Error code E0221

An attempt was made to retrieve an associated type, but the type was ambiguous.

Erroneous code example:

trait T1 {}
trait T2 {}

trait Foo {
    type A: T1;
}

trait Bar : Foo {
    type A: T2;
    fn do_something() {
        let _: Self::A;
    }
}

In this example, Foo defines an associated type A. Bar inherits that type from Foo, and defines another associated type of the same name. As a result, when we attempt to use Self::A, it’s ambiguous whether we mean the A defined by Foo or the one defined by Bar.

There are two options to work around this issue. The first is simply to rename one of the types. Alternatively, one can specify the intended type using the following syntax:

trait T1 {}
trait T2 {}

trait Foo {
    type A: T1;
}

trait Bar : Foo {
    type A: T2;
    fn do_something() {
        let _: <Self as Bar>::A;
    }
}

Back to list of error codes