Function unbounded::reference

pub fn reference<'original, 'unbounded, Ref: Reference<'original, 'unbounded>>(
    reference: Ref
) -> Ref::Unbounded

Unbinds the lifetime in a reference (&T or &mut T). This disconnects the input lifetime from the output lifetime, so use of the output reference will no longer cause input reference to be kept “live” (as defined in RFC 2094: non-lexical lifetimes). The output reference is given an unbounded lifetime, so the borrow checker is free to coerce it to whatever is expected.

The output lifetime may still be implicitly bound by any references within the referenced type T. You may need to unbind these as well, or replace them with 'static.

Safety

This is unsound and unsafe, even though it is marked as a safe function! Invoking this functions risks incurring the wrath of the optimizer. Rust references are not pointers. For edutainment purposes only.

Examples

Here we create two (aliasing) unbounded mutable references at once, and then continue to use them even after the original value is dropped (and its true lifetime has ended).

let mut x = 0;

let mut_1 = ::unbounded::reference(&mut x);
let mut_2 = ::unbounded::reference(&mut x);

drop(x);

*mut_1 = 1;
*mut_2 = 2;

assert_eq!(*mut_1, *mut_2, "I hope LLVM is in a good mood!");