|
| 1 | +# `repr_transparent` |
| 2 | + |
| 3 | +The tracking issue for this feature is: [#43036] |
| 4 | + |
| 5 | +[#43036]: https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/issues/43036 |
| 6 | + |
| 7 | +------------------------ |
| 8 | + |
| 9 | +This feature enables the `repr(transparent)` attribute on structs, which enables |
| 10 | +the use of newtypes without the usual ABI implications of wrapping the value in |
| 11 | +a struct. |
| 12 | + |
| 13 | +## Background |
| 14 | + |
| 15 | +It's sometimes useful to add additional type safety by introducing *newtypes*. |
| 16 | +For example, code that handles numeric quantities in different units such as |
| 17 | +millimeters, centimeters, grams, kilograms, etc. may want to use the type system |
| 18 | +to rule out mistakes such as adding millimeters to grams: |
| 19 | + |
| 20 | +```rust |
| 21 | +use std::ops::Add; |
| 22 | + |
| 23 | +struct Millimeters(f64); |
| 24 | +struct Grams(f64); |
| 25 | + |
| 26 | +impl Add<Millimeters> for Millimeters { |
| 27 | + type Output = Millimeters; |
| 28 | + |
| 29 | + fn add(self, other: Millimeters) -> Millimeters { |
| 30 | + Millimeters(self.0 + other.0) |
| 31 | + } |
| 32 | +} |
| 33 | + |
| 34 | +// Likewise: impl Add<Grams> for Grams {} |
| 35 | +``` |
| 36 | + |
| 37 | +Other uses of newtypes include using `PhantomData` to add lifetimes to raw |
| 38 | +pointers or to implement the "phantom types" pattern. See the [PhantomData] |
| 39 | +documentation and [the Nomicon][nomicon-phantom] for more details. |
| 40 | + |
| 41 | +The added type safety is especially useful when interacting with C or other |
| 42 | +languages. However, in those cases we need to ensure the newtypes we add do not |
| 43 | +introduce incompatibilities with the C ABI. |
| 44 | + |
| 45 | +## Newtypes in FFI |
| 46 | + |
| 47 | +Luckily, `repr(C)` newtypes are laid out just like the type they wrap on all |
| 48 | +platforms which Rust currently supports, and likely on many more. For example, |
| 49 | +consider this C declaration: |
| 50 | + |
| 51 | +```C |
| 52 | +struct Object { |
| 53 | + double weight; //< in grams |
| 54 | + double height; //< in millimeters |
| 55 | + // ... |
| 56 | +} |
| 57 | + |
| 58 | +void frobnicate(struct Object *); |
| 59 | +``` |
| 60 | +
|
| 61 | +While using this C code from Rust, we could add `repr(C)` to the `Grams` and |
| 62 | +`Millimeters` newtypes introduced above and use them to add some type safety |
| 63 | +while staying compatible with the memory layout of `Object`: |
| 64 | +
|
| 65 | +```rust,no_run |
| 66 | +#[repr(C)] |
| 67 | +struct Grams(f64); |
| 68 | +
|
| 69 | +#[repr(C)] |
| 70 | +struct Millimeters(f64); |
| 71 | +
|
| 72 | +#[repr(C)] |
| 73 | +struct Object { |
| 74 | + weight: Grams, |
| 75 | + height: Millimeters, |
| 76 | + // ... |
| 77 | +} |
| 78 | +
|
| 79 | +extern { |
| 80 | + fn frobnicate(_: *mut Object); |
| 81 | +} |
| 82 | +``` |
| 83 | + |
| 84 | +This works even when adding some `PhantomData` fields, because they are |
| 85 | +zero-sized and therefore don't have to affect the memory layout. |
| 86 | + |
| 87 | +However, there's more to the ABI than just memory layout: there's also the |
| 88 | +question of how function call arguments and return values are passed. Many |
| 89 | +common ABI treat a struct containing a single field differently from that field |
| 90 | +itself, at least when the field is a scalar (e.g., integer or float or pointer). |
| 91 | + |
| 92 | +To continue the above example, suppose the C library also exposes a function |
| 93 | +like this: |
| 94 | + |
| 95 | +```C |
