leanprover / leanprover/lean4

Cannot derive functional induction principle: failed to transform matcher, type error when constructing new pre-splitter motive

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bug P-medium
Dominant language
Lean
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Description

Prerequisites

Please put an X between the brackets as you perform the following steps:

Description

This code:

def bla (a : Nat) (h : 0 < a) : Nat :=
  if h : a ≤ 1 then
    0
  else
    have : 0 ≠ a := by omega
    match a with
    | 0 => False.elim (by contradiction)
    | a + 1 => bla a (by omega)
termination_by structural a

theorem blub {a : Nat} {h : 0 < a} : bla a h ≤ 1 := by
  fun_induction bla

generates this error message

Failed to realize constant bla.induct_unfolding:
  Cannot derive functional induction principle (please report this issue)
    failed to transform matcher, type error when constructing new pre-splitter motive:
      bla.match_1
        (fun a h h_1 this_1 =>
          t = a →
            ∀ (x : Nat.below (motive := fun a => ∀ (h : 0 < a), motive a h (bla a h)) a),
              motive a h
                (match a, h, h_1, this with
                | 0, h, h_2, this => (bla._proof_1 h).elim
                | a.succ, h, h_2, this => bla a (bla._proof_2 a h_2)))
        t h✝ h this
    failed with
      Application type mismatch: The argument
        this✝
      has type
        0 ≠ t
      but is expected to have type
        0 ≠ a✝
      in the application
        bla.match_1 (fun a h h_1 this => Nat) a✝ h✝ h this✝
Context

Minimized from a similar function in the String API.

Steps to Reproduce
  1. Copy the above code into live.lean-lang.org

Expected behavior: No error

Actual behavior: See above

Versions

Lean 4.25.0-nightly-2025-09-22

Impact

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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 running the minimized example in live.lean-lang.org with the specified Lean nightly version and the fun_induction bla entry point. Trace the reported transformation around bla.induct_unfolding and bla.match_1, especially the pre-splitter motive type mismatch. Done means the example derives the functional induction principle without an error.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Domain
compilers
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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