diff --git a/docs/ispc.txt b/docs/ispc.txt
index f0659b48..1c39cd71 100644
--- a/docs/ispc.txt
+++ b/docs/ispc.txt
@@ -956,10 +956,16 @@ a given type are found, an error is issued.
 * All parameter types match exactly.
 * All parameter types match exactly, where any ``reference``-qualified
   parameters are considered equivalent to their underlying type.
+* Parameters match with only type conversions that don't risk losing any
+  information (for example, converting an ``int16`` value to an ``int32``
+  parameter value.)
 * Parameters match with only promotions from ``uniform`` to ``varying``
-  type.
-* Parameters match using standard type conversion (``int`` to ``float``,
+  types.
+* Parameters match using arbitrary type conversion, without changing
+  variability from ``uniform`` to ``varying`` (e.g., ``int`` to ``float``,
   ``float`` to ``int``.)
+* Parameters match using arbitrary type conversion, including also changing
+  variability from ``uniform`` to ``varying`` as needed.
 
 Also like C, arrays are passed to functions by reference.
 
diff --git a/expr.cpp b/expr.cpp
index a85a4086..b19d2eed 100644
--- a/expr.cpp
+++ b/expr.cpp
@@ -2014,19 +2014,107 @@ SelectExpr::Print() const {
 ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
 // FunctionCallExpr
 
+static std::string
+lGetFunctionDeclaration(const std::string &name, const FunctionType *type) {
+    std::string ret;
+    ret += type->GetReturnType()->GetString();
+    ret += " ";
+    ret += name;
+    ret += "(";
+
+    const std::vector<const Type *> &argTypes = type->GetArgumentTypes();
+    const std::vector<ConstExpr *> &argDefaults = type->GetArgumentDefaults();
+
+    for (unsigned int i = 0; i < argTypes.size(); ++i) {
+        // If the parameter is a reference to an array, just print its type
+        // as the array type, since we always pass arrays by reference.
+        if (dynamic_cast<const ReferenceType *>(argTypes[i]) &&
+            dynamic_cast<const ArrayType *>(argTypes[i]->GetReferenceTarget()))
+            ret += argTypes[i]->GetReferenceTarget()->GetString();
+        else
+            ret += argTypes[i]->GetString();
+        ret += " ";
+        ret += type->GetArgumentName(i);
+
+        // Print the default value if present
+        if (argDefaults[i] != NULL) {
+            char buf[32];
+            if (argTypes[i]->IsFloatType()) {
+                double val;
+                int count = argDefaults[i]->AsDouble(&val);
+                assert(count == 1);
+                sprintf(buf, " = %g", val);
+            }
+            else if (argTypes[i]->IsBoolType()) {
+                bool val;
+                int count = argDefaults[i]->AsBool(&val);
+                assert(count == 1);
+                sprintf(buf, " = %s", val ? "true" : "false");
+            }
+            else if (argTypes[i]->IsUnsignedType()) {
+                uint64_t val;
+                int count = argDefaults[i]->AsUInt64(&val);
+                assert(count == 1);
+#ifdef ISPC_IS_LINUX
+                sprintf(buf, " = %lu", val);
+#else
+                sprintf(buf, " = %llu", val);
+#endif
+            }
+            else { 
+                int64_t val;
+                int count = argDefaults[i]->AsInt64(&val);
+                assert(count == 1);
+#ifdef ISPC_IS_LINUX
+                sprintf(buf, " = %ld", val);
+#else
+                sprintf(buf, " = %lld", val);
+#endif
+            }
+            ret += buf;
+        }
+        if (i != argTypes.size() - 1)
+            ret += ", ";
+    }
+    ret += ")";
+    return ret;
+}
+
+
 static void
-lPrintFunctionOverloads(const std::vector<Symbol *> &matches) {
+lPrintFunctionOverloads(const std::string &name,
+                        const std::vector<std::pair<int, Symbol *> > &matches) {
+    fprintf(stderr, "Matching functions:\n");
+    int minCost = matches[0].first;
+    for (unsigned int i = 1; i < matches.size(); ++i)
+        minCost = std::min(minCost, matches[i].first);
+
     for (unsigned int i = 0; i < matches.size(); ++i) {
-        const FunctionType *t = dynamic_cast<const FunctionType *>(matches[i]->type);
+        const FunctionType *t = 
+            dynamic_cast<const FunctionType *>(matches[i].second->type);
         assert(t != NULL);
-        fprintf(stderr, "\t%s\n", t->GetString().c_str());
+        if (matches[i].first == minCost)
+            fprintf(stderr, "\t%s\n", lGetFunctionDeclaration(name, t).c_str());
+    }
+}
+
+
+static void
+lPrintFunctionOverloads(const std::string &name,
+                        const std::vector<Symbol *> &funcs) {
+    fprintf(stderr, "Candidate functions:\n");
+    for (unsigned int i = 0; i < funcs.size(); ++i) {
+        const FunctionType *t = 
+            dynamic_cast<const FunctionType *>(funcs[i]->type);
+        assert(t != NULL);
+        fprintf(stderr, "\t%s\n", lGetFunctionDeclaration(name, t).c_str());
     }
 }
 
