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Remove duplicated *.ncb and *.aps rules from VisualStudio.gitignore - #4912

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SurefireStudios:remove-duplicate-vs6-rules
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SurefireStudios:remove-duplicate-vs6-rules

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@SurefireStudios

@SurefireStudios SurefireStudios commented Sep 14, 2026

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Visual Studio — specifically the Visual C++ toolset.

Reasons for making this change

VisualStudio.gitignore lists *.ncb and *.aps twice each, which the contribution guidelines ask contributors to avoid.

Both have been in the # Visual C++ cache files section since the template was created in November 2010 (590e423); a second copy was added in July 2019 (e285e4b) under a new # Visual Studio 6 technical files heading, described in that commit as "their purpose is unknown for me".

That heading is also inaccurate, since neither file is specific to Visual Studio 6:

  • *.ncb is the Visual C++ IntelliSense database, used through Visual Studio 2008 and replaced by the SDF database in 2010 — and the template already lists *.sdf two lines below *.ncb in the cache-files section.
  • *.aps is the binary resource script used by the resource editor, documented for msvc-140 through msvc-180 (Visual Studio 2015–2022).

Behaviour is unchanged: both patterns are still ignored, once each, under the heading that describes them correctly.

The genuinely VS6-specific rules from that 2019 commit — *.vbw, *.dsw, *.dsp — are untouched.

 *.dsw
 *.dsp
 
-# Visual Studio 6 technical files
-*.ncb
-*.aps
-
 # Visual Studio LightSwitch build output

I kept this to the one template, so the duplicate *.o / *.elf rules in community/libogc.gitignore are left for a separate PR if wanted.

Links to documentation supporting these rule changes

Merge and Approval Steps

Both rules were already present under "Visual C++ cache files", where they
have been since the template was created in 2010 (590e423). A second copy
was added in 2019 (e285e4b) under a new "Visual Studio 6 technical files"
heading, whose commit described them as "their purpose is unknown for me".

Beyond being duplicates, the second heading is inaccurate. Neither file is
specific to Visual Studio 6:

- *.ncb is the Visual C++ IntelliSense database, used through Visual Studio
  2008 and replaced by the SDF database in 2010. The template already lists
  *.sdf two lines below *.ncb in the "Visual C++ cache files" section, so
  the pair belongs together there.
- *.aps is the binary form of the resource script used by the resource
  editor. Microsoft documents it for msvc-140 through msvc-180 (Visual
  Studio 2015 to 2022) and states plainly that it should not be in source
  control.

The genuinely VS6-specific rules added by that commit (*.vbw, *.dsw, *.dsp)
are untouched. Behaviour is unchanged: both patterns are still ignored, once
each, under the heading that describes them correctly.
@SurefireStudios
SurefireStudios requested a review from a team as a code owner September 14, 2026 17:54
Copilot AI balanced review requested due to automatic review settings September 14, 2026 17:54

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2 participants