The trailing-`!`-after-the-value-type spelling (`-> T !`, `-> Tuple(A,B) !`) was a
redundant second way to write a failable return that the parser folded into the
same AST as the parenthesized `(T, !)` / `(A, B, !)` result list. Remove it so
there is ONE canonical spelling: the error channel always rides as the last slot
of the parenthesized list.
- parser: `parseFnReturnType` no longer folds a trailing `!` after a value type —
it rejects it with a located diagnostic ("a failable return is written `(T, !)`
… not `T !`"). This one chokepoint covers fn declarations, lambdas, fn-pointer
types `(A) -> R`, and closure types `Closure(A) -> R`. The error-ONLY `-> !` /
`-> !ErrSet` form is unaffected (parsed by parseTypeExpr as an error_type_expr).
- migrated every usage to canonical form across library/ + examples/ + issues/ +
tests/: `-> T !E` → `-> (T, !E)`; the value-carrying `-> Tuple(A, B) !` (which
FLATTENED to a multi-value failable) → `-> (A, B, !)`, preserving behavior. A
genuine single-tuple-value failable stays `-> (Tuple(A,B), !)`.
- parser unit tests: the "bare form folds" tests become "bare form is rejected";
canonical-form parse tests retained.
- docs: specs.md §12 + scattered refs and readme.md updated to the `(T, !)` form.
Behavior-preserving (the bare form was sugar for the same AST). Adversarial review
confirmed: rejection complete across all positions, every canonical form works on
both success/error paths, error-only `-> !` intact, no crashes. Full suite green
(unit tests + 850 corpus examples).
A failable function that returned by IMPLICIT success (no explicit
`return`) left its error-tag slot uninitialized, so a caller's `catch` /
`or` (or `main`) read a garbage tag and reported a phantom unhandled
error — and for value-carrying failables the success value was dropped.
The "no error" sentinel was only written on the explicit-`return;` path.
Unified all function-body-return lowering so the failable-success slot
is always written:
- void `-> !` fall-through: `ensureTerminator` (control_flow.zig) now
emits `ret constInt(0)` for a pure-failable end-of-body.
- value-failable trailing-expression success: `lowerValueBody`
(stmt.zig) routes through `lowerFailableSuccessReturn`.
- generic + pack-fn instances: `monomorphizeFunction` (generic.zig) and
`monomorphizePackFn` (pack.zig) now DELEGATE their body-return to
`lowerValueBody` instead of hand-rolling a `coerce`+`ret` that drifted
(covers generic/pack value-failables).
Also fixes the missing-value diagnostic guard added here: it now counts
`.err`-level diagnostics (new `DiagnosticList.errorCount`) rather than the
total list length, so a warning/note emitted while lowering the body
(e.g. an ObjC selector arity warning) can no longer suppress a genuine
"body produces no value" error — which previously shipped an
uninitialized return at exit 0.
Regressions: examples/errors/1061 (void fall-through), 1062 (value-failable
trailing expr), 1063 (generic value-failable trailing expr).