 
 static void
 lPrintPassedTypes(const char *funName, const std::vector<Expr *> &argExprs) {
-    fprintf(stderr, "Passed types:\n\t%s(", funName);
+    fprintf(stderr, "Passed types: %*c(", (int)strlen(funName), ' ');
     for (unsigned int i = 0; i < argExprs.size(); ++i) {
         const Type *t;
         if (argExprs[i] != NULL && (t = argExprs[i]->GetType()) != NULL)
@@ -2039,80 +2127,173 @@ lPrintPassedTypes(const char *funName, const std::vector<Expr *> &argExprs) {
 }
 
              
-/** Helper function used for function overload resolution: returns true if
-    the call argument's type exactly matches the function argument type
-    (modulo a conversion to a const type if needed).
+/** Helper function used for function overload resolution: returns zero
+    cost if the call argument's type exactly matches the function argument
+    type (modulo a conversion to a const type if needed), otherwise reports
+    failure.
  */ 
-static bool
+static int
 lExactMatch(Expr *callArg, const Type *funcArgType) {
     const Type *callType = callArg->GetType();
-// FIXME MOVE THESE TWO TO ALWAYS DO IT...
+
     if (dynamic_cast<const ReferenceType *>(callType) == NULL)
         callType = callType->GetAsNonConstType();
     if (dynamic_cast<const ReferenceType *>(funcArgType) != NULL && 
         dynamic_cast<const ReferenceType *>(callType) == NULL)
         callType = new ReferenceType(callType, funcArgType->IsConstType());
 
-    return Type::Equal(callType, funcArgType);
+    return Type::Equal(callType, funcArgType) ? 0 : -1;
 }
 
-/** Helper function used for function overload resolution: returns true if
-    the call argument type and the function argument type match, modulo
-    conversion to a reference type if needed.
+/** Helper function used for function overload resolution: returns a cost
+    of 1 if the call argument type and the function argument type match,
+    modulo conversion to a reference type if needed.
  */
-static bool
+static int
 lMatchIgnoringReferences(Expr *callArg, const Type *funcArgType) {
+    int prev = lExactMatch(callArg, funcArgType);
+    if (prev != -1)
+        return prev;
+
     const Type *callType = callArg->GetType()->GetReferenceTarget();
     if (funcArgType->IsConstType())
         callType = callType->GetAsConstType();
 
