An extractor returns: F1, F2, ..., Fi, opt[Seq[E] or E*] A case matches: P1, P2, ..., Pj, opt[Seq[E]] Put together: P1/F1, P2/F2, ... Pi/Fi, Pi+1/E, Pi+2/E, ... Pj/E, opt[Seq[E]]

Here Pm/Fi is the last pattern to match the fixed arity section.

prodArity: the value of i, i.e. the number of non-sequence types in the extractor nonStarArity: the value of j, i.e. the number of non-star patterns in the case definition elementArity: j - i, i.e. the number of non-star patterns which must match sequence elements starArity: 1 or 0 based on whether there is a star (sequence-absorbing) pattern totalArity: nonStarArity + starArity, i.e. the number of patterns in the case definition

Note that prodArity is a function only of the extractor, and nonStar/star/totalArity are all functions of the patterns. The key value for aligning and typing the patterns is elementArity, as it is derived from both sets of information.

This is scalac-specific logic layered on top of the scalac-agnostic "matching products to patterns" logic defined in PatternExpander.