-
Notifications
You must be signed in to change notification settings - Fork 66
New issue
Have a question about this project? Sign up for a free GitHub account to open an issue and contact its maintainers and the community.
By clicking “Sign up for GitHub”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy statement. We’ll occasionally send you account related emails.
Already on GitHub? Sign in to your account
bevy_reflect: Unique Reflect
#56
Conversation
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Choose a reason for hiding this comment
The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.
This is really great! I think you hit the nail on the head with one of reflection's biggest footguns right now: guarantees that a dyn Reflect
is actually the type you think it is.
Using something like ReflectProxy
, I think the API will just be a lot safer and easier to use. This involves a bit more work on the users' end (more passing around of the TypeRegistry
), but overall I think it's pretty worth it.
Good work!
rfcs/56-better-reflect.md
Outdated
`constructor` can be derived similarly to `TypeInfo`. It will however | ||
require additional consuming methods on `Dynamic***` structs in order to be | ||
able to move their `Box<dyn Reflect>` fields into the constructed data | ||
structure. |
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Choose a reason for hiding this comment
The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.
How would this work? For example, if I have the following code:
#[derive(Reflect)]
struct MyReflectStruct {
foo: i32,
#[reflect(ignore)]
bar: MyNonReflectStruct,
}
Is it doing the same thing as FromReflect
does currently where we require ignored fields be Default
?
rfcs/56-better-reflect.md
Outdated
think it introduces much more issues than it solves. The only use-case for | ||
`Dynamic***` being `Reflect` are the `reflect_mut`, `reflect_ref` and `apply` | ||
methods. However, those could as well be implemented outside of the `Reflect` |
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Choose a reason for hiding this comment
The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.
I'd argue that the actual biggest use-case for them is deserialization. Since we can't guarantee that all types implement FromReflect
we're forced to return a Dynamic***
.
rfcs/56-better-reflect.md
Outdated
|
||
## Unresolved questions | ||
|
||
- How does this interact with `#[reflect(ignore)]`? |
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Choose a reason for hiding this comment
The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.
From what I gather, it really just encapsulates what FromReflect
did. I imagine we'll have to do a similar thing. The tricky part is handling stuff beyond just Default
, such as FromWorld
.
rfcs/56-better-reflect.md
Outdated
* `Reflect` maps 1-to-1 with an underlying type meaning that if a | ||
`Box<dyn Reflect>` cannot be downcasted to `T`, you cannot build a `T` from | ||
it. |
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Choose a reason for hiding this comment
The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.
Won't that prevent Reflect
from working for non-rust types like in case of scripting?
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Choose a reason for hiding this comment
The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.
Could you elaborate. How do you use a non-rust type in rust? Wouldn't it need a conversion at one point?
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Choose a reason for hiding this comment
The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.
The idea would be that you have for example a PyObject
which is how any python object is internally represented and then it's Reflect
implementation would present a different type depending on the type the PyObject
has on the python side. For example for
class Foo(object):
__slots__ = ('a', 'b')
class Bar(object):
__slots__ = ('c', 'd')
a PyObject
holding a Foo
would present the fields a
and b
, while a PyObject
holding a Bar
would present the fields c
and d
and a PyObject
holding an array would present itself as an array through Reflect
.
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Choose a reason for hiding this comment
The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.
But this only exists on the Python side, right? What would this map to in Rust currently if there's no matching struct? A DynamicStruct
?
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Choose a reason for hiding this comment
The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.
It doesn't need to map to a rust type I think. downcast
could return None for any type you attempt to downcast to. type_name
would give the python name. It shouldn't map to DynamicStruct
as that would lose the python type.
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Choose a reason for hiding this comment
The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.
That would work, but it would have the exact same issue as what the Dynamic*
types have right now in that the downcasted type doesn't match the semantic type that determines the layout which .reflect()
gives.
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Choose a reason for hiding this comment
The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.
Yeah I think I get the issue here. What about the proposition of moving reflect_ref
and reflect_mut
to their own trait independent from Reflect
(call it the Bavy
trait) and also move all the Reflect
subtraits to Bavy
? You could then implement Bavy
for PyObject
(or a wrapper type, per orphan rule). Maybe also move the sidecast
proposition and implement Bavy
for ReflectProxy
?
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Choose a reason for hiding this comment
The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.
I would rather go the opposite way and move all methods except reflect_ref
and reflect_mut
into separate traits as not every type may have an implementation for them and reflect_ref
and reflect_mut
are the core reflection api.
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Choose a reason for hiding this comment
The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.
@bjorn3 I think this is a good idea. Maybe I could revise this RFC to have a UniqueReflect
vs Reflect
?
