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<ol class="chapter"><li class="expanded affix "><a href="title-page.html">The Rust Programming Language</a></li><li class="expanded affix "><a href="foreword.html">Foreword</a></li><li class="expanded affix "><a href="ch00-00-introduction.html">Introduction</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch01-00-getting-started.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">1.</strong> Getting Started</a></li><li><ol class="section"><li class="expanded "><a href="ch01-01-installation.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">1.1.</strong> Installation</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch01-02-hello-world.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">1.2.</strong> Hello, World!</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch01-03-hello-cargo.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">1.3.</strong> Hello, Cargo!</a></li></ol></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch02-00-guessing-game-tutorial.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">2.</strong> Programming a Guessing Game</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch03-00-common-programming-concepts.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">3.</strong> Common Programming Concepts</a></li><li><ol class="section"><li class="expanded "><a href="ch03-01-variables-and-mutability.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">3.1.</strong> Variables and Mutability</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch03-02-data-types.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">3.2.</strong> Data Types</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch03-03-how-functions-work.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">3.3.</strong> Functions</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch03-04-comments.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">3.4.</strong> Comments</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch03-05-control-flow.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">3.5.</strong> Control Flow</a></li></ol></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch04-00-understanding-ownership.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">4.</strong> Understanding Ownership</a></li><li><ol class="section"><li class="expanded "><a href="ch04-01-what-is-ownership.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">4.1.</strong> What is Ownership?</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch04-02-references-and-borrowing.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">4.2.</strong> References and Borrowing</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch04-03-slices.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">4.3.</strong> The Slice Type</a></li></ol></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch05-00-structs.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">5.</strong> Using Structs to Structure Related Data</a></li><li><ol class="section"><li class="expanded "><a href="ch05-01-defining-structs.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">5.1.</strong> Defining and Instantiating Structs</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch05-02-example-structs.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">5.2.</strong> An Example Program Using Structs</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch05-03-method-syntax.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">5.3.</strong> Method Syntax</a></li></ol></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch06-00-enums.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">6.</strong> Enums and Pattern Matching</a></li><li><ol class="section"><li class="expanded "><a href="ch06-01-defining-an-enum.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">6.1.</strong> Defining an Enum</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch06-02-match.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">6.2.</strong> The match Control Flow Operator</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch06-03-if-let.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">6.3.</strong> Concise Control Flow with if let</a></li></ol></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch07-00-managing-growing-projects-with-packages-crates-and-modules.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">7.</strong> Managing Growing Projects with Packages, Crates, and Modules</a></li><li><ol class="section"><li class="expanded "><a href="ch07-01-packages-and-crates.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">7.1.</strong> Packages and Crates</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch07-02-defining-modules-to-control-scope-and-privacy.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">7.2.</strong> Defining Modules to Control Scope and Privacy</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch07-03-paths-for-referring-to-an-item-in-the-module-tree.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">7.3.</strong> Paths for Referring to an Item in the Module Tree</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch07-04-bringing-paths-into-scope-with-the-use-keyword.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">7.4.</strong> Bringing Paths Into Scope with the use Keyword</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch07-05-separating-modules-into-different-files.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">7.5.</strong> Separating Modules into Different Files</a></li></ol></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch08-00-common-collections.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">8.</strong> Common Collections</a></li><li><ol class="section"><li class="expanded "><a href="ch08-01-vectors.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">8.1.</strong> Storing Lists of Values with Vectors</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch08-02-strings.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">8.2.</strong> Storing UTF-8 Encoded Text with Strings</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch08-03-hash-maps.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">8.3.</strong> Storing Keys with Associated Values in Hash Maps</a></li></ol></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch09-00-error-handling.