Named custom cargo profiles

text/0000-named-custom-cargo-profiles.md

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+- Feature Name: `custom_named_cargo_profiles`
+- Start Date: 2019-04-04
+- RFC PR: (leave this empty)
+- Rust Issue: N/A
+
+# Summary
+[summary]: #summary
+
+The proposed change to Cargo is to add the ability to specify user-defined
+profiles in addition to the five predefined profiles, `dev`, `release`, `test`,
+`bench`. It is also desired in this scope to reduce confusion regarding where
+final outputs reside, and increase the flexibility to specify the user-defined
+profile attributes.
+
+# Motivation
+[motivation]: #motivation
+
+Past proposal to increase flexibility of Cargo’s build flags for crates within
+a single cargo build invocation, has resulted in [RFC 2282](https://github.com/rust-lang/rfcs/blob/master/text/2282-profile-dependencies.md),
+which adds the flexibility of changing attributes of specific crates under one
+of the default profiles. However, it does not allow for a full custom profile
+name definition that can have its own additional final outputs.
+
+The motivation is illustrated by a prominent example — the ability to easily
+throw everything under a custom compilation mode in addition to the existing
+compilation modes.
+
+For example, suppose we are frequently comparing between both a release build
+and a super-optimized release+LTO build, we would like Cargo to having two
+separate `target/` directories, e.g. `target/release`, and
+`target/release-lto`, for which the binaries and incremental compilation is
+managed separately. This is so that we can easily switch between the two modes
+without penalty.
+
+Here's an example for a real-world user: [tikv/issue/4189](https://github.com/tikv/tikv/issues/4189)
+
+# Guide-level explanation
+[guide-level-explanation]: #guide-level-explanation
+
+With this proposal implemented, a user can define custom profiles under new
+names, provided that an `inherits` key is used in order to receive attributes
+from other profiles.
+
+For example:
+
+    [profile.release-lto]
+    inherits = "release"
+    lto = true
+
+Valid profile names are: must not be empty, use only alphanumeric characters or
+`-` or `_`.
+
+Passing `--profile` with the profile's name to various Cargo commands will
+resolve to the custom profile. Overrides specified in the profiles from which
+the custom profile inherits will be inherited too, and all final outputs may
+go to a different directory by default:
+
+    $ cargo build
+    $ cargo build --release
+    $ cargo build --profile release-lto
+    $ ls -l target
+    debug release release-lto
+
+Cargo will emit errors in case `inherits` loops are detected. When considering
+inheritance hierarchy, all profiles directly or indirectly inherit from
+either from `release` or from `dev`.
+
+This also affects other Cargo commands:
+
+* `cargo test` also receives `--profile`, but unless it is specified, uses
+  the predefined `test` profile which is described below.
+* `cargo bench` also receives `--profile`, but unless it is specified, uses
+  the predefined `bench` profile which is described below.
+
+## Effect over the use of profile in commands
+
+The mixtures of profiles used for `--all-targets` is still in effect, as
+long as `--profile` is not specified.
+
+## Combined specification with `--release`
+
+For now, `--release` is supported for backward-compatibility.
+
+Using `--profile` and `--release` together in the same invocation emits an
+error unless `--profile=release`.  Using `--release` on its own is equivalent
+to specifying `--profile=release`
+
+## New `dir-name` attribute
+
+Some of the paths generated under `target/` have resulted in a de-facto "build
+protocol", where `cargo` is invoked as a part of a larger project build. So, to
+preserve the existing behavior, there is also a new attribute `dir-name`, which
+when left unspecified, defaults to the name of the profile. For example:
+
+    [profile.release-lto]
+    inherits = "release"
+	dir-name = "lto"  # Emits to target/lto instead of target/release-lto
+    lto = true
+
+* The `dir-name` attribute is used mainly to direct the outputs of `bench` and
+  `test` to their respective directories: `target/release` and `target/debug`.
+  This preserves existing behavior.
+* The `dir-name` attribute is the only attribute not passed by inheritance.
+* Valid directory names are: must not be empty, use only alphanumeric
+  characters or `-` or `_`.
+
+## Cross compilation
+
+Under cross compilation with a profile, paths corresponding to
+`target/<platform-triple>/<dir-name>` will be created.
+
+## Treatment to the pre-defined profiles
+
+* The `release` profile remains as it is, with settings overridable as
+  before.
+* The `dev` profile receives the `dir-name = "debug"` attribute, so that its
+  final outputs are emitted to `target/debug`, as existing Rust developers will
+  expect this behavior. This should be added in the official
+  documentation for the Cargo manifest, to make this fact clearer for users.
+* A `debug` profile name is not allowed, with a warning saying to use the
+  already established `dev` name.
+* The `bench` profile defaults to the following definition, to preserve current
+  behavior:
+
+```
+[profile.bench]
+inherits = "release"
+dir-name = "release"
+```
+
+* The `test` profile defaults to the following definition, to preserve current behavior:
+```
+[profile.test]
+inherits = "dev"
+dir-name = "debug"
+```
+
+* The (upcoming) `build` profile defaults to the following definition:
+
+```
+[profile.build]
+inherits = "dev"
+dir-name = "build"
+debug = false
+```
+
+(NOTE: the `build` profile is experimental and may be removed later)
+
+# Reference-level explanation
+[reference-level-explanation]: #reference-level-explanation
+
+The 'final outputs' phrasing was used in this RFC, knowing that there are
+intermediate outputs that live under `target/` that are usually not a concern
+for most Cargo users. The paths that constitute the final build outputs however,
+constitute as sort of a protocol for invokers of Cargo. This RFC extends on
+that protocol, allowing for outputs in more directories.
