Enable configuration.toml support for plugin commands

[prabushi]

As per the current implementation of the configuration Toml feature, the location of the configuration.toml file should be either defined as a system variable or should be located at the directory where the CLI command is executed.

VSCode plugin supports 'run', 'build', etc. pallette commands by directly executing ballerina CLI commands at the project root for ballerina projects and by passing the bal file path as an argument for single file projects. If the configuration.toml feature is used in a particular bal file or a project, there's a greater chance that the commands will fail.

As a solution, the plugin can ask for the configuration.toml file path as a user input before executing the command if required. However, we do not have the ballerina CLI support to pass the configuration.toml file path.

Related issue: https://github.com/ballerina-platform/plugin-vscode/issues/132

@HindujaB Is there any possibility to introduce the configuration.toml path as an optional parameter for CLI commands?

[HindujaB]

Ballerina currently supports the environment variable and the current working directory to locate the Config.toml file.
Due to the complexity between user defined arguments and ballerina arguments, we kept only the above methods.

And IIANM, we log the working directory when running vscode plugin commands at the output terminal like

executing command: bal run at /home/hinduja/FooProject/main

With proper documentations provided, wouldn't it be expected from the user to have the Config.toml at the required location?
In this case, the project root or using the env variable.

@manuranga @warunalakshitha What do you think?

But, we still don't log the execution directory for Ballerina debugger, though.

[manuranga]

located at the directory where the CLI command is executed.

I believe this this is a valid concern. We should be picking up from project root for bal run.
For bal build (actually it's only needed for test step in the build), we are already picking up from the test dir, not the CLI location.

We will only pick up form current dir location for jar run.

@HindujaB is this not how it's happening right now? if so I think we should we fix it.

[HindujaB]

+1
Created issue ballerina-platform/ballerina-lang#28260

[manuranga]

@prabushi is this effecting current basic usecase for config or only when there are multiple project (asking to determine the priority).

[prabushi]

@manuranga It is affecting for single project scenario as well.
So, is it a must to have the Config.toml file at the project root? If the toml is located elsewhere, we would not be able to run/build the project via the VSCode extension. Is this the expected behavior?

[HindujaB]

As per the design,
We decided to provide the following methods to locate the config file for now

1. BALCONFIGFILE env variable that specifies the path
2. A fixed directory that contains the toml file (This differs according to the command execution)
   • bal run command : package root
   • bal test command :
     1. tests directory
     2. package root
   • jar execution : current working directory