Oqtane - Error compiling AppCode.dll

[enfJoao]

I'm submitting a

[x] bug report

...about

[x] other / unknown

Current Behavior / Expected Behavior

Importing apps from DNN to test in Oqtane. Some work with no issues, other report this:

Error: System.Exception: Error: Can't compile 'AppCode.dll' in AppCode. Details are logged into insights. Bad IL format. The format of the file ' .... \App_Data\2sxc.bin\App-00006-AppCode-5c98a772de834cf2f6cbaba95a058d43347c40224e3ac673b0d60a04183c20b8.dll' is invalid. at ToSic.Sxc.Razor.RazorCompiler.FindViewAsync(ActionContext actionContext, String partialName, IApp app, HotBuildSpec spec) at ToSic.Sxc.Razor.RazorCompiler.CompileView(String partialName, Action1 configure, IApp app, HotBuildSpec spec) at ToSic.Sxc.Razor.RazorRenderer.RenderToStringAsync[TModel](String templatePath, TModel model, Action1 configure, IApp app, HotBuildSpec hotBuildSpec) at ToSic.Sxc.Razor.RazorEngine.RenderTask(RenderSpecs specs)

This is the content of the folder:

Instructions to Reproduce the Problem

Load any view (from specific apps with no significant differences).

Your environment

• 2sxc version(s): 18.02.00
• Oqtane: 5.2.4
• Hosting platform: IIS

[iJungleboy]

@tvatavuk any ideas?

Is there a chance that two compilers try to create the file at the same time, and refuse to overwrite a 0-byte file or something?

[enfJoao]

Deleted the files in the folder, restarted the server, same output. One app generates the files and the app runs, the other generates the errors.

[enfJoao]

Any news on this fix?

I've been trying 2sxc on Oqtane for a couple months now, and evertime I got stalled by one or another error.

[iJungleboy]

I believe @tvatavuk will look into this this week.

[jaruiz1961-ual]

I have had the same problem with oqtane 6.0 for .NET 9.0
Cheers

[tvatavuk]

@enfJoao, thank you for reporting this issue.

It appears that the DLL is locked because multiple requests to the same app are attempting to compile it simultaneously (for example, if you have the same app added 10 times on the same page), which may be causing the compilation to fail.

First, I need to reproduce this issue on my computer to identify the cause and fix it. I've conducted several tests, but everything is working as expected on my end.

Could you please provide more details to help me investigate further? Ideally, if you have an Oqtane site that you can share with me, I could restore it on my system to see what's happening.

• Are you using Windows Desktop or Windows Server? Which version?
• Are you using the development version of Oqtane or the release version?
• Do you have any antivirus software that might lock DLL files during creation?
• What type of file storage are you using—local HDD, SSD, or a network drive?

Thank you!

[enfJoao]

Win 11 pro 24H2
Release version
Windows defender only, but the issue happens with it on or off.
Local M.2 (One partition for win, one for IIS sites).

There is only one app in the page.
This app is configured the exact same way that a couple others are. The others work fine.
The only difference is that this problematic one is a lot bigger in entity types and data.
This same app runs on DNN on the same server.
If I delete the dlls, the app will run once. As soon as I reload, the error will pop.

I cannot share the app since there is sensitive data on in.

[tvatavuk]

@enfJoao Thank you for providing the additional information — it was very helpful in narrowing down the test cases as I worked to reproduce the issue in my development environment. I conducted tests with several large applications (1k+, 10k+ and 50k+ entities), and everything appeared to work as expected, so unfortunately, I was not successful in reproducing the issue on my setup.

However, based on details in your report, I have added some code to prevent the locking of App_Code*.dll during compilation in the Oqtane version. On my side, this change has already shown noticeable improvements in performance, which is a positive outcome. This fix is expected to be included in the next release.

If you're willing (and/or @jaruiz1961-ual), it would be great if you could test this on your Oqtane setup. I can provide you with today's build from the development branch: ToSic.Sxc.Oqtane.Install.18.4.0-fix3505.nupkg. Let me know if you'd like to try it!

[enfJoao]

@tvatavuk sure.

[tvatavuk]

@tvatavuk sure.

Here is link on my OneDrive ToSic.Sxc.Oqtane.Install.18.4.0-fix3505.nupkg

[enfJoao]

I'm having issues installing modules, but I think I got it (ToSic.Sxc.Oqtane.Install.18.4.0-fix3505.log seems to point that way).
oqtane/oqtane.framework#4884

New error:
Error: System.Exception: Error: Can't compile 'AppCode.dll' in AppCode. Details are logged into insights. Image is too small. at ToSic.Sxc.Razor.RazorCompiler.FindViewAsync(ActionContext actionContext, String partialName, IApp app, HotBuildSpec spec) at ToSic.Sxc.Razor.RazorCompiler.CompileView(String partialName, Action1 configure, IApp app, HotBuildSpec spec) at ToSic.Sxc.Razor.RazorRenderer.RenderToStringAsync[TModel](String templatePath, TModel model, Action1 configure, IApp app, HotBuildSpec hotBuildSpec) at ToSic.Sxc.Razor.RazorEngine.RenderTask(RenderSpecs specs)

Also creates an empty dll.
Deleting the dll does not fix it (it just recreates the empty file again).
I'm trying to strip the app down to bare minimum to see if I can share it.

[enfJoao]

Ok... This was a lot faster than I expected.
As soon as I deleted the AppCode folder, the issue is gone.
To trigger this issue in any Oqtane 2sxc I just have to create an AppCode folder (even if empty) and add the line @using AppCode to the template (even if no actual .cs is called).