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">9.</strong> Error Handling</a></li><li><ol class="section"><li class="expanded "><a href="ch09-01-unrecoverable-errors-with-panic.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">9.1.</strong> Unrecoverable Errors with panic!</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch09-02-recoverable-errors-with-result.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">9.2.</strong> Recoverable Errors with Result</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch09-03-to-panic-or-not-to-panic.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">9.3.</strong> To panic! or Not To panic!</a></li></ol></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch10-00-generics.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">10.</strong> Generic Types, Traits, and Lifetimes</a></li><li><ol class="section"><li class="expanded "><a href="ch10-01-syntax.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">10.1.</strong> Generic Data Types</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch10-02-traits.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">10.2.</strong> Traits: Defining Shared Behavior</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch10-03-lifetime-syntax.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">10.3.</strong> Validating References with Lifetimes</a></li></ol></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch11-00-testing.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">11.</strong> Writing Automated Tests</a></li><li><ol class="section"><li class="expanded "><a href="ch11-01-writing-tests.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">11.1.</strong> How to Write Tests</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch11-02-running-tests.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">11.2.</strong> Controlling How Tests Are Run</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch11-03-test-organization.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">11.3.</strong> Test Organization</a></li></ol></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch12-00-an-io-project.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">12.</strong> An I/O Project: Building a Command Line Program</a></li><li><ol class="section"><li class="expanded "><a href="ch12-01-accepting-command-line-arguments.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">12.1.</strong> Accepting Command Line Arguments</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch12-02-reading-a-file.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">12.2.</strong> Reading a File</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch12-03-improving-error-handling-and-modularity.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">12.3.</strong> Refactoring to Improve Modularity and Error Handling</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch12-04-testing-the-librarys-functionality.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">12.4.</strong> Developing the Library’s Functionality with Test Driven Development</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch12-05-working-with-environment-variables.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">12.5.</strong> Working with Environment Variables</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch12-06-writing-to-stderr-instead-of-stdout.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">12.6.</strong> Writing Error Messages to Standard Error Instead of Standard Output</a></li></ol></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch13-00-functional-features.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">13.</strong> Functional Language Features: Iterators and Closures</a></li><li><ol class="section"><li class="expanded "><a href="ch13-01-closures.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">13.1.</strong> Closures: Anonymous Functions that Can Capture Their Environment</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch13-02-iterators.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">13.2.</strong> Processing a Series of Items with Iterators</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch13-03-improving-our-io-project.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">13.3.</strong> Improving Our I/O Project</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch13-04-performance.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">13.4.</strong> Comparing Performance: Loops vs. Iterators</a></li></ol></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch14-00-more-about-cargo.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">14.</strong> More about Cargo and Crates.io</a></li><li><ol class="section"><li class="expanded "><a href="ch14-01-release-profiles.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">14.1.</strong> Customizing Builds with Release Profiles</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch14-02-publishing-to-crates-io.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">14.2.</strong> Publishing a Crate to Crates.io</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch14-03-cargo-workspaces.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">14.3.</strong> Cargo Workspaces</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch14-04-installing-binaries.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">14.4.</strong> Installing Binaries from Crates.io with cargo install</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch14-05-extending-cargo.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">14.5.</strong> Extending Cargo with Custom Commands</a></li></ol></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch15-00-smart-pointers.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">15.</strong> Smart Pointers</a></li><li><ol class="section"><li class="expanded "><a href="ch15-01-box.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">15.1.</strong> Using Box<T> to Point to Data on the Heap</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch15-02-deref.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">15.2.</strong> Treating Smart Pointers Like Regular References with the Deref Trait</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch15-03-drop.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">15.3.