# `::with_locals`
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### CPS sugar in Rust, to "return" values referring to locals.
Let's start with a basic example: returning / yielding a `format_args` local.
```rust
use ::core::fmt::Display;
use ::with_locals::with;
#[with('local)]
fn hex (n: u32) -> &'local dyn Display
{
&format_args!("{:#x}", n)
}
```
The above becomes:
```rust
use ::core::fmt::Display;
fn with_hex <R, F> (n: u32, f: F) -> R
where F : FnOnce(&'_ dyn Display) -> R,
// for<'local> F : FnOnce(&'local dyn Display) -> R,
{
f(&format_args!("{:#x}", n))
}
```
`f: F`, here, is called a continuation:
instead of having a function return / yield some element / object,
the function takes, instead, the "logic" of what the caller would have liked
to do with that element (once it would have received it), so that it is the
callee who handles that object instead.
By shifting the logic like so, it is the callee and not the caller
who runs that logic, **which thus happens before the callee returns,
so before it cleans its locals and makes things that refer to it dangle.**
> This is the whole point of all this strategy!
Now, to call / use the above function, one can no longer bind the "result"
of that function to a variable using a `let` binding, since that mechanism
is reserved for actual returns, and the actual code running in the caller's
stack.
Instead, one calls / uses that `with_hex` function using
closure / callback syntax:
```rust,ignore
with_hex(66, |s| {
println!("{}", s);
})
```
This is extremely powerful, but incurs in a rightward drift everytime
such a binding is created:
```rust,ignore
with_hex(1, |one| {
with_hex(2, |two| {
with_hex(3, |three| {
// ughhh ..
})
})
})
```
Instead, it would be nice if the compiler / the language provided a way
for `let` bindings to magically perform that transformation:
```rust,ignore
let one = hex(1);
let two = hex(2);
let three = hex(3);
```
Operating in this fashion is called Continuation-Passing Style, and
cannot be done implicitly in Rust.
But that doesn't mean one cannot get sugar for it.
## Enters `#[with]`!
```rust,ignore
#[with] let one = hex(1);
#[with] let two = hex(2);
#[with] let three = hex(3);
```
- This can also be written as:
```rust,ignore
let one: &'ref _ = hex(1);
let two: &'ref _ = hex(2);
let three: &'ref _ = hex(3);
```
That is, `let` bindings that feature a ["special lifetime"].
When applied to a function, it will tranform all its so-annotated
`let` bindings into nested closure calls, where all the statements that
follow the binding (within the same scope) are moved into the
continuation.
Here is an example:
```rust
# use ::with_locals::with; #[with] fn hex (n: u32) -> &'ref dyn ::core::fmt::Display { &format_args!("{:#x}", n) }
#
#[with]
fn hex_example ()
{
let s: String = {
println!("Hello, World!");
#[with]
let s_hex = hex(66);
println!("s_hex = {}", s_hex); // Outputs `s_hex = 0x42`
let s = s_hex.to_string();
assert_eq!(s, "0x42");
s
};
assert_eq!(s, "0x42");
}
```
The above becomes:
```rust
# use ::with_locals::with; #[with] fn hex (n: u32) -> &'ref dyn ::core::fmt::Display { &format_args!("{:#x}", n) }
#
fn hex_example ()
{
let s: String = {
println!("Hello, World!");
with_hex(66, |s_hex| {
println!("s_hex = {}", s_hex); // Outputs `s_hex = 0x42`
let s = s_hex.to_string();
assert_eq!(s, "0x42");
s
})
};
assert_eq!(s, "0x42");
}
```
#### Trait methods
Traits can have `#[with]`-annotated methods too.
