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Diffstat (limited to 'doc/manual')
-rw-r--r-- | doc/manual/var_t_return.rst | 20 |
1 files changed, 20 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/doc/manual/var_t_return.rst b/doc/manual/var_t_return.rst new file mode 100644 index 000000000..b9ff1d892 --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/manual/var_t_return.rst @@ -0,0 +1,20 @@ +Memory safety for returning by ``var T`` is ensured by a simple borrowing +rule: If ``result`` does not refer to a location pointing to the heap +(that is in ``result = X`` the ``X`` involves a ``ptr`` or ``ref`` access) +then it has to be deviated by the routine's first parameter: + +.. code-block:: nim + proc forward[T](x: var T): var T = + result = x # ok, deviated from the first parameter. + + proc p(param: var int): var int = + var x: int + # we know 'forward' provides a view into the location deviated by + # its first argument 'x'. + result = forward(x) # Error: location is derived from ``x`` + # which is not p's first parameter and lives + # on the stack. + +In other words, the lifetime of what ``result`` points to is attached to the +lifetime of the first parameter and that is enough knowledge to verify +memory safety at the callsite. |