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Choose a reason for hiding this comment
The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.
why would you want to reuse Reflect as a trait for this as opposed to writing specific code for Python? what's the use case? I thought Reflect as a trait is supposed to model how you can represent data in Rust, not in any language ever.
@nicopap could you clarify this by using a simpler word than “palliate”? |
rfcs/56-better-reflect.md
Outdated
- Users cannot define their own proxy type, they must use the `Dynamic***` | ||
types. | ||
- `Dynamic***` do not implement the `Reflect` subtraits anymore. | ||
- There is some added complexity (although it fixes what I believe to be a |
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Choose a reason for hiding this comment
The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.
I don't think this adds complexity so much as points it out; which makes it easier to deal with that complexity by modelling it more accurately.
rfcs/56-better-reflect.md
Outdated
Note that the various `Dynamic***` types shouldn't implement `CanonReflect`, | ||
only `Reflect`. |
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Choose a reason for hiding this comment
The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.
This fact should probably be a lot more prominent, since it's the basis for this RFC.
Next revision:
|
This allows us to remove the hard-requirement on `FromReflect` for everything, and also makes the conversion from `Reflect` to `CanonReflect` less compute-intensive.
By community consensus, `CanonReflect` is now `Reflect` and "old" `Reflect` is now `PartialReflect`. Since we "keep" `Reflect`, I reformulate the change to conceptually fit with the current reference frame. I also explain in more details the concepts `Reflect` represent and make clear what the true underlying source of the awkwardness of `Reflect` is.
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Choose a reason for hiding this comment
The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.
Really liking the direction this is heading :D
- Should `Reflect` still be named `Reflect`, does it need to be a subtrait of | ||
`PartialReflect`? |
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Choose a reason for hiding this comment
The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.
Yeah I think it should definitely be a subtrait. Because then easily have access to all PartialReflect
methods. Plus, it forces manual implementors to implement both, which might be necessary for certain reflect-based functionality (e.g. third-party crate assumptions).
Nice! Just wanted to note that another advantage of using This will be very useful for scenes and networking |
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Choose a reason for hiding this comment
The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.
I'm a big fan of this RFC, it nicely separates these different concerns of Reflect
and makes it much less error-prone to work with.
We still probably want a way to convert from a `PartialReflect` to a `Reflect`, | ||
so we add a `into_full` method to `PartialReflect` to convert them into | ||
`Reflect` in cases where the underlying type is canonical. |
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Choose a reason for hiding this comment
The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.
Just so I am sure, into_full
on a proxy type will always return None
, right?
It only returns Some
if the dyn PartialReflect
has an underlying type T: Reflect
.
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Choose a reason for hiding this comment
The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.
Reading futher confirms that this is true.
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Choose a reason for hiding this comment
The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.
Yeah I think that's the idea. To convert a proxy, you'll still need to use FromPartialReflect
like you do now with FromReflect
.
fn as_full(&self) -> Option<&dyn Reflect>; | ||
fn into_full(self: Box<Self>) -> Option<Box<dyn Reflect>>; | ||
|
||
fn type_name(&self) -> &str; |
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Choose a reason for hiding this comment
The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.
Do we still want to tie PartialReflect
to a type name?
I can think of a few situations where this isn't necessary/wanted.
- someone wants to bulk-edit a bunch of values, possible of different types. These types share fields
a
andb
.
The person can then create aDynamicStruct
with the shared types and apply it to every value. - implementing
PartialReflect
for non-rust values, e.g. a scripting language integration can implementPartialReflect
forLuaValue
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Choose a reason for hiding this comment
The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.
Mentioned this on Discord, but essentially type_name
still has a use for deserialization.
However, for Point 2 I think you could intentionally use a non-real type name and be fine. As long as you aren't hoping to deserialize it (unless you #[reflect(Deserialize)]
), I think it should be okay.
fn reflect_ref(&self) -> ReflectRef; | ||
fn reflect_mut(&mut self) -> ReflectMut; |
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Choose a reason for hiding this comment
The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.
One piece of information that this restructuring loses is that reflect_ref
on a &dyn Reflect
will only contain &dyn Reflect
itself, no &dyn PartialReflect
.
So you may have to call into_full().unwrap()
in a few places where you know the value originates from a &dyn Reflect
.
let value: &dyn Reflect = &Time::default();
match value.reflect_ref() {
ReflectRef::Struct(strukt) => {
let field = strukt.field("last_update");
// field.downcast() doesn't exist
// infallible unwrap
field.into_full().unwrap().downcast::<Instant>();
},
_ => unreachable!(),
}
The alternative is duplicating the ReflectRef
, ReflectMut
, Struct
, List
, Enum
etc. for variants that preserve &dyn Reflect
which is IMO not worth it.