     return Type::Equal(callType,
-                       funcArgType->GetReferenceTarget());
+                       funcArgType->GetReferenceTarget()) ? 1 : -1;
+}
+
+/** Helper function used for function overload resolution: returns a cost
+    of 1 if converting the argument to the call type only requires a type
+    conversion that won't lose information.  Otherwise reports failure.
+*/
+static int
+lMatchWithTypeWidening(Expr *callArg, const Type *funcArgType) {
+    int prev = lMatchIgnoringReferences(callArg, funcArgType);
+    if (prev != -1)
+        return prev;
+
+    const Type *callType = callArg->GetType();
+    const AtomicType *callAt = dynamic_cast<const AtomicType *>(callType);
+    const AtomicType *funcAt = dynamic_cast<const AtomicType *>(funcArgType);
+    if (callAt == NULL || funcAt == NULL)
+        return -1;
+
+    if (callAt->IsUniformType() != funcAt->IsUniformType())
+        return -1;
+
+    switch (callAt->basicType) {
+    case AtomicType::TYPE_BOOL:
+        return 1;
+    case AtomicType::TYPE_INT8:
+    case AtomicType::TYPE_UINT8:
+        return (funcAt->basicType != AtomicType::TYPE_BOOL) ? 1 : -1;
+    case AtomicType::TYPE_INT16:
+    case AtomicType::TYPE_UINT16:
+        return (funcAt->basicType != AtomicType::TYPE_BOOL &&
+                funcAt->basicType != AtomicType::TYPE_INT8 &&
+                funcAt->basicType != AtomicType::TYPE_UINT8) ? 1 : -1;
+    case AtomicType::TYPE_INT32:
+    case AtomicType::TYPE_UINT32:
+        return (funcAt->basicType == AtomicType::TYPE_INT32 ||
+                funcAt->basicType == AtomicType::TYPE_UINT32 ||
+                funcAt->basicType == AtomicType::TYPE_INT64 ||
+                funcAt->basicType == AtomicType::TYPE_UINT64) ? 1 : -1;
+    case AtomicType::TYPE_FLOAT:
+        return (funcAt->basicType == AtomicType::TYPE_DOUBLE) ? 1 : -1;
+    case AtomicType::TYPE_INT64:
+    case AtomicType::TYPE_UINT64:
+        return (funcAt->basicType == AtomicType::TYPE_INT64 ||
+                funcAt->basicType == AtomicType::TYPE_UINT64) ? 1 : -1;
+    case AtomicType::TYPE_DOUBLE:
+        return -1;
+    default:
+        FATAL("Unhandled atomic type");
+        return -1;
+    }
 }
 
 
-/** Helper function used for function overload resolution: returns true if
-    the call argument type and the function argument type match if we only
-    do a uniform -> varying type conversion but otherwise have exactly the
-    same type.
+/** Helper function used for function overload resolution: returns a cost
+    of 1 if the call argument type and the function argument type match if
+    we only do a uniform -> varying type conversion but otherwise have
+    exactly the same type.
  */
-static bool
+static int
 lMatchIgnoringUniform(Expr *callArg, const Type *funcArgType) {
+    int prev = lMatchWithTypeWidening(callArg, funcArgType);
+    if (prev != -1)
+        return prev;
+
     const Type *callType = callArg->GetType();
     if (dynamic_cast<const ReferenceType *>(callType) == NULL)
         callType = callType->GetAsNonConstType();
 
-    if (Type::Equal(callType, funcArgType))
-        return true;
-
     return (callType->IsUniformType() && 
             funcArgType->IsVaryingType() &&
-            Type::Equal(callType->GetAsVaryingType(), funcArgType));
+            Type::Equal(callType->GetAsVaryingType(), funcArgType)) ? 1 : -1;
 }
 
 
-/** Helper function used for function overload resolution: returns true if
-    we can type convert from the call argument type to the function
+/** Helper function used for function overload resolution: returns a cost
+    of 1 if we can type convert from the call argument type to the function
     argument type, but without doing a uniform -> varying conversion.
  */
-static bool
+static int
 lMatchWithTypeConvSameVariability(Expr *callArg, const Type *funcArgType) {
+    int prev = lMatchIgnoringUniform(callArg, funcArgType);
+    if (prev != -1)
+        return prev;
+
     Expr *te = callArg->TypeConv(funcArgType, 
                                  "function call argument", true);
-    return (te != NULL && 
-            te->GetType()->IsUniformType() == callArg->GetType()->IsUniformType());
+    if (te != NULL && 
+        te->GetType()->IsUniformType() == callArg->GetType()->IsUniformType())
+        return 1;
+    else
+        return -1;
 }
 
