Broken links: platform-specific crate doc links to the same platform of a dependency even if it doesn't exist

[eugenesvk]

Example: there is a x86_64-apple-darwin crate that references a dependency that is not platform-specific, those links would refer to the x86_64-apple-darwin category of that dependency even if there is no such category

Source crate: https://docs.rs/osakit/latest/osakit/type.Value.html
Link to serde_json: (click on Value) https://docs.rs/serde_json/1.0.133/x86_64-apple-darwin/serde_json/value/enum.Value.html

But serde_json only has 1 platform, so the proper link would've been https://docs.rs/serde_json/1.0.133/serde_json/enum.Value.html

Think that in such cases maybe docs should redirect to whatever platform is the default for the dep crate?

mdevils/rust-osakit#1

[syphar]

So, we have a solution in docs.rs for this, from the top of my head:

• first try the same target
• then try default target? (not sure )
• fall back to a search

Which is I think still the best thing to do, because then we only have to check for file existance etc when the user actually clicks on the link.

In your example it seems like the search we are generating is broken, which I need to check.

[eugenesvk]

then try default target? (not sure )

This would also work in this case, there is only 1 target in serde json, but it seems to be broken as well

[syphar]

@GuillaumeGomez was there a change in how rustdoc search works here?

[syphar]

then try default target? (not sure )

This would also work in this case, there is only 1 target in serde json, but it seems to be broken as well

just checked the code, we don't do this, but the search should work.

[GuillaumeGomez]

@GuillaumeGomez was there a change in how rustdoc search works here?

Not that I know of.

[syphar]

So, the old behaviour is restored now (#2690).

Generally this touches to very old (and organically grown to the current state) code , needing some refactor.

[eugenesvk]

Thanks! Maybe when the refactoring phase comes, it could add using the default target before trying to resort to search because search loses type info, eg, in the example above, you wouldn't know that you clicked on "enum Value" unless you read the link, the search would show all "Value"s

[syphar]

I remember rustdoc search also supports limiting the type you search for, we might just do that :)

[eugenesvk]

Nice, that would just leave the inconvenience of an extra click, though hopefully you'd only find a single item and then seach enum: value auto-redirects to the result in the original example

Then the only issue is whethe it's worth alerting the use somehow that the platform changed?