```rust,ignore
# use ::with_locals::with;
#
trait ToStr {
#[with('local)]
fn to_str (self: &'_ Self) -> &'local str
;
}
```
Example of an implementor:
```rust
# use ::with_locals::with; trait ToStr { #[with] fn to_str (self: &'_ Self) -> &'ref str ; }
#
impl ToStr for u32 {
#[with('local)]
fn to_str (self: &'_ u32) -> &'local str
{
let mut x = *self;
if x == 0 {
// By default, the macro tries to be quite smart and replaces
// both implicitly returned and explicitly returned values, with
// what the actual return of the actual `with_...` function must
// be: `return f("0");`.
return "0";
}
let mut buf = [b' '; 1 + 3 + 3 + 3]; // u32::MAX ~ 4_000_000_000
let mut cursor = buf.len();
while x > 0 {
cursor -= 1;
buf[cursor] = b'0' + (x % 10) as u8;
x /= 10;
}
// return f(
::core::str::from_utf8(&buf[cursor ..]) // refers to a local!
.unwrap()
// );
}
}
# #[with]
# fn main ()
# {
# let s: &'ref str = 42.to_str();
# assert_eq!(s, "42");
# }
```
Example of a user of the trait (≠ an implementor).
```rust
# use ::with_locals::with; trait ToStr { #[with] fn to_str (self: &'_ Self) -> &'ref str ; }
#
impl<T : ToStr> ::core::fmt::Display for __<T> {
#[with] // you can #[with]-annotate classic function,
// in order to get the `let` assignment magic :)
fn fmt (self: &'_ Self, fmt: &'_ mut ::core::fmt::Formatter<'_>)
-> ::core::fmt::Result
{
// You can specify the
// special lifetime instead of applying `[with]`
// vvvv
let s: &'ref str = self.0.to_str();
fmt.write_str(s)
}
}
// (Using a newtype to avoid coherence issues)
struct __<T : ToStr>(T);
```
See [`examples/main.rs`](https://github.com/danielhenrymantilla/with_locals.rs/blob/master/examples/main.rs)
for more detailed examples within a runnable file.
<span id="special-lifetime"></span>
## Usage and the "Special lifetime".
["special lifetime"]: #special-lifetime
Something important to understand _w.r.t._ how `#[with]` operates, is that
sometimes it must perform transformations (such as changing a `foo()` call into
a `with_foo(...)` call), and sometimes it must not; it depends on the semantics
the programmer wants to write (that is, not _all_ function calls rely on CPS!).
Since _a procedural macro only operates on syntax_, it cannot understand such
_semantics_ (_e.g._, it is not possible for a proc-macro to replace `foo()`
with `with_foo()` if, and only if, `foo` does not exist).
Because of that, **the macro expects some syntactic marker / hints that tell it
when (and where!) to work**:
1. Obviously, the attribute itself needs to have been applied (_on the
enscoping function_):
```rust,ignore
#[with('special)]
fn ...
```
- Note: if no override is provided, `#[with]` defaults to
`#[with('ref)]`.
1. Then, the macro will inspect to see if **there is a ["special lifetime"]
within the return type of the function**.
```rust,ignore
// +-------------+
// | |
// -------- V
#[with('special)] // vvvvvvvv
fn foo (...) -> ...'special...
```
That will trigger the transformation of `fn foo` into `fn with_foo`, with
all the taking-a-callback-parameter shenanigans.
**Otherwise, it doesn't change the prototype of the function**.
1. Finally, the macro will also inspect the function body, to perform the
call-site transformations (_e.g._, `let x = foo(...)` into
`with_foo(..., |x| { ... })`).
These transformations are only applied:
- On the `#[with]`-annotated statements: `[with] let ...`;
- _Or_, on the statements carrying a type annotation that mentions the
["special lifetime"]:
```rust,ignore
let x: ... 'special ... = foo(...);
```
### Remarks
- By default, the ["special lifetime"] is `'ref`. Indeed, since `ref` is a
Rust keyword, it is not a legal lifetime name, so it is impossible for it
to conflict with some real lifetime parameter equally named.
- But `#[with]` allows you to rename that lifetime to one of your liking, by
providing it as the first parameter of the attribute (the one applied to
the function, of course):
```rust
use ::core::fmt::Display;
use ::with_locals::with;
#[with('local)]
fn hello (name: &'_ str) -> &'local dyn Display
{
&format_args!("Hello {}!", name)
}
```
## Advanced usage
If you are well acquainted with all this CPS / callback style, and would just
like to have some sugar when defining callback-based functions, but do not want
the attribute to mess up with the code inside the function body (_i.e._, if
you want to opt-out of the magic continuation calls at `return` sites _& co._),
- for instance, because you are interacting with other macros (since they
lead to opaque code as far as `#[with]` is concerned, making it unable to
"fix" the code inside, which may lead to uncompilable code),
then, know that you can:
- directly call the `with_foo(...)` functions with hand-written closures.