 
-/** Helper function used for function overload resolution: returns true if
-    there is any type conversion that gets us from the caller argument type
-    to the function argument type.
+/** Helper function used for function overload resolution: returns a cost
+    of 1 if there is any type conversion that gets us from the caller
+    argument type to the function argument type.
  */
-static bool
+static int
 lMatchWithTypeConv(Expr *callArg, const Type *funcArgType) {
+    int prev = lMatchWithTypeConvSameVariability(callArg, funcArgType);
+    if (prev != -1)
+        return prev;
+        
     Expr *te = callArg->TypeConv(funcArgType, 
                                  "function call argument", true);
-    return (te != NULL);
+    return (te != NULL) ? 0 : -1;
+}
+
+
+/** Given a set of potential matching functions and their associated cost,
+    return the one with the lowest cost, if unique.  Otherwise, if multiple
+    functions match with the same cost, return NULL.
+ */
+static Symbol *
+lGetBestMatch(std::vector<std::pair<int, Symbol *> > &matches) {
+    assert(matches.size() > 0);
+    int minCost = matches[0].first;
+
+    for (unsigned int i = 1; i < matches.size(); ++i)
+        minCost = std::min(minCost, matches[i].first);
+
+    Symbol *match = NULL;
+    for (unsigned int i = 0; i < matches.size(); ++i) {
+        if (matches[i].first == minCost) {
+            if (match != NULL)
+                // multiple things had the same cost
+                return NULL;
+            else
+                match = matches[i].second;
+        }
+    }
+    return match;
 }
 
 
@@ -2123,16 +2304,13 @@ lMatchWithTypeConv(Expr *callArg, const Type *funcArgType) {
     finding multiple ambiguous matches.
  */
 bool
-FunctionCallExpr::tryResolve(bool (*matchFunc)(Expr *, const Type *)) {
+FunctionCallExpr::tryResolve(int (*matchFunc)(Expr *, const Type *)) {
     FunctionSymbolExpr *fse = dynamic_cast<FunctionSymbolExpr *>(func);
-    if (!fse) 
-        // error will be issued later if not calling an actual function
-        return false;
 
     const char *funName = fse->candidateFunctions->front()->name.c_str();
     std::vector<Expr *> &callArgs = args->exprs;
 
-    std::vector<Symbol *> matches;
+    std::vector<std::pair<int, Symbol *> > matches;
     std::vector<Symbol *>::iterator iter;
     for (iter = fse->candidateFunctions->begin(); 
          iter != fse->candidateFunctions->end(); ++iter) {
@@ -2141,12 +2319,12 @@ FunctionCallExpr::tryResolve(bool (*matchFunc)(Expr *, const Type *)) {
         const FunctionType *ft = 
             dynamic_cast<const FunctionType *>(candidateFunction->type);
         assert(ft != NULL);
-        const std::vector<const Type *> &candArgTypes = ft->GetArgumentTypes();
+        const std::vector<const Type *> &funcArgTypes = ft->GetArgumentTypes();
         const std::vector<ConstExpr *> &argumentDefaults = ft->GetArgumentDefaults();
 
         // There's no way to match if the caller is passing more arguments
         // than this function instance takes.
-        if (callArgs.size() > candArgTypes.size())
+        if (callArgs.size() > funcArgTypes.size())
             continue;
 
         unsigned int i;
@@ -2154,28 +2332,30 @@ FunctionCallExpr::tryResolve(bool (*matchFunc)(Expr *, const Type *)) {
         // function arguments; it may be ok to have more arguments to the
         // function than are passed, if the function has default argument
         // values.  This case is handled below.
+        int cost = 0;
         for (i = 0; i < callArgs.size(); ++i) {
             // This may happen if there's an error earlier in compilation.
             // It's kind of a silly to redundantly discover this for each
             // potential match versus detecting this earlier in the
             // matching process and just giving up.
-            if (!callArgs[i] || !callArgs[i]->GetType() || !candArgTypes[i] ||
+            if (!callArgs[i] || !callArgs[i]->GetType() || !funcArgTypes[i] ||
                 dynamic_cast<const FunctionType *>(callArgs[i]->GetType()) != NULL)
                 return false;
             
