From 7d1e23ecc66cd6570110e9f78015f480ad14c2a0 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: agra <alex@swipelab.co>
Date: Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:40:00 +0300
Subject: [PATCH] =?UTF-8?q?issues:=20file=200123=20=E2=80=94=20wrong=20arg?=
 =?UTF-8?q?=20counts=20to=20fixed-arity=20fns=20reach=20LLVM=20emission?=
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+# 0123 — wrong arg counts to fixed-arity fns reach LLVM emission
+
+## Symptom
+
+Calling a fixed-arity function with the wrong number of arguments is
+not rejected by the frontend — the mismatched argument list flows all
+the way to LLVM emission, which fails verification instead of a
+source-located diagnostic.
+
+- **Observed**: `LLVM verification failed: Incorrect number of
+  arguments passed to called function!` plus the raw IR call line —
+  no file/line/snippet, no callee name in user terms.
+- **Expected**: a compile error at the call site naming the callee
+  and its declared arity (matching the style of existing
+  diagnostics, e.g. the "unresolved ..." errors with source
+  snippets).
+
+Both directions are broken, on every plain dispatch path probed:
+
+- too MANY args, bare call: `concat("a", "b", "c")` (std's `concat`
+  takes 2 strings) → LLVM verifier failure.
+- too FEW args, bare call: `add2(1)` with `add2 :: (a: s64, b: s64)`
+  → same.
+- methods / ufcs dot-calls: same shape, receiver included. Worse:
+  a trailing-default param on a plain struct method or a ufcs fn is
+  never filled on the dot-call path (`p.scaled()` with
+  `scaled :: (self: Point, k: s64 = 2)` emits a 1-arg call to a
+  2-param fn — bare calls fill defaults via `expandCallDefaults`,
+  the method/ufcs sites never run `appendDefaultArgs`).
+
+Legitimate flexible shapes must keep working: slice variadics
+(`..xs: []T` — no upper bound), comptime/protocol packs (`..$args` /
+`..xs: P` — own dispatch), default-valued params (incl.
+`loc: Source_Location = #caller_location`), generic `$T` fns
+(explicit vs inferred type args make the count flexible), `#foreign`
+C variadics, `#compiler` / `#builtin` bodies.
+
+## Reproduction
+
+```sx
+#import "modules/std.sx";
+
+main :: () -> s32 {
+    s := concat("a", "b", "c");   // concat takes (a: string, b: string)
+    out(s);
+    return 0;
+}
+```
+
+Observed at master b3b78e2: compiles past resolution, dies at LLVM
+verification with the verifier message above.
+
+## Investigation prompt
+
+Call argument binding never compares the supplied arg count against
+the callee's declared parameter list. Suspected area: the plain
+direct-dispatch sites in `src/ir/lower/call.zig` (`lowerCall`) — the
+bare-identifier selected-author and lazy-lower legs, the
+namespace-qualified legs, the qualified struct-method leg, and the
+ufcs leg. All of them run `packVariadicCallArgs` /
+`coerceCallArgs` and emit `builder.call` without an arity check;
+`coerceCallArgs` iterates `@min(args.len, params.len)` so a mismatch
+sails through to the emitter.
+
+The fix likely needs a shared `checkCallArity(fd, name, supplied,
+has_receiver, span)` helper consulted at each plain dispatch site,
+computing min (params without trailing defaults) / max
+(`fd.params.len`, unbounded when a variadic param exists) from the
+AST decl and emitting via `self.diagnostics.addFmt(.err, span, ...)`
+on violation. Pack (`isPackFn`), comptime (`hasComptimeParams`),
+generic (`type_params.len > 0`), `#compiler`, and `#builtin` callees
+bind args through their own dispatch and must be exempt. The
+method/ufcs sites also need `appendDefaultArgs` (the generic
+instance-method leg already runs it) so trailing defaults fill
+before the count is meaningful.
+
+Verification: the repro errors with a source-located diagnostic
+naming `concat` and its 2-arg signature; too-few errors likewise;
+variadic / pack / default / ufcs / generic calls keep compiling
+(`print`, `format`, `List.append`, `#caller_location` defaults).
+`zig build && zig build test`, `bash tests/run_examples.sh` all
+green; pin the repro as a diagnostics example per CLAUDE.md.