rust/doc/rust.md

% Rust Reference Manual

# Introduction

This document is the reference manual for the Rust programming language. It
provides three kinds of material:

  - Chapters that formally define the language grammar and, for each
    construct, informally describe its semantics and give examples of its
    use.
  - Chapters that informally describe the memory model, concurrency model,
    runtime services, linkage model and debugging facilities.
  - Appendix chapters providing rationale and references to languages that
    influenced the design.

This document does not serve as a tutorial introduction to the
language. Background familiarity with the language is assumed. A separate
[tutorial] document is available to help acquire such background familiarity.

This document also does not serve as a reference to the [core] or [standard]
libraries included in the language distribution. Those libraries are
documented separately by extracting documentation attributes from their
source code.

[tutorial]: tutorial.html
[core]: core/index.html
[standard]: std/index.html

## Disclaimer

Rust is a work in progress. The language continues to evolve as the design
shifts and is fleshed out in working code. Certain parts work, certain parts
do not, certain parts will be removed or changed.

This manual is a snapshot written in the present tense. All features described
exist in working code unless otherwise noted, but some are quite primitive or
remain to be further modified by planned work. Some may be temporary. It is a
*draft*, and we ask that you not take anything you read here as final.

If you have suggestions to make, please try to focus them on *reductions* to
the language: possible features that can be combined or omitted. We aim to
keep the size and complexity of the language under control.

> **Note:** This manual is very out of date. The best source of Rust
> documentation is currently the tutorial.

> **Note:** The grammar for Rust given in this document is rough and
> very incomplete; only a modest number of sections have accompanying grammar
> rules. Formalizing the grammar accepted by the Rust parser is ongoing work,
> but future versions of this document will contain a complete
> grammar. Moreover, we hope that this grammar will be extracted and verified
> as LL(1) by an automated grammar-analysis tool, and further tested against the
> Rust sources. Preliminary versions of this automation exist, but are not yet
> complete.

# Notation

Rust's grammar is defined over Unicode codepoints, each conventionally
denoted `U+XXXX`, for 4 or more hexadecimal digits `X`. _Most_ of Rust's
grammar is confined to the ASCII range of Unicode, and is described in this
document by a dialect of Extended Backus-Naur Form (EBNF), specifically a
dialect of EBNF supported by common automated LL(k) parsing tools such as
`llgen`, rather than the dialect given in ISO 14977. The dialect can be
defined self-referentially as follows:

~~~~~~~~ {.ebnf .notation}

grammar : rule + ;
rule    : nonterminal ':' productionrule ';' ;
productionrule : production [ '|' production ] * ;
production : term * ;
term : element repeats ;
element : LITERAL | IDENTIFIER | '[' productionrule ']' ;
repeats : [ '*' | '+' ] NUMBER ? | NUMBER ? | '?' ;

~~~~~~~~

Where:

  - Whitespace in the grammar is ignored.
  - Square brackets are used to group rules.
  - `LITERAL` is a single printable ASCII character, or an escaped hexadecimal
     ASCII code of the form `\xQQ`, in single quotes, denoting the corresponding
     Unicode codepoint `U+00QQ`.
  - `IDENTIFIER` is a nonempty string of ASCII letters and underscores.
  - The `repeat` forms apply to the adjacent `element`, and are as follows:
    - `?` means zero or one repetition
    - `*` means zero or more repetitions
    - `+` means one or more repetitions
    - NUMBER trailing a repeat symbol gives a maximum repetition count
    - NUMBER on its own gives an exact repetition count

This EBNF dialect should hopefully be familiar to many readers.

## Unicode productions

A small number of productions in Rust's grammar permit Unicode codepoints
outside the ASCII range; these productions are defined in terms of character
properties given by the Unicode standard, rather than ASCII-range
codepoints. These are given in the section [Special Unicode
Productions](#special-unicode-productions).

## String table productions

Some rules in the grammar -- notably [unary
operators](#unary-operator-expressions), [binary
operators](#binary-operator-expressions), and [keywords](#keywords) --
are given in a simplified form: as a listing of a table of unquoted,
printable whitespace-separated strings. These cases form a subset of
the rules regarding the [token](#tokens) rule, and are assumed to be
the result of a lexical-analysis phase feeding the parser, driven by a
DFA, operating over the disjunction of all such string table entries.

When such a string enclosed in double-quotes (`"`) occurs inside the
grammar, it is an implicit reference to a single member of such a string table
production. See [tokens](#tokens) for more information.


# Lexical structure

## Input format

Rust input is interpreted as a sequence of Unicode codepoints encoded in UTF-8,
normalized to Unicode normalization form NFKC.
Most Rust grammar rules are defined in terms of printable ASCII-range codepoints,
but a small number are defined in terms of Unicode properties or explicit codepoint lists.
^[Substitute definitions for the special Unicode productions are provided to the grammar verifier, restricted to ASCII range, when verifying the grammar in this document.]

## Special Unicode Productions

The following productions in the Rust grammar are defined in terms of Unicode properties:
`ident`, `non_null`, `non_star`, `non_eol`, `non_slash`, `non_single_quote` and `non_double_quote`.

### Identifiers

The `ident` production is any nonempty Unicode string of the following form:

   - The first character has property `XID_start`
   - The remaining characters have property `XID_continue`

that does _not_ occur in the set of [keywords](#keywords).

Note: `XID_start` and `XID_continue` as character properties cover the
character ranges used to form the more familiar C and Java language-family
identifiers.

### Delimiter-restricted productions

Some productions are defined by exclusion of particular Unicode characters:

  - `non_null` is any single Unicode character aside from `U+0000` (null)
  - `non_eol` is `non_null` restricted to exclude `U+000A` (`'\n'`)
  - `non_star` is `non_null` restricted to exclude `U+002A` (`*`)
  - `non_slash` is `non_null` restricted to exclude `U+002F` (`/`)
  - `non_single_quote` is `non_null` restricted to exclude `U+0027`  (`'`)
  - `non_double_quote` is `non_null` restricted to exclude `U+0022` (`"`)

## Comments

~~~~~~~~ {.ebnf .gram}
comment : block_comment | line_comment ;
block_comment : "/*" block_comment_body * "*/" ;
block_comment_body : block_comment | non_star * | '*' non_slash ;
line_comment : "//" non_eol * ;
~~~~~~~~

Comments in Rust code follow the general C++ style of line and block-comment
forms, with proper nesting of block-comment delimiters. Comments are
interpreted as a form of whitespace.

## Whitespace

~~~~~~~~ {.ebnf .gram}
whitespace_char : '\x20' | '\x09' | '\x0a' | '\x0d' ;
whitespace : [ whitespace_char | comment ] + ;
~~~~~~~~

The `whitespace_char` production is any nonempty Unicode string consisting of any
of the following Unicode characters: `U+0020` (space, `' '`), `U+0009` (tab,
`'\t'`), `U+000A` (LF, `'\n'`), `U+000D` (CR, `'\r'`).

Rust is a "free-form" language, meaning that all forms of whitespace serve
only to separate _tokens_ in the grammar, and have no semantic significance.

A Rust program has identical meaning if each whitespace element is replaced
with any other legal whitespace element, such as a single space character.

## Tokens

~~~~~~~~ {.ebnf .gram}
simple_token : keyword | unop | binop ;
token : simple_token | ident | literal | symbol | whitespace token ;
~~~~~~~~

Tokens are primitive productions in the grammar defined by regular
(non-recursive) languages. "Simple" tokens are given in [string table
production](#string-table-productions) form, and occur in the rest of the
grammar as double-quoted strings. Other tokens have exact rules given.

### Keywords

The keywords in [crate files](#crate-files) are the following strings:

~~~~~~~~ {.keyword}
mod priv pub use
~~~~~~~~

The keywords in [source files](#source-files) are the following strings:

~~~~~~~~ {.keyword}
as assert
break
const copy
do drop
else enum extern
fail false fn for
if impl
let log loop
match mod move mut
priv pub pure
ref return
self static struct
true trait type
unsafe use
while
~~~~~~~~

Any of these have special meaning in their respective grammars, and are
excluded from the `ident` rule.

### Literals

A literal is an expression consisting of a single token, rather than a
sequence of tokens, that immediately and directly denotes the value it
evaluates to, rather than referring to it by name or some other evaluation
rule. A literal is a form of constant expression, so is evaluated (primarily)
at compile time.

~~~~~~~~ {.ebnf .gram}
literal : string_lit | char_lit | num_lit ;
~~~~~~~~

#### Character and string literals

~~~~~~~~ {.ebnf .gram}
char_lit : '\x27' char_body '\x27' ;
string_lit : '"' string_body * '"' ;

char_body : non_single_quote
          | '\x5c' [ '\x27' | common_escape ] ;

string_body : non_double_quote
            | '\x5c' [ '\x22' | common_escape ] ;

common_escape : '\x5c'
              | 'n' | 'r' | 't'
              | 'x' hex_digit 2
              | 'u' hex_digit 4
              | 'U' hex_digit 8 ;

hex_digit : 'a' | 'b' | 'c' | 'd' | 'e' | 'f'
          | 'A' | 'B' | 'C' | 'D' | 'E' | 'F'
          | dec_digit ;
dec_digit : '0' | nonzero_dec ;
nonzero_dec: '1' | '2' | '3' | '4'
           | '5' | '6' | '7' | '8' | '9' ;
~~~~~~~~

A _character literal_ is a single Unicode character enclosed within two
`U+0027` (single-quote) characters, with the exception of `U+0027` itself,
which must be _escaped_ by a preceding U+005C character (`\`).

A _string literal_ is a sequence of any Unicode characters enclosed within
two `U+0022` (double-quote) characters, with the exception of `U+0022`
itself, which must be _escaped_ by a preceding `U+005C` character (`\`).

Some additional _escapes_ are available in either character or string
literals. An escape starts with a `U+005C` (`\`) and continues with one of
the following forms:

  * An _8-bit codepoint escape_ escape starts with `U+0078` (`x`) and is
    followed by exactly two _hex digits_. It denotes the Unicode codepoint
    equal to the provided hex value.
  * A _16-bit codepoint escape_ starts with `U+0075` (`u`) and is followed
    by exactly four _hex digits_. It denotes the Unicode codepoint equal to
    the provided hex value.
  * A _32-bit codepoint escape_ starts with `U+0055` (`U`) and is followed
    by exactly eight _hex digits_. It denotes the Unicode codepoint equal to
    the provided hex value.
  * A _whitespace escape_ is one of the characters `U+006E` (`n`), `U+0072`
    (`r`), or `U+0074` (`t`), denoting the unicode values `U+000A` (LF),
    `U+000D` (CR) or `U+0009` (HT) respectively.
  * The _backslash escape_ is the character U+005C (`\`) which must be
    escaped in order to denote *itself*.

#### Number literals

~~~~~~~~ {.ebnf .gram}

num_lit : nonzero_dec [ dec_digit | '_' ] * num_suffix ?
        | '0' [       [ dec_digit | '_' ] + num_suffix ?
              | 'b'   [ '1' | '0' | '_' ] + int_suffix ?
              | 'x'   [ hex_digit | '-' ] + int_suffix ? ] ;

num_suffix : int_suffix | float_suffix ;

int_suffix : 'u' int_suffix_size ?
           | 'i' int_suffix_size ;
int_suffix_size : [ '8' | '1' '6' | '3' '2' | '6' '4' ] ;

float_suffix : [ exponent | '.' dec_lit exponent ? ] float_suffix_ty ? ;
float_suffix_ty : 'f' [ '3' '2' | '6' '4' ] ;
exponent : ['E' | 'e'] ['-' | '+' ] ? dec_lit ;
dec_lit : [ dec_digit | '_' ] + ;
~~~~~~~~

A _number literal_ is either an _integer literal_ or a _floating-point
literal_. The grammar for recognizing the two kinds of literals is mixed,
as they are differentiated by suffixes.

##### Integer literals

An _integer literal_ has one of three forms:

  * A _decimal literal_ starts with a *decimal digit* and continues with any
    mixture of *decimal digits* and _underscores_.
  * A _hex literal_ starts with the character sequence `U+0030` `U+0078`
    (`0x`) and continues as any mixture hex digits and underscores.
  * A _binary literal_ starts with the character sequence `U+0030` `U+0062`
    (`0b`) and continues as any mixture binary digits and underscores.

An integer literal may be followed (immediately, without any spaces) by an
_integer suffix_, which changes the type of the literal. There are two kinds
of integer literal suffix:

  * The `i` and `u` suffixes give the literal type `int` or `uint`,
    respectively.
  * Each of the signed and unsigned machine types `u8`, `i8`,
    `u16`, `i16`, `u32`, `i32`, `u64` and `i64`
    give the literal the corresponding machine type.