Just pointing it out.
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Choose a reason for hiding this comment
The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.
Regarding this, bevyengine/bevy#7207 does store &dyn PartialReflect
in proxies and leaves PartialReflect: Any
. I think it will require a different vision on ReflectRef
and proxies to complete the RFC and have a proper separation between proxy and canonical types.
pub trait Reflect: PartialReflect + Any { | ||
fn as_reflect(&self) -> &dyn Reflect; | ||
fn as_reflect_mut(&mut self) -> &mut dyn Reflect; | ||
|
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Choose a reason for hiding this comment
The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.
I think this needs methods to turn it back into PartialReflect
. At least until trait upcasting is stabilized.
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Choose a reason for hiding this comment
The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.
As trait upcasting is not merged, it means I could give those methods the same name as the ones on PartialReflect
?
Such as:
fn as_partial_reflect(&self) -> &dyn PartialReflect
fn as_partial_reflect_mut(&mut self) -> &mut dyn PartialReflect
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Choose a reason for hiding this comment
The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.
Hang on, it might actually be possible to call those methods of PartialReflect
on an Box<dyn Reflect>
already.
There was a problem hiding this comment.
Choose a reason for hiding this comment
The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.
it is possible. bevyengine/bevy#7207 uses this.
# Objective > This PR is based on discussion from #6601 The Dynamic types (e.g. `DynamicStruct`, `DynamicList`, etc.) act as both: 1. Dynamic containers which may hold any arbitrary data 2. Proxy types which may represent any other type Currently, the only way we can represent the proxy-ness of a Dynamic is by giving it a name. ```rust // This is just a dynamic container let mut data = DynamicStruct::default(); // This is a "proxy" data.set_name(std::any::type_name::<Foo>()); ``` This type name is the only way we check that the given Dynamic is a proxy of some other type. When we need to "assert the type" of a `dyn Reflect`, we call `Reflect::type_name` on it. However, because we're only using a string to denote the type, we run into a few gotchas and limitations. For example, hashing a Dynamic proxy may work differently than the type it proxies: ```rust #[derive(Reflect, Hash)] #[reflect(Hash)] struct Foo(i32); let concrete = Foo(123); let dynamic = concrete.clone_dynamic(); let concrete_hash = concrete.reflect_hash(); let dynamic_hash = dynamic.reflect_hash(); // The hashes are not equal because `concrete` uses its own `Hash` impl // while `dynamic` uses a reflection-based hashing algorithm assert_ne!(concrete_hash, dynamic_hash); ``` Because the Dynamic proxy only knows about the name of the type, it's unaware of any other information about it. This means it also differs on `Reflect::reflect_partial_eq`, and may include ignored or skipped fields in places the concrete type wouldn't. ## Solution Rather than having Dynamics pass along just the type name of proxied types, we can instead have them pass around the `TypeInfo`. Now all Dynamic types contain an `Option<&'static TypeInfo>` rather than a `String`: ```diff pub struct DynamicTupleStruct { - type_name: String, + represented_type: Option<&'static TypeInfo>, fields: Vec<Box<dyn Reflect>>, } ``` By changing `Reflect::get_type_info` to `Reflect::represented_type_info`, hopefully we make this behavior a little clearer. And to account for `None` values on these dynamic types, `Reflect::represented_type_info` now returns `Option<&'static TypeInfo>`. ```rust let mut data = DynamicTupleStruct::default(); // Not proxying any specific type assert!(dyn_tuple_struct.represented_type_info().is_none()); let type_info = <Foo as Typed>::type_info(); dyn_tuple_struct.set_represented_type(Some(type_info)); // Alternatively: // let dyn_tuple_struct = foo.clone_dynamic(); // Now we're proxying `Foo` assert!(dyn_tuple_struct.represented_type_info().is_some()); ``` This means that we can have full access to all the static type information for the proxied type. Future work would include transitioning more static type information (trait impls, attributes, etc.) over to the `TypeInfo` so it can actually be utilized by Dynamic proxies. ### Alternatives & Rationale > **Note** > These alternatives were written when this PR was first made using a `Proxy` trait. This trait has since been removed. <details> <summary>View</summary> #### Alternative: The `Proxy<T>` Approach I had considered adding something like a `Proxy<T>` type where `T` would be the Dynamic and would contain the proxied type information. This was nice in that it allows us to explicitly determine whether something is a proxy or