source: doc/theses/aaron_moss_PhD/phd/resolution-heuristics.tex @ a3e8281

\chapter{Resolution Heuristics}
\label{resolution-chap}

The main task of the \CFACC{} type-checker is \emph{expression resolution}, determining which declarations the identifiers in each expression correspond to. 
Resolution is a straightforward task in C, as each declaration has a unique identifier, but in \CFA{} the name overloading features discussed in Section~\ref{overloading-sec} generate multiple candidate declarations for each identifier.
I refer to a given matching between identifiers and declarations in an expression as an \emph{interpretation}; an interpretation also includes information about polymorphic type bindings and implicit casts to support the \CFA{} features discussed in Sections~\ref{poly-func-sec} and~\ref{implicit-conv-sec}, each of which increase the proportion of feasible candidate interpretations. 
To choose between feasible interpretations, \CFA{} defines a \emph{conversion cost} to rank interpretations; the expression resolution problem is thus to find the unique minimal-cost interpretation for an expression, reporting an error if no such interpretation exists.

\section{Conversion Cost}



% Discuss changes to cost model, as promised in Ch. 2

% Mention relevance of work to C++20 concepts