Copybook members whose name starts with `$` are not found ("not found" hover tooltip)

[schweigerAle-strabag]

Bug: Copybook members whose name starts with $ are not found ("not found" hover tooltip)

Summary

When a /copy or /include directive references a source member whose name begins with the IBM i variant character $ (dollar sign), the RPGLE language server shows the tooltip "(not found)" and does not resolve the member — even though the member exists on the system.

Example:

/copy qcpysrc,$ADCONST    ← shown as "(not found)"
/copy qcpysrc,$RPGPSDS    ← shown as "(not found)"
/copy qcpysrc,AA0100S     ← found correctly

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Environment

Item	Version
Extension	halcyontechltd.code-for-ibmi v3.0.7
RPGLE extension	halcyontechltd.vscode-rpgle v0.33.4
VS Code	1.x
IBM i OS	V7Rx

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Root Cause

File: src/api/Tools.ts
Function: sanitizeObjNamesForPase

The function sanitizes IBM i object/member names for use inside PASE shell commands.
Currently it only handles names beginning with # (another IBM i variant character) by wrapping them in double quotes:

// Current (buggy) implementation
export function sanitizeObjNamesForPase(names: string[]): string[] {
  return names.map(name => name.startsWith('#') ? `"${name}"` : name);
}

Names starting with $ pass through unchanged.

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How the bug manifests

IBMiContent.memberResolve() calls Tools.qualifyPath() with noEscape = true, which relies entirely on sanitizeObjNamesForPase for shell-safety:

// src/api/IBMiContent.ts — memberResolve()
const pathList = files
  .map(file => Tools.qualifyPath(
    inAmerican(file.library),
    inAmerican(file.name),
    inAmerican(member),   // e.g. "$ADCONST"
    asp,
    true                  // noEscape = true → no escapePath() fallback!
  ))
  .join(` `)
  .toUpperCase();

const command = `for f in ${pathList}; do if [ -f $f ]; then echo $f; break; fi; done`;

For member $ADCONST (library MYLIB, source file QCPYSRC) the generated shell command is:

for f in /QSYS.LIB/MYLIB.LIB/QCPYSRC.FILE/$ADCONST.MBR; do if [ -f $f ]; then echo $f; break; fi; done

The PASE shell expands $ADCONST as a shell variable.
Because $ADCONST is undefined, it expands to an empty string.
The path becomes /QSYS.LIB/MYLIB.LIB/QCPYSRC.FILE/.MBR, which does not exist.
memberResolve returns undefined → the language server shows "not found".

Why does # work but $ does not?
# has no special meaning inside double-quoted shell strings, so "#MEMBER" expands correctly to #MEMBER.
$ is special inside double-quoted strings — the shell still performs variable expansion.
Single quotes or a backslash escape is required to suppress $ expansion.

---

Suggested Fix

File: src/api/Tools.ts

Extend sanitizeObjNamesForPase to also protect names starting with $
using a backslash escape (which works correctly in an unquoted shell context):

// Suggested fix
export function sanitizeObjNamesForPase(names: string[]): string[] {
  return names.map(name => {
    if (name.startsWith('#')) return `"${name}"`;         // existing behaviour
    if (name.startsWith('$')) return `\\${name}`;         // NEW: escape $ for PASE shell
    return name;
  });
}

This produces:

for f in /QSYS.LIB/MYLIB.LIB/QCPYSRC.FILE/\$ADCONST.MBR; do ...

The shell treats \$ as a literal dollar sign, so the path resolves correctly.

Alternatively, use single quotes around the component
(single quotes prevent all shell expansion and are safe since IBM i member names cannot contain single quotes):

if (name.startsWith('$')) return `'${name}'`;

This produces:

for f in /QSYS.LIB/MYLIB.LIB/QCPYSRC.FILE/'$ADCONST'.MBR; do ...

Both approaches are equivalent; the backslash variant is slightly more consistent with how Tools.escapePath() already handles $.

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Additional notes

• The same sanitizeObjNamesForPase gap likely affects @-prefixed member names (the third IBM i variant character), though @ is not special in POSIX shell, so it does not currently cause a visible failure.
• objectResolve() in IBMiContent.ts constructs its shell path by calling sysNameInAmerican() directly — without going through sanitizeObjNamesForPase — so it would also fail for $-prefixed object names. That may be worth a follow-up fix.
• Tools.escapePath() already escapes $ correctly (see src/api/Tools.ts), but it is bypassed here because noEscape = true.

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Steps to Reproduce

1. Open an RPGLE source member on IBM i that contains:

   /copy qcpysrc,$ADCONST

2. Hover over the directive.
3. Expected: tooltip shows the resolved member path, e.g. `MYLIB/QCPYSRC/$ADCONST` (found)
4. Actual: tooltip shows qcpysrc,$ADCONST (not found)

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References

• src/api/Tools.ts — sanitizeObjNamesForPase, qualifyPath, escapePath
• src/api/IBMiContent.ts — memberResolve