not at a type level. `Proxy<DynamicStruct>` proxies a struct. Makes sense. The reason I didn't go with this approach is because (1) tuples, (2) complexity, and (3) `PartialReflect`. The `DynamicTuple` struct allows us to represent tuples at runtime. It also allows us to do something you normally can't with tuples: add new fields. Because of this, adding a field immediately invalidates the proxy (e.g. our info for `(i32, i32)` doesn't apply to `(i32, i32, NewField)`). By going with this PR's approach, we can just remove the type info on `DynamicTuple` when that happens. However, with the `Proxy<T>` approach, it becomes difficult to represent this behavior— we'd have to completely control how we access data for `T` for each `T`. Secondly, it introduces some added complexities (aside from the manual impls for each `T`). Does `Proxy<T>` impl `Reflect`? Likely yes, if we want to represent it as `dyn Reflect`. What `TypeInfo` do we give it? How would we forward reflection methods to the inner type (remember, we don't have specialization)? How do we separate this from Dynamic types? And finally, how do all this in a way that's both logical and intuitive for users? Lastly, introducing a `Proxy` trait rather than a `Proxy<T>` struct is actually more inline with the [Unique Reflect RFC](bevyengine/rfcs#56). In a way, the `Proxy` trait is really one part of the `PartialReflect` trait introduced in that RFC (it's technically not in that RFC but it fits well with it), where the `PartialReflect` serves as a way for proxies to work _like_ concrete types without having full access to everything a concrete `Reflect` type can do. This would help bridge the gap between the current state of the crate and the implementation of that RFC. All that said, this is still a viable solution. If the community believes this is the better path forward, then we can do that instead. These were just my reasons for not initially going with it in this PR. #### Alternative: The Type Registry Approach The `Proxy` trait is great and all, but how does it solve the original problem? Well, it doesn't— yet! The goal would be to start moving information from the derive macro and its attributes to the generated `TypeInfo` since these are known statically and shouldn't change. For example, adding `ignored: bool` to `[Un]NamedField` or a list of impls. However, there is another way of storing this information. This is, of course, one of the uses of the `TypeRegistry`. If we're worried about Dynamic proxies not aligning with their concrete counterparts, we could move more type information to the registry and require its usage. For example, we could replace `Reflect::reflect_hash(&self)` with `Reflect::reflect_hash(&self, registry: &TypeRegistry)`. That's not the _worst_ thing in the world, but it is an ergonomics loss. Additionally, other attributes may have their own requirements, further restricting what's possible without the registry. The `Reflect::apply` method will require the registry as well now. Why? Well because the `map_apply` function used for the `Reflect::apply` impls on `Map` types depends on `Map::insert_boxed`, which (at least for `DynamicMap`) requires `Reflect::reflect_hash`. The same would apply when adding support for reflection-based diffing, which will require `Reflect::reflect_partial_eq`. Again, this is a totally viable alternative. I just chose not to go with it for the reasons above. If we want to go with it, then we can close this PR and we can pursue this alternative instead. #### Downsides Just to highlight a quick potential downside (likely needs more investigation): retrieving the `TypeInfo` requires acquiring a lock on the `GenericTypeInfoCell` used by the `Typed` impls for generic types (non-generic types use a `OnceBox which should be faster). I am not sure how much of a performance hit that is and will need to run some benchmarks to compare against. </details> ### Open Questions 1. Should we use `Cow<'static, TypeInfo>` instead? I think that might be easier for modding? Perhaps, in that case, we need to update `Typed::type_info` and friends as well? 2. Are the alternatives better than the approach this PR takes? Are there other alternatives? --- ## Changelog ### Changed - `Reflect::get_type_info` has been renamed to `Reflect::represented_type_info` - This method now returns `Option<&'static TypeInfo>` rather than just `&'static TypeInfo` ### Added - Added `Reflect::is_dynamic` method to indicate when a type is dynamic - Added a `set_represented_type` method on all dynamic types ### Removed - Removed `TypeInfo::Dynamic` (use `Reflect::is_dynamic` instead) - Removed `Typed` impls for all dynamic types ## Migration Guide - The Dynamic types no longer take a string type name. Instead, they require a static reference to `TypeInfo`: ```rust #[derive(Reflect)] struct MyTupleStruct(f32, f32); let mut dyn_tuple_struct = DynamicTupleStruct::default(); dyn_tuple_struct.insert(1.23_f32); dyn_tuple_struct.insert(3.21_f32); // BEFORE: let type_name = std::any::type_name::<MyTupleStruct>(); dyn_tuple_struct.set_name(type_name); // AFTER: let type_info = <MyTupleStruct as Typed>::type_info(); dyn_tuple_struct.set_represented_type(Some(type_info)); ``` - `Reflect::get_type_info` has been renamed to `Reflect::represented_type_info` and now also returns an `Option<&'static TypeInfo>` (instead of just `&'static TypeInfo`): ```rust // BEFORE: let info: &'static TypeInfo = value.get_type_info(); // AFTER: let info: &'static TypeInfo = value.represented_type_info().unwrap(); ``` - `TypeInfo::Dynamic` and `DynamicInfo` has been removed. Use `Reflect::is_dynamic` instead: ```rust // BEFORE: if matches!