[tvatavuk]

I'm having issues installing modules, but I think I got it (ToSic.Sxc.Oqtane.Install.18.4.0-fix3505.log seems to point that way). oqtane/oqtane.framework#4884

The issue you are encountering with module installation might be related to a OS limitation on IIS10 when running on desktop versions of Windows 10/11. This limitation stems from the capped number of concurrent network connections, which can cause uploads to freeze if the JavaScript responsible for splitting large uploads into smaller batches exceeds the connection limit. This problem does not occur on Windows Server, where the connection cap is higher.

Workaround
To bypass the upload issue, you can manually place the NuGet package into the /Packages folder of your Oqtane installation and then restart the application. This will trigger the module nuget installation process without requiring the web-based upload.

[tvatavuk]

@enfJoao, could you please share your stripped-down app that demonstrates the issue? I'm still unable to reproduce it on my end.

You mentioned:

Ok... This was a lot faster than I expected. As soon as I deleted the AppCode folder, the issue is gone. To trigger this issue in any Oqtane 2sxc I just have to create an AppCode folder (even if empty) and add the line @using AppCode to the template (even if no actual .cs is called).

Based on this, it seems that the presence of an AppCode folder and the usage of @using AppCode in the template—even without any actual .cs files—triggers the issue. I did try to replicate this scenario to see if I can reproduce the problem. Here's what I've done:

• Performed a clean install of Oqtane.Framework.5.2.4.Install.zip
• Installed ToSic.Sxc.Oqtane.Install.18.2.0.nupkg
• Installed all default 2sxc content and app templates
• Installed an almost empty 2sxcApp_i3505_0.0.18.zip

Everything is working as expected, and I can't reproduce the issue you're experiencing.

Any additional details or a sample app would be greatly appreciated to help diagnose and resolve this issue.

[enfJoao]

Ok.

I tried three things:

1. Moving the current database and files to a new server
2. Removing IIS and configurations from the current server and reinstalling everything
3. Creating a new install of Oqtane 6.0 in the current server after the IIS config reset

There are two important issues I tested: the file upload failures in Oqtane and the AppCode compile failure.
On 1 (same files, different server) and 3 (new 6.0 install on same server with new IIS config ) the file upload issues are gone and the AppCode issue is gone (mostly).
On 2 (same files, new IIS config) the issues persist.

So this have to be caused by a combination of IIS config and files / oqtane config. Either way I'm not going to pursuit this any more. Just going forward with the new 6.0 install.

BUT, I can still replicate the AppCode compile error with this condition:
Any code error in the AppCode/helper.cs causes an initial display of the error, and then the "Can't compile 'AppCode.dll' in AppCode" after a reload.
I migrate the test apps from DNN, so there are a lot of issues with framework => .net core (like the HttpCookie class and all cookie related fetch functions).

So this HAS TO be replicate the issue on your end:

@inherits Custom.Hybrid.RazorTyped
@using AppCode

<div @Kit.Toolbar.Default()>
    MyHelpers.Hello("World")
</div>

namespace AppCode
{
    public class MyHelpers {

        public static string Hello(string a) {
            return "Hello" + a;
        }
    }
}

To trigger the issue change
return "Hello" + a;
to
return "Hello" + ab;
or any other code error

The first load gets this:
Error: System.Exception: CS0103: The name 'ab' does not exist in the current context at ToSic.Sxc.Razor.RazorCompiler.FindViewAsync(ActionContext actionContext, String partialName, IApp app, HotBuildSpec spec) at ToSic.Sxc.Razor.RazorCompiler.CompileView(String partialName, Action1 configure, IApp app, HotBuildSpec spec) at ToSic.Sxc.Razor.RazorRenderer.RenderToStringAsync[TModel](String templatePath, TModel model, Action1 configure, IApp app, HotBuildSpec hotBuildSpec) at ToSic.Sxc.Razor.RazorEngine.RenderTask(RenderSpecs specs)

And after a reload:
Error: System.Exception: Error: Can't compile 'AppCode.dll' in AppCode. Details are logged into insights. Image is too small. at ToSic.Sxc.Razor.RazorCompiler.FindViewAsync(ActionContext actionContext, String partialName, IApp app, HotBuildSpec spec) at ToSic.Sxc.Razor.RazorCompiler.CompileView(String partialName, Action1 configure, IApp app, HotBuildSpec spec) at ToSic.Sxc.Razor.RazorRenderer.RenderToStringAsync[TModel](String templatePath, TModel model, Action1 configure, IApp app, HotBuildSpec hotBuildSpec) at ToSic.Sxc.Razor.RazorEngine.RenderTask(RenderSpecs specs)

The only thing that changed with the new server or new install in new IIS config is that the error now only triggers if there are codding errors on the helper (before is happened even with no helpers in the folder).

If you still cannot replicate this, please give me an e-mail address to send you the login info to a test install on my server.

[tvatavuk]

Thank you for the detailed feedback—it has been very helpful in narrowing down the issue.

• I was able to reproduce the problem, and as suspected, the AppCode.dll being generated with a file size of 0 is indeed unexpected.
• This behavior is not helpful for developers using 2sxc in identifying and resolving issues.
• The expected behavior should align more closely with DNN's handling of uncompiled C# code. Specifically:
  • If the code in AppCode contains errors, it should result in a meaningful error message indicating the issue, rather than generating a corrupted or empty AppCode.dll.
  • No AppCode.dll should be created at all in cases where the compilation fails.

Thank you again for the comprehensive test scenarios—it’s instrumental in replicating and resolving such issues!

[tvatavuk]

Issue is fixed.
It is expected to be part of the next 2sxc release.

[jaruiz1961-ual]

Here it is the error in azure
https://ja-oqtane9.azurewebsites.net/accordion
If you want an account to install or uninstall and test it, let me know ... jaruiz@ual.es

[jaruiz1961-ual]

[iJungleboy]

we should have a release out by this weekend