LuaLS / LuaLS/lua-language-server

Class Inheritance Triggers Typing Issues

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Dominant language
Lua
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Description

### How are you using the lua-language-server?

Visual Studio Code Extension (sumneko.lua)

### Which OS are you using?

Windows

### What is the issue affecting?

Type Checking, Diagnostics/Syntax Checking

### Expected Behaviour

To put it in plain terms, this is for a system of UserControls for a settings-panel system. There is a single Superclass, called "MCT.Option", which houses all of the unified behavior of all the UserControls. Then there are subclasses, for each type of UserControl - checkbox, dropdown, etc.

There's an abstracted method on the UserControl "holders", `holder:get_option_by_key("user_control_key')` that I have annotated as returning an MCT.Option. In reality, that superclass is never actually returned in practice - it's purely abstracted, and any option is one of the several subclasses.

So when I call:
```
---@type MCT.Option.Checkbox
local option = holder:get_option_by_key("i_know_this_is_a_checkbox")
```
I'm expecting to very easily call a conversion from superclass -> subclass.

I have all that (I think) I need to tell the debugger that it's a subclass: initial definition of the subclass is `---@class MCT.Option.Checkbox : MCT.Option, Class` to tell it its parents, and it reads from the higher methods and properties completely fine.

But when I call ---@type like that, the debugger doesn't let me simply convert from one to another.

I can of course use `---@cast option MCT.Option.Checkbox` after the variable is defined, but that's a bit clunkier in my opinion than having the type defined above the variable, and it ends up requiring me to reference the variable in the annotation, so it takes a bit longer to write up (and I have a lot of these!)

### Actual Behaviour

![image](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/39225561/217849625-8341465c-2717-438d-940f-c31cb41e0a7d.png)

### Reproduction steps

1. Create a superclass:
```
---@class MySuperclass
local o = {}
```
2. Create a subclass:
```
---@class MySubclass : MySuperclass
local o = {}
```
3. Create a function that returns MySuperclass
4. Try to direct the type that returns from that function into MySublass

### Additional Notes

Thank you for all the hard work you've done over the years - I've been using this extension for a very very long time and it's truly a lifesaver.

### Log File

[file_s%3A_modding_warhammer_3_groovy_mct.log](https://github.com/LuaLS/lua-language-server/files/10698513/file_s.3A_modding_warhammer_3_groovy_mct.log)

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by reproducing the superclass and subclass examples in the issue through the Visual Studio Code extension on Windows, focusing on the type-checking diagnostic for assigning a MySuperclass result to MySubclass. Trace the type-checking behavior involved in class inheritance and confirm that the assignment is accepted without requiring @cast when the fix is complete.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
lua
Domain
devtools
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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