Document destructuring assignment

Author: varkor

src/SUMMARY.md

@@ -66,6 +66,7 @@
         - [Match expressions](expressions/match-expr.md)
         - [Return expressions](expressions/return-expr.md)
         - [Await expressions](expressions/await-expr.md)
+        - [Underscore expression](expressions/underscore-expr.md)
 
 - [Patterns](patterns.md)
 

src/expressions.md

@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@
 >       | [_BreakExpression_]\
 >       | [_RangeExpression_]\
 >       | [_ReturnExpression_]\
+>       | [_UnderscoreExpression_]\
 >       | [_MacroInvocation_]\
 >    )
 >
@@ -139,10 +140,11 @@ assert_eq!(
 
 ## Place Expressions and Value Expressions
 
-Expressions are divided into two main categories: place expressions and
-value expressions. Likewise, within each expression, operands may occur
-in either place context or value context. The evaluation of an expression
-depends both on its own category and the context it occurs within.
+Expressions are divided into two main categories: place expressions and value
+expressions; there is also a third, minor category of expressions called
+assignee expressions. Within each expression, operands may likewise occur in
+either place context or value context. The evaluation of an expression depends
+both on its own category and the context it occurs within.
 
 A *place expression* is an expression that represents a memory location. These
 expressions are [paths] which refer to local variables, [static variables],
@@ -154,8 +156,7 @@ A *value expression* is an expression that represents an actual value.
 
 The following contexts are *place expression* contexts:
 
-* The left operand of an [assignment][assign] or [compound assignment]
-  expression.
+* The left operand of a [compound assignment] expression.
 * The operand of a unary [borrow] or [dereference][deref] operator.
 * The operand of a field expression.
 * The indexed operand of an array indexing expression.
@@ -168,6 +169,20 @@ The following contexts are *place expression* contexts:
 > Note: Historically, place expressions were called *lvalues* and value
 > expressions were called *rvalues*.
 
+An *assignee expression* is an expression that appears in the left operand of an
+[assignment][assign] expression. Explicitly, the assignee expressions are:
+
+- Place expressions.
+- [Underscores][_UnderscoreExpression_].
+- [Tuples][_TupleExpression_] of assignee expressions.
+- [Slices][_ArrayExpression_] of assingee expressions.
+- [Tuple structs][_StructExpression_] of assignee expressions.
+- [Structs][_StructExpression_] of assignee expressions (with optionally named
+  fields).
+- [Unit structs][_StructExpression_].
+
+Arbitrary parenthesisation is permitted inside assignee expressions.
+
 ### Moved and copied types
 
 When a place expression is evaluated in a value expression context, or is bound
@@ -349,4 +364,5 @@ They are never allowed before:
 [_TupleExpression_]:              expressions/tuple-expr.md
 [_TupleIndexingExpression_]:      expressions/tuple-expr.md#tuple-indexing-expressions
 [_TypeCastExpression_]:           expressions/operator-expr.md#type-cast-expressions
+[_UnderscoreExpression_]:         expressions/underscore-expr.md
 [_UnsafeBlockExpression_]:        expressions/block-expr.md#unsafe-blocks

src/expressions/operator-expr.md

@@ -428,13 +428,20 @@ assert_eq!(values[1], 3);
 
 An *assignment expression* moves a value into a specified place.
 
-An assignment expression consists of a [mutable] [place expression], the *assigned place operand*, followed by an equals sign (`=`) and a [value expression], the *assigned value operand*.
+An assignment expression consists of a [mutable] [assignee expression], the
+*assignee operand*, followed by an equals sign (`=`) and a [value expression],
+the *assigned value operand*. In its most basic form, an assignee expression is
+a [place expression], and we discuss this case first. The more general case of
+destructuring assignment is discussed below, but this case always decomposes
+into sequential assignments to place expressions, which may be considered the
+more fundamental case.
 
