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GALA-E0046 — package already imported

What it means. A file imports the same package twice under the same local name. It usually happens by editing: an import block added at the top of a file that already has one further down.

Code that triggers it

package main

import (
    "strings"
)

// A second block importing the SAME package.
import (
    "strings"
)

func main() {
    Println(strings.Repeat("-", 3))
}

Compiler message

error[GALA-E0046]: package "strings" is already imported at line 4
  --> main.gala:9:5
  |
9 |     "strings"
  |     ^^^^^^^^^ remove this import — a file's import blocks are merged, so a…
  |
  = hint: remove this import — a file's import blocks are merged, so a package listed in one block is in scope for the whole file

How to fix it

Remove the second import. A file may have as many import blocks as it likes — they are merged — so a package named in one is in scope for the whole file.

The same path under two different local names stays legal, as it is in Go:

import "strings"
import gostr "strings"

val a = strings.Repeat("-", 3)
val b = gostr.Repeat("+", 2)

Why the rule exists

The rejection is not new; the reporter is. A repeated path used to reach go build as two identical import lines and was reported against the generated file — strings redeclared in this block, plus a misleading "strings" imported and not used for a package used exactly as often as it was imported. Neither message pointed at the source.