# Recursive import qualified name bug

**URL:** <https://forum.sensmetry.com/t/recursive-import-qualified-name-bug/295>\
**Category:** Bug Reports\
**Tags:** automator\
**Created:** [November 13, 2025, 1:19pm UTC](https://forum.sensmetry.com/t/recursive-import-qualified-name-bug/295 "2025-11-13T13:19:25Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jbussemaker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@jbussemaker](https://forum.sensmetry.com/u/jbussemaker)\
**Post date:** [November 13, 2025, 1:19pm UTC](https://forum.sensmetry.com/t/recursive-import-qualified-name-bug/295/1 "2025-11-13T13:19:25Z")

</div>

Hi all,

I came across a bug today. Take the following `library.sysml`:

```auto
package Library {
    public import SubLibrary::*;
    
    package SubLibrary {
        action def ActionMeta;
        action actionMetas[*] : ActionMeta;
        metadata def actionMeta :> Metaobjects::SemanticMetadata {
            :> annotatedElement : SysML::ActionUsage;
            :>> baseType = actionMetas meta SysML::ActionUsage;
        }
    }
}

```

So then as a user you shouldn’t care that `SubLibrary` exists, you can just use `#actionMeta` right away. For example, the following should be fine:

```auto
package Model {
    private import Library::*;

    part thePart {
        #actionMeta references theAction;
    }

    action theAction;
}

```

However, when I try to recreate this using Syside Automator using this script:

```python
import syside

model, _ = syside.load_model(['library.sysml'])
for node in model.nodes(syside.MetadataDefinition, include_subtypes=True):
    if node.name == 'actionMeta':
        action_meta_def = node
        library_package = action_meta_def.owner.owner
        assert library_package.name == 'Library'
        break
else:
    raise RuntimeError('actionMeta not found!')

new_doc = syside.Document.create_st(
    syside.DocumentOptions(url=syside.Url('memory://new_doc.sysml'), language='sysml'))
model.documents.append(new_doc)

with model.documents[-1].lock() as doc:
    root_node = doc.root_node

    # Create package
    package: syside.Package
    _, package = root_node.children.append(syside.OwningMembership, syside.Package)
    package.declared_name = 'ModelFromScratch'

    # Add import
    package.children.insert(0, syside.NamespaceImport, library_package)

    # Create part
    _, part = package.children.append(syside.OwningMembership, syside.PartUsage)
    part.declared_name = 'thePart'

    # Create action
    _, action = package.children.append(syside.OwningMembership, syside.ActionUsage)
    action.declared_name = 'theAction'

    # Create reference to action in part
    _, ref_action = part.children.append(syside.OwningMembership, syside.Usage)
    ref_action.heritage.append(syside.ReferenceSubsetting, action)

    # Set prefix annotation
    _, annotation = ref_action.prefixes.append(syside.OwningMembership, syside.MetadataUsage)
    annotation.heritage.append(syside.FeatureTyping, action_meta_def)

    # Print and write to SysML
    printer_config = syside.PrinterConfig(line_width=80, tab_width=2)
    printer = syside.ModelPrinter.sysml()
    output = syside.pprint(root_node, printer, printer_config)
    print(output)

    with open('created_model.sysml', 'wb') as fp:
        fp.write(output.encode('utf-8'))

model, _ = syside.load_model(['library.sysml', 'created_model.sysml'])
with model.documents[-1].lock() as doc:
    printer_config = syside.PrinterConfig(line_width=80, tab_width=2)
    printer = syside.ModelPrinter.sysml()
    print(syside.pprint(doc.root_node, printer, printer_config))

```

It outputs the following model:

```auto
package ModelFromScratch {
  private import Library::*;
  part thePart { #SubLibrary::actionMeta ::> theAction; }
  action theAction;
}

```

And I get errors when loading it:

```auto
created_model.sysml:3:29: error (parsing-error): Unexpected token '::'.
created_model.sysml:3:18: error (metadata-feature-metaclass): Metadata feature must be typed by exactly one metaclass
created_model.sysml:3:19: error (reference-error): Expected Type element but found Package (Library::SubLibrary)

```

It seems that Syside Automator does not expect a fully qualified name to be used as an annotation (however I thought that was ok?).  
But most importantly, it doesn’t recognize the fact that by importing `Library` I’m also importing everything in `SubLibrary` so that doesn’t have to be written in the output in the first place.