</strong> Running Code on Cleanup with the Drop Trait</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch15-04-rc.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">15.4.</strong> Rc<T>, the Reference Counted Smart Pointer</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch15-05-interior-mutability.html" class="active"><strong aria-hidden="true">15.5.</strong> RefCell<T> and the Interior Mutability Pattern</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch15-06-reference-cycles.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">15.6.</strong> Reference Cycles Can Leak Memory</a></li></ol></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch16-00-concurrency.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">16.</strong> Fearless Concurrency</a></li><li><ol class="section"><li class="expanded "><a href="ch16-01-threads.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">16.1.</strong> Using Threads to Run Code Simultaneously</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch16-02-message-passing.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">16.2.</strong> Using Message Passing to Transfer Data Between Threads</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch16-03-shared-state.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">16.3.</strong> Shared-State Concurrency</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch16-04-extensible-concurrency-sync-and-send.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">16.4.</strong> Extensible Concurrency with the Sync and Send Traits</a></li></ol></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch17-00-oop.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">17.</strong> Object Oriented Programming Features of Rust</a></li><li><ol class="section"><li class="expanded "><a href="ch17-01-what-is-oo.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">17.1.</strong> Characteristics of Object-Oriented Languages</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch17-02-trait-objects.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">17.2.</strong> Using Trait Objects That Allow for Values of Different Types</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch17-03-oo-design-patterns.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">17.3.</strong> Implementing an Object-Oriented Design Pattern</a></li></ol></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch18-00-patterns.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">18.</strong> Patterns and Matching</a></li><li><ol class="section"><li class="expanded "><a href="ch18-01-all-the-places-for-patterns.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">18.1.</strong> All the Places Patterns Can Be Used</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch18-02-refutability.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">18.2.</strong> Refutability: Whether a Pattern Might Fail to Match</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch18-03-pattern-syntax.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">18.3.</strong> Pattern Syntax</a></li></ol></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch19-00-advanced-features.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">19.</strong> Advanced Features</a></li><li><ol class="section"><li class="expanded "><a href="ch19-01-unsafe-rust.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">19.1.</strong> Unsafe Rust</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch19-03-advanced-traits.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">19.2.</strong> Advanced Traits</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch19-04-advanced-types.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">19.3.</strong> Advanced Types</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="ch19-05-advanced-functions-and-closures.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">19.4.</strong> Advanced Functions and Closures</a></li><li class="expanded "><a 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aria-hidden="true">21.1.</strong> A - Keywords</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="appendix-02-operators.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">21.2.</strong> B - Operators and Symbols</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="appendix-03-derivable-traits.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">21.3.</strong> C - Derivable Traits</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="appendix-04-useful-development-tools.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">21.4.</strong> D - Useful Development Tools</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="appendix-05-editions.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">21.5.</strong> E - Editions</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="appendix-06-translation.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">21.6.</strong> F - Translations of the Book</a></li><li class="expanded "><a href="appendix-07-nightly-rust.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">21.7.</strong> G - How Rust is Made and “Nightly Rust”</a></li></ol></li></ol>
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<h2><a class="header" href="#refcellt-and-the-interior-mutability-pattern" id="refcellt-and-the-interior-mutability-pattern"><code>RefCell<T></code> and the Interior Mutability Pattern</a></h2>
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<p><em>Interior mutability</em> is a design pattern in Rust that allows you to mutate
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data even when there are immutable references to that data; normally, this
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action is disallowed by the borrowing rules. To mutate data, the pattern uses
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<code>unsafe</code> code inside a data structure to bend Rust’s usual rules that govern
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mutation and borrowing. We haven’t yet covered unsafe code; we will in Chapter
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19. We can use types that use the interior mutability pattern when we can
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ensure that the borrowing rules will be followed at runtime, even though the
