"Illegal constraint in a type" error - is it fixable?
I recently sketched out a solution to #13327. Here is the type signature that I wanted to write:
dataCast1 :: forall (c :: Type -> Type) (t :: forall (k :: Type). k -> Type).
Typeable t
=> (forall d. Data d => c (t d))
-> Maybe (c a)
But this doesn't typecheck:
• Could not deduce (Typeable (t k0))
from the context: (Data a, Typeable (t k))
bound by the type signature for:
dataCast1 :: forall a.
Data a =>
forall k (c :: * -> *) (t :: forall k1. k1 -> *).
Typeable (t k) =>
(forall d. Data d => c (t * d)) -> Maybe (c a)
at NewData.hs:(170,3)-(173,26)
The type variable ‘k0’ is ambiguous
• In the ambiguity check for ‘dataCast1’
To defer the ambiguity check to use sites, enable AllowAmbiguousTypes
When checking the class method:
dataCast1 :: forall a.
Data a =>
forall k (c :: * -> *) (t :: forall k1. k1 -> *).
Typeable (t k) =>
(forall d. Data d => c (t * d)) -> Maybe (c a)
In the class declaration for ‘Data’
|
170 | dataCast1 :: forall (c :: Type -> Type) (t :: forall (k :: Type). k -> Type).
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^...
This makes sense, since GHC has no way to conclude that the k
in t
's kind is also Typeable
. I tried to convince GHC of that fact:
dataCast1 :: forall (c :: Type -> Type) (t :: forall (k :: Type). Typeable k => k -> Type).
Typeable t
=> (forall d. Data d => c (t d))
-> Maybe (c a)
But this also doesn't work:
NewData.hs:171:25: error:
• Illegal constraint in a type: Typeable k0
• In the first argument of ‘Typeable’, namely ‘t’
In the type signature:
dataCast1 :: forall (c :: Type -> Type)
(t :: forall (k :: Type). Typeable k => k -> Type).
Typeable t => (forall d. Data d => c (t d)) -> Maybe (c a)
In the class declaration for ‘Data’
|
171 | Typeable t
| ^
NewData.hs:172:40: error:
• Illegal constraint in a type: Typeable k0
• In the first argument of ‘c’, namely ‘(t d)’
In the type signature:
dataCast1 :: forall (c :: Type -> Type)
(t :: forall (k :: Type). Typeable k => k -> Type).
Typeable t => (forall d. Data d => c (t d)) -> Maybe (c a)
In the class declaration for ‘Data’
|
172 | => (forall d. Data d => c (t d))
| ^^^
At this point, I'm stuck, since I have no idea how to work around this Illegal constraint in a type
error. This error message appears to have originated as a part of the TypeInType
patch, since there's even a test case checking for this behavior.
But is this a fundamental limitation of kind equalities? Or would it be possible to lift this restriction?
Trac metadata
Trac field | Value |
---|---|
Version | 8.0.1 |
Type | Bug |
TypeOfFailure | OtherFailure |
Priority | normal |
Resolution | Unresolved |
Component | Compiler (Type checker) |
Test case | |
Differential revisions | |
BlockedBy | |
Related | |
Blocking | |
CC | |
Operating system | |
Architecture |