[clang] Remove written template args from implicit var tpl spec (#156329)

bolshakov-a · web-flow · commit 1cb47c19f8ec · 2025-09-04T15:32:12.000Z
`VarTemplateSpecializationDecl::getTemplateArgsAsWritten()` function should return `nullptr` in the case of implicit instantiation, as its `ClassTemplateSpecializationDecl` counterpart does, and not the arguments written in `DeclRefExpr` referencing the specialization in the first place. Otherwise, for such code: ```cpp template <typename> int VarTpl; template <typename T> void tplFn() { (void)VarTpl<T>; // (1) } void fn() { tplFn<char>(); } ``` Clang treats the `char` argument of the `VarTpl` specialization as if it were written in the line marked as (1), which is misleading and hardly makes sense. Moreover, "template args as written" are stored inside `ExplicitInfo` field of `VarTemplateSpecializationDecl`, but it is [documented](https://github.com/llvm/llvm-project/blob/13357e8a12c1a45364a0c4d3137b6d21ee6ac40c/clang/include/clang/AST/DeclTemplate.h#L2653) that it is not for implicit instantiations. Moreover, it is assumed in `TraverseVarTemplateSpecializationDecl` method of `RecursiveASTVisitor` that `getTemplateArgsAsWritten()` returns `nullptr` for implicit instantiations, as it is stated in the comment [there](https://github.com/llvm/llvm-project/blob/13357e8a12c1a45364a0c4d3137b6d21ee6ac40c/clang/include/clang/AST/RecursiveASTVisitor.h#L2196). That said, `setTemplateArgsAsWritten` should be called only for variable template explicit specializations (it is [already done inside `Sema::ActOnVarTemplateSpecialization`](https://github.com/llvm/llvm-project/blob/4c916273041ff5ed7b2af20bec787ffc42871c9f/clang/lib/Sema/SemaTemplate.cpp#L4459)) and explicit instantiations (hence `true` is passed to the new `SetWrittenArgs` parameter of `CheckVarTemplateId` function inside `Sema::ActOnExplicitInstantiation`, but not when handling expressions referencing a variable template specialization). `InstantiateVariableDefinition` function just passes the arguments from the corresponding declaration. I'm not sure about instantiating a class template containing a variable template explicit specialization and thus have tried to leave the logic of the first overload of `TemplateDeclInstantiator::VisitVarTemplateSpecializationDecl` as it was.
diff --git a/clang/docs/ReleaseNotes.rst b/clang/docs/ReleaseNotes.rst
@@ -84,6 +84,9 @@ C++ Specific Potentially Breaking Changes
     static_assert((b.*mp)() == 1); // newly rejected
     static_assert((c.*mp)() == 1); // accepted
 
+- ``VarTemplateSpecializationDecl::getTemplateArgsAsWritten()`` method now
+  returns ``nullptr`` for implicitly instantiated declarations.
+
 ABI Changes in This Version
 ---------------------------
 
diff --git a/clang/include/clang/Sema/Sema.h b/clang/include/clang/Sema/Sema.h
@@ -11668,7 +11668,8 @@ class Sema final : public SemaBase {
   DeclResult CheckVarTemplateId(VarTemplateDecl *Template,
                                 SourceLocation TemplateLoc,
                                 SourceLocation TemplateNameLoc,
-                                const TemplateArgumentListInfo &TemplateArgs);
+                                const TemplateArgumentListInfo &TemplateArgs,
+                                bool SetWrittenArgs);
 
   /// Form a reference to the specialization of the given variable template
   /// corresponding to the specified argument list, or a null-but-valid result
@@ -14028,7 +14029,6 @@ class Sema final : public SemaBase {
   VarTemplateSpecializationDecl *BuildVarTemplateInstantiation(
       VarTemplateDecl *VarTemplate, VarDecl *FromVar,
       const TemplateArgumentList *PartialSpecArgs,
-      const TemplateArgumentListInfo &TemplateArgsInfo,
       SmallVectorImpl<TemplateArgument> &Converted,
       SourceLocation PointOfInstantiation,
       LateInstantiatedAttrVec *LateAttrs = nullptr,
diff --git a/clang/include/clang/Sema/Template.h b/clang/include/clang/Sema/Template.h
@@ -723,9 +723,8 @@ enum class TemplateSubstitutionKind : char {
     bool SubstQualifier(const TagDecl *OldDecl,
                         TagDecl *NewDecl);
 
