pdftract/notes/bf-3e0vl.md

Diagnostic Output Files in pdftract Build Directories

Summary

Located and documented diagnostic output files stored in the project build and test output directories.

Build Diagnostic Files (target/ directory)

Location: /home/coding/pdftract/target/debug/build/*/stderr

Build stderr files are stored in build-specific subdirectories within target/debug/build/. These contain compiler warnings and build diagnostic information.

Example file: /home/coding/pdftract/target/debug/build/pdftract-core-0d428a00850f9797/stderr

• File size: 760 bytes
• Last modified: July 6, 2026 17:23
• Contents: Cargo compiler warnings about missing optional checksum files and unused code

Sample content:

cargo:warning=Checksum file not found (optional): std14-metrics.json
cargo:warning=Checksum file not found (optional): ../../../build/glyph-shapes.json
cargo:warning=Checksum file not found (optional): named-encodings.json
cargo:warning=Checksum file not found (optional): predefined-cmaps/adobe-japan1.json

Pattern: Each build crate has its own subdirectory with a stderr file (e.g., pdftract-core-HASH/stderr, pdftract-cli-HASH/stderr).

File Count

• Total stderr files found: ~150+ (one per build crate dependency)
• Non-empty stderr files: ~10-15 (containing actual compiler warnings)
• Most recent: July 6, 2026 17:30

Test Output Files (notes/ directory)

Location: /home/coding/pdftract/notes/

The notes/ directory contains diagnostic output files from test runs and CLI invocations. These are more comprehensive and user-readable than the build stderr files.

Most recent diagnostic file: /home/coding/pdftract/notes/bf-677eo-output.txt

• File size: 104K (104,000+ bytes)
• Last modified: July 6, 2026 16:36
• Contents: Full compiler output with warnings, dead code analysis, and cfg condition checks

Other diagnostic files found:

• bf-5ucbr-pdftract-debug-output.json - JSON debug output from pdftract CLI
• bf-694ie-extract.log - Extraction operation log
• bf-694ie-help.log - CLI help output log
• bf-3j4ec-*.txt - Multiple output format test files (text, ndjson, json)

Key Findings

1. Build stderr files are small (usually 0 bytes, 760 bytes when non-empty) and contain compiler warnings
2. Test output files in notes/ are much larger (up to 104K) and contain comprehensive diagnostic information
3. File naming pattern: Build stderr uses crate-HASH directory, test outputs use bead-ID prefix
4. Most recent diagnostic: bf-677eo-output.txt (104K, July 6, 2026 16:36)

Access Patterns

For build diagnostics:

# Find most recent non-empty stderr files
find /home/coding/pdftract/target/debug/build -name "stderr" -size +0c -exec ls -lth {} \; | head -10

For test outputs:

# Find most recent diagnostic files
ls -lht /home/coding/pdftract/notes/*.log /home/coding/pdftract/notes/*output* 2>/dev/null | head -10

Recommendations

1. The notes/ directory appears to be the primary location for comprehensive test diagnostic outputs
2. Build stderr files are useful for tracking compiler warnings across build iterations
3. Test output files in notes/ are substantially larger and more detailed than build diagnostics