The type of an _unsuffixed_ integer literal is determined by type inference.
If a integer type can be _uniquely_ determined from the surrounding program
context, the unsuffixed integer literal has that type.  If the program context
underconstrains the type, the unsuffixed integer literal's type is `int`; if
the program context overconstrains the type, it is considered a static type
error.

Examples of integer literals of various forms:

~~~~
123; 0xff00;                       // type determined by program context
                                   // defaults to int in absence of type
                                   // information

123u;                              // type uint
123_u;                             // type uint
0xff_u8;                           // type u8
0b1111_1111_1001_0000_i32;         // type i32
~~~~

##### Floating-point literals

A _floating-point literal_ has one of two forms:

* Two _decimal literals_ separated by a period
  character `U+002E` (`.`), with an optional _exponent_ trailing after the
  second decimal literal.
* A single _decimal literal_ followed by an _exponent_.

By default, a floating-point literal is of type `float`. A
floating-point literal may be followed (immediately, without any
spaces) by a _floating-point suffix_, which changes the type of the
literal. There are three floating-point suffixes: `f` (for the base
`float` type), `f32`, and `f64` (the 32-bit and 64-bit floating point
types).

Examples of floating-point literals of various forms:

~~~~
123.0;                             // type float
0.1;                               // type float
3f;                                // type float
0.1f32;                            // type f32
12E+99_f64;                        // type f64
~~~~

##### Nil and boolean literals

The _nil value_, the only value of the type by the same name, is
written as `()`. The two values of the boolean type are written `true`
and `false`.

### Symbols

~~~~~~~~ {.ebnf .gram}
symbol : "::" "->"
       | '#' | '[' | ']' | '(' | ')' | '{' | '}'
       | ',' | ';' ;
~~~~~~~~

Symbols are a general class of printable [token](#tokens) that play structural
roles in a variety of grammar productions. They are catalogued here for
completeness as the set of remaining miscellaneous printable tokens that do not
otherwise appear as [unary operators](#unary-operator-expressions), [binary
operators](#binary-operator-expressions), or [keywords](#keywords).


## Paths

~~~~~~~~ {.ebnf .gram}

expr_path : ident [ "::" expr_path_tail ] + ;
expr_path_tail : '<' type_expr [ ',' type_expr ] + '>'
               | expr_path ;

type_path : ident [ type_path_tail ] + ;
type_path_tail : '<' type_expr [ ',' type_expr ] + '>'
               | "::" type_path ;

~~~~~~~~

A _path_ is a sequence of one or more path components _logically_ separated by
a namespace qualifier (`::`). If a path consists of only one component, it may
refer to either an [item](#items) or a [slot](#memory-slots) in a local
control scope. If a path has multiple components, it refers to an item.

Every item has a _canonical path_ within its crate, but the path naming an
item is only meaningful within a given crate. There is no global namespace
across crates; an item's canonical path merely identifies it within the crate.

Two examples of simple paths consisting of only identifier components:

~~~~{.ignore}
x;
x::y::z;
~~~~

Path components are usually [identifiers](#identifiers), but the trailing
component of a path may be an angle-bracket-enclosed list of type
arguments. In [expression](#expressions) context, the type argument list is
given after a final (`::`) namespace qualifier in order to disambiguate it
from a relational expression involving the less-than symbol (`<`). In type
expression context, the final namespace qualifier is omitted.

Two examples of paths with type arguments:

~~~~
# use std::map;
# fn f() {
# fn id<T:Copy>(t: T) -> T { t }
type t = map::HashMap<int,~str>;  // Type arguments used in a type expression
let x = id::<int>(10);           // Type arguments used in a call expression
# }
~~~~

# Syntax extensions

A number of minor features of Rust are not central enough to have their own
syntax, and yet are not implementable as functions. Instead, they are given
names, and invoked through a consistent syntax: `name!(...)`. Examples
include:

* `fmt!` : format data into a string
* `env!` : look up an environment variable's value at compile time
* `stringify!` : pretty-print the Rust expression given as an argument
* `proto!` : define a protocol for inter-task communication
* `include!` : include the Rust expression in the given file
* `include_str!` : include the contents of the given file as a string
* `include_bin!` : include the contents of the given file as a binary blob
* `error!`, `warn!`, `info!`, `debug!` : provide diagnostic information.

All of the above extensions, with the exception of `proto!`, are expressions
with values. `proto!` is an item, defining a new name.

## Macros

User-defined syntax extensions are called "macros", and they can be defined
with the `macro_rules!` syntax extension. User-defined macros can currently
only be invoked in expression position.

~~~~ {.ebnf .gram}
expr_macro_rules : "macro_rules" '!' ident '(' macro_rule * ')'
macro_rule : '(' matcher * ')' "=>" '(' transcriber * ')' ';'
matcher : '(' matcher * ')' | '[' matcher * ']'
        | '{' matcher * '}' | '$' ident ':' ident
        | '$' '(' matcher * ')' sep_token? [ '*' | '+' ]
        | non_special_token
transcriber : '(' transcriber * ')' | '[' transcriber * ']'
            | '{' transcriber * '}' | '$' ident
            | '$' '(' transcriber * ')' sep_token? [ '*' | '+' ]
            | non_special_token

~~~~
(A `sep_token` is any token other than `*` and `+`. A `non_special_token` is
any token other than a delimiter or `$`.)

Macro invocations are looked up by name, and each macro rule is tried in turn;
the first successful match is transcribed. The matching and transcribing
processes are close cousins, and will be described together:

### Macro By Example

Everything that does not begin with a `$` is matched and transcirbed
literally, including delimiters. For parsing reasons, they must be matched,
but they are otherwise not special.

In the matcher, `$` _name_ `:` _designator_ matches the nonterminal in the
Rust syntax named by _designator_. Valid designators are `item`, `block`,
`stmt`, `pat`, `expr`, `ty`, `ident`, `path`, `tt`, `matchers`. The last two
are the right-hand side and the left-hand side respectively of the `=>` in
macro rules. In the transcriber, the designator is already known, and so only
the name of a matched nonterminal comes after the dollar sign.

In bothe the matcher and transcriber, the Kleene star-like operator,
consisting of `$` and parens, optionally followed by a separator token,
followed by `*` or `+`, indicates repetition. (`*` means zero or more
repetitions, `+` means at least one repetition. The parens are not matched or
transcribed). On the matcher side, a name is bound to _all_ of the names it
matches, in a structure that mimics the structure of the repetition
encountered on a successful match. The job of the transcriber is to sort that
structure out.

The rules for transcription of these repetitions are called "Macro By Example".
Essentially, one "layer" of repetition is discharged at a time, and all of
them must be discharged by the time a name is transcribed. Therefore,
`( $( $i:ident ),* ) => ( $i )` is an invalid macro, but
`( $( $i:ident ),* ) => ( $( $i:ident ),*  )` is acceptable (if trivial).

When Macro By Example encounters a repetition, it examines all of the `$`
_name_ s that occur in its body. At the "current layer", they all must repeat
the same number of times, so
` ( $( $i:ident ),* ; $( $j:ident ),* ) => ( $( ($i,$j) ),* )` is valid if
given the argument `(a,b,c ; d,e,f)`, but not `(a,b,c ; d,e)`. The repetition
walks through the choices at that layer in lockstep, so the former input
transcribes to `( (a,d), (b,e), (c,f) )`.

Nested repetitions are allowed.

### Parsing limitations

The parser used by the macro system is reasonably powerful, but the parsing of
Rust syntax is restricted in two ways:

1. The parser will always parse as much as possible. If it attempts to match
`$i:expr [ , ]` against `8 [ , ]`, it will attempt to parse `i` as an array
index operation and fail. Adding a separator can solve this problem.
2. The parser must have eliminated all ambiguity by the time it reaches a
`$` _name_ `:` _designator_. This most often affects them when they occur in
the beginning of, or immediately after, a `$(...)*`; requiring a distinctive
token in front can solve the problem.


## Syntax extensions useful for the macro author

* `log_syntax!` : print out the arguments at compile time
* `trace_macros!` : supply `true` or `false` to enable or disable printing
of the macro expansion process.
* `ident_to_str!` : turns the identifier argument into a string literal
* `concat_idents!` : creates a new identifier by concatenating its arguments



# Crates and source files

Rust is a *compiled* language. Its semantics are divided along a
*phase distinction* between compile-time and run-time. Those semantic
rules that have a *static interpretation* govern the success or failure
of compilation. A program that fails to compile due to violation of a
compile-time rule has no defined semantics at run-time; the compiler should
halt with an error report, and produce no executable artifact.

The compilation model centres on artifacts called _crates_. Each compilation
is directed towards a single crate in source form, and if successful,
produces a single crate in binary form: either an executable or a library.

A _crate_ is a unit of compilation and linking, as well as versioning,
distribution and runtime loading. A crate contains a _tree_ of nested
[module](#modules) scopes. The top level of this tree is a module that is
anonymous -- from the point of view of paths within the module -- and any item
within a crate has a canonical [module path](#paths) denoting its location
within the crate's module tree.

Crates are provided to the Rust compiler through two kinds of file:

  - _crate files_, that end in `.rc` and each define a `crate`.
  - _source files_, that end in `.rs` and each define a `module`.

The Rust compiler is always invoked with a single input file, and always
produces a single output crate.

When the Rust compiler is invoked with a crate file, it reads the _explicit_
definition of the crate it's compiling from that file, and populates the
crate with modules derived from all the source files referenced by the
crate, reading and processing all the referenced modules at once.

When the Rust compiler is invoked with a source file, it creates an
_implicit_ crate and treats the source file as though it was referenced as
the sole module populating this implicit crate. The module name is derived
from the source file name, with the `.rs` extension removed.

## Crate files

~~~~~~~~ {.ebnf .gram}
crate : attribute [ ';' | attribute* directive ]
      | directive ;
directive : view_item | dir_directive | source_directive ;
~~~~~~~~

A crate file contains a crate definition, for which the production above
defines the grammar. It is a declarative grammar that guides the compiler in
assembling a crate from component source files.^[A crate is somewhat
analogous to an *assembly* in the ECMA-335 CLI model, a *library* in the
SML/NJ Compilation Manager, a *unit* in the Owens and Flatt module system,
or a *configuration* in Mesa.] A crate file describes:

* [Attributes](#attributes) about the crate, such as author, name, version,
  and copyright. These are used for linking, versioning and distributing
  crates.
* The source-file and directory modules that make up the crate.
* Any `use` or `extern mod` [view items](#view-items) that apply to
  the anonymous module at the top-level of the crate's module tree.

An example of a crate file:

~~~~~~~~{.xfail-test}
// Linkage attributes
#[ link(name = "projx"
        vers = "2.5",
        uuid = "9cccc5d5-aceb-4af5-8285-811211826b82") ];

// Additional metadata attributes
#[ desc = "Project X",
   license = "BSD" ];
   author = "Jane Doe" ];

// Import a module.
extern mod std (ver = "1.0");

// Define some modules.
#[path = "foo.rs"]
mod foo;
mod bar {
    #[path =  "quux.rs"]
    mod quux;
}
~~~~~~~~

### Dir directives

A `dir_directive` forms a module in the module tree making up the crate, as
well as implicitly relating that module to a directory in the filesystem
containing source files and/or further subdirectories. The filesystem
directory associated with a `dir_directive` module can either be explicit,
or if omitted, is implicitly the same name as the module.

A `source_directive` references a source file, either explicitly or
implicitly by combining the module name with the file extension `.rs`.  The
module contained in that source file is bound to the module path formed by
the `dir_directive` modules containing the `source_directive`.

## Source files

A source file contains a `module`: that is, a sequence of zero or more
`item` definitions. Each source file is an implicit module, the name and
location of which -- in the module tree of the current crate -- is defined
from outside the source file: either by an explicit `source_directive` in
a referencing crate file, or by the filename of the source file itself.

A source file that contains a `main` function can be compiled to an
executable. If a `main` function is present, it must have no [type parameters](#type-parameters)
and no [constraints](#constraints). Its return type must be [`nil`](#primitive-types) and it must either have no arguments, or a single argument of type `[~str]`.

# Items and attributes

A crate is a collection of [items](#items), each of which may have some number
of [attributes](#attributes) attached to it.