-    Decl *VisitVarTemplateSpecializationDecl(
+    VarTemplateSpecializationDecl *VisitVarTemplateSpecializationDecl(
         VarTemplateDecl *VarTemplate, VarDecl *FromVar,
-        const TemplateArgumentListInfo &TemplateArgsInfo,
         ArrayRef<TemplateArgument> Converted,
         VarTemplateSpecializationDecl *PrevDecl = nullptr);
 
diff --git a/clang/lib/Sema/SemaExprMember.cpp b/clang/lib/Sema/SemaExprMember.cpp
@@ -1126,8 +1126,9 @@ Sema::BuildMemberReferenceExpr(Expr *BaseExpr, QualType BaseExprType,
       return ExprError();
     }
 
-    DeclResult VDecl = CheckVarTemplateId(VarTempl, TemplateKWLoc,
-                                          MemberNameInfo.getLoc(), *TemplateArgs);
+    DeclResult VDecl =
+        CheckVarTemplateId(VarTempl, TemplateKWLoc, MemberNameInfo.getLoc(),
+                           *TemplateArgs, /*SetWrittenArgs=*/false);
     if (VDecl.isInvalid())
       return ExprError();
 
diff --git a/clang/lib/Sema/SemaTemplate.cpp b/clang/lib/Sema/SemaTemplate.cpp
@@ -4542,7 +4542,8 @@ static bool IsLibstdcxxStdFormatKind(Preprocessor &PP, VarDecl *Var) {
 DeclResult
 Sema::CheckVarTemplateId(VarTemplateDecl *Template, SourceLocation TemplateLoc,
                          SourceLocation TemplateNameLoc,
-                         const TemplateArgumentListInfo &TemplateArgs) {
+                         const TemplateArgumentListInfo &TemplateArgs,
+                         bool SetWrittenArgs) {
   assert(Template && "A variable template id without template?");
 
   // Check that the template argument list is well-formed for this template.
@@ -4725,10 +4726,12 @@ Sema::CheckVarTemplateId(VarTemplateDecl *Template, SourceLocation TemplateLoc,
   // in DoMarkVarDeclReferenced().
   // FIXME: LateAttrs et al.?
   VarTemplateSpecializationDecl *Decl = BuildVarTemplateInstantiation(
-      Template, InstantiationPattern, PartialSpecArgs, TemplateArgs,
-      CTAI.CanonicalConverted, TemplateNameLoc /*, LateAttrs, StartingScope*/);
+      Template, InstantiationPattern, PartialSpecArgs, CTAI.CanonicalConverted,
+      TemplateNameLoc /*, LateAttrs, StartingScope*/);
   if (!Decl)
     return true;
+  if (SetWrittenArgs)
+    Decl->setTemplateArgsAsWritten(TemplateArgs);
 
   if (AmbiguousPartialSpec) {
     // Partial ordering did not produce a clear winner. Complain.
@@ -4760,7 +4763,7 @@ ExprResult Sema::CheckVarTemplateId(
     const TemplateArgumentListInfo *TemplateArgs) {
 
   DeclResult Decl = CheckVarTemplateId(Template, TemplateLoc, NameInfo.getLoc(),
-                                       *TemplateArgs);
+                                       *TemplateArgs, /*SetWrittenArgs=*/false);
   if (Decl.isInvalid())
     return ExprError();
 
@@ -10707,8 +10710,9 @@ DeclResult Sema::ActOnExplicitInstantiation(Scope *S,
       TemplateArgumentListInfo TemplateArgs =
           makeTemplateArgumentListInfo(*this, *D.getName().TemplateId);
 
-      DeclResult Res = CheckVarTemplateId(PrevTemplate, TemplateLoc,
-                                          D.getIdentifierLoc(), TemplateArgs);
+      DeclResult Res =
+          CheckVarTemplateId(PrevTemplate, TemplateLoc, D.getIdentifierLoc(),
+                             TemplateArgs, /*SetWrittenArgs=*/true);
       if (Res.isInvalid())
         return true;
 
diff --git a/clang/lib/Sema/SemaTemplateInstantiateDecl.cpp b/clang/lib/Sema/SemaTemplateInstantiateDecl.cpp
@@ -4542,14 +4542,17 @@ Decl *TemplateDeclInstantiator::VisitVarTemplateSpecializationDecl(
                       PrevDecl->getPointOfInstantiation(), Ignored))
     return nullptr;
 
-  return VisitVarTemplateSpecializationDecl(InstVarTemplate, D,
-                                            VarTemplateArgsInfo,
-                                            CTAI.CanonicalConverted, PrevDecl);
+  if (VarTemplateSpecializationDecl *VTSD = VisitVarTemplateSpecializationDecl(
+          InstVarTemplate, D, CTAI.CanonicalConverted, PrevDecl)) {
+    VTSD->setTemplateArgsAsWritten(VarTemplateArgsInfo);
+    return VTSD;
+  }
+  return nullptr;
 }
 
