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RcUninit allows the user to construct cyclic data structures without using
Rc::new_cyclic
, which allows cyclic constructions across await points. It also allows you to create long linked lists without overflowing the stack.This is an alternative to
UniqueRc
. WhileUniqueRc
does allow for cyclic data structures to be created, it must be done by mutating the UniqueRc. Mutation is prone to creating reference cycles. Construction-only assignment of fields, without any mutation to "set" the struct afterwards cannot generate reference cycles. It's also more cumbersome to work with.For instance, if we have objects A, B, and C, and we want these to connect as
A => B => C -> A
(=>
being strong,->
being weak), then we must do something along the following lines.To implement
A::set_b
, the fieldA::b
must either beOption<Rc<B>>
: Requiring unwrap/clone for each access.MaybeUninit<Rc<B>>
: Requiring unsafe.Weak<B>
: Requiring upgrade for every access.The above also makes it easier to make mistakes in more complex programs where we don't have the full picture. It is not hard to change the above into
Rc<RefCell<A>>
, and then provide this pointer toC
, which would cause a reference cycle to be created oncea.borrow_mut().set_b(b)
gets called.On the other hand RcUninit doesn't have this problem, since initialization is deferred. The equivalent would look like the following.
This creates the structure (A => B => C -> A)
Tracking Issue
#112566
RcUninit was discussed in
rust-lang/libs-team#90
https://internals.rust-lang.org/t/an-alternative-to-rc-new-cyclic/22849/6
#112566