## Items

~~~~~~~~ {.ebnf .gram}
item : mod_item | fn_item | type_item | enum_item
     | res_item | trait_item | impl_item | foreign_mod_item ;
~~~~~~~~

An _item_ is a component of a crate; some module items can be defined in crate
files, but most are defined in source files. Items are organized within a
crate by a nested set of [modules](#modules). Every crate has a single
"outermost" anonymous module; all further items within the crate have
[paths](#paths) within the module tree of the crate.

Items are entirely determined at compile-time, remain constant during
execution, and may reside in read-only memory.

There are several kinds of item:

  * [modules](#modules)
  * [functions](#functions)
  * [type definitions](#type-definitions)
  * [enumerations](#enumerations)
  * [resources](#resources)
  * [traits](#traits)
  * [implementations](#implementations)

Some items form an implicit scope for the declaration of sub-items. In other
words, within a function or module, declarations of items can (in many cases)
be mixed with the statements, control blocks, and similar artifacts that
otherwise compose the item body. The meaning of these scoped items is the same
as if the item was declared outside the scope -- it is still a static item --
except that the item's *path name* within the module namespace is qualified by
the name of the enclosing item, or is private to the enclosing item (in the
case of functions). The exact locations in which sub-items may be declared is
given by the grammar.

### Type Parameters

All items except modules may be *parametrized* by type. Type parameters are
given as a comma-separated list of identifiers enclosed in angle brackets
(`<...>`), after the name of the item and before its definition. The type
parameters of an item are considered "part of the name", not the type of the
item; in order to refer to the type-parametrized item, a referencing
[path](#paths) must in general provide type arguments as a list of
comma-separated types enclosed within angle brackets. In practice, the
type-inference system can usually infer such argument types from
context. There are no general type-parametric types, only type-parametric
items.


### Modules

~~~~~~~~ {.ebnf .gram}
mod_item : "mod" ident '{' mod '}' ;
mod : [ view_item | item ] * ;
~~~~~~~~

A module is a container for zero or more [view items](#view-items) and zero or
more [items](#items). The view items manage the visibility of the items
defined within the module, as well as the visibility of names from outside the
module when referenced from inside the module.

A _module item_ is a module, surrounded in braces, named, and prefixed with
the keyword `mod`. A module item introduces a new, named module into the tree
of modules making up a crate. Modules can nest arbitrarily.

An example of a module:

~~~~~~~~
mod math {
    type complex = (f64, f64);
    fn sin(f: f64) -> f64 {
        ...
# fail;
    }
    fn cos(f: f64) -> f64 {
        ...
# fail;
    }
    fn tan(f: f64) -> f64 {
        ...
# fail;
    }
}
~~~~~~~~


#### View items

~~~~~~~~ {.ebnf .gram}
view_item : extern_mod_decl | use_decl ;
~~~~~~~~

A view item manages the namespace of a module; it does not define new items
but simply changes the visibility of other items. There are several kinds of
view item:

 * [`extern mod` declarations](#extern-mod-declarations)
 * [`use` declarations](#use-declarations)

##### Extern mod declarations

~~~~~~~~ {.ebnf .gram}
extern_mod_decl : "extern" "mod" ident [ '(' link_attrs ')' ] ? ;
link_attrs : link_attr [ ',' link_attrs ] + ;
link_attr : ident '=' literal ;
~~~~~~~~

An _`extern mod` declaration_ specifies a dependency on an external crate.
The external crate is then bound into the declaring scope as the `ident` provided in the `extern_mod_decl`.

The external crate is resolved to a specific `soname` at compile time, and a
runtime linkage requirement to that `soname` is passed to the linker for
loading at runtime. The `soname` is resolved at compile time by scanning the
compiler's library path and matching the `link_attrs` provided in the
`use_decl` against any `#link` attributes that were declared on the external
crate when it was compiled. If no `link_attrs` are provided, a default `name`
attribute is assumed, equal to the `ident` given in the `use_decl`.

Two examples of `extern mod` declarations:

~~~~~~~~{.xfail-test}
extern mod pcre (uuid = "54aba0f8-a7b1-4beb-92f1-4cf625264841");

extern mod std; // equivalent to: extern mod std ( name = "std" );

extern mod ruststd (name = "std"); // linking to 'std' under another name
~~~~~~~~

##### Use declarations

~~~~~~~~ {.ebnf .gram}
use_decl : "use" ident [ '=' path
                          | "::" path_glob ] ;

path_glob : ident [ "::" path_glob ] ?
          | '*'
          | '{' ident [ ',' ident ] * '}'
~~~~~~~~

A _use declaration_ creates one or more local name bindings synonymous
with some other [path](#paths). Usually an use declaration is used to
shorten the path required to refer to a module item.

*Note*: unlike many languages, Rust's `use` declarations do *not* declare
linkage-dependency with external crates. Linkage dependencies are
independently declared with
[`extern mod` declarations](#extern-mod-declarations).

Use declarations support a number of "convenience" notations:

  * Rebinding the target name as a new local name, using the
    syntax `use x = p::q::r;`.
  * Simultaneously binding a list of paths differing only in final element,
    using the glob-like brace syntax `use a::b::{c,d,e,f};`
  * Binding all paths matching a given prefix,
    using the glob-like asterisk syntax `use a::b::*;`

An example of `use` declarations:

~~~~
use foo = core::info;
use core::float::sin;
use core::str::{slice, to_upper};
use core::option::Some;

fn main() {
    // Equivalent to 'log(core::info, core::float::sin(1.0));'
    log(foo, sin(1.0));

    // Equivalent to 'log(core::info, core::option::Some(1.0));'
    log(info, Some(1.0));

    // Equivalent to 'log(core::info,
    //                    core::str::to_upper(core::str::slice(~"foo", 0u, 1u)));'
    log(info, to_upper(slice(~"foo", 0u, 1u)));
}
~~~~

Like items, `use` declarations are private to the containing module, by default.
Also like items, a `use` declaration can be public, if qualified by the `pub` keyword.
A public `use` declaration can therefore be used to _redirect_ some public name to a different target definition,
even a definition with a private canonical path, inside a different module.
If a sequence of such redirections form a cycle or cannot be unambiguously resolved, they represent a compile-time error.

### Functions

A _function item_ defines a sequence of [statements](#statements) and an
optional final [expression](#expressions) associated with a name and a set of
parameters. Functions are declared with the keyword `fn`. Functions declare a
set of *input* [*slots*](#memory-slots) as parameters, through which the
caller passes arguments into the function, and an *output*
[*slot*](#memory-slots) through which the function passes results back to
the caller.

A function may also be copied into a first class *value*, in which case the
value has the corresponding [*function type*](#function-types), and can be
used otherwise exactly as a function item (with a minor additional cost of
calling the function indirectly).

Every control path in a function logically ends with a `return` expression or a
diverging expression. If the outermost block of a function has a
value-producing expression in its final-expression position, that expression
is interpreted as an implicit `return` expression applied to the
final-expression.

An example of a function:

~~~~
fn add(x: int, y: int) -> int {
    return x + y;
}
~~~~

#### Diverging functions

A special kind of function can be declared with a `!` character where the
output slot type would normally be. For example:

~~~~
fn my_err(s: ~str) -> ! {
    log(info, s);
    fail;
}
~~~~

We call such functions "diverging" because they never return a value to the
caller. Every control path in a diverging function must end with a
[`fail`](#fail-expressions) or a call to another diverging function on every
control path. The `!` annotation does *not* denote a type. Rather, the result
type of a diverging function is a special type called $\bot$ ("bottom") that
unifies with any type. Rust has no syntax for $\bot$.

It might be necessary to declare a diverging function because as mentioned
previously, the typechecker checks that every control path in a function ends
with a [`return`](#return-expressions) or diverging expression. So, if `my_err`
were declared without the `!` annotation, the following code would not
typecheck:

~~~~
# fn my_err(s: ~str) -> ! { fail }

fn f(i: int) -> int {
   if i == 42 {
     return 42;
   }
   else {
     my_err(~"Bad number!");
   }
}
~~~~

The typechecker would complain that `f` doesn't return a value in the
`else` branch. Adding the `!` annotation on `my_err` would
express that `f` requires no explicit `return`, as if it returns
control to the caller, it returns a value (true because it never returns
control).

#### Pure functions

A pure function declaration is identical to a function declaration, except that
it is declared with the additional keyword `pure`. In addition, the typechecker
checks the body of a pure function with a restricted set of typechecking rules.
A pure function

* may not contain an assignment or self-call expression; and
* may only call other pure functions, not general functions.

An example of a pure function:

~~~~
pure fn lt_42(x: int) -> bool {
    return (x < 42);
}
~~~~

Pure functions may call other pure functions:

~~~~{.xfail-test}
pure fn pure_length<T>(ls: List<T>) -> uint { ... }

pure fn nonempty_list<T>(ls: List<T>) -> bool { pure_length(ls) > 0u }
~~~~

These purity-checking rules approximate the concept of referential transparency:
that a call-expression could be rewritten with the literal-expression of its return value, without changing the meaning of the program.
Since they are an approximation, sometimes these rules are *too* restrictive.
Rust allows programmers to violate these rules using [`unsafe` blocks](#unsafe-blocks).
As with any `unsafe` block, those that violate static purity carry transfer the burden of safety-proof from the compiler to the programmer.
Programmers should exercise caution when breaking such rules.

An example of a pure function that uses an unsafe block:

~~~~ {.xfail-test}
# use std::list::*;

fn pure_foldl<T, U: Copy>(ls: List<T>, u: U, f: fn(&&T, &&U) -> U) -> U {
    match ls {
      Nil => u,
      Cons(hd, tl) => f(hd, pure_foldl(*tl, f(hd, u), f))
    }
}

pure fn pure_length<T>(ls: List<T>) -> uint {
    fn count<T>(_t: T, &&u: uint) -> uint { u + 1u }
    unsafe {
        pure_foldl(ls, 0u, count)
    }
}
~~~~

Despite its name, `pure_foldl` is a `fn`, not a `pure fn`, because there is no
way in Rust to specify that the higher-order function argument `f` is a pure
function. So, to use `foldl` in a pure list length function that a pure function
could then use, we must use an `unsafe` block wrapped around the call to
`pure_foldl` in the definition of `pure_length`.

#### Generic functions

A _generic function_ allows one or more _parameterized types_ to
appear in its signature. Each type parameter must be explicitly
declared, in an angle-bracket-enclosed, comma-separated list following
the function name.

~~~~ {.xfail-test}
fn iter<T>(seq: ~[T], f: fn(T)) {
    for seq.each |elt| { f(elt); }
}
fn map<T, U>(seq: ~[T], f: fn(T) -> U) -> ~[U] {
    let mut acc = ~[];
    for seq.each |elt| { acc.push(f(elt)); }
    acc
}
~~~~

Inside the function signature and body, the name of the type parameter
can be used as a type name.

When a generic function is referenced, its type is instantiated based
on the context of the reference. For example, calling the `iter`
function defined above on `[1, 2]` will instantiate type parameter `T`
with `int`, and require the closure parameter to have type
`fn(int)`.

Since a parameter type is opaque to the generic function, the set of
operations that can be performed on it is limited. Values of parameter
type can always be moved, but they can only be copied when the
parameter is given a [`copy` bound](#type-kinds).

~~~~
fn id<T: Copy>(x: T) -> T { x }
~~~~

Similarly, [trait](#traits) bounds can be specified for type
parameters to allow methods with that trait to be called on values
of that type.

#### Unsafe functions

Unsafe functions are those containing unsafe operations that are not contained in an [`unsafe` block](#unsafe-blocks).

Unsafe operations are those that potentially violate the memory-safety guarantees of Rust's static semantics.
Specifically, the following operations are considered unsafe:

  - Dereferencing a [raw pointer](#pointer-types)
  - Casting a [raw pointer](#pointer-types) to a safe pointer type
  - Breaking the [purity-checking rules](#pure-functions)
  - Calling an unsafe function

##### Unsafe blocks

A block of code can also be prefixed with the `unsafe` keyword,
to permit a sequence of unsafe operations in an otherwise-safe function.
This facility exists because the static semantics of a Rust are a necessary approximation of the dynamic semantics.
When a programmer has sufficient conviction that a sequence of unsafe operations is actually safe,
they can encapsulate that sequence (taken as a whole) within an `unsafe` block.
The compiler will consider uses of such code "safe", to the surrounding context.


#### Extern functions

Extern functions are part of Rust's foreign function interface, providing
the opposite functionality to [foreign modules](#foreign-modules). Whereas
foreign modules allow Rust code to call foreign code, extern functions with
bodies defined in Rust code _can be called by foreign code_. They are defined the
same as any other Rust function, except that they are prepended with the
`extern` keyword.

~~~
extern fn new_vec() -> ~[int] { ~[] }
~~~

Extern functions may not be called from Rust code, but their value
may be taken as a raw `u8` pointer.

~~~
# extern fn new_vec() -> ~[int] { ~[] }
let fptr: *u8 = new_vec;
~~~

The primary motivation of extern functions is to create callbacks
for foreign functions that expect to receive function pointers.