-Unlike other place operands, the assigned place operand must be a place expression.
-Attempting to use a value expression is a compiler error rather than promoting it to a temporary.
+### Basic assignments
 
-Evaluating assignment expressions begins by evaluating its operands.
-The assigned value operand is evaluated first, followed by the assigned place operand.
+Evaluating assignment expressions begins by evaluating its operands. The
+assigned value operand is evaluated first, followed by the assignee expression.
+(For destructuring assignment, subexpressions of the assignee expression are
+evaluated left-to-right.)
 
 > **Note**: This is different than other expressions in that the right operand is evaluated before the left one.
 
@@ -451,6 +458,67 @@ let y = 0;
 x = y;
 ```
 
+### Destructuring assignments
+
+Destructuring assignment is a counterpart to destructuring pattern matches for
+variable declaration, permitting assignment to complex values, such as tuples or
+structs. For instance, we may swap two mutable variables:
+
+```rust,ignore
+let (mut a, mut b) = (0, 1);
+// Swap `a` and `b` using destructuring assignment.
+(b, a) = (a, b);
+```
+
+In contrast to destructuring declarations using `let`, patterns may not appear
+on the left-hand side of an assignment due to syntactic ambiguities. Instead, a
+group of expressions that correspond to patterns are designated to be [assignee
+expressions][assignee expression], and permitted on the left-hand side of an
+assignment. Assignee expressions are then desugared to pattern matches followed
+by sequential assignment. The desugared patterns must be irrefutable: in
+particular, this means that only slice patterns whose length is known at
+compile-time, and the trivial slice `[..]`, are permitted for destructuring
+assignment.
+
+The desugaring method is straightforward, and is illustrated best by example.
+
+```rust,ignore
+(a, b) = (3, 4);
+
+[a, b] = [3, 4];
+
+Struct { x: a, y: b } = Struct { x: 3, y: 4};
+
+// desugars to:
+
+{
+    let (_a, _b) = (3, 4);
+    a = _a;
+    b = _b;
+}
+
+{
+    let [_a, _b] = [3, 4];
+    a = _a;
+    b = _b;
+}
+
+{
+    let Struct { x: _a, y: _b } = Struct { x: 3, y: 4};
+    a = _a;
+    b = _b;
+}
+```
+
+Identifiers are not forbidden from being used multiple times in a single
+assignee expression.
+
+[Underscore expressions][_UnderscoreExpression_] and empty [range
+expressions](_RangeExpressions_) may be used to ignore certain values, without
+binding them.
+
+Note that default binding modes do not apply for the desugared expression.
+
 ## Compound assignment expressions
 
 > **<sup>Syntax</sup>**\
@@ -530,6 +598,7 @@ See [this test] for an example of using this dependency.
 [logical xor]: ../types/boolean.md#logical-xor
 [mutable]: ../expressions.md#mutability
 [place expression]: ../expressions.md#place-expressions-and-value-expressions
+[assignee expression]: ../expressions.md#place-expressions-and-value-expressions
 [undefined behavior]: ../behavior-considered-undefined.md
 [unit]: ../types/tuple.md
 [value expression]: ../expressions.md#place-expressions-and-value-expressions
@@ -549,6 +618,8 @@ See [this test] for an example of using this dependency.
 [_TypeCastExpression_]: #type-cast-expressions
 [_AssignmentExpression_]: #assignment-expressions
 [_CompoundAssignmentExpression_]: #compound-assignment-expressions
+[_RangeExpression_]: #range-expressions
+[_UnderscoreExpression_]: #underscore-expression
 
 [_Expression_]: ../expressions.md
 [_TypeNoBounds_]: ../types.md#type-expressions

src/expressions/underscore-expr.md

@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+# `_` expression
+
+> **<sup>Syntax</sup>**\
+> _UnderscoreExpression_ :\
+> &nbsp;&nbsp; `_`
+
+The underscore expression, denoted with the symbol `_`, is used to signify a
+placeholder in a destructuring assignment. It may only appear in the left-hand
+side of an assignment.
+
+An example of an `_` expression:
+
+```rust,ignore
+let p = (1, 2);
+let mut a = 0;
+(_, a) = p;
+```
+
+[_Expression_]: ../expressions.md