# 0057 — `xx`-to-Any variadic arg inside an imported-module function segfaults ## ✅ RESOLVED Root cause: when lowering a variadic-pack call (`lowerPackCall` in `src/ir/lower.zig`), the pack args were lowered with whatever `self.target_type` happened to be set to from the surrounding context. For a bare arg this is harmless (`inferExprType` ignores `target_type`), but `xx `'s result type IS `target_type` — so `format("…", xx i)` inside a `-> string` function cast the int to `string`, monomorphized `__pack_string`, and ABI-coerced the 4-byte int as a 16-byte string fat pointer → memory corruption. (Inline it happened to work because `target_type` was null there; the imported-module path left it set.) Fix: clear `self.target_type` (save/restore) around the pack-arg lowering loop — a pack arg is independently typed (comptime `..$args` auto-boxes to `Any`; a value pack takes its element/protocol type), never coerced to a leftover outer target. Regression: `examples/242-xx-any-pack-cross-module.sx` (+ companion `242-xx-any-pack-cross-module/fmt.sx`). Gates: zig build, zig build test, 279 examples pass. The original symptom/repro/investigation notes are kept below. ## Symptom A `format(...)` / `print(...)` call whose variadic arg is an **explicit `xx` cast to `Any`** segfaults at runtime (`__platform_memmove`, an Any-box/string copy corruption) **when the call is inside a function defined in an imported module**. The identical code works (a) inline in the main file, and (b) in an imported module if the arg is passed *without* `xx` (auto-boxed). - **Observed:** `Segmentation fault at address 0x1...` in `__platform_memmove`, via `runJITFromObject` (target.zig:244). Crashes for any int width (s32, u64). - **Expected:** prints the formatted string, same as the auto-boxed / inline forms. ## Reproduction `library/modules/zz_repro.sx`: ```sx #import "std.sx"; build :: (n: s32) -> string { result := "x:\n"; i : s32 = 0; while i < n { line := format(" item {}\n", xx i); // <-- xx cast to Any is the trigger result = concat(result, line); i = i + 1; } result; } ``` Driver (e.g. `.sx-tmp/repro.sx`): ```sx #import "modules/std.sx"; m :: #import "modules/zz_repro.sx"; main :: () -> s32 { print("[{}]", m.build(2)); return 0; } ``` Run: `./zig-out/bin/sx run .sx-tmp/repro.sx` → segfault. ### Isolation (what is / isn't the trigger) - **Auto-box works:** change `xx i` → `i` in the module → prints fine. - **Inline works:** put the same `build` body (with `xx i`) directly in the driver's `main` (no import) → prints fine. - **Width-independent:** `xx` on an `s32` or a `u64` both crash. - So the trigger is specifically: **explicit `xx ` → Any as a variadic `format`/`print` arg, in a function that lives in an imported module.** The crash blocked ERR step E3.3 (`library/modules/trace.sx`), whose `trace.to_string()` formatted each frame with `format("... {}\n", i, xx frame)` where `frame : u64` — exactly this pattern. (Dropping the `xx` would dodge it, but per the project STOP rule that workaround is not taken; the trace formatter waits on this fix.) ## Investigation prompt The bug is in how an explicit `xx`-to-`Any` cast lowers for a variadic argument when the enclosing function is monomorphized/emitted as part of an **imported module** (vs the root module). Auto-boxing (the implicit `T → Any` coercion at the variadic call site) produces correct code; the explicit `xx` path does not, but only across the module boundary — strongly suggesting the `xx`→`Any` box (`box_any` / `boxAny` in `src/ir/lower.zig` + `src/ir/emit_llvm.zig`'s `.box_any` arm) emits a value/width that the variadic-pack marshalling (`any_to_string` / the `#insert build_format` arg materialization in `library/modules/std.sx`) then `memmove`s incorrectly — possibly a stale `source_type`, a pointer-vs-value confusion, or the imported-module emit losing the box's type so the fat-pointer/string copy reads garbage. Suspected area: - `src/ir/lower.zig`: the `unary_op .xx` → `coerceToType(..., .any)` / `boxAny` path, and how variadic args are collected for `format`/`print` (`build_format` / the `..$args` pack). Compare the IR for the inline vs imported-module versions (`sx ir` on each) — the diff at the `xx i` arg site is the lead. - `src/ir/emit_llvm.zig`: `.box_any` (≈ line 3258) — `coerceToI64` / `anyTag(source_type)`. Check whether the imported-module path supplies a wrong `source_type` (e.g. `.unresolved` / `.void`) so the tag/width is off. Verification: run the reproduction above; expect `[x:\n item 0\n item 1\n]` (no segfault). Then re-confirm the auto-box and inline forms still work, and that `xx` on a non-Any target (e.g. `xx ptr` to integer) is unaffected. Once fixed, ERR E3.3 resumes: restore `library/modules/trace.sx` (the `trace.to_string()` / `print_current()` formatter) using the `xx frame` form, and complete the E3.3 step (example + snapshot + commit).