### Type definitions

A _type definition_ defines a new name for an existing [type](#types). Type
definitions are declared with the keyword `type`. Every value has a single,
specific type; the type-specified aspects of a value include:

* Whether the value is composed of sub-values or is indivisible.
* Whether the value represents textual or numerical information.
* Whether the value represents integral or floating-point information.
* The sequence of memory operations required to access the value.
* The *kind* of the type (pinned, unique or shared).

For example, the type `{x: u8, y: u8`} defines the set of immutable values
that are composite records, each containing two unsigned 8-bit integers
accessed through the components `x` and `y`, and laid out in memory with the
`x` component preceding the `y` component.

### Enumerations

An _enumeration item_ simultaneously declares a new nominal
[enumerated type](#enumerated-types) as well as a set of *constructors* that
can be used to create or pattern-match values of the corresponding enumerated
type. Note that `enum` previously was referred to as a `tag`, however this
definition has been deprecated. While `tag` is no longer used, the two are
synonymous.

The constructors of an `enum` type may be recursive: that is, each constructor
may take an argument that refers, directly or indirectly, to the enumerated
type the constructor is a member of. Such recursion has restrictions:

* Recursive types can be introduced only through `enum` constructors.
* A recursive `enum` item must have at least one non-recursive constructor (in
  order to give the recursion a basis case).
* The recursive argument of recursive `enum` constructors must be [*box*
  values](#box-types) (in order to bound the in-memory size of the
  constructor).
* Recursive type definitions can cross module boundaries, but not module
  *visibility* boundaries or crate boundaries (in order to simplify the
  module system).


An example of an `enum` item and its use:

~~~~
enum animal {
  dog,
  cat
}

let mut a: animal = dog;
a = cat;
~~~~

An example of a *recursive* `enum` item and its use:

~~~~
enum list<T> {
  nil,
  cons(T, @list<T>)
}

let a: list<int> = cons(7, @cons(13, @nil));
~~~~

### Traits

A _trait item_ describes a set of method types. [_implementation
items_](#implementations) can be used to provide implementations of
those methods for a specific type.

~~~~
# type surface = int;
# type bounding_box = int;

trait shape {
    fn draw(surface);
    fn bounding_box() -> bounding_box;
}
~~~~

This defines a trait with two methods. All values that have
[implementations](#implementations) of this trait in scope can
have their `draw` and `bounding_box` methods called, using
`value.bounding_box()` [syntax](#field-expressions).

Type parameters can be specified for a trait to make it generic.
These appear after the name, using the same syntax used in [generic
functions](#generic-functions).

~~~~
trait seq<T> {
   fn len() -> uint;
   fn elt_at(n: uint) -> T;
   fn iter(fn(T));
}
~~~~

Generic functions may use traits as bounds on their type
parameters. This will have two effects: only types that have the trait
may instantiate the parameter, and within the
generic function, the methods of the trait can be called on values
that have the parameter's type. For example:

~~~~
# type surface = int;
# trait shape { fn draw(surface); }

fn draw_twice<T: shape>(surface: surface, sh: T) {
    sh.draw(surface);
    sh.draw(surface);
}
~~~~

Trait items also define a type with the same name as the
trait. Values of this type are created by
[casting](#type-cast-expressions) values (of a type for which an
implementation of the given trait is in scope) to the trait
type.

~~~~
# trait shape { }
# impl int: shape { }
# let mycircle = 0;

let myshape: shape = mycircle as shape;
~~~~

The resulting value is a reference-counted box containing the value
that was cast along with information that identify the methods of the
implementation that was used. Values with a trait type can always
have methods from their trait called on them, and can be used to
instantiate type parameters that are bounded by their trait.

### Implementations

An _implementation item_ provides an implementation of a
[trait](#traits) for a type.

~~~~
# type point = {x: float, y: float};
# type surface = int;
# type bounding_box = {x: float, y: float, width: float, height: float};
# trait shape { fn draw(surface); fn bounding_box() -> bounding_box; }
# fn do_draw_circle(s: surface, c: circle) { }

type circle = {radius: float, center: point};

impl circle: shape {
    fn draw(s: surface) { do_draw_circle(s, self); }
    fn bounding_box() -> bounding_box {
        let r = self.radius;
        {x: self.center.x - r, y: self.center.y - r,
         width: 2.0 * r, height: 2.0 * r}
    }
}
~~~~

It is possible to define an implementation without referring to a
trait.  The methods in such an implementation can only be used
statically (as direct calls on the values of the type that the
implementation targets). In such an implementation, the type after the colon is omitted,
and the name is mandatory.  Such implementations are
limited to nominal types (enums, structs) and the implementation must
appear in the same module or a sub-module as the receiver type.

_When_ a trait is specified, all methods declared as part of the
trait must be present, with matching types and type parameter
counts, in the implementation.

An implementation can take type parameters, which can be different
from the type parameters taken by the trait it implements. They
are written after the name of the implementation, or if that is not
specified, after the `impl` keyword.

~~~~
# trait seq<T> { }

impl<T> ~[T]: seq<T> {
   ...
}
impl u32: seq<bool> {
   /* Treat the integer as a sequence of bits */
}
~~~~

### Foreign modules

~~~ {.ebnf .gram}
foreign_mod_item : "extern mod" ident '{' foreign_mod '} ;
foreign_mod : [ foreign_fn ] * ;
~~~

Foreign modules form the basis for Rust's foreign function interface. A
foreign module describes functions in external, non-Rust
libraries. Functions within foreign modules are declared the same as other
Rust functions, with the exception that they may not have a body and are
instead terminated by a semi-colon.

~~~
# use libc::{c_char, FILE};
# #[nolink]

extern mod c {
    fn fopen(filename: *c_char, mode: *c_char) -> *FILE;
}
~~~

Functions within foreign modules may be called by Rust code as it would any
normal function and the Rust compiler will automatically translate between
the Rust ABI and the foreign ABI.

The name of the foreign module has special meaning to the Rust compiler in
that it will treat the module name as the name of a library to link to,
performing the linking as appropriate for the target platform. The name
given for the foreign module will be transformed in a platform-specific way
to determine the name of the library. For example, on Linux the name of the
foreign module is prefixed with 'lib' and suffixed with '.so', so the
foreign mod 'rustrt' would be linked to a library named 'librustrt.so'.

A number of [attributes](#attributes) control the behavior of foreign
modules.

By default foreign modules assume that the library they are calling use the
standard C "cdecl" ABI. Other ABI's may be specified using the `abi`
attribute as in

~~~{.xfail-test}
// Interface to the Windows API
#[abi = "stdcall"]
extern mod kernel32 { }
~~~

The `link_name` attribute allows the default library naming behavior to
be overriden by explicitly specifying the name of the library.

~~~{.xfail-test}
#[link_name = "crypto"]
extern mod mycrypto { }
~~~

The `nolink` attribute tells the Rust compiler not to perform any linking
for the foreign module. This is particularly useful for creating foreign
modules for libc, which tends to not follow standard library naming
conventions and is linked to all Rust programs anyway.

## Attributes

~~~~~~~~{.ebnf .gram}
attribute : '#' '[' attr_list ']' ;
attr_list : attr [ ',' attr_list ]*
attr : ident [ '=' literal
             | '(' attr_list ')' ] ? ;
~~~~~~~~

Static entities in Rust -- crates, modules and items -- may have _attributes_
applied to them. ^[Attributes in Rust are modeled on Attributes in ECMA-335,
C#] An attribute is a general, free-form piece of metadata that is interpreted
according to name, convention, and language and compiler version.  Attributes
may appear as any of:

* A single identifier, the attribute name
* An identifier followed by the equals sign '=' and a literal, providing a key/value pair
* An identifier followed by a parenthesized list of sub-attribute arguments

Attributes are applied to an entity by placing them within a hash-list
(`#[...]`) as either a prefix to the entity or as a semicolon-delimited
declaration within the entity body.

An example of attributes:

~~~~~~~~{.xfail-test}
// General metadata applied to the enclosing module or crate.
#[license = "BSD"];

// A function marked as a unit test
#[test]
fn test_foo() {
  ...
}

// A conditionally-compiled module
#[cfg(target_os="linux")]
mod bar {
  ...
}

// A documentation attribute
#[doc = "Add two numbers together."]
fn add(x: int, y: int) { x + y }
~~~~~~~~

In future versions of Rust, user-provided extensions to the compiler will be
able to interpret attributes. When this facility is provided, the compiler
will distinguish will be made between language-reserved and user-available
attributes.

At present, only the Rust compiler interprets attributes, so all attribute
names are effectively reserved. Some significant attributes include:

* The `doc` attribute, for documenting code in-place.
* The `cfg` attribute, for conditional-compilation by build-configuration.
* The `link` attribute, for describing linkage metadata for a crate.
* The `test` attribute, for marking functions as unit tests.

Other attributes may be added or removed during development of the language.


# Statements and expressions

Rust is _primarily_ an expression language. This means that most forms of
value-producing or effect-causing evaluation are directed by the uniform
syntax category of _expressions_. Each kind of expression can typically _nest_
within each other kind of expression, and rules for evaluation of expressions
involve specifying both the value produced by the expression and the order in
which its sub-expressions are themselves evaluated.

In contrast, statements in Rust serve _mostly_ to contain and explicitly
sequence expression evaluation.

## Statements

A _statement_ is a component of a block, which is in turn a component of an
outer [expression](#expressions) or [function](#functions). When a function is
spawned into a [task](#tasks), the task *executes* statements in an order
determined by the body of the enclosing function. Each statement causes the
task to perform certain actions.

Rust has two kinds of statement:
[declaration statements](#declaration-statements) and
[expression statements](#expression-statements).

### Declaration statements

A _declaration statement_ is one that introduces a *name* into the enclosing
statement block. The declared name may denote a new slot or a new item.

#### Item declarations

An _item declaration statement_ has a syntactic form identical to an
[item](#items) declaration within a module. Declaring an item -- a function,
enumeration, type, resource, trait, implementation or module -- locally
within a statement block is simply a way of restricting its scope to a narrow
region containing all of its uses; it is otherwise identical in meaning to
declaring the item outside the statement block.

Note: there is no implicit capture of the function's dynamic environment when
declaring a function-local item.


#### Slot declarations

~~~~~~~~{.ebnf .gram}
let_decl : "let" pat [':' type ] ? [ init ] ? ';' ;
init : [ '=' | '<-' ] expr ;
~~~~~~~~

A _slot declaration_ introduces a new set of slots, given by a pattern.
The pattern may be followed by a type annotation, and/or an initializer expression.
When no type annotation is given, the compiler will infer the type,
or signal an error if insufficient type information is available for definite inference.
Any slots introduced by a slot declaration are visible from the point of declaration until the end of the enclosing block scope.

### Expression statements

An _expression statement_ is one that evaluates an [expression](#expressions)
and drops its result. The purpose of an expression statement is often to cause
the side effects of the expression's evaluation.

## Expressions

An expression plays the dual roles of causing side effects and producing a
*value*. Expressions are said to *evaluate to* a value, and the side effects
are caused during *evaluation*. Many expressions contain sub-expressions as
operands; the definition of each kind of expression dictates whether or not,
and in which order, it will evaluate its sub-expressions, and how the
expression's value derives from the value of its sub-expressions.

In this way, the structure of execution -- both the overall sequence of
observable side effects and the final produced value -- is dictated by the
structure of expressions. Blocks themselves are expressions, so the nesting
sequence of block, statement, expression, and block can repeatedly nest to an
arbitrary depth.

#### Lvalues, rvalues and temporaries

Expressions are divided into two main categories: _lvalues_ and _rvalues_.
Likewise within each expression, sub-expressions may occur in _lvalue context_ or _rvalue context_.
The evaluation of an expression depends both on its own category and the context it occurs within.

Path, field and index expressions are lvalues.
All other expressions are rvalues.

The left operand of an assignment, compound-assignment, or binary move expression is an lvalue context,
as is the single operand of a borrow, unary copy or move expression, and _both_ operands of a swap expression.
All other expression contexts are rvalue contexts.

When an lvalue is evaluated in an _lvalue context_, it denotes a memory location;
when evaluated in an _rvalue context_, it denotes the value held _in_ that memory location.

