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TYPE_E_AMBIGUOUSNAME
Type-library name resolves to multiple elements
TYPE_E_AMBIGUOUSNAME is HRESULT 2147647532 (0x8002802C) from winerror.h. AllStat describes it as “Ambiguous name.” The value must be interpreted at metadata binding where an unqualified name matches more than one type or member, because the same high-level symptom can come from a different contract boundary and require different cleanup.
Code-specific check: The defining condition is “Ambiguous name.” Confirm that condition at the producing API before applying recovery intended for a neighboring result.
The decisive Interpretation is that the lookup cannot select a unique element from the current library and import scope. When this result crosses a language or process boundary, preserve its original numeric form before projections replace it with a broad exception class.
Where the result appears
- This result belongs to type-library and metadata processing around metadata binding where an unqualified name matches more than one type or member.
- identify the LIBID, major/minor version, LCID, SYSKIND, file path, resource ID, and the specific ITypeLib or ITypeInfo operation.
- Metadata consumers should treat this result as a contract-version or construction problem until file integrity, registry view, import dependencies, TYPEKIND, and builder phase are verified.
Triage of this result starts by locating the exact owner of the failing state, including object identity, apartment, package, and deployment generation.
Typical causes and interpretation boundary
Common cause categories for this HRESULT are: two imports define the same name; aliases collide; case-insensitive comparison merges names; a namespace qualifier was lost. Do not treat the cause list for this HRESULT as a checklist of simultaneous failures; use traces and postconditions to select the matching branch.
The check that separates it from nearby HRESULTs is: the lookup cannot select a unique element from the current library and import scope. A recovery decision for this HRESULT should wait until the decisive condition is observed in call data, component state, or metadata.
Evidence and telemetry
- Record it with the type-library path and hash, LIBID and version, LCID, architecture, source package, and producer toolchain.
- capture ambiguous name; candidate libraries and types; namespace/import order; LCID; aliases; generated source declaration.
- Retain the exact type, member, field, name, MEMBERID, HREFTYPE, TYPEKIND, or registry path involved in it.
- When it is produced during generation, record construction order, imported libraries, layout/finalization state, and output TLB hash.
- After it, release TYPEATTR, FUNCDESC, VARDESC, BSTR, and interface resources using the matching API even when parsing or lookup fails.
When recording it, retain structural metadata and redact content-bearing arguments, authentication material, and personal data.
Diagnostic sequence
- Capture it (0x8002802C) before a compiler, importer, or language runtime reduces it to a generic metadata error.
- Verify the exact type-library identity, file/resource loaded, registry view, architecture, and operation that returned it.
- Prove the decisive metadata condition for this HRESULT: the lookup cannot select a unique element from the current library and import scope.
- Test the likely causes independently for this HRESULT: two imports define the same name; aliases collide; case-insensitive comparison merges names; a namespace qualifier was lost.
- For <code>it</code>, enumerate the relevant TYPEATTR, members, imports, names, IDs, locales, and builder state instead of assuming source declarations match deployed metadata.
- Rebuild or reload one corrected metadata generation and verify that it disappears without introducing a different identity or compatibility break.
Correct handling and recovery
The appropriate recovery is to remove or rename the collision, select by stable identity such as LIBID and MEMBERID, or narrow the lookup scope through supported APIs. A retry policy for this HRESULT needs a bounded attempt count, a state refresh step, and a rule for reconciling work that may already have completed.
Cleanup following it must be generation-aware: do not destroy shared state or outputs owned by an earlier successful operation.
Practical scenario
Two imported libraries both define Status; the generator binds by LIBID and fully modeled scope rather than display name alone.
Coverage for this HRESULT should include the exact failure, a corrected success case, and the closest related HRESULT so classification remains stable.
Difference from related HRESULTs
TYPE_E_NAMECONFLICT occurs while defining a duplicate name; it occurs while resolving an existing ambiguous name.
Tests and telemetry should encode the boundary around it so future wrappers do not flatten it into an ambiguous generic exception.
Developer and administrator guidance
Tools handling it should pin type-library identity and version, avoid caching raw indices across versions, and preserve stable GUIDs and DISPIDs for published contracts. Repair for <code>it</code> should be performed by the metadata producer or installer, not by ad hoc registry edits in the consuming process.
Administrators should compare installed files and registration against the product manifest, repair the matching package, and keep 32-bit and 64-bit registry views explicit. For <code>it</code>, copying a TLB from another machine can silence lookup while creating a more dangerous ABI mismatch.
References
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