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alexrp
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Alter the manual to speak of pure functions instead of predicate functions.
Since the typestate system is gone, this makes more sense now.
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doc/rust.md

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@@ -899,58 +899,51 @@ express that `f` requires no explicit `return`, as if it returns
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control to the caller, it returns a value (true because it never returns
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control).
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#### Predicate functions
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#### Pure functions
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Any pure boolean function is called a *predicate function*, and may be used in
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a [constraint](#constraints), as part of the static [typestate
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system](#typestate-system). A predicate declaration is identical to a function
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declaration, except that it is declared with the additional keyword `pure`. In
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addition, the typechecker checks the body of a predicate with a restricted set
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of typechecking rules. A predicate
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A pure function declaration is identical to a function declaration, except that
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it is declared with the additional keyword `pure`. In addition, the typechecker
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checks the body of a pure function with a restricted set of typechecking rules.
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A pure function
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* may not contain an assignment or self-call expression; and
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* may only call other predicates, not general functions.
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* may only call other pure functions, not general functions.
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An example of a predicate:
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An example of a pure function:
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~~~~
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pure fn lt_42(x: int) -> bool {
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return (x < 42);
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}
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~~~~
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A non-boolean function may also be declared with `pure fn`. This allows
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predicates to call non-boolean functions as long as they are pure. For example:
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Pure functions may call other pure functions:
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~~~~{.xfail-test}
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pure fn pure_length<T>(ls: list<T>) -> uint { /* ... */ }
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pure fn nonempty_list<T>(ls: list<T>) -> bool { pure_length(ls) > 0u }
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~~~~
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In this example, `nonempty_list` is a predicate---it can be used in a
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typestate constraint---but the auxiliary function `pure_length` is
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not.
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*TODO:* should actually define referential transparency.
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The effect checking rules previously enumerated are a restricted set of
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typechecking rules meant to approximate the universe of observably
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referentially transparent Rust procedures conservatively. Sometimes, these
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rules are *too* restrictive. Rust allows programmers to violate these rules by
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writing predicates that the compiler cannot prove to be referentially
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writing pure functions that the compiler cannot prove to be referentially
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transparent, using an escape-hatch feature called "unchecked blocks". When
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writing code that uses unchecked blocks, programmers should always be aware
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that they have an obligation to show that the code *behaves* referentially
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transparently at all times, even if the compiler cannot *prove* automatically
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that the code is referentially transparent. In the presence of unchecked
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blocks, the compiler provides no static guarantee that the code will behave as
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expected at runtime. Rather, the programmer has an independent obligation to
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verify the semantics of the predicates they write.
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verify the semantics of the pure functions they write.
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*TODO:* last two sentences are vague.
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An example of a predicate that uses an unchecked block:
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An example of a pure function that uses an unchecked block:
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~~~~
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# import std::list::*;
@@ -972,7 +965,7 @@ pure fn pure_length<T>(ls: list<T>) -> uint {
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Despite its name, `pure_foldl` is a `fn`, not a `pure fn`, because there is no
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way in Rust to specify that the higher-order function argument `f` is a pure
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function. So, to use `foldl` in a pure list length function that a predicate
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function. So, to use `foldl` in a pure list length function that a pure function
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could then use, we must use an `unchecked` block wrapped around the call to
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`pure_foldl` in the definition of `pure_length`.
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