Widget DataSource does not accept association path ($var/Module.Assoc)

[ako]

Problem

DATAGRID, LISTVIEW, and GALLERY widgets fail to parse when their DataSource is an association path expression like \$currentObject/Module.AssociationName. Studio Pro calls this data source type "By Association" — it's a core pattern for master-detail pages.

Reproduction

CREATE PAGE Module.OrderDetail
(
  Title: 'Order Details',
  Layout: Atlas_Core.Atlas_Default
)
{
  DATAVIEW dv (DataSource: Module.Order) {
    DATAGRID items (DataSource: \$currentObject/Module.Order_OrderLine) {
      ...
    }
  }
};

Parser error at \$currentObject/. The / after \$currentObject isn't accepted.

Root cause

Grammar rules for widget DataSource: expressions accept only a qualifiedName (entity type) or a microflow reference, not an association path starting from a context variable.

Suggested fix

Extend the widget DataSource: grammar to accept association paths. When emitting BSON:

• Currently mxcli emits ListOperation\$TypeDataSource or similar
• For association paths, emit ListOperation\$AssociationDataSource (or the equivalent Studio Pro type) with the association ID and the context variable reference

The syntax should mirror how XPath constraints already use \$var/Module.Assoc/... — see .claude/skills/mendix/xpath-constraints.md.

Why it matters

Master-detail pages (most common CRUD pattern) cannot be fully generated from MDL without this. Users have to fall back to Studio Pro to configure the data source type, which defeats the purpose of MDL.

[github-actions]

Issue Triage

Summary:
The issue reports that mxcli fails to parse widget DataSource expressions that use an association path (e.g., $currentObject/Module.Assoc), which is needed for master‑detail pages.

Checklist (bug report)

Required info	Present?	Notes
mxcli version	❌	Not mentioned
Mendix version	❌	Not mentioned
Scenario (what you were trying to do)	⚠️	Mentions MDL script but no exact CLI command or context
Expected output	⚠️	Implicit (parser should accept the path) but not explicitly stated
Experienced output (error message, etc.)	⚠️	Notes a parser error at $currentObject/ but no full error text or log
AI bug report (mxcli diag --bundle or session log)	❌	Not provided

What’s missing:
To help us investigate, could you please add:

1. The output of mxcli --version (or commit/build info).
2. The Mendix version of the project you’re processing.
3. The exact command you ran (e.g., mxcli import …) and any relevant MDL file snippet.
4. The full error message or stack trace you saw.
5. If possible, run mxcli diag --bundle and share the resulting bundle (or at least the session log).

Once we have those details, we’ll be able to reproduce the issue and work on a fix. Thanks for bringing this to our attention!

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