microsoft / microsoft/TypeScript

Inconsistent error messages with circular base type argument

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Description

I noticed here that a type argument to a base class can reference property types in the same class, so I wondered what would happen if I tried to reference an inherited property type that itself depends on the type argument. To its credit, the compiler didn't crash, but the errors I got didn't make much sense.

TypeScript Version: master (e1a4c2779f93c8389d1589e543920a61771e97ec)

Search Terms: circular self referential base extends type argument property same class lookup type

Code

class Super<T> {
  foo!: T;
}
class Sub extends Super<Sub["bar"]> {
  bar!: Sub["foo"];  // Actual: Error: "Property 'foo' does not exist on type 'Sub'."
  baz!: Sub["foo"];  // Actual: No error
}

Expected behavior: An error that indicates that circular type annotations are involved.

Actual behavior: As marked.

Playground Link: link

Related Issues: None found, but this is hard to search for.

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Research direction

Reproduce the discrepancy from the supplied Playground Link using the TypeScript master revision shown in the report, then trace the compiler behavior for the circular base type argument. Done means the bar and baz cases receive a consistent diagnostic indicating that circular type annotations are involved, rather than the current mismatched results.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
typescript
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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