-Decl *TemplateDeclInstantiator::VisitVarTemplateSpecializationDecl(
+VarTemplateSpecializationDecl *
+TemplateDeclInstantiator::VisitVarTemplateSpecializationDecl(
     VarTemplateDecl *VarTemplate, VarDecl *D,
-    const TemplateArgumentListInfo &TemplateArgsInfo,
     ArrayRef<TemplateArgument> Converted,
     VarTemplateSpecializationDecl *PrevDecl) {
 
@@ -4570,7 +4573,6 @@ Decl *TemplateDeclInstantiator::VisitVarTemplateSpecializationDecl(
   VarTemplateSpecializationDecl *Var = VarTemplateSpecializationDecl::Create(
       SemaRef.Context, Owner, D->getInnerLocStart(), D->getLocation(),
       VarTemplate, DI->getType(), DI, D->getStorageClass(), Converted);
-  Var->setTemplateArgsAsWritten(TemplateArgsInfo);
   if (!PrevDecl) {
     void *InsertPos = nullptr;
     VarTemplate->findSpecialization(Converted, InsertPos);
@@ -5880,7 +5882,6 @@ void Sema::InstantiateFunctionDefinition(SourceLocation PointOfInstantiation,
 VarTemplateSpecializationDecl *Sema::BuildVarTemplateInstantiation(
     VarTemplateDecl *VarTemplate, VarDecl *FromVar,
     const TemplateArgumentList *PartialSpecArgs,
-    const TemplateArgumentListInfo &TemplateArgsInfo,
     SmallVectorImpl<TemplateArgument> &Converted,
     SourceLocation PointOfInstantiation, LateInstantiatedAttrVec *LateAttrs,
     LocalInstantiationScope *StartingScope) {
@@ -5922,9 +5923,8 @@ VarTemplateSpecializationDecl *Sema::BuildVarTemplateInstantiation(
 
   // TODO: Set LateAttrs and StartingScope ...
 
-  return cast_or_null<VarTemplateSpecializationDecl>(
-      Instantiator.VisitVarTemplateSpecializationDecl(
-          VarTemplate, FromVar, TemplateArgsInfo, Converted));
+  return Instantiator.VisitVarTemplateSpecializationDecl(VarTemplate, FromVar,
+                                                         Converted);
 }
 
 VarTemplateSpecializationDecl *Sema::CompleteVarTemplateSpecializationDecl(
@@ -6340,10 +6340,15 @@ void Sema::InstantiateVariableDefinition(SourceLocation PointOfInstantiation,
         TemplateArgInfo.addArgument(Arg);
     }
 
-    Var = cast_or_null<VarDecl>(Instantiator.VisitVarTemplateSpecializationDecl(
-        VarSpec->getSpecializedTemplate(), Def, TemplateArgInfo,
-        VarSpec->getTemplateArgs().asArray(), VarSpec));
+    VarTemplateSpecializationDecl *VTSD =
+        Instantiator.VisitVarTemplateSpecializationDecl(
+            VarSpec->getSpecializedTemplate(), Def,
+            VarSpec->getTemplateArgs().asArray(), VarSpec);
+    Var = VTSD;
+
     if (Var) {
+      VTSD->setTemplateArgsAsWritten(TemplateArgInfo);
+
       llvm::PointerUnion<VarTemplateDecl *,
                          VarTemplatePartialSpecializationDecl *> PatternPtr =
           VarSpec->getSpecializedTemplateOrPartial();
diff --git a/clang/unittests/AST/DeclTest.cpp b/clang/unittests/AST/DeclTest.cpp
@@ -586,3 +586,22 @@ namespace x::y {
   ASSERT_NE(FD, nullptr);
   ASSERT_EQ(FD->getQualifiedNameAsString(), "x::y::Foo::Foo<T>");
 }
+
+TEST(Decl, NoWrittenArgsInImplicitlyInstantiatedVarSpec) {
+  const char *Code = R"cpp(
+    template <typename>
+    int VarTpl;
+
+    void fn() {
+      (void)VarTpl<char>;
+    }
+  )cpp";
+
+  auto AST = tooling::buildASTFromCode(Code);
+  ASTContext &Ctx = AST->getASTContext();
+
+  const auto *VTSD = selectFirst<VarTemplateSpecializationDecl>(
+      "id", match(varDecl(isTemplateInstantiation()).bind("id"), Ctx));
+  ASSERT_NE(VTSD, nullptr);
+  EXPECT_EQ(VTSD->getTemplateArgsAsWritten(), nullptr);
+}
