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LDC-E1336 — Expansion reference resolves nothing
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# LDC-E1336 — Expansion reference resolves nothing
## What it means
Every instance names the template it instantiates: either a definition
from the same file, or a pinned definition from the accompanying
context. A reference that matches neither — a typo, or a template that
was never declared — leaves the instance with no shape to expand, so
the compiler stops at the reference.
The repair is a spelling check: point the instance at the defined
template, declare the missing definition, or present the pin the
manifest promises. A resolved reference expands exactly as written.
## Example
```law
language "law.core" version "0.2";
package demo.diagnostics version "0.1.0";
namespace "urn:law:demo:diagnostics";
entity Person;
entity Choice;
entity SpecialChoice : Choice;
entity Other;
const Selected: SpecialChoice = entity_ref("urn:choice:selected");
const Wrong: Other = entity_ref("urn:choice:wrong");
relation eligible(p: Person, choice: Choice) kind empirical;
relation applicable(p: Person, choice: Choice) kind institutional;
expansion fixed {
params { subject: binder; choice: value; ground: relation(subject, choice); result: relation(subject, choice); }
emit rule self/result defeasible {
for subject;
when ground(subject, choice);
then result(subject, choice);
scope from self; effective from self; labels from self; source from self;
}
}
expand ghost Result {
label en official "Fixed option";
bind subject = person: Person;
choice = Selected;
ground = eligible;
result = applicable;
effective [@2026-01-01, @2027-01-01);
}
```
## Fix
```law
language "law.core" version "0.2";
package demo.diagnostics version "0.1.0";
namespace "urn:law:demo:diagnostics";
entity Person;
entity Choice;
entity SpecialChoice : Choice;
entity Other;
const Selected: SpecialChoice = entity_ref("urn:choice:selected");
const Wrong: Other = entity_ref("urn:choice:wrong");
relation eligible(p: Person, choice: Choice) kind empirical;
relation applicable(p: Person, choice: Choice) kind institutional;
expansion fixed {
params { subject: binder; choice: value; ground: relation(subject, choice); result: relation(subject, choice); }
emit rule self/result defeasible {
for subject;
when ground(subject, choice);
then result(subject, choice);
scope from self; effective from self; labels from self; source from self;
}
}
expand fixed Result {
label en official "Fixed option";
bind subject = person: Person;
choice = Selected;
ground = eligible;
result = applicable;
effective [@2026-01-01, @2027-01-01);
}
```
## Engine message
The engine reports this in its own wording:
```text
example.law:22:8: error LDC-E1336: expand Result: definition "ghost" does not resolve (§279.1.3)
```
## Related
- [LDC-E1335](/diagnostics/LDC-E1335/) — a template name must be defined exactly once.
- [LDC-E1337](/diagnostics/LDC-E1337/) — the instance must honor the definition contract.