- Feature Name: N/A (part of other unstable features)
- Start Date: 2016-02-11
- RFC PR: (leave this empty)
- Rust Issue: (leave this empty)
Naming and modularisation for macros.
This RFC proposes making macros a first-class citizen in the Rust module system.
Both macros by example (macro_rules macros) and procedural macros (aka syntax
extensions) would use the same naming and modularisation scheme as other items
in Rust.
For procedural macros, this RFC could be implemented immediately or as part of a larger effort to reform procedural macros. For macros by example, this would be part of a macros 2.0 feature, the rest of which will be described in a separate RFC. This RFC depends on the changes to name resolution described in RFC 1560.
Currently, procedural macros are not modularised at all (beyond the crate level). Macros by example have a custom modularisation scheme which involves modules to some extent, but relies on source ordering and attributes which are not used for other items. Macros cannot be imported or named using the usual syntax. It is confusing that macros use their own system for modularisation. It would be far nicer if they were a more regular feature of Rust in this respect.
This RFC does not propose changes to macro definitions. It is envisaged that definitions of procedural macros will change, see this blog post for some rough ideas. I'm assuming that procedural macros will be defined in some function-like way and that these functions will be defined in modules in their own crate (to start with).
Ordering of macro definitions in the source text will no longer be significant. A macro may be used before it is defined, as long as it can be named. That is, macros follow the same rules regarding ordering as other items. E.g., this will work:
foo!();
macro_rules! foo { ... }
Macro expansion order is also not defined by source order. E.g., in foo!(); bar!();,
bar may be expanded before foo. Ordering is only guaranteed as far as it is
necessary. E.g., if bar is only defined by expanding foo, then foo must be
expanded before bar.
A function-like macro use (c.f., attribute-like macro use) is a macro use which
uses foo!(...) or foo! ident (...) syntax (where () may also be [] or {}).
Macros may be named by using a ::-separated path. Naming follows the same
rules as other items in Rust.
If a macro baz (by example or procedural) is defined in a module bar which
is nested in foo, then it may be used anywhere in the crate using an
absolute path: ::foo::bar::baz!(...). It can be used via relative paths in the
usual way, e.g., inside foo as bar::baz!().
Macros declared inside a function body can only be used inside that function body.
For procedural macros, the path must point to the function defining the macro.
The grammar for macros is changed, anywhere we currently parser name "!", we
now parse path "!". I don't think this introduces any issues.
Name lookup follows the same name resolution rules as other items. See RFC 1560 for details on how name resolution could be adapted to support this.
Attribute macros may also be named using a ::-separated path. Other than
appearing in an attribute, these also follow the usual Rust naming rules.
E.g., #[::foo::bar::baz(...)] and #[bar::baz(...)] are uses of absolute and
relative paths, respectively.
Importing macros is done using use in the same way as other items. An ! is
not necessary in an import item. Macros are imported into their own namespace
and do not shadow or overlap items with the same name in the type or value
namespaces.
E.g., use foo::bar::baz; imports the macro baz from the module ::foo::bar.
Macro imports may be used in import lists (with other macro imports and with
non-macro imports).
Where a glob import (use ...::*;) imports names from a module including macro
definitions, the names of those macros are also imported. E.g., use foo::bar::*; would import baz along with any other items in foo::bar.
Where macros are defined in a separate crate, these are imported in the same way
as other items by an extern crate item.
No #[macro_use] or #[macro_export] annotations are required.
If the new macro system is not well adopted by users, we could be left with two very different schemes for naming macros depending on whether a macro is defined by example or procedurally. That would be inconsistent and annoying. However, I hope we can make the new macro system appealing enough and close enough to the existing system that migration is both desirable and easy.
We could adopt the proposed scheme for procedural macros only and keep the existing scheme for macros by example.
We could adapt the current macros by example scheme to procedural macros.
We could require the ! in macro imports to distinguish them from other names.
I don't think this is necessary or helpful.
We could continue to require macro_export annotations on top of this scheme.
However, I prefer moving to a scheme using the same privacy system as the rest
of Rust, see below.
I would like that macros follow the same rules for privacy as other Rust items,
i.e., they are private by default and may be marked as pub to make them
public. This is not as straightforward as it sounds as it requires parsing pub macro_rules! foo as a macro definition, etc. I leave this for a separate RFC.
It would be nice for tools to use scoped attributes as well as procedural
macros, e.g., #[rustfmt::skip] or #[rust::new_attribute]. I believe this
should be straightforward syntactically, but there are open questions around
when attributes are ignored or seen by tools and the compiler. Again, I leave it
for a future RFC.
Some day, I hope that procedural macros may be defined in the same crate in which they are used. I leave the details of this for later, however, I don't think this affects the design of naming - it should all Just Work.