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compiler can’t guarantee that. The <code>unsafe</code> code involved is then wrapped in a
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safe API, and the outer type is still immutable.</p>
|
||
<p>Let’s explore this concept by looking at the <code>RefCell<T></code> type that follows the
|
||
interior mutability pattern.</p>
|
||
<h3><a class="header" href="#enforcing-borrowing-rules-at-runtime-with-refcellt" id="enforcing-borrowing-rules-at-runtime-with-refcellt">Enforcing Borrowing Rules at Runtime with <code>RefCell<T></code></a></h3>
|
||
<p>Unlike <code>Rc<T></code>, the <code>RefCell<T></code> type represents single ownership over the data
|
||
it holds. So, what makes <code>RefCell<T></code> different from a type like <code>Box<T></code>?
|
||
Recall the borrowing rules you learned in Chapter 4:</p>
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li>At any given time, you can have <em>either</em> (but not both of) one mutable
|
||
reference or any number of immutable references.</li>
|
||
<li>References must always be valid.</li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
<p>With references and <code>Box<T></code>, the borrowing rules’ invariants are enforced at
|
||
compile time. With <code>RefCell<T></code>, these invariants are enforced <em>at runtime</em>.
|
||
With references, if you break these rules, you’ll get a compiler error. With
|
||
<code>RefCell<T></code>, if you break these rules, your program will panic and exit.</p>
|
||
<p>The advantages of checking the borrowing rules at compile time are that errors
|
||
will be caught sooner in the development process, and there is no impact on
|
||
runtime performance because all the analysis is completed beforehand. For those
|
||
reasons, checking the borrowing rules at compile time is the best choice in the
|
||
majority of cases, which is why this is Rust’s default.</p>
|
||
<p>The advantage of checking the borrowing rules at runtime instead is that
|
||
certain memory-safe scenarios are then allowed, whereas they are disallowed by
|
||
the compile-time checks. Static analysis, like the Rust compiler, is inherently
|
||
conservative. Some properties of code are impossible to detect by analyzing the
|
||
code: the most famous example is the Halting Problem, which is beyond the scope
|
||
of this book but is an interesting topic to research.</p>
|
||
<p>Because some analysis is impossible, if the Rust compiler can’t be sure the
|
||
code complies with the ownership rules, it might reject a correct program; in
|
||
this way, it’s conservative. If Rust accepted an incorrect program, users
|
||
wouldn’t be able to trust in the guarantees Rust makes. However, if Rust
|
||
rejects a correct program, the programmer will be inconvenienced, but nothing
|
||
catastrophic can occur. The <code>RefCell<T></code> type is useful when you’re sure your
|
||
code follows the borrowing rules but the compiler is unable to understand and
|
||
guarantee that.</p>
|
||
<p>Similar to <code>Rc<T></code>, <code>RefCell<T></code> is only for use in single-threaded scenarios
|
||
and will give you a compile-time error if you try using it in a multithreaded
|
||
context. We’ll talk about how to get the functionality of <code>RefCell<T></code> in a
|
||
multithreaded program in Chapter 16.</p>
|
||
<p>Here is a recap of the reasons to choose <code>Box<T></code>, <code>Rc<T></code>, or <code>RefCell<T></code>:</p>
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li><code>Rc<T></code> enables multiple owners of the same data; <code>Box<T></code> and <code>RefCell<T></code>
|
||
have single owners.</li>
|
||
<li><code>Box<T></code> allows immutable or mutable borrows checked at compile time; <code>Rc<T></code>
|
||
allows only immutable borrows checked at compile time; <code>RefCell<T></code> allows
|
||
immutable or mutable borrows checked at runtime.</li>
|
||
<li>Because <code>RefCell<T></code> allows mutable borrows checked at runtime, you can
|
||
mutate the value inside the <code>RefCell<T></code> even when the <code>RefCell<T></code> is
|
||
immutable.</li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
<p>Mutating the value inside an immutable value is the <em>interior mutability</em>
|
||
pattern. Let’s look at a situation in which interior mutability is useful and
|
||
examine how it’s possible.</p>
|
||
<h3><a class="header" href="#interior-mutability-a-mutable-borrow-to-an-immutable-value" id="interior-mutability-a-mutable-borrow-to-an-immutable-value">Interior Mutability: A Mutable Borrow to an Immutable Value</a></h3>
|
||
<p>A consequence of the borrowing rules is that when you have an immutable value,
|
||
you can’t borrow it mutably. For example, this code won’t compile:</p>
|
||
<pre><code class="language-rust ignore does_not_compile">fn main() {
|
||
let x = 5;
|
||
let y = &mut x;
|
||
}
|
||
</code></pre>
|
||
<p>If you tried to compile this code, you’d get the following error:</p>
|
||
<pre><code class="language-text">error[E0596]: cannot borrow immutable local variable `x` as mutable
|
||
--> src/main.rs:3:18
|
||
|
|
||
2 | let x = 5;
|
||
| - consider changing this to `mut x`
|
||
3 | let y = &mut x;
|
||
| ^ cannot borrow mutably
|
||
</code></pre>
|
||
<p>However, there are situations in which it would be useful for a value to mutate
|
||
itself in its methods but appear immutable to other code. Code outside the
|
||
value’s methods would not be able to mutate the value. Using <code>RefCell<T></code> is
|
||
one way to get the ability to have interior mutability. But <code>RefCell<T></code>
|
||
doesn’t get around the borrowing rules completely: the borrow checker in the
|
||
compiler allows this interior mutability, and the borrowing rules are checked
|
||
at runtime instead. If you violate the rules, you’ll get a <code>panic!</code> instead of
|
||
a compiler error.</p>
|
||
<p>Let’s work through a practical example where we can use <code>RefCell<T></code> to mutate
|
||
an immutable value and see why that is useful.</p>
|
||
<h4><a class="header" href="#a-use-case-for-interior-mutability-mock-objects" id="a-use-case-for-interior-mutability-mock-objects">A Use Case for Interior Mutability: Mock Objects</a></h4>
|
||
<p>A <em>test double</em> is the general programming concept for a type used in place of
|
||
another type during testing. <em>Mock objects</em> are specific types of test doubles
|
||