(value.get_type_info(), TypeInfo::Dynamic) { // ... } // AFTER: if value.is_dynamic() { // ... } ``` --------- Co-authored-by: radiish <cb.setho@gmail.com>
# Objective > This PR is based on discussion from #6601 The Dynamic types (e.g. `DynamicStruct`, `DynamicList`, etc.) act as both: 1. Dynamic containers which may hold any arbitrary data 2. Proxy types which may represent any other type Currently, the only way we can represent the proxy-ness of a Dynamic is by giving it a name. ```rust // This is just a dynamic container let mut data = DynamicStruct::default(); // This is a "proxy" data.set_name(std::any::type_name::<Foo>()); ``` This type name is the only way we check that the given Dynamic is a proxy of some other type. When we need to "assert the type" of a `dyn Reflect`, we call `Reflect::type_name` on it. However, because we're only using a string to denote the type, we run into a few gotchas and limitations. For example, hashing a Dynamic proxy may work differently than the type it proxies: ```rust #[derive(Reflect, Hash)] #[reflect(Hash)] struct Foo(i32); let concrete = Foo(123); let dynamic = concrete.clone_dynamic(); let concrete_hash = concrete.reflect_hash(); let dynamic_hash = dynamic.reflect_hash(); // The hashes are not equal because `concrete` uses its own `Hash` impl // while `dynamic` uses a reflection-based hashing algorithm assert_ne!(concrete_hash, dynamic_hash); ``` Because the Dynamic proxy only knows about the name of the type, it's unaware of any other information about it. This means it also differs on `Reflect::reflect_partial_eq`, and may include ignored or skipped fields in places the concrete type wouldn't. ## Solution Rather than having Dynamics pass along just the type name of proxied types, we can instead have them pass around the `TypeInfo`. Now all Dynamic types contain an `Option<&'static TypeInfo>` rather than a `String`: ```diff pub struct DynamicTupleStruct { - type_name: String, + represented_type: Option<&'static TypeInfo>, fields: Vec<Box<dyn Reflect>>, } ``` By changing `Reflect::get_type_info` to `Reflect::represented_type_info`, hopefully we make this behavior a little clearer. And to account for `None` values on these dynamic types, `Reflect::represented_type_info` now returns `Option<&'static TypeInfo>`. ```rust let mut data = DynamicTupleStruct::default(); // Not proxying any specific type assert!(dyn_tuple_struct.represented_type_info().is_none()); let type_info = <Foo as Typed>::type_info(); dyn_tuple_struct.set_represented_type(Some(type_info)); // Alternatively: // let dyn_tuple_struct = foo.clone_dynamic(); // Now we're proxying `Foo` assert!(dyn_tuple_struct.represented_type_info().is_some()); ``` This means that we can have full access to all the static type information for the proxied type. Future work would include transitioning more static type information (trait impls, attributes, etc.) over to the `TypeInfo` so it can actually be utilized by Dynamic proxies. ### Alternatives & Rationale > **Note** > These alternatives were written when this PR was first made using a `Proxy` trait. This trait has since been removed. <details> <summary>View</summary> #### Alternative: The `Proxy<T>` Approach I had considered adding something like a `Proxy<T>` type where `T` would be the Dynamic and would contain the proxied type information. This was nice in that it allows us to explicitly determine whether something is a proxy or not at a type level. `Proxy<DynamicStruct>` proxies a struct. Makes sense. The reason I didn't go with this approach is because (1) tuples, (2) complexity, and (3) `PartialReflect`. The `DynamicTuple` struct allows us to represent tuples at runtime. It also allows us to do something you normally can't with tuples: add new fields. Because of this, adding a field immediately invalidates the proxy (e.g. our info for `(i32, i32)` doesn't apply to `(i32, i32, NewField)`). By going with this PR's approach, we can just remove the type info on `DynamicTuple` when that happens. However, with the `Proxy<T>` approach, it becomes difficult to represent this behavior— we'd have to completely control how we access data for `T` for each `T`. Secondly, it introduces some added complexities (aside from the manual impls for each `T`). Does `Proxy<T>` impl `Reflect`? Likely yes, if we want to represent it as `dyn Reflect`. What `TypeInfo` do we give it? How would we forward reflection methods to the inner type (remember, we don't have specialization)? How do we separate this from Dynamic types? And finally, how do all this in a way that's both logical and intuitive for users? Lastly, introducing a `Proxy` trait rather than a `Proxy<T>` struct is actually more inline with the [Unique Reflect RFC](bevyengine/rfcs#56). In a way, the `Proxy` trait is really one part of the `PartialReflect` trait introduced in that RFC (it's technically not in that RFC but it fits well with it), where the `PartialReflect` serves as a way for proxies to work _like_ concrete types without having full access to everything a concrete `Reflect` type can do. This would help bridge the gap between the current state of the crate and the implementation of that RFC. All that said, this is still a viable solution. If the community believes this is the better path forward, then we can do that instead. These were just my reasons for not initially going with it in this PR. #### Alternative: The Type Registry Approach The `Proxy` trait is great and all, but how does it solve the original problem? Well, it doesn't— yet! The goal would be to start moving information from the derive macro and its attributes to the generated `TypeInfo` since these are known statically and shouldn't change. For example, adding `ignored: bool` to `[Un]NamedField` or a list of impls. However, there is another way of storing this information. This is, of course, one of the uses of the `TypeRegistry`. If we're worried about Dynamic proxies not aligning with their concrete counterparts, we could move more type information to the registry and require its usage. For example, we could replace `Reflect::reflect_hash(&self)` with `Reflect::reflect_hash(&self, registry: &TypeRegistry)`. That's not the _worst_ thing in the world, but it is an ergonomics loss. Additionally, other attributes may have their own requirements, further restricting what's possible without the registry. The `Reflect::apply` method will require the registry as well now. Why? Well because the `map_apply` function used for the `Reflect::apply` impls on `Map` types depends on `Map::insert_boxed`, which (at least for `DynamicMap`) requires `Reflect::reflect_hash`. The same would apply when adding support for reflection-based diffing, which will require `Reflect::reflect_partial_eq`. Again, this is a totally viable alternative. I just chose not to go with it for the reasons above. If we want to go with it, then we can close this PR and we can pursue this alternative instead. #### Downsides Just to highlight a quick potential downside (likely needs more investigation): retrieving the `TypeInfo` requires acquiring a lock on the `GenericTypeInfoCell` used by the `Typed` impls for generic types (non-generic types use a `OnceBox which should be faster). I am not sure how much of a performance hit that is and will need to run some benchmarks to compare against. </details> ### Open Questions 1. Should we use `Cow<'static, TypeInfo>` instead? I think that might be easier for modding? Perhaps, in that case, we need to update `Typed::type_info` and friends as well? 2. Are the alternatives better than the approach this PR takes? Are there other alternatives? --- ## Changelog ### Changed - `Reflect::get_type_info` has been renamed to `Reflect::represented_type_info` - This method now returns `Option<&'static TypeInfo>` rather than just `&'static TypeInfo` ### Added - Added `Reflect::is_dynamic` method to indicate when a type is dynamic - Added a `set_represented_type` method on all dynamic types ### Removed - Removed `TypeInfo::Dynamic` (use `Reflect::is_dynamic` instead) - Removed `Typed` impls for all dynamic types ## Migration Guide - The Dynamic types no longer take a string type name. Instead, they require a static reference to `TypeInfo`: ```rust #[derive(Reflect)] struct MyTupleStruct(f32, f32); let mut dyn_tuple_struct = DynamicTupleStruct::default(); dyn_tuple_struct.insert(1.23_f32); dyn_tuple_struct.insert(3.21_f32); // BEFORE: let type_name = std::any::type_name::<MyTupleStruct>(); dyn_tuple_struct.set_name(type_name); // AFTER: let type_info = <MyTupleStruct as Typed>::type_info(); dyn_tuple_struct.set_represented_type(Some(type_info)); ``` - `Reflect::get_type_info` has been renamed to `Reflect::represented_type_info` and now also returns an `Option<&'static TypeInfo>` (instead of just `&'static TypeInfo`): ```rust // BEFORE: let info: &'static TypeInfo = value.get_type_info(); // AFTER: let info: &'static TypeInfo = value.represented_type_info().unwrap(); ``` - `TypeInfo::Dynamic` and `DynamicInfo` has been removed. Use `Reflect::is_dynamic` instead: ```rust // BEFORE: if matches!