[commit: ghc] wip/rae: Comments only: explain that TauTv sometimes gets sigma-types. (fdfb86c)

[git at git.haskell.org]

Repository : ssh://git@git.haskell.org/ghc

On branch  : wip/rae
Link       : http://ghc.haskell.org/trac/ghc/changeset/fdfb86c42cdb9f14f69a03e102c3fff30c07a9d0/ghc

>---------------------------------------------------------------

commit fdfb86c42cdb9f14f69a03e102c3fff30c07a9d0
Author: Richard Eisenberg <eir at cis.upenn.edu>
Date:   Sun Aug 3 18:51:37 2014 -0400

    Comments only: explain that TauTv sometimes gets sigma-types.


>---------------------------------------------------------------

fdfb86c42cdb9f14f69a03e102c3fff30c07a9d0
 compiler/typecheck/TcType.lhs  | 24 ++++++++++++++++++++++--
 compiler/typecheck/TcUnify.lhs |  1 +
 2 files changed, 23 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/compiler/typecheck/TcType.lhs b/compiler/typecheck/TcType.lhs
index f12ec9d..c779fbb 100644
--- a/compiler/typecheck/TcType.lhs
+++ b/compiler/typecheck/TcType.lhs
@@ -264,6 +264,25 @@ Similarly consider
 When doing kind inference on {S,T} we don't want *skolems* for k1,k2,
 because they end up unifying; we want those SigTvs again.
 
+Note [TauTv sometimes gets sigma-types]
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+Despite the name TauTv, a TauTv metavariable can be *unified* with a
+sigma-type -- it's just that the solver will never make this choice.
+This is because sigma-types sometimes have implicit parameters (type
+parameters & dictionaries). We need to know up front where these
+implicit parameters occur, so that we can instantiate for them. If,
+say, unification didn't expose that a meta-variable was really a forall,
+and the solver did discover this, we'd be in trouble, because the forall-type's
+implicit parameters wouldn't be instantiated. Indeed, this is the whole
+point of having TauTvs at all.
+
+But, it's OK if the unifier discovers that a TauTv should be a sigma-type.
+That's because the unifier is run while we're walking through the expression,
+so when it's time to instantiate, we can zonk away any known meta-variables,
+expose the sigma-type, and instantiate away.
+
+This is all implemented in checkTauTvUpdate in TcUnify.
+
 \begin{code}
 -- A TyVarDetails is inside a TyVar
 data TcTyVarDetails
@@ -303,8 +322,9 @@ instance Outputable MetaDetails where
 
 data MetaInfo
    = TauTv         -- This MetaTv is an ordinary unification variable
-                   -- A TauTv is always filled in with a tau-type, which
-                   -- never contains any ForAlls
+                   -- A TauTv is usually filled with a tau-type, which
+                   -- cannot have any foralls. But not always; see
+                   -- Note [TauTv sometimes gets sigma-types]
 
    | PolyTv        -- Like TauTv, but can unify with a sigma-type
 
diff --git a/compiler/typecheck/TcUnify.lhs b/compiler/typecheck/TcUnify.lhs
index ef06ddd..6552ebe 100644
--- a/compiler/typecheck/TcUnify.lhs
+++ b/compiler/typecheck/TcUnify.lhs
@@ -899,6 +899,7 @@ checkTauTvUpdate dflags tv ty
     -- Checks for (a) occurrence of tv
     --            (b) type family applications
     -- See Note [Conservative unification check]
+    -- and Note [TauTv sometimes gets sigma-types] in TcType
     defer_me (LitTy {})        = False
     defer_me (TyVarTy tv')     = tv == tv'
     defer_me (TyConApp tc tys) = isSynFamilyTyCon tc || any defer_me tys