that record what happens during a test so you can assert that the correct
|
||
actions took place.</p>
|
||
<p>Rust doesn’t have objects in the same sense as other languages have objects,
|
||
and Rust doesn’t have mock object functionality built into the standard library
|
||
as some other languages do. However, you can definitely create a struct that
|
||
will serve the same purposes as a mock object.</p>
|
||
<p>Here’s the scenario we’ll test: we’ll create a library that tracks a value
|
||
against a maximum value and sends messages based on how close to the maximum
|
||
value the current value is. This library could be used to keep track of a
|
||
user’s quota for the number of API calls they’re allowed to make, for example.</p>
|
||
<p>Our library will only provide the functionality of tracking how close to the
|
||
maximum a value is and what the messages should be at what times. Applications
|
||
that use our library will be expected to provide the mechanism for sending the
|
||
messages: the application could put a message in the application, send an
|
||
email, send a text message, or something else. The library doesn’t need to know
|
||
that detail. All it needs is something that implements a trait we’ll provide
|
||
called <code>Messenger</code>. Listing 15-20 shows the library code:</p>
|
||
<p><span class="filename">Filename: src/lib.rs</span></p>
|
||
<pre><pre class="playpen"><code class="language-rust">
|
||
<span class="boring">#![allow(unused_variables)]
|
||
</span><span class="boring">fn main() {
|
||
</span>pub trait Messenger {
|
||
fn send(&self, msg: &str);
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
pub struct LimitTracker<'a, T: Messenger> {
|
||
messenger: &'a T,
|
||
value: usize,
|
||
max: usize,
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
impl<'a, T> LimitTracker<'a, T>
|
||
where T: Messenger {
|
||
pub fn new(messenger: &T, max: usize) -> LimitTracker<T> {
|
||
LimitTracker {
|
||
messenger,
|
||
value: 0,
|
||
max,
|
||
}
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
pub fn set_value(&mut self, value: usize) {
|
||
self.value = value;
|
||
|
||
let percentage_of_max = self.value as f64 / self.max as f64;
|
||
|
||
if percentage_of_max >= 1.0 {
|
||
self.messenger.send("Error: You are over your quota!");
|
||
} else if percentage_of_max >= 0.9 {
|
||
self.messenger.send("Urgent warning: You've used up over 90% of your quota!");
|
||
} else if percentage_of_max >= 0.75 {
|
||
self.messenger.send("Warning: You've used up over 75% of your quota!");
|
||
}
|
||
}
|
||
}
|
||
<span class="boring">}
|
||
</span></code></pre></pre>
|
||
<p><span class="caption">Listing 15-20: A library to keep track of how close a
|
||
value is to a maximum value and warn when the value is at certain levels</span></p>
|
||
<p>One important part of this code is that the <code>Messenger</code> trait has one method
|
||
called <code>send</code> that takes an immutable reference to <code>self</code> and the text of the
|
||
message. This is the interface our mock object needs to have. The other
|
||
important part is that we want to test the behavior of the <code>set_value</code> method
|
||
on the <code>LimitTracker</code>. We can change what we pass in for the <code>value</code> parameter,
|
||
but <code>set_value</code> doesn’t return anything for us to make assertions on. We want
|
||
to be able to say that if we create a <code>LimitTracker</code> with something that
|
||
implements the <code>Messenger</code> trait and a particular value for <code>max</code>, when we pass
|
||
different numbers for <code>value</code>, the messenger is told to send the appropriate
|
||
messages.</p>
|
||
<p>We need a mock object that, instead of sending an email or text message when we
|
||
call <code>send</code>, will only keep track of the messages it’s told to send. We can
|
||
create a new instance of the mock object, create a <code>LimitTracker</code> that uses the
|
||
mock object, call the <code>set_value</code> method on <code>LimitTracker</code>, and then check that
|
||
the mock object has the messages we expect. Listing 15-21 shows an attempt to
|
||
implement a mock object to do just that, but the borrow checker won’t allow it:</p>
|
||
<p><span class="filename">Filename: src/lib.rs</span></p>
|
||
<pre><code class="language-rust ignore does_not_compile">#[cfg(test)]
|
||
mod tests {
|
||
use super::*;
|
||
|
||
struct MockMessenger {
|
||
sent_messages: Vec<String>,
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
impl MockMessenger {
|
||
fn new() -> MockMessenger {
|
||
MockMessenger { sent_messages: vec![] }
|
||
}
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
impl Messenger for MockMessenger {
|
||
fn send(&self, message: &str) {
|
||
self.sent_messages.push(String::from(message));
|
||
}
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
#[test]
|
||
fn it_sends_an_over_75_percent_warning_message() {
|
||
let mock_messenger = MockMessenger::new();
|
||
let mut limit_tracker = LimitTracker::new(&mock_messenger, 100);
|
||
|
||
limit_tracker.set_value(80);
|
||
|
||
assert_eq!(mock_messenger.sent_messages.len(), 1);
|
||
}
|
||
}
|
||
</code></pre>
|
||
<p><span class="caption">Listing 15-21: An attempt to implement a <code>MockMessenger</code>
|
||
that isn’t allowed by the borrow checker</span></p>
|
||
<p>This test code defines a <code>MockMessenger</code> struct that has a <code>sent_messages</code>
|
||
field with a <code>Vec</code> of <code>String</code> values to keep track of the messages it’s told
|
||
to send. We also define an associated function <code>new</code> to make it convenient to
|
||
create new <code>MockMessenger</code> values that start with an empty list of messages. We
|
||
then implement the <code>Messenger</code> trait for <code>MockMessenger</code> so we can give a
|
||
<code>MockMessenger</code> to a <code>LimitTracker</code>. In the definition of the <code>send</code> method, we
|
||
take the message passed in as a parameter and store it in the <code>MockMessenger</code>
|
||
list of <code>sent_messages</code>.</p>
|
||
<p>In the test, we’re testing what happens when the <code>LimitTracker</code> is told to set
|
||
<code>value</code> to something that is more than 75 percent of the <code>max</code> value. First, we
|
||
create a new <code>MockMessenger</code>, which will start with an empty list of messages.
