lance-format/lance

Remove `protoc` requirement

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#3,073 opened on Oct 31, 2024

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good first issue

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Description

Trying to add lance as a dependency currently results in a build error:

error: failed to run custom build command for `lance-encoding v0.18.2`
Caused by:
  process didn't exit successfully: `lance-encoding-b1cb34df4c6a6aa9/build-script-build` (exit status: 1)
  --- stdout
  cargo:rerun-if-changed=protos

  --- stderr
  Error: Custom { kind: NotFound, error: "Could not find `protoc`. If `protoc` is installed, try setting the `PROTOC` environment variable to the path of the `protoc` binary. To install it on Debian, run `apt-get install protobuf-compiler`. It is also available at https://github.com/protocolbuffers/protobuf/releases  For more information: https://docs.rs/prost-build/#sourcing-protoc" }

You should instead check in the generated code, and include it in the crate. The build.rs should do nothing (or ideally, not exist).

I would consider this issue done when cargo build -p lance works WITHOUT having protoc already on PATH

Contributor guide

Research direction
Inspect the current build.rs to understand how protoc is invoked. Then, pre generate the protobuf code using protoc locally, include the generated files in the crate, and remove the build.rs logic that calls protoc. Verify that `cargo build p lance` succeeds without protoc on PATH.
Tech stack
rust
Domain
backendbuild system
Issue type
Bug
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
2
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-3 hours
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
Active
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
Clear
Prerequisites
GitRust
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
75