When an rvalue is used in lvalue context, a temporary un-named lvalue is created and used instead.
A temporary's lifetime equals the largest lifetime of any borrowed pointer that points to it.


### Literal expressions

A _literal expression_ consists of one of the [literal](#literals)
forms described earlier. It directly describes a number, character,
string, boolean value, or the nil value.

~~~~~~~~ {.literals}
();        // nil type
~"hello";  // string type
'5';       // character type
5;         // integer type
~~~~~~~~

### Tuple expressions

Tuples are written by enclosing two or more comma-separated
expressions in parentheses. They are used to create [tuple-typed](#tuple-types)
values.

~~~~~~~~ {.tuple}
(0f, 4.5f);
(~"a", 4u, true);
~~~~~~~~

### Record expressions

~~~~~~~~{.ebnf .gram}
rec_expr : '{' ident ':' expr
               [ ',' ident ':' expr ] *
               [ "with" expr ] '}'
~~~~~~~~

A [_record_](#record-types) _expression_ is one or more comma-separated
name-value pairs enclosed by braces. A fieldname can be any identifier
(including keywords), and is separated from its value expression by a
colon. To indicate that a field is mutable, the `mut` keyword is
written before its name.

~~~~
{x: 10f, y: 20f};
{name: ~"Joe", age: 35u, score: 100_000};
{ident: ~"X", mut count: 0u};
~~~~

The order of the fields in a record expression is significant, and
determines the type of the resulting value. `{a: u8, b: u8}` and `{b:
u8, a: u8}` are two different fields.

A record expression can terminate with the syntax `..` followed by an
expression to denote a functional update. The expression following
`..` (the base) must be of a record type that includes at least all the
fields mentioned in the record expression. A new record will be
created, of the same type as the base expression, with the given
values for the fields that were explicitly specified, and the values
in the base record for all other fields. The ordering of the fields in
such a record expression is not significant.

~~~~
let base = {x: 1, y: 2, z: 3};
{y: 0, z: 10, .. base};
~~~~

### Field expressions

~~~~~~~~{.ebnf .gram}
field_expr : expr '.' expr
~~~~~~~~

A dot can be used to access a field in a record.

~~~~~~~~ {.field}
myrecord.myfield;
{a: 10, b: 20}.a;
~~~~~~~~

A field access on a record is an [lvalue](#lvalues-rvalues-and-temporaries) referring to the value of that field.
When the field is mutable, it can be [assigned](#assignment-expressions) to.

When the type of the expression to the left of the dot is a boxed
record, it is automatically derferenced to make the field access
possible.

Field access syntax is overloaded for [trait method](#traits)
access. When no matching field is found, or the expression to the left
of the dot is not a (boxed) record, an
[implementation](#implementations) that matches this type and the
given method name is looked up instead, and the result of the
expression is this method, with its _self_ argument bound to the
expression on the left of the dot.

### Vector expressions

~~~~~~~~{.ebnf .gram}
vec_expr : '[' "mut" ? [ expr [ ',' expr ] * ] ? ']'
~~~~~~~~

A [_vector_](#vector-types) _expression_ is written by enclosing zero or
more comma-separated expressions of uniform type in square brackets.
The keyword `mut` can be written after the opening bracket to
indicate that the elements of the resulting vector may be mutated.
When no mutability is specified, the vector is immutable.

~~~~
~[1, 2, 3, 4];
~[~"a", ~"b", ~"c", ~"d"];
~[mut 0u8, 0u8, 0u8, 0u8];
~~~~

### Index expressions

~~~~~~~~{.ebnf .gram}
idx_expr : expr '[' expr ']'
~~~~~~~~


[Vector](#vector-types)-typed expressions can be indexed by writing a
square-bracket-enclosed expression (the index) after them. When the
vector is mutable, the resulting [lvalue](#lvalues-rvalues-and-temporaries) can be assigned to.

Indices are zero-based, and may be of any integral type. Vector access
is bounds-checked at run-time. When the check fails, it will put the
task in a _failing state_.

~~~~
# do task::spawn_unlinked {

(~[1, 2, 3, 4])[0];
(~[mut 'x', 'y'])[1] = 'z';
(~[~"a", ~"b"])[10]; // fails

# }
~~~~

### Unary operator expressions

Rust defines five unary operators. They are all written as prefix
operators, before the expression they apply to.

`-`
  : Negation. May only be applied to numeric types.
`*`
  : Dereference. When applied to a [box](#box-types) or
    [resource](#resources) type, it accesses the inner value. For
    mutable boxes, the resulting [lvalue](#lvalues-rvalues-and-temporaries) can be assigned to. For
    [enums](#enumerated-types) that have only a single variant,
    containing a single parameter, the dereference operator accesses
    this parameter.
`!`
  : Logical negation. On the boolean type, this flips between `true` and
    `false`. On integer types, this inverts the individual bits in the
    two's complement representation of the value.
`@` and `~`
  :  [Boxing](#box-types) operators. Allocate a box to hold the value
     they are applied to, and store the value in it. `@` creates a
     shared, reference-counted box, whereas `~` creates a unique box.

### Binary operator expressions

~~~~~~~~{.ebnf .gram}
binop_expr : expr binop expr ;
~~~~~~~~

Binary operators expressions are given in terms of
[operator precedence](#operator-precedence).

#### Arithmetic operators

Binary arithmetic expressions require both their operands to be of the
same type, and can be applied only to numeric types, with the
exception of `+`, which acts both as addition operator on numbers and
as concatenate operator on vectors and strings.

`+`
  : Addition and vector/string concatenation.
`-`
  : Subtraction.
`*`
  : Multiplication.
`/`
  : Division.
`%`
  : Remainder.

#### Bitwise operators

Bitwise operators apply only to integer types, and perform their
operation on the bits of the two's complement representation of the
values.

`&`
  : And.
`|`
  : Inclusive or.
`^`
  : Exclusive or.
`<<`
  : Logical left shift.
`>>`
  : Logical right shift.
`>>>`
  : Arithmetic right shift.

#### Lazy boolean operators

The operators `||` and `&&` may be applied to operands of boolean
type. The first performs the 'or' operation, and the second the 'and'
operation. They differ from `|` and `&` in that the right-hand operand
is only evaluated when the left-hand operand does not already
determine the outcome of the expression. That is, `||` only evaluates
its right-hand operand when the left-hand operand evaluates to `false`,
and `&&` only when it evaluates to `true`.

#### Comparison operators

`==`
  : Equal to.
`!=`
  : Unequal to.
`<`
  : Less than.
`>`
  : Greater than.
`<=`
  : Less than or equal.
`>=`
  : Greater than or equal.

The binary comparison operators can be applied to any two operands of
the same type, and produce a boolean value.

*TODO* details on how types are descended during comparison.

#### Type cast expressions

A type cast expression is denoted with the binary operator `as`.

Executing an `as` expression casts the value on the left-hand side to the type
on the right-hand side.

A numeric value can be cast to any numeric type.
A raw pointer value can be cast to or from any integral type or raw pointer type.
Any other cast is unsupported and will fail to compile.

An example of an `as` expression:

~~~~
# fn sum(v: ~[float]) -> float { 0.0 }
# fn len(v: ~[float]) -> int { 0 }

fn avg(v: ~[float]) -> float {
  let sum: float = sum(v);
  let sz: float = len(v) as float;
  return sum / sz;
}
~~~~

A cast is a *trivial cast* iff the type of the casted expression and the
target type are identical after replacing all occurrences of `int`, `uint`,
`float` with their machine type equivalents of the target architecture in both
types.


#### Binary move expressions

A _binary move expression_ consists of an [lvalue](#lvalues-rvalues-and-temporaries) followed by a left-pointing
arrow (`<-`) and an [rvalue](#lvalues-rvalues-and-temporaries) expression.

Evaluating a move expression causes, as a side effect, the rvalue to be
*moved* into the lvalue. If the rvalue was itself an lvalue, it must be a
local variable, as it will be de-initialized in the process.

Evaluating a move expression does not change reference counts, nor does it
cause a deep copy of any unique structure pointed to by the moved
*rval*. Instead, the move expression represents an indivisible *transfer of
ownership* from the right-hand-side to the left-hand-side of the
expression. No allocation or destruction is entailed.

An example of three different move expressions:

~~~~~~~~
# let mut x = ~[mut 0];
# let a = ~[mut 0];
# let b = 0;
# let y = {mut z: 0};
# let c = 0;
# let i = 0;

x <- a;
x[i] <- b;
y.z <- c;
~~~~~~~~

#### Swap expressions

A _swap expression_ consists of an [lvalue](#lvalues-rvalues-and-temporaries) followed by a bi-directional arrow (`<->`) and another [lvalue](#lvalues-rvalues-and-temporaries).

Evaluating a swap expression causes, as a side effect, the values held in the left-hand-side and right-hand-side [lvalues](#lvalues-rvalues-and-temporaries) to be exchanged indivisibly.

Evaluating a swap expression neither changes reference counts nor deeply copies any unique structure pointed to by the moved [rvalue](#lvalues-rvalues-and-temporaries).
Instead, the swap expression represents an indivisible *exchange of ownership* between the right-hand-side and the left-hand-side of the expression.
No allocation or destruction is entailed.

An example of three different swap expressions:

~~~~~~~~
# let mut x = ~[mut 0];
# let mut a = ~[mut 0];
# let i = 0;
# let y = {mut z: 0};
# let b = {mut c: 0};

x <-> a;
x[i] <-> a[i];
y.z <-> b.c;
~~~~~~~~


#### Assignment expressions

An _assignment expression_ consists of an [lvalue](#lvalues-rvalues-and-temporaries) expression followed by an
equals sign (`=`) and an [rvalue](#lvalues-rvalues-and-temporaries) expression.

Evaluating an assignment expression is equivalent to evaluating a [binary move
expression](#binary-move-expressions) applied to a [unary copy
expression](#unary-copy-expressions). For example, the following two
expressions have the same effect:

~~~~
# let mut x = 0;
# let y = 0;

x = y;
x <- copy y;
~~~~

The former is just more terse and familiar.

#### Compound assignment expressions

The `+`, `-`, `*`, `/`, `%`, `&`, `|`, `^`, `<<`, `>>`, and `>>>`
operators may be composed with the `=` operator. The expression `lval
OP= val` is equivalent to `lval = lval OP val`. For example, `x = x +
1` may be written as `x += 1`.

Any such expression always has the [`nil`](#primitive-types) type.

#### Operator precedence

The precedence of Rust binary operators is ordered as follows, going
from strong to weak:

~~~~ {.precedence}
* / %
as
+ -
<< >> >>>
&
^
|
< > <= >=
== !=
&&
||
= <- <->
~~~~

Operators at the same precedence level are evaluated left-to-right.

### Grouped expressions

An expression enclosed in parentheses evaluates to the result of the enclosed
expression.  Parentheses can be used to explicitly specify evaluation order
within an expression.

~~~~~~~~{.ebnf .gram}
paren_expr : '(' expr ')' ;
~~~~~~~~

An example of a parenthesized expression:

~~~~
let x = (2 + 3) * 4;
~~~~

### Unary copy expressions

~~~~~~~~{.ebnf .gram}
copy_expr : "copy" expr ;
~~~~~~~~

A _unary copy expression_ consists of the unary `copy` operator applied to
some argument expression.

Evaluating a copy expression first evaluates the argument expression, then
copies the resulting value, allocating any memory necessary to hold the new
copy.

[Shared boxes](#box-types) (type `@`) are, as usual, shallow-copied, as they
may be cyclic. [Unique boxes](#box-types), [vectors](#vector-types) and
similar unique types are deep-copied.

Since the binary [assignment operator](#assignment-expressions) `=` performs a
copy implicitly, the unary copy operator is typically only used to cause an
argument to a function to be copied and passed by value.

An example of a copy expression:

~~~~
fn mutate(vec: ~[mut int]) {
   vec[0] = 10;
}

let v = ~[mut 1,2,3];

mutate(copy v);   // Pass a copy

assert v[0] == 1; // Original was not modified
~~~~

### Call expressions

~~~~~~~~ {.abnf .gram}
expr_list : [ expr [ ',' expr ]* ] ? ;
paren_expr_list : '(' expr_list ')' ;
call_expr : expr paren_expr_list ;
~~~~~~~~

A _call expression_ invokes a function, providing zero or more input slots and
an optional reference slot to serve as the function's output, bound to the
`lval` on the right hand side of the call. If the function eventually returns,
then the expression completes.

An example of a call expression:

~~~~
# fn add(x: int, y: int) -> int { 0 }

let x: int = add(1, 2);
~~~~

### Shared function expressions

*TODO*.