| 96 | +double calculate_weight(double height); |
| 97 | +``` |
| 98 | +
|
| 99 | +Using our newtypes on the Rust side like this will cause an ABI mismatch on many |
| 100 | +platforms: |
| 101 | +
|
| 102 | +```rust,ignore |
| 103 | +extern { |
| 104 | + fn calculate_weight(height: Millimeters) -> Grams; |
| 105 | +} |
| 106 | +``` |
| 107 | + |
| 108 | +For example, on x86_64 Linux, Rust will pass the argument in an integer |
| 109 | +register, while the C function expects the argument to be in a floating-point |
| 110 | +register. Likewise, the C function will return the result in a floating-point |
| 111 | +register while Rust will expect it in an integer register. |
| 112 | + |
| 113 | +Note that this problem is not specific to floats: To give another example, |
| 114 | +32-bit x86 linux will pass and return `struct Foo(i32);` on the stack while |
| 115 | +`i32` is placed in registers. |
| 116 | + |
| 117 | +## Enter `repr(transparent)` |
| 118 | + |
| 119 | +So while `repr(C)` happens to do the right thing with respect to memory layout, |
| 120 | +it's not quite the right tool for newtypes in FFI. Instead of declaring a C |
| 121 | +struct, we need to communicate to the Rust compiler that our newtype is just for |
| 122 | +type safety on the Rust side. This is what `repr(transparent)` does. |
| 123 | + |
| 124 | +The attribute can be applied to a newtype-like structs that contains a single |
| 125 | +field. It indicates that the newtype should be represented exactly like that |
| 126 | +field's type, i.e., the newtype should be ignored for ABI purpopses: not only is |
| 127 | +it laid out the same in memory, it is also passed identically in function calls. |
| 128 | + |
| 129 | +In the above example, the ABI mismatches can be prevented by making the newtypes |
| 130 | +`Grams` and `Millimeters` transparent like this: |
| 131 | + |
| 132 | +```rust |
| 133 | +#![feature(repr_transparent)] |
| 134 | + |
| 135 | +#[repr(transparent)] |
| 136 | +struct Grams(f64); |
| 137 | + |
| 138 | +#[repr(transparent)] |
| 139 | +struct Millimeters(f64); |
| 140 | +``` |
| 141 | + |
| 142 | +In addition to that single field, any number of zero-sized fields are permitted, |
| 143 | +including but not limited to `PhantomData`: |
| 144 | + |
| 145 | +```rust |
| 146 | +#![feature(repr_transparent)] |
| 147 | + |
| 148 | +use std::marker::PhantomData; |
| 149 | + |
| 150 | +struct Foo { /* ... */ } |
| 151 | + |
| 152 | +#[repr(transparent)] |
| 153 | +struct FooPtrWithLifetime<'a>(*const Foo, PhantomData<&'a Foo>); |
| 154 | + |
| 155 | +#[repr(transparent)] |
| 156 | +struct NumberWithUnit<T, U>(T, PhantomData<U>); |
| 157 | + |
| 158 | +struct CustomZst; |
| 159 | + |
| 160 | +#[repr(transparent)] |
| 161 | +struct PtrWithCustomZst<'a> { |
| 162 | + ptr: FooPtrWithLifetime<'a>, |
| 163 | + some_marker: CustomZst, |
| 164 | +} |
| 165 | +``` |
| 166 | + |
| 167 | +Transparent structs can be nested: `PtrWithCustomZst` is also represented |
| 168 | +exactly like `*const Foo`. |
| 169 | + |
| 170 | +Because `repr(transparent)` delegates all representation concerns to another |
| 171 | +type, it is incompatible with all other `repr(..)` attributes. It also cannot be |
| 172 | +applied to enums, unions, empty structs, structs whose fields are all |
| 173 | +zero-sized, or structs with *multiple* non-zero-sized fields. |
| 174 | + |
| 175 | +[PhantomData]: https://doc.rust-lang.org/std/marker/struct.PhantomData.html |
| 176 | +[nomicon-phantom]: https://doc.rust-lang.org/nomicon/phantom-data.html |
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