This is kind of obvious given how the functions end up defined, and is
definitely a possibility that should not be overlooked.
- and/or you can add a `continuation_name = some_identifier` parameter to the
`#[with]` attribute to disable the automatic `return continuation(<expr>)`
transformations;
- Note that `#[with]` will then provide a `some_identifier!` macro that
can be used as a shorthand for `return some_identifier(...)`.
This can be especially neat if the identifier used is, for instance,
`return_`: you can then write `return_!( value )` where a classic
function would have written `return value`, and it will correctly
expand to `return return_(value)` (return the value returned by the
continuation).
#### Example
```rust
use ::core::fmt::Display;
use ::with_locals::with;
#[with(continuation_name = return_)]
fn display_addr (addr: usize) -> &'ref dyn Display
{
if addr == 0 {
return_!( &"NULL" );
}
with_hex(addr, |hex| {
return_(&format_args!("0x{}", hex))
})
}
// where
#[with]
fn hex (n: usize) -> &'ref dyn Display
{
&format_args!("{:x}", n)
}
```
## Powerful unsugaring
Since some statements are wrapped inside closures, that basic transformation
alone would make control flow statements such as `return`, `?`, `continue` and
`break` to stop working when located in the scope of a `#[with] let ...`
statement (after it).
```rust,compile_fail
use ::core::fmt::Display;
use ::with_locals::with;
#[with]
fn hex (n: u32) -> &'ref dyn Display
{
&format_args!("{:#x}", n)
}
fn main ()
{
for n in 0 .. { // <- `break` cannot refer to this:
with_hex(n, |s| { // === closure boundary ===
println!("{}", s); // ^ Error!
if n >= 5 { // |
break; // ------------+
}
})
}
}
```
And yet, when using the `#[with] let` sugar the above pattern seems to work:
```rust
use ::core::fmt::Display;
use ::with_locals::with;
#[with]
fn hex (n: u32) -> &'ref dyn Display
{
&format_args!("{:#x}", n)
}
#[with]
fn main ()
{
for n in 0 .. {
#[with]
let s = hex(n);
println!("{}", s);
if n >= 5 {
break;
}
};
}
```
- <details><summary>Click here to see how this is done</summary>
This is achieved by bundling the expected control flow information within
the return value of the provided closure:
```rust,ignore
for n in 0 .. {
enum ControlFlow<T> {
/// The statements evaluated to a value of type `T`.
Eval(T),
/// The statements "called" `break`.
Break,
}
match with_hex(n, |s| ControlFlow::Eval({
println!("{}", s);
if n >= 5 {
return ControlFlow::Break;
}
}))
{
ControlFlow::Eval(it) => it,
ControlFlow::Break => break,
}
}
```
___
</details>
### Debugging / Macro expansion
If, for some reason, you are interested in seeing what's the actual code
generated / emitted by a `#[with]` attribute invocation, then all you have to
do is to enable the `expand-macros` Cargo feature:
```toml
[dependencies]
# ...
with_locals = { version = "...", features = ["expand-macros"] }
```
This will display the emitted code with a style very similar to `cargo-expand`,
but with two added benefits:
- It does not expand _all_ the macros, just the `#[with]` one. So, if within
the body of a function there is something like a `println!` call, the
actual internal formatting logic / machinery will remain hidden and not
clobber the code.
- Once the Cargo feature is enabled, a special env var can be used to
**filter the desired expansions**:
```bash
WITH_LOCALS_DEBUG_FILTER=pattern cargo check
```
- This will then only display the expansions for functions whose name
_contains_ the given pattern. Note that this does _not_ involve the
fully qualified name (with the outer modules), it's the bare name only.
- That being said, this only works when the procedural macro is evaluated,
and `rustc` will try to cache the result of such invocations. If that's the
case, all you have to do is perform some dummy change within the involved
file, and _save_.