-            // See if this caller argument matches the type of the
-            // corresponding function argument according to the given
-            // predicate function.  If not, break out and stop trying.
-            if (!matchFunc(callArgs[i], candArgTypes[i]))
+            int argCost = matchFunc(callArgs[i], funcArgTypes[i]);
+            if (argCost == -1)
+                // If the predicate function returns -1, we have failed no
+                // matter what else happens, so we stop trying
                 break;
+            cost += argCost;
         }
         if (i == callArgs.size()) {
             // All of the arguments matched!
-            if (i == candArgTypes.size())
+            if (i == funcArgTypes.size())
                 // And we have exactly as many arguments as the function
                 // wants, so we're done.
-                matches.push_back(candidateFunction);
-            else if (i < candArgTypes.size() && argumentDefaults[i] != NULL)
+                matches.push_back(std::make_pair(cost, candidateFunction));
+            else if (i < funcArgTypes.size() && argumentDefaults[i] != NULL)
                 // Otherwise we can still make it if there are default
                 // arguments for the rest of the arguments!  Because in
                 // Module::AddFunction() we have verified that once the
@@ -2183,17 +2363,16 @@ FunctionCallExpr::tryResolve(bool (*matchFunc)(Expr *, const Type *)) {
                 // have them as well.  Therefore, we just need to check if
                 // the arg we stopped at has a default value and we're
                 // done.
-                matches.push_back(candidateFunction);
+                matches.push_back(std::make_pair(cost, candidateFunction));
             // otherwise, we don't have a match
         }
     }
 
     if (matches.size() == 0)
         return false;
-    else if (matches.size() == 1) {
-        fse->matchingFunc = matches[0];
-
-        // fill in any function defaults required
+    else if ((fse->matchingFunc = lGetBestMatch(matches)) != NULL) {
+        // We have a match--fill in with any default argument values
+        // needed.
         const FunctionType *ft = 
             dynamic_cast<const FunctionType *>(fse->matchingFunc->type);
         assert(ft != NULL);
@@ -2209,7 +2388,7 @@ FunctionCallExpr::tryResolve(bool (*matchFunc)(Expr *, const Type *)) {
     else {
         Error(fse->pos, "Multiple overloaded instances of function \"%s\" matched.",
               funName);
-        lPrintFunctionOverloads(matches);
+        lPrintFunctionOverloads(funName, matches);
         lPrintPassedTypes(funName, args->exprs);
         // Stop trying to find more matches after failure
         return true;
@@ -2225,8 +2404,6 @@ FunctionCallExpr::resolveFunctionOverloads(bool exactMatchOnly) {
         return;
     assert(args);
     
-    // Try to find the best overload for the function...
-
     // Is there an exact match that doesn't require any argument type
     // conversion (other than converting type -> reference type)?
     if (tryResolve(lExactMatch))
@@ -2237,11 +2414,13 @@ FunctionCallExpr::resolveFunctionOverloads(bool exactMatchOnly) {
         if (tryResolve(lMatchIgnoringReferences))
             return;
 
-        // TODO: next, try to find an exact match via type promotion--i.e. char
-        // -> int, etc--things that don't lose data
+        // Try to find an exact match via type widening--i.e. int8 ->
+        // int16, etc.--things that don't lose data.
+        if (tryResolve(lMatchWithTypeWidening))
+            return;
 
         // Next try to see if there's a match via just uniform -> varying
-        // promotions.  TODO: look for one with a minimal number of them?
+        // promotions.
         if (tryResolve(lMatchIgnoringUniform))
             return;
 
@@ -2259,8 +2438,7 @@ FunctionCallExpr::resolveFunctionOverloads(bool exactMatchOnly) {
     const char *funName = fse->candidateFunctions->front()->name.c_str();
     Error(pos, "Unable to find matching overload for call to function \"%s\"%s.",
           funName, exactMatchOnly ? " only considering exact matches" : "");
-    fprintf(stderr, "Candidates are:\n");
-    lPrintFunctionOverloads(*fse->candidateFunctions);
+    lPrintFunctionOverloads(funName, *fse->candidateFunctions);
     lPrintPassedTypes(funName, args->exprs);
 }
 
@@ -2293,7 +2471,7 @@ FunctionCallExpr::GetValue(FunctionEmitContext *ctx) const {
 
     FunctionSymbolExpr *fse = dynamic_cast<FunctionSymbolExpr *>(func);
     if (!fse) {
-        Error(pos, "Invalid function name for function call.");
+        Error(pos, "No valid function available for function call.");
         return NULL;
     }
 
diff --git a/expr.h b/expr.h
index 80491d61..0ee6c80c 100644
--- a/expr.h
+++ b/expr.h
@@ -269,7 +269,7 @@ public:
 
 private:
     void resolveFunctionOverloads(bool exactMatchOnly);
-    bool tryResolve(bool (*matchFunc)(Expr *, const Type *));
+    bool tryResolve(int (*matchFunc)(Expr *, const Type *));
 };