Build procedure from readme doesn't set version number

[ubaldot]

Describe the problem

When I run the LS through ./arduino-language-server -cli-config /Users/ubaldot/Library/Arduino15/arduino-cli.yaml -cli /opt/homebrew/bin/arduino-cli -fqbn arduino:avr:uno -clangd /usr/bin/clangd from zsh shell I noticed a suspicious arduino-language-server Version: 0.0.0 as shown in the following excerpt:

$ ./arduino-language-server -cli-config /Users/ubaldot/Library/Arduino15/arduino-cli.yaml -cli /opt/homebrew/bin/arduino-cli -fqbn arduino:avr:uno -clangd /usr/bin/clangd
21:25:26.647772 LS: : Initial board configuration: arduino:avr:uno
21:25:26.647823 LS: : arduino-language-server Version: 0.0.0-git Commit:  Date:

I am suspicious that this cause the language client to exit with status 2. I am using MacVim 9.0.1276 the following language client: https://github.com/yegappan/lsp

To reproduce

Execute the same steps as written the README file (download go, go build, etc).
Use the following client: https://github.com/yegappan/lsp and MacVim 9.0.1276, register the server as:

{
    name: 'arduino-language-server',
    filetype: ['arduino'],
    path: $HOME .. '/Documents/arduino-language-server/arduino-language-server',
    args: ['-clangd /usr/bin/clangd',
            '-cli-config /Users/ubaldot/Library/Arduino15/arduino-cli.yaml',
            '-cli /opt/homebrew/bin/arduino-cli',
            '-fqbn arduino:avr:uno']
}

Expected behavior

The LSP does not exit with status 2.

Arduino Language Server version

0.0.0 (should be 0.7.4 I guess)

Arduino CLI version

arduino-cli Version: 0.33.0 Commit: ca60d4b4 Date: 2023-05-29T15:18:18Z

Operating system

macOS

Operating system version

13.4 (22F66)

Additional context

No response

Issue checklist

• I searched for previous reports in the issue tracker
• I verified the problem still occurs when using the latest version
• My report contains all necessary details

[per1234]

Hi @ubaldot. 0.0.0-git is the fallback version number that is used when the version is not set via the build command:

arduino-language-server/version/version.go

Line 21 in 6c64232

defaultVersionString = "0.0.0-git"

If you want the version to be automatically populated, you should instead run this command from the root of your local clone of the arduino-language-server repository:

task go:build

You will need to install the Task task runner tool dependency:

https://taskfile.dev/

But if you only want to use Arduino Language Server and don't have any interest in doing development work on the code base, then you should use the builds Arduino distributes.

If you want the release build, simply download the build from the "Assets" section of the latest release:

https://github.com/arduino/arduino-language-server/releases/latest

If you want to do beta testing, download the "build-artifacts" artifact from the latest scheduled run of the build workflow:

https://github.com/arduino/arduino-language-server/actions/workflows/build.yml?query=event%3Aschedule

I am suspicious that this cause the language client to exit with status 2.

It is true that the build procedure specified in the readme does not follow the best practices for the project development. However, the only difference between the result of go build vs. task go:build is the automatic version number setting. That is purely a convenience feature in the context of a build that is used only for the purposes of local usage during development. There is no technical benefit of it. The tester and release builds of Arduino Language Server distributed by Arduino have the appropriate version number set.

So the fallback version number that results from building Arduino Language Server via go build will definitely not cause any problems for Arduino Language Server itself. I can't comment on whether a dependent application might run a version check.

---

Even though the current build instructions are serviceable. I do think it would make sense to add a comprehensive Contributor Guide which documents:

• Beta testing
• Development dependencies
• Ideal build, test, and validation procedures

This can be based on our standard Contributor Guide template:

https://github.com/arduino/tooling-project-assets/tree/main/documentation-templates#contributor-guide