|
||
Then we create a new <code>LimitTracker</code> and give it a reference to the new
|
||
<code>MockMessenger</code> and a <code>max</code> value of 100. We call the <code>set_value</code> method on the
|
||
<code>LimitTracker</code> with a value of 80, which is more than 75 percent of 100. Then
|
||
we assert that the list of messages that the <code>MockMessenger</code> is keeping track
|
||
of should now have one message in it.</p>
|
||
<p>However, there’s one problem with this test, as shown here:</p>
|
||
<pre><code class="language-text">error[E0596]: cannot borrow immutable field `self.sent_messages` as mutable
|
||
--> src/lib.rs:52:13
|
||
|
|
||
51 | fn send(&self, message: &str) {
|
||
| ----- use `&mut self` here to make mutable
|
||
52 | self.sent_messages.push(String::from(message));
|
||
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ cannot mutably borrow immutable field
|
||
</code></pre>
|
||
<p>We can’t modify the <code>MockMessenger</code> to keep track of the messages, because the
|
||
<code>send</code> method takes an immutable reference to <code>self</code>. We also can’t take the
|
||
suggestion from the error text to use <code>&mut self</code> instead, because then the
|
||
signature of <code>send</code> wouldn’t match the signature in the <code>Messenger</code> trait
|
||
definition (feel free to try and see what error message you get).</p>
|
||
<p>This is a situation in which interior mutability can help! We’ll store the
|
||
<code>sent_messages</code> within a <code>RefCell<T></code>, and then the <code>send</code> message will be
|
||
able to modify <code>sent_messages</code> to store the messages we’ve seen. Listing 15-22
|
||
shows what that looks like:</p>
|
||
<p><span class="filename">Filename: src/lib.rs</span></p>
|
||
<pre><pre class="playpen"><code class="language-rust"><span class="boring">pub trait Messenger {
|
||
</span><span class="boring"> fn send(&self, msg: &str);
|
||
</span><span class="boring">}
|
||
</span><span class="boring">
|
||
</span><span class="boring">pub struct LimitTracker<'a, T: Messenger> {
|
||
</span><span class="boring"> messenger: &'a T,
|
||
</span><span class="boring"> value: usize,
|
||
</span><span class="boring"> max: usize,
|
||
</span><span class="boring">}
|
||
</span><span class="boring">
|
||
</span><span class="boring">impl<'a, T> LimitTracker<'a, T>
|
||
</span><span class="boring"> where T: Messenger {
|
||
</span><span class="boring"> pub fn new(messenger: &T, max: usize) -> LimitTracker<T> {
|
||
</span><span class="boring"> LimitTracker {
|
||
</span><span class="boring"> messenger,
|
||
</span><span class="boring"> value: 0,
|
||
</span><span class="boring"> max,
|
||
</span><span class="boring"> }
|
||
</span><span class="boring"> }
|
||
</span><span class="boring">
|
||
</span><span class="boring"> pub fn set_value(&mut self, value: usize) {
|
||
</span><span class="boring"> self.value = value;
|
||
</span><span class="boring">
|
||
</span><span class="boring"> let percentage_of_max = self.value as f64 / self.max as f64;
|
||
</span><span class="boring">
|
||
</span><span class="boring"> if percentage_of_max >= 1.0 {
|
||
</span><span class="boring"> self.messenger.send("Error: You are over your quota!");
|
||
</span><span class="boring"> } else if percentage_of_max >= 0.9 {
|
||
</span><span class="boring"> self.messenger.send("Urgent warning: You've used up over 90% of your quota!");
|
||
</span><span class="boring"> } else if percentage_of_max >= 0.75 {
|
||
</span><span class="boring"> self.messenger.send("Warning: You've used up over 75% of your quota!");
|
||
</span><span class="boring"> }
|
||
</span><span class="boring"> }
|
||
</span><span class="boring">}
|
||
</span><span class="boring">
|
||
</span>#[cfg(test)]
|
||
mod tests {
|
||
use super::*;
|
||
use std::cell::RefCell;
|
||
|
||
struct MockMessenger {
|
||
sent_messages: RefCell<Vec<String>>,
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
impl MockMessenger {
|
||
fn new() -> MockMessenger {
|
||
MockMessenger { sent_messages: RefCell::new(vec![]) }
|
||
}
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
impl Messenger for MockMessenger {
|
||
fn send(&self, message: &str) {
|
||
self.sent_messages.borrow_mut().push(String::from(message));
|
||
}
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
#[test]
|
||
fn it_sends_an_over_75_percent_warning_message() {
|
||
// --snip--
|
||
<span class="boring"> let mock_messenger = MockMessenger::new();
|
||
</span><span class="boring"> let mut limit_tracker = LimitTracker::new(&mock_messenger, 100);
|
||
</span><span class="boring"> limit_tracker.set_value(75);
