GH-50869: [C++][Compute] Tighten coalesce exact dispatch for decimal varargs

[zanmato1984]

Rationale for this change

Expression binding tries DispatchExact before DispatchBest. The coalesce decimal varargs kernels used broad decimal signatures, so mixed concrete decimal types could exact-match and bypass the existing decimal normalization and cast insertion in DispatchBest. Executing the resulting bound expression then failed with a type compatibility error.

What changes are included in this PR?

• Add a decimal-only MatchConstraint requiring all coalesce arguments to have the same full decimal DataType for exact dispatch.
• Attach the constraint to decimal128 and decimal256 kernel registrations.
• Add dispatch, expression-binding, and end-to-end regressions covering same-scale/different-precision, crossed precision/scale, reversed argument order, and decimal128/decimal256 inputs.

Are these changes tested?

Yes. I ran:

• arrow-compute-expression-test --gtest_filter='Expression.BindWithImplicitCastsForCoalesceOnDecimal:Expression.ExecuteCoalesceOnMixedDecimalTypes'
• arrow-compute-scalar-if-else-test --gtest_filter='TestCoalesce.*:TestCoalesceNumeric.*:TestCoalesceBinary.*:TestCoalesceList.*'

The expression tests (2 tests) and complete TestCoalesce selection (13 tests) passed locally.

AI assistance

I used an AI coding assistant to help inspect the existing MatchConstraint patterns, draft the implementation and regression tests, and prepare the issue and pull request text. I reviewed and revised the generated changes, reproduced the bug on current main, verified the dispatch and expression-binding behavior before and after the fix, and ran the tests listed above. I understand and take responsibility for the submitted changes. No external copyrighted material was incorporated.

Are there any user-facing changes?

Yes. coalesce expressions with compatible mixed decimal types now bind with casts to a common decimal type and execute successfully instead of failing with a type compatibility error.

• GitHub Issue: [C++][Compute] coalesce expression binding skips decimal normalization for mixed decimal types #50869

[github-actions]

⚠️ GitHub issue #50869 has been automatically assigned in GitHub to PR creator.

[zanmato1984]

@pitrou, could you please review this when you have a chance? Thanks!

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

This PR prevents coalesce expression binding from selecting a too-broad “exact” decimal varargs kernel when decimal arguments differ in precision/scale, ensuring the binder falls back to DispatchBest so decimal normalization and implicit casts are applied before execution.

Changes:

• Introduces a decimal-only MatchConstraint for coalesce exact dispatch that requires all arguments to have identical concrete decimal DataType (precision/scale and width).
• Attaches that constraint to the decimal128 and decimal256 varargs kernel registrations for coalesce.
• Adds regression tests covering both dispatch behavior (DispatchExact/DispatchBest) and expression bind/execute for mixed decimal types.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 3 out of 3 changed files in this pull request and generated no comments.

File	Description
cpp/src/arrow/compute/kernels/scalar_if_else.cc	Adds and wires a decimal-only exact-dispatch constraint for coalesce decimal varargs kernels.
cpp/src/arrow/compute/kernels/scalar_if_else_test.cc	Adds dispatch regressions ensuring mixed concrete decimal types do not exact-dispatch and instead normalize via DispatchBest.
cpp/src/arrow/compute/expression_test.cc	Adds expression-binding and end-to-end execution regressions for mixed decimal inputs to coalesce.

---

💡 Add a code-review agent skill or configure MCP servers for context-aware, tailored reviews. Learn more in the docs.