### Unique function expressions

*TODO*.

### While loops

~~~~~~~~{.ebnf .gram}
while_expr : "while" expr '{' block '}'
           | "do" '{' block '}' "while" expr ;
~~~~~~~~

A `while` loop begins by evaluating the boolean loop conditional expression.
If the loop conditional expression evaluates to `true`, the loop body block
executes and control returns to the loop conditional expression. If the loop
conditional expression evaluates to `false`, the `while` expression completes.

An example:

~~~~
let mut i = 0;

while i < 10 {
    io::println(~"hello\n");
    i = i + 1;
}
~~~~

### Infinite loops

A `loop` expression denotes an infinite loop:

~~~~~~~~{.ebnf .gram}
loop_expr : "loop" '{' block '}';
~~~~~~~~

### Break expressions

~~~~~~~~{.ebnf .gram}
break_expr : "break" ;
~~~~~~~~

Executing a `break` expression immediately terminates the innermost loop
enclosing it. It is only permitted in the body of a loop.

### Loop expressions

~~~~~~~~{.ebnf .gram}
loop_expr : "loop" ;
~~~~~~~~

Evaluating a `loop` expression immediately terminates the current iteration of
the innermost loop enclosing it, returning control to the loop *head*. In the
case of a `while` loop, the head is the conditional expression controlling the
loop. In the case of a `for` loop, the head is the call-expression controlling
the loop.

A `loop` expression is only permitted in the body of a loop.


### For expressions

~~~~~~~~{.ebnf .gram}
for_expr : "for" pat "in" expr '{' block '}' ;
~~~~~~~~

A _for loop_ is controlled by a vector or string. The for loop bounds-checks
the underlying sequence *once* when initiating the loop, then repeatedly
executes the loop body with the loop variable referencing the successive
elements of the underlying sequence, one iteration per sequence element.

An example a for loop:

~~~~
# type foo = int;
# fn bar(f: foo) { }
# let a = 0, b = 0, c = 0;

let v: ~[foo] = ~[a, b, c];

for v.each |e| {
    bar(*e);
}
~~~~


### If expressions

~~~~~~~~{.ebnf .gram}
if_expr : "if" expr '{' block '}'
          else_tail ? ;

else_tail : "else" [ if_expr
                   | '{' block '}' ] ;
~~~~~~~~

An `if` expression is a conditional branch in program control. The form of
an `if` expression is a condition expression, followed by a consequent
block, any number of `else if` conditions and blocks, and an optional
trailing `else` block. The condition expressions must have type
`bool`. If a condition expression evaluates to `true`, the
consequent block is executed and any subsequent `else if` or `else`
block is skipped. If a condition expression evaluates to `false`, the
consequent block is skipped and any subsequent `else if` condition is
evaluated. If all `if` and `else if` conditions evaluate to `false`
then any `else` block is executed.


### Match expressions

~~~~~~~~{.ebnf .gram}
match_expr : "match" expr '{' match_arm [ '|' match_arm ] * '}' ;

match_arm : match_pat '=>' expr_or_blockish ;

match_pat : pat [ "to" pat ] ? [ "if" expr ] ;
~~~~~~~~


A `match` expression branches on a *pattern*. The exact form of matching that
occurs depends on the pattern. Patterns consist of some combination of
literals, destructured enum constructors, records and tuples, variable binding
specifications, wildcards (`*`), and placeholders (`_`). A `match` expression has a *head
expression*, which is the value to compare to the patterns. The type of the
patterns must equal the type of the head expression.

In a pattern whose head expression has an `enum` type, a placeholder (`_`) stands for a
*single* data field, whereas a wildcard `*` stands for *all* the fields of a particular
variant. For example:

~~~~
enum list<X> { nil, cons(X, @list<X>) }

let x: list<int> = cons(10, @cons(11, @nil));

match x {
    cons(_, @nil) => fail ~"singleton list",
    cons(*)       => return,
    nil           => fail ~"empty list"
}
~~~~

The first pattern matches lists constructed by applying `cons` to any head value, and a
tail value of `@nil`. The second pattern matches `any` list constructed with `cons`,
ignoring the values of its arguments. The difference between `_` and `*` is that the pattern `C(_)` is only type-correct if
`C` has exactly one argument, while the pattern `C(*)` is type-correct for any enum variant `C`, regardless of how many arguments `C` has.

To execute an `match` expression, first the head expression is evaluated, then
its value is sequentially compared to the patterns in the arms until a match
is found. The first arm with a matching pattern is chosen as the branch target
of the `match`, any variables bound by the pattern are assigned to local
variables in the arm's block, and control enters the block.

An example of an `match` expression:


~~~~
# fn process_pair(a: int, b: int) { }
# fn process_ten() { }

enum list<X> { nil, cons(X, @list<X>) }

let x: list<int> = cons(10, @cons(11, @nil));

match x {
    cons(a, @cons(b, _)) => {
        process_pair(a,b);
    }
    cons(10, _) => {
        process_ten();
    }
    nil => {
        return;
    }
    _ => {
        fail;
    }
}
~~~~

Records can also be pattern-matched and their fields bound to variables.
When matching fields of a record, the fields being matched are specified
first, then a placeholder (`_`) represents the remaining fields.

~~~~
# type options = {choose: bool, size: ~str};
# type player = {player: ~str, stats: (), options: options};
# fn load_stats() { }
# fn choose_player(r: player) { }
# fn next_player() { }

fn main() {
    let r = {
        player: ~"ralph",
        stats: load_stats(),
        options: {
            choose: true,
            size: ~"small"
        }
    };

    match r {
      {options: {choose: true, _}, _} => {
        choose_player(r)
      }
      {player: p, options: {size: ~"small", _}, _} => {
        log(info, p + ~" is small");
      }
      _ => {
        next_player();
      }
    }
}
~~~~

Multiple match patterns may be joined with the `|` operator.  A
range of values may be specified with `..`. For example:

~~~~
# let x = 2;

let message = match x {
  0 | 1  => ~"not many",
  2 .. 9 => ~"a few",
  _      => ~"lots"
};
~~~~

Finally, match patterns can accept *pattern guards* to further refine the
criteria for matching a case. Pattern guards appear after the pattern and
consist of a bool-typed expression following the `if` keyword. A pattern
guard may refer to the variables bound within the pattern they follow.

~~~~
# let maybe_digit = Some(0);
# fn process_digit(i: int) { }
# fn process_other(i: int) { }

let message = match maybe_digit {
  Some(x) if x < 10 => process_digit(x),
  Some(x) => process_other(x),
  None => fail
};
~~~~


### Fail expressions

~~~~~~~~{.ebnf .gram}
fail_expr : "fail" expr ? ;
~~~~~~~~

Evaluating a `fail` expression causes a task to enter the *failing* state. In
the *failing* state, a task unwinds its stack, destroying all frames and
freeing all resources until it reaches its entry frame, at which point it
halts execution in the *dead* state.


### Return expressions

~~~~~~~~{.ebnf .gram}
return_expr : "return" expr ? ;
~~~~~~~~

Return expressions are denoted with the keyword `return`. Evaluating a `return`
expression^[A `return` expression is analogous to a `return` expression
in the C family.] moves its argument into the output slot of the current
function, destroys the current function activation frame, and transfers
control to the caller frame.

An example of a `return` expression:

~~~~
fn max(a: int, b: int) -> int {
   if a > b {
      return a;
   }
   return b;
}
~~~~

### Log expressions

~~~~~~~~{.ebnf .gram}
log_expr : "log" '(' level ',' expr ')' ;
~~~~~~~~

Evaluating a `log` expression may, depending on runtime configuration, cause a
value to be appended to an internal diagnostic logging buffer provided by the
runtime or emitted to a system console. Log expressions are enabled or
disabled dynamically at run-time on a per-task and per-item basis. See
[logging system](#logging-system).

Each `log` expression must be provided with a *level* argument in
addition to the value to log. The logging level is a `u32` value, where
lower levels indicate more-urgent levels of logging. By default, the lowest
four logging levels (`0_u32 ... 3_u32`) are predefined as the constants
`error`, `warn`, `info` and `debug` in the `core` library.

Additionally, the macros `error!`, `warn!`, `info!` and `debug!` are defined
in the default syntax-extension namespace. These expand into calls to the
logging facility composed with calls to the `fmt!` string formatting
syntax-extension.

The following examples all produce the same output, logged at the `error`
logging level:

~~~~
# let filename = ~"bulbasaur";

// Full version, logging a value.
log(core::error, ~"file not found: " + filename);

// Log-level abbreviated, since core::* is used by default.
log(error, ~"file not found: " + filename);

// Formatting the message using a format-string and fmt!
log(error, fmt!("file not found: %s", filename));

// Using the error! macro, that expands to the previous call.
error!("file not found: %s", filename);
~~~~

A `log` expression is *not evaluated* when logging at the specified logging-level, module or task is disabled at runtime.
This makes inactive `log` expressions very cheap;
they should be used extensively in Rust code, as diagnostic aids,
as they add little overhead beyond a single integer-compare and branch at runtime.

Logging is presently implemented as a language built-in feature,
as it makes use of compiler-provided, per-module data tables and flags.
In the future, logging will move into a library, and will no longer be a core expression type.
It is therefore recommended to use the macro forms of logging (`error!`, `debug!`, etc.) to minimize disruption in code that uses logging.


### Assert expressions

~~~~~~~~{.ebnf .gram}
assert_expr : "assert" expr ;
~~~~~~~~

An `assert` expression is similar to a `check` expression, except
the condition may be any boolean-typed expression, and the compiler makes no
use of the knowledge that the condition holds if the program continues to
execute after the `assert`.


# Type system

## Types

Every slot and value in a Rust program has a type. The _type_ of a *value*
defines the interpretation of the memory holding it. The type of a *slot* may
also include [constraints](#constraints).

Built-in types and type-constructors are tightly integrated into the language,
in nontrivial ways that are not possible to emulate in user-defined
types. User-defined types have limited capabilities. In addition, every
built-in type or type-constructor name is reserved as a *keyword* in Rust;
they cannot be used as user-defined identifiers in any context.

### Primitive types

The primitive types are the following:

* The "nil" type `()`, having the single "nil" value `()`.^[The "nil" value
  `()` is *not* a sentinel "null pointer" value for reference slots; the "nil"
  type is the implicit return type from functions otherwise lacking a return
  type, and can be used in other contexts (such as message-sending or
  type-parametric code) as a zero-size type.]
* The boolean type `bool` with values `true` and `false`.
* The machine types.
* The machine-dependent integer and floating-point types.

#### Machine types

The machine types are the following:


* The unsigned word types `u8`, `u16`, `u32` and `u64`, with values drawn from
  the integer intervals $[0, 2^8 - 1]$, $[0, 2^16 - 1]$, $[0, 2^32 - 1]$ and
  $[0, 2^64 - 1]$ respectively.

* The signed two's complement word types `i8`, `i16`, `i32` and `i64`, with
  values drawn from the integer intervals $[-(2^7), 2^7 - 1]$,
  $[-(2^15), 2^15 - 1]$, $[-(2^31), 2^31 - 1]$, $[-(2^63), 2^63 - 1]$
  respectively.

* The IEEE 754-2008 `binary32` and `binary64` floating-point types: `f32` and
  `f64`, respectively.

#### Machine-dependent integer types

The Rust type `uint`^[A Rust `uint` is analogous to a C99 `uintptr_t`.] is an
unsigned integer type with target-machine-dependent size. Its size, in
bits, is equal to the number of bits required to hold any memory address on
the target machine.

The Rust type `int`^[A Rust `int` is analogous to a C99 `intptr_t`.] is a
two's complement signed integer type with target-machine-dependent size. Its
size, in bits, is equal to the size of the rust type `uint` on the same target
machine.


#### Machine-dependent floating point type

The Rust type `float` is a machine-specific type equal to one of the supported
Rust floating-point machine types (`f32` or `f64`). It is the largest
floating-point type that is directly supported by hardware on the target
machine, or if the target machine has no floating-point hardware support, the
largest floating-point type supported by the software floating-point library
used to support the other floating-point machine types.

Note that due to the preference for hardware-supported floating-point, the
type `float` may not be equal to the largest *supported* floating-point type.


### Textual types

The types `char` and `~str` hold textual data.

A value of type `char` is a Unicode character, represented as a 32-bit
unsigned word holding a UCS-4 codepoint.

A value of type `~str` is a Unicode string, represented as a vector of 8-bit
unsigned bytes holding a sequence of UTF-8 codepoints.


