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Describe lifetime syntax for impl #26852

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29 changes: 29 additions & 0 deletions src/doc/trpl/lifetimes.md
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -101,6 +101,8 @@ the lifetime `'a` has snuck in between the `&` and the `mut i32`. We read `&mut
i32` as ‘a mutable reference to an i32’ and `&'a mut i32` as ‘a mutable
reference to an `i32` with the lifetime `'a`’.

# In `struct`s

You’ll also need explicit lifetimes when working with [`struct`][structs]s:

```rust
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -137,6 +139,33 @@ x: &'a i32,
uses it. So why do we need a lifetime here? We need to ensure that any reference
to a `Foo` cannot outlive the reference to an `i32` it contains.

## `impl` blocks

Let’s implement a method on `Foo`:

```rust
struct Foo<'a> {
x: &'a i32,
}

impl<'a> Foo<'a> {
fn x(&self) -> &'a i32 { self.x }
}

fn main() {
let y = &5; // this is the same as `let _y = 5; let y = &_y;`
let f = Foo { x: y };

println!("x is: {}", f.x());
}
```

As you can see, we need to declare a lifetime for `Foo` in the `impl` line. We repeat
`'a` twice, just like on functions: `impl<'a>` defines a lifetime `'a`, and `Foo<'a>`
uses it.

## Multiple lifetimes

If you have multiple references, you can use the same lifetime multiple times:

```rust
Expand Down