|
||
</span>
|
||
assert_eq!(mock_messenger.sent_messages.borrow().len(), 1);
|
||
}
|
||
}
|
||
<span class="boring">fn main() {}
|
||
</span></code></pre></pre>
|
||
<p><span class="caption">Listing 15-22: Using <code>RefCell<T></code> to mutate an inner
|
||
value while the outer value is considered immutable</span></p>
|
||
<p>The <code>sent_messages</code> field is now of type <code>RefCell<Vec<String>></code> instead of
|
||
<code>Vec<String></code>. In the <code>new</code> function, we create a new <code>RefCell<Vec<String>></code>
|
||
instance around the empty vector.</p>
|
||
<p>For the implementation of the <code>send</code> method, the first parameter is still an
|
||
immutable borrow of <code>self</code>, which matches the trait definition. We call
|
||
<code>borrow_mut</code> on the <code>RefCell<Vec<String>></code> in <code>self.sent_messages</code> to get a
|
||
mutable reference to the value inside the <code>RefCell<Vec<String>></code>, which is
|
||
the vector. Then we can call <code>push</code> on the mutable reference to the vector to
|
||
keep track of the messages sent during the test.</p>
|
||
<p>The last change we have to make is in the assertion: to see how many items are
|
||
in the inner vector, we call <code>borrow</code> on the <code>RefCell<Vec<String>></code> to get an
|
||
immutable reference to the vector.</p>
|
||
<p>Now that you’ve seen how to use <code>RefCell<T></code>, let’s dig into how it works!</p>
|
||
<h4><a class="header" href="#keeping-track-of-borrows-at-runtime-with-refcellt" id="keeping-track-of-borrows-at-runtime-with-refcellt">Keeping Track of Borrows at Runtime with <code>RefCell<T></code></a></h4>
|
||
<p>When creating immutable and mutable references, we use the <code>&</code> and <code>&mut</code>
|
||
syntax, respectively. With <code>RefCell<T></code>, we use the <code>borrow</code> and <code>borrow_mut</code>
|
||
methods, which are part of the safe API that belongs to <code>RefCell<T></code>. The
|
||
<code>borrow</code> method returns the smart pointer type <code>Ref<T></code>, and <code>borrow_mut</code>
|
||
returns the smart pointer type <code>RefMut<T></code>. Both types implement <code>Deref</code>, so we
|
||
can treat them like regular references.</p>
|
||
<p>The <code>RefCell<T></code> keeps track of how many <code>Ref<T></code> and <code>RefMut<T></code> smart
|
||
pointers are currently active. Every time we call <code>borrow</code>, the <code>RefCell<T></code>
|
||
increases its count of how many immutable borrows are active. When a <code>Ref<T></code>
|
||
value goes out of scope, the count of immutable borrows goes down by one. Just
|
||
like the compile-time borrowing rules, <code>RefCell<T></code> lets us have many immutable
|
||
borrows or one mutable borrow at any point in time.</p>
|
||
<p>If we try to violate these rules, rather than getting a compiler error as we
|
||
would with references, the implementation of <code>RefCell<T></code> will panic at
|
||
runtime. Listing 15-23 shows a modification of the implementation of <code>send</code> in
|
||
Listing 15-22. We’re deliberately trying to create two mutable borrows active
|
||
for the same scope to illustrate that <code>RefCell<T></code> prevents us from doing this
|
||
at runtime.</p>
|
||
<p><span class="filename">Filename: src/lib.rs</span></p>
|
||
<pre><code class="language-rust ignore panics">impl Messenger for MockMessenger {
|
||
fn send(&self, message: &str) {
|
||
let mut one_borrow = self.sent_messages.borrow_mut();
|
||
let mut two_borrow = self.sent_messages.borrow_mut();
|
||
|
||
one_borrow.push(String::from(message));
|
||
two_borrow.push(String::from(message));
|
||
}
|
||
}
|
||
</code></pre>
|
||
<p><span class="caption">Listing 15-23: Creating two mutable references in the
|
||
same scope to see that <code>RefCell<T></code> will panic</span></p>
|
||
<p>We create a variable <code>one_borrow</code> for the <code>RefMut<T></code> smart pointer returned
|
||
from <code>borrow_mut</code>. Then we create another mutable borrow in the same way in the
|
||
variable <code>two_borrow</code>. This makes two mutable references in the same scope,
|
||
which isn’t allowed. When we run the tests for our library, the code in Listing
|
||
15-23 will compile without any errors, but the test will fail:</p>
|
||
<pre><code class="language-text">---- tests::it_sends_an_over_75_percent_warning_message stdout ----
|
||
thread 'tests::it_sends_an_over_75_percent_warning_message' panicked at
|
||
'already borrowed: BorrowMutError', src/libcore/result.rs:906:4
|
||
note: Run with `RUST_BACKTRACE=1` for a backtrace.