### Record types

The record type-constructor forms a new heterogeneous product of values.^[The
record type-constructor is analogous to the `struct` type-constructor in the
Algol/C family, the *record* types of the ML family, or the *structure* types
of the Lisp family.] Fields of a record type are accessed by name and are
arranged in memory in the order specified by the record type.

An example of a record type and its use:

~~~~
type point = {x: int, y: int};
let p: point = {x: 10, y: 11};
let px: int = p.x;
~~~~

### Tuple types

The tuple type-constructor forms a new heterogeneous product of values similar
to the record type-constructor. The differences are as follows:

* tuple elements cannot be mutable, unlike record fields
* tuple elements are not named and can be accessed only by pattern-matching

Tuple types and values are denoted by listing the types or values of their
elements, respectively, in a parenthesized, comma-separated
list. Single-element tuples are not legal; all tuples have two or more values.

The members of a tuple are laid out in memory contiguously, like a record, in
order specified by the tuple type.

An example of a tuple type and its use:

~~~~
type pair = (int,~str);
let p: pair = (10,~"hello");
let (a, b) = p;
assert b != ~"world";
~~~~

### Vector types

The vector type-constructor represents a homogeneous array of values of a
given type. A vector has a fixed size. The kind of a vector type depends on
the kind of its member type, as with other simple structural types.

An example of a vector type and its use:

~~~~
let v: ~[int] = ~[7, 5, 3];
let i: int = v[2];
assert (i == 3);
~~~~

Vectors always *allocate* a storage region sufficient to store the first power
of two worth of elements greater than or equal to the size of the vector. This
behaviour supports idiomatic in-place "growth" of a mutable slot holding a
vector:


~~~~
let mut v: ~[int] = ~[1, 2, 3];
v += ~[4, 5, 6];
~~~~

Normal vector concatenation causes the allocation of a fresh vector to hold
the result; in this case, however, the slot holding the vector recycles the
underlying storage in-place (since the reference-count of the underlying
storage is equal to 1).

All accessible elements of a vector are always initialized, and access to a
vector is always bounds-checked.


### Enumerated types

An *enumerated type* is a nominal, heterogeneous disjoint union type.^[The
`enum` type is analogous to a `data` constructor declaration in ML or a *pick
ADT* in Limbo.] An [`enum` *item*](#enumerations) consists of a number of
*constructors*, each of which is independently named and takes an optional
tuple of arguments.

Enumerated types cannot be denoted *structurally* as types, but must be
denoted by named reference to an [*enumeration* item](#enumerations).

### Pointer types

All pointers in Rust are explicit first-class values.
They can be copied, stored into data structures, and returned from functions.
There are four varieties of pointer in Rust:

Managed pointers (`@`)
  : These point to managed heap allocations (or "boxes") in the task-local, managed heap.
    Managed pointers are written `@content`,
    for example `@int` means a managed pointer to a managed box containing an integer.
    Copying a managed pointer is a "shallow" operation:
    it involves only copying the pointer itself
    (as well as any reference-count or GC-barriers required by the managed heap).
    Dropping a managed pointer does not necessarily release the box it points to;
    the lifecycles of managed boxes are subject to an unspecified garbage collection algorithm.

Owning pointers (`~`)
  : These point to owned heap allocations (or "boxes") in the shared, inter-task heap.
    Each owned box has a single owning pointer; pointer and pointee retain a 1:1 relationship at all times.
    Owning pointers are written `~content`,
    for example `~int` means an owning pointer to an owned box containing an integer.
    Copying an owned box is a "deep" operation:
    it involves allocating a new owned box and copying the contents of the old box into the new box.
    Releasing an owning pointer immediately releases its corresponding owned box.

Borrowed pointers (`&`)
  : These point to memory _owned by some other value_.
    Borrowed pointers arise by (automatic) conversion from owning pointers, managed pointers,
    or by applying the borrowing operator `&` to some other value,
    including [lvalues, rvalues or temporaries](#lvalues-rvalues-and-temporaries).
    Borrowed pointers are written `&content`, or in some cases `&f/content` for some lifetime-variable `f`,
    for example `&int` means a borrowed pointer to an integer.
    Copying a borrowed pointer is a "shallow" operation:
    it involves only copying the pointer itself.
    Releasing a borrowed pointer typically has no effect on the value it points to,
    with the exception of temporary values,
    which are released when the last borrowed pointer to them is released.

Raw pointers (`*`)
  : Raw pointers are pointers without safety or liveness guarantees.
    Raw pointers are written `*content`,
    for example `*int` means a raw pointer to an integer.
    Copying or dropping a raw pointer is has no effect on the lifecycle of any other value.
    Dereferencing a raw pointer or converting it to any other pointer type is an [`unsafe` operation](#unsafe-functions).
    Raw pointers are generally discouraged in Rust code;
    they exist to support interoperability with foreign code,
    and writing performance-critical or low-level functions.

### Function types

The function type-constructor `fn` forms new function types. A function type
consists of a sequence of input slots, an optional set of
[input constraints](#constraints) and an output slot.

An example of a `fn` type:

~~~~~~~~
fn add(x: int, y: int) -> int {
  return x + y;
}

let mut x = add(5,7);

type binop = fn(int,int) -> int;
let bo: binop = add;
x = bo(5,7);
~~~~~~~~

### Trait types

Every trait item (see [traits](#traits)) defines a type with the same name
as the trait. For a trait `T`, cast expressions introduce values of type `T`:

~~~~~~~~
trait printable {
  fn to_str() -> ~str;
}

impl ~str: printable {
  fn to_str() -> ~str { self }
}

fn print(a: printable) {
   io::println(a.to_str());
}

fn main() {
   print(~"meow" as printable);
}
~~~~~~~~

In this example, the trait `printable` occurs as a type in both the type signature of
`print`, and the cast expression in `main`.

### Struct types

Every struct item defines a type.

### Type parameters

Within the body of an item that has type parameter declarations, the names of its type parameters are types:

~~~~~~~
fn map<A: Copy, B: Copy>(f: fn(A) -> B, xs: ~[A]) -> ~[B] {
   if xs.len() == 0 { return ~[]; }
   let first: B = f(xs[0]);
   let rest: ~[B] = map(f, xs.slice(1, xs.len()));
   return ~[first] + rest;
}
~~~~~~~

Here, `first` has type `B`, referring to `map`'s `B` type parameter; and `rest` has
type `~[B]`, a vector type with element type `B`.

### Self type

The special type `self` has a meaning within methods inside an
impl item. It refers to the type of the implicit `self` argument. For
example, in:

~~~~~~
trait printable {
  fn to_str() -> ~str;
}

impl ~str: printable {
  fn to_str() -> ~str { self }
}
~~~~~~

`self` refers to the value of type `str` that is the receiver for a
call to the method `to_str`.

## Type kinds

Types in Rust are categorized into three kinds, based on whether they
allow copying of their values, and sending to different tasks. The
kinds are:

Sendable
  : Values with a sendable type can be safely sent to another task.
    This kind includes scalars, unique pointers, unique closures, and
    structural types containing only other sendable types.
Copyable
  : This kind includes all types that can be copied. All types with
    sendable kind are copyable, as are shared boxes, shared closures,
    trait types, and structural types built out of these.
Noncopyable
  : [Resource](#resources) types, and every type that includes a
    resource without storing it in a shared box, may not be copied.
    Types of sendable or copyable type can always be used in places
    where a noncopyable type is expected, so in effect this kind
    includes all types.

These form a hierarchy. The noncopyable kind is the widest, including
all types in the language. The copyable kind is a subset of that, and
the sendable kind is a subset of the copyable kind.

Any operation that causes a value to be copied requires the type of
that value to be of copyable kind. Type parameter types are assumed to
be noncopyable, unless one of the special bounds `send` or `copy` is
declared for it. For example, this is not a valid program:

~~~~{.xfail-test}
fn box<T>(x: T) -> @T { @x }
~~~~

Putting `x` into a shared box involves copying, and the `T` parameter
is assumed to be noncopyable. To change that, a bound is declared:

~~~~
fn box<T: Copy>(x: T) -> @T { @x }
~~~~

Calling this second version of `box` on a noncopyable type is not
allowed. When instantiating a type parameter, the kind bounds on the
parameter are checked to be the same or narrower than the kind of the
type that it is instantiated with.

Sending operations are not part of the Rust language, but are
implemented in the library. Generic functions that send values bound
the kind of these values to sendable.

# Memory and concurrency models

Rust has a memory model centered around concurrently-executing _tasks_. Thus
its memory model and its concurrency model are best discussed simultaneously,
as parts of each only make sense when considered from the perspective of the
other.

When reading about the memory model, keep in mind that it is partitioned in
order to support tasks; and when reading about tasks, keep in mind that their
isolation and communication mechanisms are only possible due to the ownership
and lifetime semantics of the memory model.

## Memory model

A Rust program's memory consists of a static set of *items*, a set of
[tasks](#tasks) each with its own *stack*, and a *heap*. Immutable portions of
the heap may be shared between tasks, mutable portions may not.

Allocations in the stack consist of *slots*, and allocations in the heap
consist of *boxes*.


### Memory allocation and lifetime

The _items_ of a program are those functions, modules and types
that have their value calculated at compile-time and stored uniquely in the
memory image of the rust process. Items are neither dynamically allocated nor
freed.

A task's _stack_ consists of activation frames automatically allocated on
entry to each function as the task executes. A stack allocation is reclaimed
when control leaves the frame containing it.

The _heap_ is a general term that describes two separate sets of boxes:
shared boxes -- which may be subject to garbage collection -- and unique
boxes.  The lifetime of an allocation in the heap depends on the lifetime of
the box values pointing to it. Since box values may themselves be passed in
and out of frames, or stored in the heap, heap allocations may outlive the
frame they are allocated within.

### Memory ownership

A task owns all memory it can *safely* reach through local variables,
as well as managed, owning and borrowed pointers.

When a task sends a value that has the `Send` trait to another task,
it loses ownership of the value sent and can no longer refer to it.
This is statically guaranteed by the combined use of "move semantics",
and the compiler-checked _meaning_ of the `Send` trait:
it is only instantiated for (transitively) sendable kinds of data constructor and pointers,
never including managed or borrowed pointers.

When a stack frame is exited, its local allocations are all released, and its
references to boxes (both shared and owned) are dropped.

A shared box may (in the case of a recursive, mutable shared type) be cyclic;
in this case the release of memory inside the shared structure may be deferred
until task-local garbage collection can reclaim it. Code can ensure no such
delayed deallocation occurs by restricting itself to unique boxes and similar
unshared kinds of data.

When a task finishes, its stack is necessarily empty and it therefore has no
references to any boxes; the remainder of its heap is immediately freed.


### Memory slots

A task's stack contains slots.

A _slot_ is a component of a stack frame. A slot is either a *local variable*
or a *reference*.

A _local variable_ (or *stack-local* allocation) holds a value directly,
allocated within the stack's memory. The value is a part of the stack frame.

A _reference_ references a value outside the frame. It may refer to a
value allocated in another frame *or* a boxed value in the heap. The
reference-formation rules ensure that the referent will outlive the reference.

Local variables are immutable unless declared with `let mut`.  The
`mut` keyword applies to all local variables declared within that
declaration (so `let mut x, y` declares two mutable variables, `x` and
`y`).

Local variables are not initialized when allocated; the entire frame worth of
local variables are allocated at once, on frame-entry, in an uninitialized
state. Subsequent statements within a function may or may not initialize the
local variables. Local variables can be used only after they have been
initialized; this is enforced by the compiler.

References are created for function arguments. If the compiler can not prove
that the referred-to value will outlive the reference, it will try to set
aside a copy of that value to refer to. If this is not semantically safe (for
example, if the referred-to value contains mutable fields), it will reject the
program. If the compiler deems copying the value expensive, it will warn.

A function with an argument of type `&mut T`, for some type `T`, can write to
the slot that its argument refers to. An example of such a function is:

~~~~~~~~
fn incr(i: &mut int) {
    *i = *i + 1;
}
~~~~~~~~

### Memory boxes

A _box_ is a reference to a heap allocation holding another value. There
are two kinds of boxes: *shared boxes* and *unique boxes*.

A _shared box_ type or value is constructed by the prefix *at* sigil `@`.

A _unique box_ type or value is constructed by the prefix *tilde* sigil `~`.

Multiple shared box values can point to the same heap allocation; copying a
shared box value makes a shallow copy of the pointer (optionally incrementing
a reference count, if the shared box is implemented through
reference-counting).

Unique box values exist in 1:1 correspondence with their heap allocation;
copying a unique box value makes a deep copy of the heap allocation and
produces a pointer to the new allocation.