(value.get_type_info(), TypeInfo::Dynamic) { // ... } // AFTER: if value.is_dynamic() { // ... } ``` --------- Co-authored-by: radiish <cb.setho@gmail.com>
# Objective > This PR is based on discussion from #6601 The Dynamic types (e.g. `DynamicStruct`, `DynamicList`, etc.) act as both: 1. Dynamic containers which may hold any arbitrary data 2. Proxy types which may represent any other type Currently, the only way we can represent the proxy-ness of a Dynamic is by giving it a name. ```rust // This is just a dynamic container let mut data = DynamicStruct::default(); // This is a "proxy" data.set_name(std::any::type_name::<Foo>()); ``` This type name is the only way we check that the given Dynamic is a proxy of some other type. When we need to "assert the type" of a `dyn Reflect`, we call `Reflect::type_name` on it. However, because we're only using a string to denote the type, we run into a few gotchas and limitations. For example, hashing a Dynamic proxy may work differently than the type it proxies: ```rust #[derive(Reflect, Hash)] #[reflect(Hash)] struct Foo(i32); let concrete = Foo(123); let dynamic = concrete.clone_dynamic(); let concrete_hash = concrete.reflect_hash(); let dynamic_hash = dynamic.reflect_hash(); // The hashes are not equal because `concrete` uses its own `Hash` impl // while `dynamic` uses a reflection-based hashing algorithm assert_ne!(concrete_hash, dynamic_hash); ``` Because the Dynamic proxy only knows about the name of the type, it's unaware of any other information about it. This means it also differs on `Reflect::reflect_partial_eq`, and may include ignored or skipped fields in places the concrete type wouldn't. ## Solution Rather than having Dynamics pass along just the type name of proxied types, we can instead have them pass around the `TypeInfo`. Now all Dynamic types contain an `Option<&'static TypeInfo>` rather than a `String`: ```diff pub struct DynamicTupleStruct { - type_name: String, + represented_type: Option<&'static TypeInfo>, fields: Vec<Box<dyn Reflect>>, } ``` By changing `Reflect::get_type_info` to `Reflect::represented_type_info`, hopefully we make this behavior a little clearer. And to account for `None` values on these dynamic types, `Reflect::represented_type_info` now returns `Option<&'static TypeInfo>`. ```rust let mut data = DynamicTupleStruct::default(); // Not proxying any specific type assert!(dyn_tuple_struct.represented_type_info().is_none()); let type_info = <Foo as Typed>::type_info(); dyn_tuple_struct.set_represented_type(Some(type_info)); // Alternatively: // let dyn_tuple_struct = foo.clone_dynamic(); // Now we're proxying `Foo` assert!(dyn_tuple_struct.represented_type_info().is_some()); ``` This means that we can have full access to all the static type information for the proxied type. Future work would include transitioning more static type information (trait impls, attributes, etc.) over to the `TypeInfo` so it can actually be utilized by Dynamic proxies. ### Alternatives & Rationale > **Note** > These alternatives were written when this PR was first made using a `Proxy` trait. This trait has since been removed. <details> <summary>View</summary> #### Alternative: The `Proxy<T>` Approach I had considered adding something like a `Proxy<T>` type where `T` would be the Dynamic and would contain the proxied type information. This was nice in that it allows us to explicitly determine whether something is a proxy or not at a type level. `Proxy<DynamicStruct>` proxies a struct. Makes sense. The reason I didn't go with this approach is because (1) tuples, (2) complexity, and (3) `PartialReflect`. The `DynamicTuple` struct allows us to represent tuples at runtime. It also allows us to do something you normally can't with tuples: add new fields. Because of this, adding a field immediately invalidates the proxy (e.g. our info for `(i32, i32)` doesn't apply to `(i32, i32, NewField)`). By going with this PR's approach, we can just remove the type info on `DynamicTuple` when that happens. However, with the `Proxy<T>` approach, it becomes difficult to represent this behavior— we'd have to completely control how we access data for `T` for each `T`. Secondly, it introduces some added complexities (aside from the manual impls for each `T`). Does `Proxy<T>` impl `Reflect`? Likely yes, if we want to represent it as `dyn Reflect`. What `TypeInfo` do we give it? How would we forward reflection methods to the inner type (remember, we don't have specialization)? How do we separate this from Dynamic types? And finally, how do all this in a way that's both logical and intuitive for users? Lastly, introducing a `Proxy` trait rather than a `Proxy<T>` struct is actually more inline with the [Unique Reflect RFC](bevyengine/rfcs#56). In a way, the `Proxy` trait is really one part of the `PartialReflect` trait introduced in that RFC (it's technically not in that RFC but it fits well with it), where the `PartialReflect` serves as a way for proxies to work _like_ concrete types without having full access to everything a concrete `Reflect` type can do. This would