|
||
</code></pre>
|
||
<p>Notice that the code panicked with the message <code>already borrowed: BorrowMutError</code>. This is how <code>RefCell<T></code> handles violations of the borrowing
|
||
rules at runtime.</p>
|
||
<p>Catching borrowing errors at runtime rather than compile time means that you
|
||
would find a mistake in your code later in the development process and possibly
|
||
not until your code was deployed to production. Also, your code would incur a
|
||
small runtime performance penalty as a result of keeping track of the borrows
|
||
at runtime rather than compile time. However, using <code>RefCell<T></code> makes it
|
||
possible to write a mock object that can modify itself to keep track of the
|
||
messages it has seen while you’re using it in a context where only immutable
|
||
values are allowed. You can use <code>RefCell<T></code> despite its trade-offs to get more
|
||
functionality than regular references provide.</p>
|
||
<h3><a class="header" href="#having-multiple-owners-of-mutable-data-by-combining-rct-and-refcellt" id="having-multiple-owners-of-mutable-data-by-combining-rct-and-refcellt">Having Multiple Owners of Mutable Data by Combining <code>Rc<T></code> and <code>RefCell<T></code></a></h3>
|
||
<p>A common way to use <code>RefCell<T></code> is in combination with <code>Rc<T></code>. Recall that
|
||
<code>Rc<T></code> lets you have multiple owners of some data, but it only gives immutable
|
||
access to that data. If you have an <code>Rc<T></code> that holds a <code>RefCell<T></code>, you can
|
||
get a value that can have multiple owners <em>and</em> that you can mutate!</p>
|
||
<p>For example, recall the cons list example in Listing 15-18 where we used
|
||
<code>Rc<T></code> to allow multiple lists to share ownership of another list. Because
|
||
<code>Rc<T></code> holds only immutable values, we can’t change any of the values in the
|
||
list once we’ve created them. Let’s add in <code>RefCell<T></code> to gain the ability to
|
||
change the values in the lists. Listing 15-24 shows that by using a
|
||
<code>RefCell<T></code> in the <code>Cons</code> definition, we can modify the value stored in all
|
||
the lists:</p>
|
||
<p><span class="filename">Filename: src/main.rs</span></p>
|
||
<pre><pre class="playpen"><code class="language-rust">#[derive(Debug)]
|
||
enum List {
|
||
Cons(Rc<RefCell<i32>>, Rc<List>),
|
||
Nil,
|
||
}
|
||
|
||
use crate::List::{Cons, Nil};
|
||
use std::rc::Rc;
|
||
use std::cell::RefCell;
|
||
|
||
fn main() {
|
||
let value = Rc::new(RefCell::new(5));
|
||
|
||
let a = Rc::new(Cons(Rc::clone(&value), Rc::new(Nil)));
|
||
|
||
let b = Cons(Rc::new(RefCell::new(6)), Rc::clone(&a));
|
||
let c = Cons(Rc::new(RefCell::new(10)), Rc::clone(&a));
|
||
|
||
*value.borrow_mut() += 10;
|
||
|
||
println!("a after = {:?}", a);
|
||
println!("b after = {:?}", b);
|
||
println!("c after = {:?}", c);
|
||
}
|
||
</code></pre></pre>
|
||
<p><span class="caption">Listing 15-24: Using <code>Rc<RefCell<i32>></code> to create a
|
||
<code>List</code> that we can mutate</span></p>
|
||
<p>We create a value that is an instance of <code>Rc<RefCell<i32>></code> and store it in a
|
||
variable named <code>value</code> so we can access it directly later. Then we create a
|
||
<code>List</code> in <code>a</code> with a <code>Cons</code> variant that holds <code>value</code>. We need to clone
|
||
<code>value</code> so both <code>a</code> and <code>value</code> have ownership of the inner <code>5</code> value rather
|
||
than transferring ownership from <code>value</code> to <code>a</code> or having <code>a</code> borrow from
|
||
<code>value</code>.</p>
|
||
<p>We wrap the list <code>a</code> in an <code>Rc<T></code> so when we create lists <code>b</code> and <code>c</code>, they
|
||
can both refer to <code>a</code>, which is what we did in Listing 15-18.</p>
|
||
<p>After we’ve created the lists in <code>a</code>, <code>b</code>, and <code>c</code>, we add 10 to the value in
|
||
<code>value</code>. We do this by calling <code>borrow_mut</code> on <code>value</code>, which uses the
|
||
automatic dereferencing feature we discussed in Chapter 5 (see the section
|
||
<a href="ch05-03-method-syntax.html#wheres-the---operator">“Where’s the <code>-></code> Operator?”</a><!-- ignore -->) to
|
||
dereference the <code>Rc<T></code> to the inner <code>RefCell<T></code> value. The <code>borrow_mut</code>
|
||
method returns a <code>RefMut<T></code> smart pointer, and we use the dereference operator
|
||
on it and change the inner value.</p>
|
||
<p>When we print <code>a</code>, <code>b</code>, and <code>c</code>, we can see that they all have the modified
|
||
value of 15 rather than 5:</p>
|
||
<pre><code class="language-text">a after = Cons(RefCell { value: 15 }, Nil)
|
||
b after = Cons(RefCell { value: 6 }, Cons(RefCell { value: 15 }, Nil))
|
||
c after = Cons(RefCell { value: 10 }, Cons(RefCell { value: 15 }, Nil))
|
||
</code></pre>
|
||
<p>This technique is pretty neat! By using <code>RefCell<T></code>, we have an outwardly
|
||
immutable <code>List</code> value. But we can use the methods on <code>RefCell<T></code> that provide
|
||
access to its interior mutability so we can modify our data when we need to.
|
||
The runtime checks of the borrowing rules protect us from data races, and it’s
|
||
sometimes worth trading a bit of speed for this flexibility in our data
|
||
structures.</p>
|
||
<p>The standard library has other types that provide interior mutability, such as
|
||
<code>Cell<T></code>, which is similar except that instead of giving references to the
|
||
inner value, the value is copied in and out of the <code>Cell<T></code>. There’s also
|
||
<code>Mutex<T></code>, which offers interior mutability that’s safe to use across threads;
|
||
we’ll discuss its use in Chapter 16. Check out the standard library docs for
|
||
more details on the differences between these types.</p>
|
||
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