error: cannot open output file

[nekkceb]

@Axel-Spoerl Sorry, missed the little drop-down arrows! Seems I already have the debug info.

[Axel Spoerl]

@nekkceb
No worries. I am curious to learn what you observe!

[nekkceb]

@Axel-Spoerl Well, I apologize, but I am not expert in debugging compiler issues. I cant see how to do a breakpoint as you suggest, I tried stepping into the .exec function, but that did not do anything. Looks like I am going to have to live with this rather bizarre new behavior or rely on someone more expert to figure it out!

[nekkceb]

@Axel-Spoerl I found a solution that works much better than re-booting the computer between each debug cycle. Turns out opening a cmd-prompt, cd to the directory with the offending .exe file and just enter del <filename>.exe /f does the trick!
However, I still wonder why this behavior started all of a sudden about a week ago, no recent updates to either Windows or Qt. I probably fat-fingered a setting somewhere in Qt, but have not been able to find it so far.

[JonB]

@nekkceb
Does it require you use the /f option? If so, that forces deleting of read-only file, which (unlike Linux) Windows/cmd does not allow you to do directly, it requires you make it non-read-only first. If the file being created is somehow being marked read-only then it would not surprise me that Creator or whatever does not do this and expects to open the file directly.

How that relates to the .exe you are producing I do not know, nor why it has just started happening. But see whether the file is read-only and/or you have to use del /f to delete it, that's a clue.

BTW, do you use a virus scanner? It is possible that is looking at generated .exe files, worth switching it off or telling it to ignore the build directory.

[nekkceb]

@JonB Thanks for the ideas. Turns out the /f option is not needed. But things are certainly strange! If I try to delete the file in the Windows File Explorer, I get this message:

Note I tried to do this after stopping the program in the debugger AND closing QtCreator. The file is NOT marked as read-only, though windows thinks it is 'open' somehow. Using the cmd-prompt, just issue a del BIPSMain.exe deletes it and allows me to rebuild it in QtCreator.

[Axel Spoerl]

@nekkceb
Is BIPS20 your project / BIPSMain.exe your executable?
If so: It's in use by gdbor however the MinGW derivate is called.

[JonB]

@nekkceb said in error: cannot open output file:

del BIPSMain.exe deletes it and allows me to rebuild it in QtCreator.

(Now that we know /f/read-only is not the issue.) Then you are fortunate. Clearly something has it open in some shape or form, in which case Windows does not normally allow to delete the file. So this is surprising but convenient.

If you really are sure tasklist/taskman cannot find the executable file still running, and you still want to know what is going on, you could download whatever currently works for Windows which allows you to view open handles in the OS. There used to be a procman and/or procexplorer (or similar names) from sysinternals for this, if they don't work I imagine there are alternatives now.

[nekkceb]

@Axel-Spoerl Agree, you have mentioned that before, but neither BIPSMain nor gdb are found in the Task Manager, or (per @JonB suggestion) the procexp64.exe from sysinternals. Both do appear in the TaskManager when the debug session is running, but both go away when the application exits. So, I am truly at a loss, but knowing I can just delete BIPSMain use the del command in a DOS-box helps a lot.

[JonB]

@nekkceb
If you have got procexp64 or similar working, instead of look for executable running it has something which lets you pick a file and find all "open handles" into it. That really ought find dynamicspline.exe with a handle!

Or, from error message

:-1: error: cannot open output file dynamicspline.exe: Invalid argument.

the invalid argument might just indicate that the file "does not exist" or "half exists", is in a funny state so that it cannot be overwritten but can be deleted.... Anyway, that's me out of suggestions now.

[nekkceb]

This post is deleted!