matlab.cod​etools.req​uiredFiles​AndProduct​s error for unsupported filenames

I get the following error while trying to build a dependency list for some files I need to share with colleagues. I am using a modified version of Daniel Frisch's code ( https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/82768-copy_dependencies ).

From the error message, MATLAB seems to be unable to resolve the filepath for one of the files in the MPT toolbox. I only really care for the code I wrote and as the expectation is that my colleagues also have the same toolboxes installed. Using the 'toponly' flag, I do not get the same error but then I don't get all the files as well. I'd try using the dependency analyser but it runs too slow and includes all files from every toolbox remotely related to my files which I don't exactly need.

Is there any way to fix this?

The code I am executing is basically

name = fileparts(start_mfile);
destination = sprintf('%s-dependencies-%s', name, datestr(now,'yyyymmdd-HHMMSS'));

% Find dependent files
fprintf('Looking for dependent files...   ')
flist = matlab.codetools.requiredFilesAndProducts(start_mfile);%,'toponly');
% Create target dir if not exists
if exist(destination,'dir')~=7
    mkdir(destination)
end

% Find the individual code files
for iFile = flist
    [path,~,~] = fileparts(iFile);
    % Explore 2 levels deeper
    for i = 1:2
        if strcmp(pwd,path)
        sublist = matlab.codetools.requiredFilesAndProducts(iFile);%,'toponly');
        flist = [flist sublist];
        flist = unique(flist,'stable');
        end
    end
end

[Walter Roberson]

I would rename the ._buildCost.m to something else, such as ._buildCost.mold

Answer 1

[Kanishk]

Dear @Elikplim,

It seems you are encountering an issue with “matlab.codetools.requiredFilesAndProducts” due to invalid MATLAB file names that start with "._". These files are typically created by macOS when files are transferred to non-Mac systems or storage formats, Known as AppleDouble files, they store metadata and resource fork information used by macOS.

These “._” files are generally safe to delete, especially if you do not require the macOS-specific metadata or are not planning to transfer the files back to a macOS system. Removing them should resolve the error you are experiencing.

To delete these files, you can use this MATLAB script.

% Define the directory to search in 
targetDirectory = 'pathtodirectory/mpt/tbxmanager'; 
% Get the list of all files starting with ._ in the target directory and subdirectories 
filesToDelete = dir(fullfile(targetDirectory, '**', '._*')); 

for k = 1:length(filesToDelete) 
filePath = fullfile(filesToDelete(k).folder, filesToDelete(k).name); 
fprintf('Deleting: %s\n', filePath); 
delete(filePath); 
end 
disp('All ._ files have been deleted.'); 

Using “matlab.codetools.requiredFilesAndProducts” after deleting these files will not present the error.

To learn more about valid MATLAB file names, please go through this following official MATLAB documentation.

https://www.mathworks.com/help/releases/R2022b/matlab/matlab_env/specify-file-names.html#:~:text=File%20names%20must%20start%20with%20a%20letter%2C%20and%20can%20contain%20letters%2C%20digits%2C%20or%20underscores.

Hope this helps!

Thanks

[Walter Roberson]

Small point: for MacOS, using \ in the path would be incorrect.

targetDirectory = 'pathtodirectory/mpt/tbxmanager'; 

[Kanishk]

Edited: Using forward slash(/), valid separator for any platform.

[Elikplim]

My apologies for not getting back to this sooner. I'm a bit hesitant to delete those files because they came packaged with the toolbox and it is a dependency for a number of other projects and toolboxes I use fairly regularly.

I will try to get access to a separate installation and see if I can get away with deleting the files you suggest before I do this on my computer. Thank you for your responses.