Evaluating Enum constructors should be a compile time error

[bkonyi]

Given the following enum declaration:

import 'dart:developer';                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                             
import 'package:test/test.dart';
import 'package:vm_service/vm_service.dart';
                                                                      
import 'common/service_test_common.dart';       
import 'common/test_helper.dart';                              
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
class I1 {
  int interfaceMethod1() => 0;                              
  int get interfaceGetter1 => 0; 
  void set interfaceSetter1(int value) {}
}   
                                                                      
abstract class I2 {                                             
  int interfaceMethod2();                                                                                                                    
  int get interfaceGetter2;
  void set interfaceSetter2(int value);                                                                                                      
}                                                                                                                                            
                                                                      
mixin M on Object {             
  int mixedInMethod() => 42;                                                                                                                 
}                                      
                                                                      
enum E with M implements I1, I2 {
  e1,                                                           
  e2,                                  
  e3;                                 

  int interfaceMethod1() => 42;                                 
  int get interfaceGetter1 => 42;      
  void set interfaceSetter1(int value) {}
  int interfaceMethod2() => 42;
  int get interfaceGetter2 => 42;
  void set interfaceSetter2(int value) {}
}

Evaluating E(123, 'foo') via the VM service results in a valid instance of E being returned. I haven't tested with a simpler Enum declaration, but this is likely still an issue with simpler enums.

FYI @chloestefantsova @johnniwinther

Related to #47849 and #47870.

[johnniwinther]

I don't know what "Evaluating E(123, 'foo') via the VM service" means. Is this expression evaluation or something internal to the VM?

[lrhn]

I believe the VM's debugger uses the VM service to evaluate expressions, so this is probably something you can write in a debugger, or send directly to the VM service.

So, likely, the front-end enum implementation desugars enum declarations into class declarations and introduces a constructor, but doesn't let anyone reference it during compilation.
The VM service's expression evaluator then compiles and runs code against the desugared program, which allows it to see the synthetic constructor.

That can allow any number of weird things to happen, because it breaks the desugaring abstraction.
I'd say that the VM is to blame here, not the front-end. They get a desugared program, with but they treat it as if it was the original program.

I'm tempted to say "then don't do that", mainly to the people using the VM service to do such things. A debugger can do things to your program that the compiler didn't predict, so using it may break assumptions and crash the program.

Alternatively, the desugaring could make the constructor private, or mark it with some kind of internal metadata to say that it's supposed to be inaccessible.

[johnniwinther]

There seems to be a missing check in the CFE when the enum is precompiled.