Is there any way to solve this currently or does this need a more sophisticated by Automator to check which parts of the qualified name need to be printed?

Greetings,  
Jasper

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Daumantas](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex008/user_avatar/forum.sensmetry.com/daumantas/32/19_2.png) [@Daumantas](https://forum.sensmetry.com/u/Daumantas)\
**Post date:** [November 13, 2025, 1:53pm UTC](https://forum.sensmetry.com/t/recursive-import-qualified-name-bug/295/2 "2025-11-13T13:53:03Z")

</div>

Thanks for the report.

```sysml
#SubLibrary::actionMeta ::> theAction;

```

failing to parse is indeed a parser (rather, grammar) bug.

> But most importantly, it doesn’t recognize the fact that by importing `Library` I’m also importing everything in `SubLibrary` so that doesn’t have to be written in the output in the first place.

Synthetic reference printer is limited as-is. There are some edge-cases handled, like shortening qualified names via inheritance, and owned imports in ancestor scopes. In this case, transitive imports are not handled.

> Is there any way to solve this currently or does this need a more sophisticated by Automator to check which parts of the qualified name need to be printed?

Add a namespace import to `Sublibrary` in any of the ancestor namespaces.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jbussemaker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@jbussemaker](https://forum.sensmetry.com/u/jbussemaker)\
**Post date:** [November 13, 2025, 2:15pm UTC](https://forum.sensmetry.com/t/recursive-import-qualified-name-bug/295/3 "2025-11-13T14:15:04Z")

</div>

Hi Daumantas,

Right, but transitive imports are handled by the loader (and parser in VScode, which is I guess the same), so it’s only natural to assume that also the writer would handle it.

Anyway, I tried adding a namespace import as you suggested like so:

```auto
package Library {
    public import SubLibrary;
    public import SubLibrary::*;

    package SubLibrary {
        action def ActionMeta;
        action actionMetas[*] : ActionMeta;
        metadata def actionMeta :> Metaobjects::SemanticMetadata {
            :> annotatedElement : SysML::ActionUsage;
            :>> baseType = actionMetas meta SysML::ActionUsage;
        }
    }
}

```

But I still get exactly the same errors.

Greetings,  
Jasper

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Daumantas](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex008/user_avatar/forum.sensmetry.com/daumantas/32/19_2.png) [@Daumantas](https://forum.sensmetry.com/u/Daumantas)\
**Post date:** [November 13, 2025, 2:34pm UTC](https://forum.sensmetry.com/t/recursive-import-qualified-name-bug/295/4 "2025-11-13T14:34:04Z")

</div>

Sorry, I meant in the generated model:

```sysml
package Model {
    private import Library::SubLibrary::*;

    part thePart {
        #actionMeta references theAction;
    }

    action theAction;
}

```

> Right, but transitive imports are handled by the loader (and parser in VScode, which is I guess the same), so it’s only natural to assume that also the writer would handle it.

Only looks like it. Resolver only needs to visit nodes in a graph looking for a single matching name. Printer needs to look for any ancestors of the referenced element while also checking that the name is reachable. Maybe in the future.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jbussemaker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@jbussemaker](https://forum.sensmetry.com/u/jbussemaker)\
**Post date:** [November 13, 2025, 3:03pm UTC](https://forum.sensmetry.com/t/recursive-import-qualified-name-bug/295/5 "2025-11-13T15:03:44Z")

</div>

Hi Daumantas,

Ah ok that looks like a solution for now indeed, but in the future it would be nice if this is supported better then 🙂

Thank you!

Greetings,  
Jasper

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Daumantas](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex008/user_avatar/forum.sensmetry.com/daumantas/32/19_2.png) [@Daumantas](https://forum.sensmetry.com/u/Daumantas)\
**Post date:** [November 13, 2025, 3:35pm UTC](https://forum.sensmetry.com/t/recursive-import-qualified-name-bug/295/6 "2025-11-13T15:35:33Z")

</div>

> [@Daumantas](#):
>
> failing to parse is indeed a parser (rather, grammar) bug.

Fixed for v0.8.3 most likely.