JuliaLang/julia

warn on constant redefinition (in package tests)?

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#58,670 opened on Jun 8, 2025

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 (7 comments) (4 reactions) (0 assignees)Julia (48,709 stars) (5,773 forks)batch import
help wantedminor change

Description

The command-line option --warn-overwrite=yes, usually turned on while running the test suite of a package, warns on method overwrite. It seems inconsistent, then, that the new, more powerful, feature of constant redefinition does not get warned against in package tests.

Should --warn-overwrite=yes be expanded to warn on the redefinition of each constant?

tags: rebinding, binding partition

Contributor guide

Tech stack
None
Domain
testingcli
Issue type
feature
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
half day
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
active
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
clear
Prerequisites
Julia package test system warn overwrite optionJulia constant scope rules
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
30
Research direction
Investigate the current implementation of warn overwrite in Julia compiler, likely in compiler/ or base/ directories. Look at how constant redefinition is handled and whether there is a similar warning mechanism. Check the issue comments for any proposed approaches or concerns.