help bridge the gap between the current state of the crate and the implementation of that RFC. All that said, this is still a viable solution. If the community believes this is the better path forward, then we can do that instead. These were just my reasons for not initially going with it in this PR. #### Alternative: The Type Registry Approach The `Proxy` trait is great and all, but how does it solve the original problem? Well, it doesn't— yet! The goal would be to start moving information from the derive macro and its attributes to the generated `TypeInfo` since these are known statically and shouldn't change. For example, adding `ignored: bool` to `[Un]NamedField` or a list of impls. However, there is another way of storing this information. This is, of course, one of the uses of the `TypeRegistry`. If we're worried about Dynamic proxies not aligning with their concrete counterparts, we could move more type information to the registry and require its usage. For example, we could replace `Reflect::reflect_hash(&self)` with `Reflect::reflect_hash(&self, registry: &TypeRegistry)`. That's not the _worst_ thing in the world, but it is an ergonomics loss. Additionally, other attributes may have their own requirements, further restricting what's possible without the registry. The `Reflect::apply` method will require the registry as well now. Why? Well because the `map_apply` function used for the `Reflect::apply` impls on `Map` types depends on `Map::insert_boxed`, which (at least for `DynamicMap`) requires `Reflect::reflect_hash`. The same would apply when adding support for reflection-based diffing, which will require `Reflect::reflect_partial_eq`. Again, this is a totally viable alternative. I just chose not to go with it for the reasons above. If we want to go with it, then we can close this PR and we can pursue this alternative instead. #### Downsides Just to highlight a quick potential downside (likely needs more investigation): retrieving the `TypeInfo` requires acquiring a lock on the `GenericTypeInfoCell` used by the `Typed` impls for generic types (non-generic types use a `OnceBox which should be faster). I am not sure how much of a performance hit that is and will need to run some benchmarks to compare against. </details> ### Open Questions 1. Should we use `Cow<'static, TypeInfo>` instead? I think that might be easier for modding? Perhaps, in that case, we need to update `Typed::type_info` and friends as well? 2. Are the alternatives better than the approach this PR takes? Are there other alternatives? --- ## Changelog ### Changed - `Reflect::get_type_info` has been renamed to `Reflect::represented_type_info` - This method now returns `Option<&'static TypeInfo>` rather than just `&'static TypeInfo` ### Added - Added `Reflect::is_dynamic` method to indicate when a type is dynamic - Added a `set_represented_type` method on all dynamic types ### Removed - Removed `TypeInfo::Dynamic` (use `Reflect::is_dynamic` instead) - Removed `Typed` impls for all dynamic types ## Migration Guide - The Dynamic types no longer take a string type name. Instead, they require a static reference to `TypeInfo`: ```rust #[derive(Reflect)] struct MyTupleStruct(f32, f32); let mut dyn_tuple_struct = DynamicTupleStruct::default(); dyn_tuple_struct.insert(1.23_f32); dyn_tuple_struct.insert(3.21_f32); // BEFORE: let type_name = std::any::type_name::<MyTupleStruct>(); dyn_tuple_struct.set_name(type_name); // AFTER: let type_info = <MyTupleStruct as Typed>::type_info(); dyn_tuple_struct.set_represented_type(Some(type_info)); ``` - `Reflect::get_type_info` has been renamed to `Reflect::represented_type_info` and now also returns an `Option<&'static TypeInfo>` (instead of just `&'static TypeInfo`): ```rust // BEFORE: let info: &'static TypeInfo = value.get_type_info(); // AFTER: let info: &'static TypeInfo = value.represented_type_info().unwrap(); ``` - `TypeInfo::Dynamic` and `DynamicInfo` has been removed. Use `Reflect::is_dynamic` instead: ```rust // BEFORE: if matches!(value.get_type_info(), TypeInfo::Dynamic) { // ... } // AFTER: if value.is_dynamic() { // ... } ``` --------- Co-authored-by: radiish <cb.setho@gmail.com>
This can be merged since it's since been implemented in bevyengine/bevy#7207 |
RENDERED
PartialReflect
Reflect: PartialReflect
Reflect
that does not depend on the uniqueness of theunderlying type are moved to
PartialReflect
dyn PartialReflect
rather thandyn Reflect
.PartialReflect
into aReflect
using ainto_full
method.FromReflect
becomesFromPartialReflect
.Unresolved questions
CanonReflect
name? ⇒ Went withReflect
andPartialReflect
CanonReflect
orReflectProxy
? Remove all underlying-dependent methods fromReflect
and adding them to a new trait, or keep the underlying-dependentmethods but moved all the non-dependent methods to a new trait. Which one to
go with? ⇒ Went with a bit of both.
Reflect
.TypeRegistry
entry forFromPartialReflect
necessary? (no, as per partial implementation)