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A file A defines a typeclass, and gives an instance for all types a, and exports a function relying on said typeclass. A file B defines a data type, makes it a specific OVERLAPPING instance of that class, and uses the function defined in A. Which instance ends up being picked for B depends on the optimisation level those files are compiled with.

• *Minimal test case**

//A.hs//

{-# LANGUAGE FlexibleInstances #-}
{-# OPTIONS_GHC -fno-warn-simplifiable-class-constraints #-}

module A where

import           Data.Maybe

class A a where
  someValue :: a -> Maybe Int

instance A a where
  someValue = const Nothing

getInt :: A a => a -> Int
getInt x = fromMaybe 0 $ someValue x

//B.hs//

module B where

import           A

data B = B Int

instance {-# OVERLAPPING #-} A B where
  someValue (B x) = Just x

getBInt :: Int
getBInt = getInt $ B 42

//Main.hs//

import           B

main :: IO ()
main = putStrLn $ "B: " ++ show getBInt

To reproduce:

$ ghc -O0 -fforce-recomp Main.hs && ./Main 
[1 of 3] Compiling A                ( A.hs, A.o )
[2 of 3] Compiling B                ( B.hs, B.o )
[3 of 3] Compiling Main             ( Main.hs, Main.o )
Linking Main ...
B: 42

$ ghc -O2 -fforce-recomp Main.hs && ./Main 
[1 of 3] Compiling A                ( A.hs, A.o )
[2 of 3] Compiling B                ( B.hs, B.o )
[3 of 3] Compiling Main             ( Main.hs, Main.o )
Linking Main ...
B: 0

The fix introduced to fix #14434 (closed) instructs the "short-cut solver" to not automatically choose a matching instance if it marked as INCOHERENT or OVERLAPPABLE, but in this case the instance is not marked in any way. This might be the source of the bug?

Additionally, whatever the optimisation level, ghc emits a warning about the A a => class constraint being simplifiable; but if it is removed, then the program prints "0" in both cases.

Trac metadata

Trac field	Value
Version	8.4.2
Type	Bug
TypeOfFailure	OtherFailure
Priority	normal
Resolution	Unresolved
Component	Compiler
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