4 ms·

Any ideas on how one can simplify the borrow checker?

• timClicks 5y ago
  You could implement it as a runtime check
  • skohan 5y ago
    Why not just use GC at that point? I thought the whole USP is the zero runtime cost
    • timClicks 5y ago
      It would be a garbage collector. I assumed that the person asking the question was primarily looking for a simpler implementation option, not to re-create rustc exactly.
• pjmlp 5y ago
  Use a garbage collected language instead. Eventually as optimization point, for the few use cases where the ultimate performance is needed, provide a subset of borrow checker capabilities. Examples of current efforts into this direction, D, Swift, Haskell, Chapel, some .NET ongoing research.
• mbStavola 5y ago
  Niko Matsakis, of Rust's lang and compiler teams, has a talk[1] on how the machinery behind borrow checker is being rethought. The idea is that in the future, the compiler won't really "check borrows" but will instead "track origins." Reframing the system in this way will (hopefully) make things be flexible enough to Just Work™ without surprises, while providing the same guarantees as the current borrow checker. The video itself has a motivating example or two that shows where this stuff would be helpful. [1]: https://youtu.be/_agDeiWek8w https://youtu.be/_agDeiWek8w
  • mbStavola 5y ago
    For those who don't want to sit through a video there is also the book[1]. [1]: https://rust-lang.github.io/polonius/ https://rust-lang.github.io/polonius/