From d04fcb57fd3cd49b0cf5bc83206f8e38784ec416 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: piegames <git@piegames.de>
Date: Sun, 1 Mar 2026 19:32:29 +0100
Subject: [PATCH] libexpr: Don't call `setName` on dynamic attrs

And also document in great detail why this is a wrong thing to do

Change-Id: Ifd1331ee7ee4e05322593ada801bab1c3ea8d349
---
 lix/libexpr/eval-expr.cc | 24 +++++++++++++++++++++++-
 lix/libexpr/nixexpr.hh   |  4 ++++
 2 files changed, 27 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/lix/libexpr/eval-expr.cc b/lix/libexpr/eval-expr.cc
index cc802098d..d4e6f6111 100644
--- a/lix/libexpr/eval-expr.cc
+++ b/lix/libexpr/eval-expr.cc
@@ -187,7 +187,29 @@ Value ExprSet::eval(EvalState & state, Env & env)
                 .debugThrow();
         }
 
-        i.valueExpr->setName(nameSym);
+        // clang-format off
+        /* This line is so wrong that it is best kept in here with the documentation why it is wrong,
+         * lest some naive soul may add it once again some year in the future.
+         * See the following witness as to why it is wrong:
+         *
+         * nix-repl> fun = (name: { ${name} = x: x; }) # This function creates a dynamic attribute with a variable name
+         * Added fun.
+         * nix-repl> revSeq = x: y: builtins.seq x (builtins.seq y x) # evaluate x, then y in sequence, then return x
+         * Added revSeq.
+         * nix-repl> fun "foo" # The code seemingly works
+         * { foo = «lambda foo @ «string»:1:26»; }
+         * nix-repl> fun "bar" #
+         * { bar = «lambda bar @ «string»:1:26»; }
+         * nix-repl> revSeq (fun "foo") (fun "bar") # Until it doesn't
+         * { foo = «lambda bar @ «string»:1:26»; }
+         *
+         * What happened? Expressions are AST bound, therefore all lambdas share the same Expr and thus *the same name*.
+         * Using `setName` here updates the name of *all* lambdas from that expression, not just of the value at hand.
+         * And this is why all expressions must be treated as immutable after parsing.
+         */
+        /* i.valueExpr->setName(nameSym); */
+        // clang-format on
+
         /* Keep sorted order so find can catch duplicates */
         v.attrs()->push_back(Attr(nameSym, i.valueExpr->maybeThunk(state, *dynamicEnv), i.pos));
         v.attrs()->sort(); // FIXME: inefficient
diff --git a/lix/libexpr/nixexpr.hh b/lix/libexpr/nixexpr.hh
index 0f374266b..8d7cabeef 100644
--- a/lix/libexpr/nixexpr.hh
+++ b/lix/libexpr/nixexpr.hh
@@ -130,6 +130,10 @@ public:
     virtual void accept(ExprVisitor & ev, std::unique_ptr<Expr> & ptr) = 0;
     virtual Value eval(EvalState & state, Env & env);
     virtual Value maybeThunk(EvalState & state, Env & env);
+    /* Lambdas have a name associated with them, when they are declared in a binding:
+     * `identity = x: x` will print the resulting value as `«lambda identity @ «string»:1:14»`.
+     * This is set in the parser. After parsing, all expressions are immutable.
+     */
     virtual void setName(Symbol name);
     PosIdx getPos() const { return pos; }