fmt::Show is for debugging, and can and should be implemented for
all public types. This trait is used with `{:?}` syntax. There still
exists #[derive(Show)].
fmt::String is for types that faithfully be represented as a String.
Because of this, there is no way to derive fmt::String, all
implementations must be purposeful. It is used by the default format
syntax, `{}`.
This will break most instances of `{}`, since that now requires the type
to impl fmt::String. In most cases, replacing `{}` with `{:?}` is the
correct fix. Types that were being printed specifically for users should
receive a fmt::String implementation to fix this.
Part of #20013
[breaking-change]
1. Wherever the `buf` field of a `Formatter` was used, the `Formatter` is used
instead.
2. The usage of `write_fmt` is minimized as much as possible, the `write!` macro
is preferred wherever possible.
3. Usage of `fmt::write` is minimized, favoring the `write!` macro instead.
for `~str`/`~[]`.
Note that `~self` still remains, since I forgot to add support for
`Box<self>` before the snapshot.
How to update your code:
* Instead of `~EXPR`, you should write `box EXPR`.
* Instead of `~TYPE`, you should write `Box<Type>`.
* Instead of `~PATTERN`, you should write `box PATTERN`.
[breaking-change]
This commit changes the ToStr trait to:
impl<T: fmt::Show> ToStr for T {
fn to_str(&self) -> ~str { format!("{}", *self) }
}
The ToStr trait has been on the chopping block for quite awhile now, and this is
the final nail in its coffin. The trait and the corresponding method are not
being removed as part of this commit, but rather any implementations of the
`ToStr` trait are being forbidden because of the generic impl. The new way to
get the `to_str()` method to work is to implement `fmt::Show`.
Formatting into a `&mut Writer` (as `format!` does) is much more efficient than
`ToStr` when building up large strings. The `ToStr` trait forces many
intermediate allocations to be made while the `fmt::Show` trait allows
incremental buildup in the same heap allocated buffer. Additionally, the
`fmt::Show` trait is much more extensible in terms of interoperation with other
`Writer` instances and in more situations. By design the `ToStr` trait requires
at least one allocation whereas the `fmt::Show` trait does not require any
allocations.
Closes#8242Closes#9806