+
+## Cargo code changes
+
+In implementation details, there are various hand-coded references to pre-defined
+profiles, that we would like to remove.
+
+The `BuildConfig` structure currently has a `release` boolean. The
+implementation will replace it with a value of type `enum Profile {Dev,
+Release, Custom(String))`.
+
+* The `Profiles` struct in `cargo/core/profiles.rs` currently has hardcoded
+  `dev`, `release`, `test`, `bench`. This should be changed into a `BTreeMap`
+  based on profile names. The pre-defined profiles can be loaded into it,
+  before `TomlProfile` overrides are applied to them.
+* Similarly, `TomlProfiles` will be changed to hold profiles in a `BTreeMap`.
+* We would need to compute the actual `build_override` for a profile based on
+  resolution through the `inherits` key.
+* Custom build scripts: For compatibility, the `PROFILE` environment currently
+  being passed to the `build.rs` script is set to either `release` or `debug`,
+  based on `inherits` relationship of the specified profile, in case it is not
+  `release` or `dev` directly.
+
+## Profile name and directory name exclusion
+
+To prevent collisions under the target directory, predefined set of string
+excludes both the custom profile names and the dir-name. For example,
+`package`, `build`, `debug`, `doc`, and strings that start with `.`.
+
+# Drawbacks
+[drawbacks]: #drawbacks
+
+The main drawback is that future ideas regarding Cargo workflows, if
+implemented, may supersede the benefits gained from implementing this RFC,
+making the added complexity unjustified in retrospect.
+
+# Rationale and alternatives
+[rationale-and-alternatives]: #rationale-and-alternatives
+
+Considering the example provided above, there could be other ways to accomplish
+the same result.
+
+## Direct `cargo build` flags alternative
+
+If comparing between final build outputs is the main concern to address, there
+could be an alternative, in the form of providing those overrides from the
+command line.  For example, a `--enable-lto` flag to `cargo build`. Used
+together with `CARGO_TARGET_DIR` we would be able to do the following:
+
+
+	$ cargo build --release
+	$ CARGO_TARGET_DIR=target/lto cargo build --release --enable-lto
+
+	$ ls -1 target/release/exe target/lto/release/exe
+	target/release/exe target/lto/release/exe
+
+The main drawback for this alternative is invocation complexity, and not being able
+to utilize a future implementation of a binary cache under the target directory
+(see 'future possibilities').
+
+
+## Workspace `Cargo.toml` auto-generation
+
+By generating the workspace's `Cargo.toml` from a script, per build, we can
+control the parameters of the `release` profile without editing
+source-controlled files. Beside build-time complexity, this has another
+drawback, for example — it would trip the timestamp comparison with
+`Cargo.lock` and cause unnecessary updates to it.
+
+## Cargo workflows
+
+It is unclear when the ideas concerning [Cargo
+workflows](http://aturon.github.io/2018/04/05/workflows/) will manifest in
+changes that would allow similar functionality.
+
+# Unresolved questions
+[unresolved-questions]: #unresolved-questions
+
+* Bikeshedding the `inherits` keyword name.
+* Should we keep user profiles under a Toml namespace of their own?
+
+For example:
+
+	[profile.custom.release-lto]
+    inherits = "release"
+    lto = true
+
+* If so, should the `inherits` keyword be able to refer to custom and
+  pre-defined profiles differently?
+* Profile names would collide with rustc target names under `target/`. Should
+  the output directory be also under a different namespace, e.g.
+  `target/custom/release-lto`?
+* Do we really need pre-defined profiles for `test`, `bench`, or
+  can we make them obsolete?
+* Is it worthwhile keeping `test` and `bench` outputs in `target/debug` and
+  `target/release`? Doing so would save compilation time and space.
+* If so, is the `dir-name` keyword necessary?  Alternatively, we can hand-code
+  the output directory of `bench` and `test` to be `release` and `debug` to
+  keep the current behavior. This may be sufficient until a "global binary cache"
+  feature is implemented, or a per-workspace `target/.cache`
+  ([related discussion](https://github.com/rust-lang/cargo/pull/6577#issuecomment-459415283)).
+
+## Existing `--profile` parameters in Cargo
+
+The `check`, `fix` and `rustc` commands receive a profile name via `--profile`.
+However these only control how `rustc` is invoked and is not related directly
+to the actual Cargo profile whether pre-defined or custom. For example, `cargo rustc`
+can receive `--profile bench` and `--release` together or separately, with
+rather confusing results. If we move forward with this change, it's maybe
+worthwhile to remove this parameter to avoid further confusion, and provide a
+similar functionality in a different way.
+
+
+# Future possibilities
+[future-possibilities]: #future-possibilities
+
+This RFC mentions a global binary cache. A global binary cache can reside under
+`target/.cache` or in the user home directory under `.cargo`, to be shared by
+multiple workspaces. This may further assist in reducing compilation times when
+switching between compilation flags.
+
+## Treatment to Cargo's 'Finished' print
+
+Currently, the `Finished` line being emitted when Cargo is done building, is
+confusing, and sometimes does not bear a relation to the specified profile. We
+may take this opportunity to revise the output of this line to include the name
+of the profile.
+
+Some targets use more than one profile in their compilation process, so we may
+want to pick a different scheme than simply printing out the name of the main
+profile being used. One option is to print a line for each one of the built
+targets with concise description of profiles that used to build it, but there
+may be better options worth considering following the implementation of this
+RFC.