golang/go

x/tools/gopls/internal/analysis: analyzer for slice aliasing mistakes

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#73830 opened on May 22, 2025

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AnalysisFeatureRequestToolsgoplsgopls/analysishelp wanted

Description

In a discussion about slice aliasing bugs, @randall77 suggested an analyzer that detects "aliasing of two slice variables, where the capacity of the slice is unknown (due to append starting from nil, say), and then an append on each of the aliased slices". We should prototype a simple analyzer to detect this pattern and see what turns up.

Contributor guide

Tech stack
go
Domain
tooling
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
GoStatic analysis fundamentalsgopls internals
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
50
Research direction
Refer to the discussion in issue #73830 where @randall77 suggested the pattern. Review existing analyzers in x/tools/gopls/internal/analysis for code structure. Prototype the analyzer and test it on real Go codebases to detect slice aliasing mistakes.