in v2.3. v2.2 and older require that no PATH lookups are performed,
+	// and that relative paths are resolved relative to the input root. This
+	// behavior can, however, not be relied upon, as most implementations already
+	// followed the rules described above.
 	Arguments []string `protobuf:"bytes,1,rep,name=arguments,proto3" json:"arguments,omitempty"`
 	// The environment variables to set when running the program. The worker may
 	// provide its own default environment variables; these defaults can be
diff --git a/build/bazel/remote/execution/v2/remote_execution.proto b/build/bazel/remote/execution/v2/remote_execution.proto
index 247d774..86dbdd4 100644
--- a/build/bazel/remote/execution/v2/remote_execution.proto
+++ b/build/bazel/remote/execution/v2/remote_execution.proto
@@ -538,9 +538,21 @@ message Command {
     string value = 2;
   }
 
-  // The arguments to the command. The first argument must be the path to the
-  // executable, which must be either a relative path, in which case it is
-  // evaluated with respect to the input root, or an absolute path.
+  // The arguments to the command.
+  //
+  // The first argument specifies the command to run, which may be either an
+  // absolute path, a path relative to the working directory, or an unqualified
+  // path (without path separators) which will be resolved using the operating
+  // system's equivalent of the PATH environment variable. Path separators
+  // native to the operating system running on the worker SHOULD be used. If the
+  // `environment_variables` list contains an entry for the PATH environment
+  // variable, it SHOULD be respected. If not, the resolution process is
+  // implementation-defined.
+  //
+  // Changed in v2.3. v2.2 and older require that no PATH lookups are performed,
+  // and that relative paths are resolved relative to the input root. This
+  // behavior can, however, not be relied upon, as most implementations already
+  // followed the rules described above.
   repeated string arguments = 1;
 
   // The environment variables to set when running the program. The worker may