golang/go

x/tools/gopls: typeDefinition: support more kinds of syntax

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#67,890 opened on Jun 7, 2024

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FeatureRequestToolsgoplshelp wanted

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Description

The LSP typeDefinition query reports the location of the definition of a type. Currently, it requires a symbol, whose type it computes, and from which it then tries to pick the most salient named type. But there are lots of other expressions for which it could give useful information:

  • any expression
  • a struct field
  • imported package names.

gopls should support more of these.

(Unfortunately the LSP provides no way to support the "describe type" feature of the late cmd/guru, which reported the type of the selected expression: TypeDefinition only returns a location, and Hover does not accept a selection. So there's no way to ask the type of just the "f(x)" portion of f(x).y. We should lobby for LSP to add a selection to Hover.)

Contributor guide

Research direction
Investigate the gopls implementation for typeDefinition, identify the current handling of symbols, and extend it to support expressions, struct fields, and imported package names. Look at existing tests and the LSP specification.
Tech stack
go
Domain
developer experience
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.
1-2 days
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
GoGit
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
60