An example of constructing one shared box type and value, and one unique box
type and value:

~~~~~~~~
let x: @int = @10;
let x: ~int = ~10;
~~~~~~~~

Some operations (such as field selection) implicitly dereference boxes. An
example of an _implicit dereference_ operation performed on box values:

~~~~~~~~
let x = @{y: 10};
assert x.y == 10;
~~~~~~~~

Other operations act on box values as single-word-sized address values. For
these operations, to access the value held in the box requires an explicit
dereference of the box value. Explicitly dereferencing a box is indicated with
the unary *star* operator `*`. Examples of such _explicit dereference_
operations are:

* copying box values (`x = y`)
* passing box values to functions (`f(x,y)`)


An example of an explicit-dereference operation performed on box values:

~~~~~~~~
fn takes_boxed(b: @int) {
}

fn takes_unboxed(b: int) {
}

fn main() {
    let x: @int = @10;
    takes_boxed(x);
    takes_unboxed(*x);
}
~~~~~~~~

## Tasks

An executing Rust program consists of a tree of tasks. A Rust _task_
consists of an entry function, a stack, a set of outgoing communication
channels and incoming communication ports, and ownership of some portion of
the heap of a single operating-system process.

Multiple Rust tasks may coexist in a single operating-system process. The
runtime scheduler maps tasks to a certain number of operating-system threads;
by default a number of threads is used based on the number of concurrent
physical CPUs detected at startup, but this can be changed dynamically at
runtime. When the number of tasks exceeds the number of threads -- which is
quite possible -- the tasks are multiplexed onto the threads ^[This is an M:N
scheduler, which is known to give suboptimal results for CPU-bound concurrency
problems. In such cases, running with the same number of threads as tasks can
give better results. The M:N scheduling in Rust exists to support very large
numbers of tasks in contexts where threads are too resource-intensive to use
in a similar volume. The cost of threads varies substantially per operating
system, and is sometimes quite low, so this flexibility is not always worth
exploiting.]


### Communication between tasks

Rust tasks are isolated and generally unable to interfere with one another's memory directly,
except through [`unsafe` code](#unsafe-functions).
All contact between tasks is mediated by safe forms of ownership transfer,
and data races on memory are prohibited by the type system.

Inter-task communication and co-ordination facilities are provided in the standard library.
These include:
  - synchronous and asynchronous communication channels with various communication topologies
  - read-only and read-write shared variables with various safe mutual exclusion patterns
  - simple locks and semaphores

When such facilities carry values, the values are restricted to the [`Send` type-kind](#type-kinds).
Restricting communication interfaces to this kind ensures that no borrowed or managed pointers move between tasks.
Thus access to an entire data structure can be mediated through its owning "root" value;
no further locking or copying is required to avoid data races within the substructure of such a value.


### Task lifecycle

The _lifecycle_ of a task consists of a finite set of states and events
that cause transitions between the states. The lifecycle states of a task are:

* running
* blocked
* failing
* dead

A task begins its lifecycle -- once it has been spawned -- in the *running*
state. In this state it executes the statements of its entry function, and any
functions called by the entry function.

A task may transition from the *running* state to the *blocked*
state any time it makes a blocking communication call. When the
call can be completed -- when a message arrives at a sender, or a
buffer opens to receive a message -- then the blocked task will
unblock and transition back to *running*.

A task may transition to the *failing* state at any time, due being
killed by some external event or internally, from the evaluation of a
`fail` expression. Once *failing*, a task unwinds its stack and
transitions to the *dead* state. Unwinding the stack of a task is done by
the task itself, on its own control stack. If a value with a destructor is
freed during unwinding, the code for the destructor is run, also on the task's
control stack. Running the destructor code causes a temporary transition to a
*running* state, and allows the destructor code to cause any subsequent
state transitions.  The original task of unwinding and failing thereby may
suspend temporarily, and may involve (recursive) unwinding of the stack of a
failed destructor. Nonetheless, the outermost unwinding activity will continue
until the stack is unwound and the task transitions to the *dead*
state. There is no way to "recover" from task failure.  Once a task has
temporarily suspended its unwinding in the *failing* state, failure
occurring from within this destructor results in *hard* failure.  The
unwinding procedure of hard failure frees resources but does not execute
destructors.  The original (soft) failure is still resumed at the point where
it was temporarily suspended.

A task in the *dead* state cannot transition to other states; it exists
only to have its termination status inspected by other tasks, and/or to await
reclamation when the last reference to it drops.


### Task scheduling

The currently scheduled task is given a finite *time slice* in which to
execute, after which it is *descheduled* at a loop-edge or similar
preemption point, and another task within is scheduled, pseudo-randomly.

An executing task can yield control at any time, by making a library call to
`core::task::yield`, which deschedules it immediately. Entering any other
non-executing state (blocked, dead) similarly deschedules the task.


### Spawning tasks

A call to `core::task::spawn`, passing a 0-argument function as its single
argument, causes the runtime to construct a new task executing the passed
function. The passed function is referred to as the _entry function_ for
the spawned task, and any captured environment it carries is moved from the
spawning task to the spawned task before the spawned task begins execution.

The result of a `spawn` call is a `core::task::Task` value.

An example of a `spawn` call:

~~~~
let po = comm::Port();
let ch = comm::Chan(&po);

do task::spawn {
    // let task run, do other things
    ...
    comm::send(ch, true);
};

let result = comm::recv(po);
~~~~


### Sending values into channels

Sending a value into a channel is done by a library call to `core::comm::send`,
which takes a channel and a value to send, and moves the value into the
channel's outgoing buffer.

An example of a send:

~~~~
let po = comm::Port();
let ch = comm::Chan(&po);
comm::send(ch, ~"hello, world");
~~~~


### Receiving values from ports

Receiving a value is done by a call to the `recv` method on a value of type
`core::comm::Port`. This call causes the receiving task to enter the *blocked
reading* state until a value arrives in the port's receive queue, at which
time the port deques a value to return, and un-blocks the receiving task.

An example of a *receive*:

~~~~~~~~
# let po = comm::Port();
# let ch = comm::Chan(&po);
# comm::send(ch, ~"");
let s = comm::recv(po);
~~~~~~~~

Note: this communication system will be replaced by a higher-performance system called "pipes",
in future versions of Rust.


# Runtime services, linkage and debugging


The Rust _runtime_ is a relatively compact collection of C++ and Rust code
that provides fundamental services and datatypes to all Rust tasks at
run-time. It is smaller and simpler than many modern language runtimes. It is
tightly integrated into the language's execution model of memory, tasks,
communication and logging.

Note: The runtime library will merge with the `core` library in future versions of Rust.

### Memory allocation

The runtime memory-management system is based on a _service-provider
interface_, through which the runtime requests blocks of memory from its
environment and releases them back to its environment when they are no longer
in use. The default implementation of the service-provider interface consists
of the C runtime functions `malloc` and `free`.

The runtime memory-management system in turn supplies Rust tasks with
facilities for allocating, extending and releasing stacks, as well as
allocating and freeing boxed values.


### Built in types

The runtime provides C and Rust code to assist with various built-in types,
such as vectors, strings, and the low level communication system (ports,
channels, tasks).

Support for other built-in types such as simple types, tuples, records, and
enums is open-coded by the Rust compiler.



### Task scheduling and communication

The runtime provides code to manage inter-task communication.  This includes
the system of task-lifecycle state transitions depending on the contents of
queues, as well as code to copy values between queues and their recipients and
to serialize values for transmission over operating-system inter-process
communication facilities.


### Logging system

The runtime contains a system for directing [logging
expressions](#log-expressions) to a logging console and/or internal logging
buffers. Logging expressions can be enabled per module.

Logging output is enabled by setting the `RUST_LOG` environment
variable.  `RUST_LOG` accepts a logging specification made up of a
comma-separated list of paths, with optional log levels. For each
module containing log expressions, if `RUST_LOG` contains the path to
that module or a parent of that module, then logs of the appropriate
level will be output to the console.

The path to a module consists of the crate name, any parent modules,
then the module itself, all separated by double colons (`::`).  The
optional log level can be appended to the module path with an equals
sign (`=`) followed by the log level, from 0 to 3, inclusive. Level 0
is the error level, 1 is warning, 2 info, and 3 debug. Any logs
less than or equal to the specified level will be output. If not
specified then log level 3 is assumed.

As an example, to see all the logs generated by the compiler, you would set
`RUST_LOG` to `rustc`, which is the crate name (as specified in its `link`
[attribute](#attributes)). To narrow down the logs to just crate resolution,
you would set it to `rustc::metadata::creader`. To see just error logging
use `rustc=0`.

Note that when compiling either `.rs` or `.rc` files that don't specify a
crate name the crate is given a default name that matches the source file,
with the extension removed. In that case, to turn on logging for a program
compiled from, e.g. `helloworld.rs`, `RUST_LOG` should be set to `helloworld`.

As a convenience, the logging spec can also be set to a special psuedo-crate,
`::help`. In this case, when the application starts, the runtime will
simply output a list of loaded modules containing log expressions, then exit.

The Rust runtime itself generates logging information. The runtime's logs are
generated for a number of artificial modules in the `::rt` psuedo-crate,
and can be enabled just like the logs for any standard module. The full list
of runtime logging modules follows.

* `::rt::mem` Memory management
* `::rt::comm` Messaging and task communication
* `::rt::task` Task management
* `::rt::dom` Task scheduling
* `::rt::trace` Unused
* `::rt::cache` Type descriptor cache
* `::rt::upcall` Compiler-generated runtime calls
* `::rt::timer` The scheduler timer
* `::rt::gc` Garbage collection
* `::rt::stdlib` Functions used directly by the standard library
* `::rt::kern` The runtime kernel
* `::rt::backtrace` Log a backtrace on task failure
* `::rt::callback` Unused


# Appendix: Rationales and design tradeoffs

*TODO*.

# Appendix: Influences and further references

## Influences


>  The essential problem that must be solved in making a fault-tolerant
>  software system is therefore that of fault-isolation. Different programmers
>  will write different modules, some modules will be correct, others will have
>  errors. We do not want the errors in one module to adversely affect the
>  behaviour of a module which does not have any errors.
>
>  &mdash; Joe Armstrong


>  In our approach, all data is private to some process, and processes can
>  only communicate through communications channels. *Security*, as used
>  in this paper, is the property which guarantees that processes in a system
>  cannot affect each other except by explicit communication.
>
>  When security is absent, nothing which can be proven about a single module
>  in isolation can be guaranteed to hold when that module is embedded in a
>  system [...]
>
>  &mdash;  Robert Strom and Shaula Yemini


>  Concurrent and applicative programming complement each other. The
>  ability to send messages on channels provides I/O without side effects,
>  while the avoidance of shared data helps keep concurrent processes from
>  colliding.
>
>  &mdash; Rob Pike


Rust is not a particularly original language. It may however appear unusual
by contemporary standards, as its design elements are drawn from a number of
"historical" languages that have, with a few exceptions, fallen out of
favour. Five prominent lineages contribute the most, though their influences
have come and gone during the course of Rust's development:

* The NIL (1981) and Hermes (1990) family. These languages were developed by
  Robert Strom, Shaula Yemini, David Bacon and others in their group at IBM
  Watson Research Center (Yorktown Heights, NY, USA).

* The Erlang (1987) language, developed by Joe Armstrong, Robert Virding, Claes
  Wikstr&ouml;m, Mike Williams and others in their group at the Ericsson Computer
  Science Laboratory (&Auml;lvsj&ouml;, Stockholm, Sweden) .

* The Sather (1990) language, developed by Stephen Omohundro, Chu-Cheow Lim,
  Heinz Schmidt and others in their group at The International Computer
  Science Institute of the University of California, Berkeley (Berkeley, CA,
  USA).

* The Newsqueak (1988), Alef (1995), and Limbo (1996) family. These
  languages were developed by Rob Pike, Phil Winterbottom, Sean Dorward and
  others in their group at Bell labs Computing Sciences Research Center
  (Murray Hill, NJ, USA).

* The Napier (1985) and Napier88 (1988) family. These languages were
  developed by Malcolm Atkinson, Ron Morrison and others in their group at
  the University of St. Andrews (St. Andrews, Fife, UK).

Additional specific influences can be seen from the following languages:

* The stack-growth implementation of Go.
* The structural algebraic types and compilation manager of SML.
* The attribute and assembly systems of C#.
* The references and deterministic destructor system of C++.
* The memory region systems of the ML Kit and Cyclone.
* The typeclass system of Haskell.
* The lexical identifier rule of Python.
* The block syntax of Ruby.