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Box<T> is a type, so it’s confusing to say it returns a pointer. It holds a pointer. GP should note that C++’s unique_ptr isn’t an obscurity.
by SamReidHughes 7y ago
Box<T> is a type, so it’s confusing to say it returns a pointer. It holds a pointer.
GP should note that C++’s unique_ptr isn’t an obscurity.
- HorstG 7y agoCalling it Box is confusing. unique_ptr would be an improvement for the name, or maybe HeapRef. The problem is exactly that rust chose a misleading name Box (boxed types are something entirely different in most languages) instead of the obvious C(++)/Java-like _ptr, ref, * or & notation/convention
- nicoburns 7y agoBoxed types in Java are basically the same thing: a heap allocated version of an otherwise stack-allocated type.
- axelf4 7y ago> instead of the obvious C(++)/Java-like _ptr, ref, * or & notation/convention That would be very misleading since Box represents a heap-allocated owned value
- SamReidHughes 7y agoI thought the name was pretty clear; when I saw it in some list of different kinds of Rust pointers, I knew what it was immediately. It doesn't matter if some people are confused, because you can just explain what it is in 3 seconds. What's important for such a ubiquitous type is that the name is short.