fix: CreateSubdirectory failing for root directories

[Neo-vortex]

fixes #116087

Fix CreateSubdirectory failing for root directories

Summary

Fixes a bug where DirectoryInfo.CreateSubdirectory(path) incorrectly throws ArgumentException when called on root directory instances (e.g., C:\).

Problem

Path.TrimEndingDirectorySeparator preserves trailing separators for root paths to maintain valid path format. This causes the boundary validation logic to use an incorrect index when checking for directory separators.

Example failure:

var rootDir = new DirectoryInfo(@"C:\");
rootDir.CreateSubdirectory("test"); // Throws ArgumentException

The check at index [3] evaluates the character 't' instead of the separator '\' at index [2], causing validation to fail.

Solution

After calling Path.TrimEndingDirectorySeparator, explicitly check if trimmedCurrentPath still has a trailing separator (root directory case) and remove it manually before performing boundary validation.

if (trimmedCurrentPath.Length > 0 && 
    PathInternal.IsDirectorySeparator(trimmedCurrentPath[trimmedCurrentPath.Length - 1]))
{
    trimmedCurrentPath = trimmedCurrentPath.Slice(0, trimmedCurrentPath.Length - 1);
}

This ensures consistent behavior: trimmedCurrentPath never ends with a separator, making the boundary index check work correctly for all directory types.

Impact

• Fixes: Root directory subdirectory creation (Windows: C:\, D:\, )
• No breaking changes: Non-root directory behavior unchanged
• Low risk: Localized change to validation logic only

Testing

• Existing tests continue to pass (non-root directories)
• Manual testing confirms fix for root directories:

  new DirectoryInfo(@"C:\").CreateSubdirectory("test");     // ✓ Works
  new DirectoryInfo(@"C:\Users").CreateSubdirectory("Docs"); // ✓ Still works

[kasperk81]

Example failure:

that can be a test case

[Neo-vortex]

I added a test
@kasperk81

[Neo-vortex]

it seems Linux is also effected.
this code fails with the same error without this PR

var dir = new DirectoryInfo("/");
dir.CreateSubdirectory("test");

I added a test for linux as well

[Neo-vortex]

linux tests are failing because of permission.

      System.UnauthorizedAccessException : Access to the path '/TestFolder_1aa9354d27554fa5a93f0ad594276905' is denied.
      ---- System.IO.IOException : Permission denied

the fact that it is trying to create the folder but gets Permission denied is an indication that this PR also fixes linux.
the problem is now how to make a test that actually passes without accessing the "/" itself

[Neo-vortex]

@vcsjones
how should we process from here ?

[kasperk81]

linux tests are failing because of permission.

if only the newly added tests in PR are failing, then change them to:

try { Assert... } catch (Exception ex) { Assert(Exception is UnauthorizedAccessException) }

both cases are acceptable, either original assert passed or the op failed because of access issue. other exceptions are unexpected and should fail.

[Neo-vortex]

reverted back to the known good code

[jeffhandley]

@Neo-vortex I pushed 214a18d to your branch to apply the feedback from @JeremyKuhne appropriately.

What you were missing is that TrimEndingDirectorySeparator does not trim when the path is a root.

runtime/src/libraries/Common/src/System/IO/PathInternal.cs

Lines 229 to 232 in 31c3ed9

	internal static ReadOnlySpan<char> TrimEndingDirectorySeparator(ReadOnlySpan<char> path) =>
	EndsInDirectorySeparator(path) && !IsRoot(path) ?
	path.Slice(0, path.Length - 1) :
	path;

In the case of trimmedCurrentPath, we explicitly do want to trim that character off the end when it's a root path. For that variable, we can use TrimEnd.

[Neo-vortex]

@Neo-vortex I pushed 214a18d to your branch to apply the feedback from @JeremyKuhne appropriately.

What you were missing is that TrimEndingDirectorySeparator does not trim when the path is a root.

runtime/src/libraries/Common/src/System/IO/PathInternal.cs

Lines 229 to 232 in 31c3ed9

	internal static ReadOnlySpan<char> TrimEndingDirectorySeparator(ReadOnlySpan<char> path) =>
	EndsInDirectorySeparator(path) && !IsRoot(path) ?
	path.Slice(0, path.Length - 1) :
	path;

In the case of trimmedCurrentPath, we explicitly do want to trim that character off the end when it's a root path. For that variable, we can use TrimEnd.

LGTM

[jozkee]

/ba-g infra timeout on "android-arm64 Release AllSubsets_Mono_Smoke", passed on arm.