Skip to content

Track override chain assemblies in symbol-based mode#143

Merged
dfederm merged 1 commit intomainfrom
dfederm/fix-override-chain-gap
Apr 30, 2026
Merged

Track override chain assemblies in symbol-based mode#143
dfederm merged 1 commit intomainfrom
dfederm/fix-override-chain-gap

Conversation

@dfederm
Copy link
Copy Markdown
Owner

@dfederm dfederm commented Apr 29, 2026

In the symbol-based analysis path (ReferenceTrimmerUseSymbolAnalysis=true), member access via an override only credited the override's containing assembly. The C# compiler validates the entire override chain at compile time, so any assembly that declares an overridden base member must remain a reference -- removing it produces CS0012 errors.

The bug

csharp // Assembly A public abstract class Base { public abstract string SomeProperty { get; } } // Assembly B (refs A) public class Derived : Base { public override string SomeProperty => ""value""; } // Assembly C (refs B and A) var s = new Derived().SomeProperty; // C# compiler validates the full override chain

Symbol-based RT, on IPropertyReferenceOperation / IInvocationOperation / IEventReferenceOperation, walked only Member.ContainingAssembly (= override's assembly = B) and never visited Member.OverriddenProperty?.ContainingAssembly (= A). So C's reference to A was wrongly flagged RT0002 removable.

Surfaced by a QuickBuild trial: QAnalysisLibTests accesses GuardianArtifactPublisher.AdoContainerName, which overrides an abstract member declared on AdoArtifactUtils in VstsTaskApiClient. The default mode (GetUsedAssemblyReferences) keeps the reference; symbol-based flagged it removable; removing it produced 39 CS0012 errors.

Fix

Add a TrackOverriddenChain helper that walks OverriddenMethod / OverriddenProperty / OverriddenEvent chains and tracks every containing assembly. Call it from the IInvocationOperation (TargetMethod) and IMemberReferenceOperation (Member) branches inside RegisterOperationAction. Fields don't have override chains, so they're skipped via the type switch.

Distinct from #141 and #142

Tests

Five new regression tests in AnalyzerTests, all of which fail without this change:

  • UsedViaOverridePropertyAccess -- canonical scenario from the QB trial
  • UsedViaOverrideMethodCall -- method variant
  • UsedViaOverrideEventAccess -- event variant
  • UsedViaOverrideMultiLevelChain -- three-level A -> B -> C chain ensures the loop walks past the immediate override
  • UnrelatedReferenceNotMarkedByOverride -- negative test ensuring the fix doesn't over-credit unrelated assemblies

Verified by stashing the analyzer change and rerunning: every new test fails without the fix. Full suite: 147 / 150 pass; the 3 remaining failures are pre-existing C++ MSVC E2E tests unrelated to this change.

Out of scope

Implicit and explicit interface implementations have similar shape (compiler validates the implementation relationship) but use ISymbol.ExplicitInterfaceImplementations / FindImplementationForInterfaceMember rather than OverriddenX. The QB trial did not produce a clear repro for that case, so it's deliberately not addressed here. If a real-world repro surfaces it should be a separate fix.

In the symbol-based analysis path, member access via an `override` only
credited the override's containing assembly. The C# compiler validates the
entire override chain at compile time, so any assembly that declares an
overridden base member must remain a reference -- removing it produces
CS0012 errors.

Symbol-based RT, on `IPropertyReferenceOperation` /
`IInvocationOperation` / `IEventReferenceOperation`, walked only
`Member.ContainingAssembly` (= override's assembly) and never visited
`Member.OverriddenProperty?.ContainingAssembly` (= base's assembly), so
the consumer's reference to the base assembly was wrongly flagged RT0002
removable.

Fix: add a `TrackOverriddenChain` helper that walks `OverriddenMethod`
/ `OverriddenProperty` / `OverriddenEvent` chains and tracks every
containing assembly. Call it from the `IInvocationOperation` and
`IMemberReferenceOperation` branches. Fields don't have override chains.

Adds five regression tests that all fail without this change:
- `UsedViaOverridePropertyAccess`: the canonical scenario
- `UsedViaOverrideMethodCall`: method variant
- `UsedViaOverrideEventAccess`: event variant
- `UsedViaOverrideMultiLevelChain`: three-level A -> B -> C chain
- `UnrelatedReferenceNotMarkedByOverride`: negative test ensuring the
  fix doesn't over-credit unrelated assemblies

Different code path from #141 (qualifier tracking on inherited static
member access) and #142 (delegate parameter / return types). Surfaced by
a QuickBuild trial of the symbol-based mode.

Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
@dfederm dfederm enabled auto-merge (squash) April 29, 2026 23:59
@dfederm dfederm merged commit 04cfa59 into main Apr 30, 2026
2 checks passed
@dfederm dfederm deleted the dfederm/fix-override-chain-gap branch April 30, 2026 00:03
dfederm added a commit that referenced this pull request Apr 30, 2026
…145)

In the symbol-based analysis path, only the immediate base type's
containing assembly was credited via `TrackType(namedType.BaseType)`.
The C# compiler validates the entire base-type chain plus implemented
interfaces at type-check time -- CS0012 fires when *any* link's defining
assembly is missing -- so any assembly along the chain must remain a
reference. With `<DisableTransitiveProjectReferences>true</...>`, the
chain doesn't flow transitively, so the consumer must explicitly
reference grandparent assemblies.

Symbol-based RT, when handling `INamedTypeSymbol`, walked only the
immediate `BaseType` and direct `Interfaces`, never recursing further
up. So for `Consumer : Provider` where `Provider : ProviderDependency`
in another assembly, the consumer's reference to `ProviderDependency`
was wrongly flagged RT0002 removable.

Fix: extend `TrackType`'s `INamedTypeSymbol` branch to walk the full
`BaseType` chain and `AllInterfaces` collection. `AllInterfaces` is
broader than `Interfaces` (includes transitively-implemented interfaces)
and mirrors what the compiler validates. A `ConcurrentDictionary<ISymbol,
byte>` keyed via `SymbolEqualityComparer.Default` gates the chain walk
to break self-referential cycles such as `int -> AllInterfaces[IComparable<int>]
-> typeArg int -> ...` and to avoid redundant work.

Adds seven regression tests that all fail without this change:
- `UsedViaInheritedBaseType`: the canonical issue #144 scenario
- `UsedViaImplementedInterface`: interface in the chain
- `UsedViaMultiLevelInheritanceChain`: three-level A <- B <- C
- `UsedViaInheritanceChainOnVariableType`: chain via parameter type
- `UsedViaMixedBaseAndInterfaceChain`: base + interface, four asms
- `UsedViaGenericConstraintBaseChain`: `where T : Provider` constraint
- `UnrelatedReferenceNotMarkedByInheritance`: negative test ensuring
  the fix doesn't over-credit unrelated assemblies

Verified against upstream repro https://github.com/olstakh/RT_Gap_Inheritance:
`Consumer` builds with 0 RT warnings (was emitting RT0002 with v3.5.2).

Different code path from #141 (qualifier tracking on inherited static
member access), #142 (delegate parameter / return types), and #143
(override chains). Same family of "symbol traversal misses a chain"
gaps; same reporter (olstakh).

Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
Sign up for free to join this conversation on GitHub. Already have an account? Sign in to comment

Labels

None yet

Projects

None yet

Development

Successfully merging this pull request may close these issues.

1 participant