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explain how to turn integers into fn ptrs
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(with an intermediate raw ptr, not a direct transmute)
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RalfJung committed May 23, 2022
1 parent 09ea213 commit cec6dfc
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3 changes: 3 additions & 0 deletions library/core/src/intrinsics.rs
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Expand Up @@ -930,6 +930,9 @@ extern "rust-intrinsic" {
/// fn foo() -> i32 {
/// 0
/// }
/// // Crucially, we `as`-cast to a raw pointer before `transmute`ing to a function pointer.
/// // This avoids an integer-to-pointer `transmute`, which can be problematic.
/// // Transmuting between raw pointers and function pointers (i.e., two pointer types) is fine.
/// let pointer = foo as *const ();
/// let function = unsafe {
/// std::mem::transmute::<*const (), fn() -> i32>(pointer)
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26 changes: 26 additions & 0 deletions library/core/src/primitive_docs.rs
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Expand Up @@ -1338,6 +1338,32 @@ mod prim_ref {}
/// is a reference to the function-specific ZST. `&bar` is basically never what you
/// want when `bar` is a function.
///
/// ### Casting to and from integers
///
/// You cast function pointers directly to integers:
///
/// ```rust
/// let fnptr: fn(i32) -> i32 = |x| x+2;
/// let fnptr_addr = fnptr as usize;
/// ```
///
/// However, a direct cast back is not possible. You need to use `transmute`:
///
/// ```rust
/// # let fnptr: fn(i32) -> i32 = |x| x+2;
/// # let fnptr_addr = fnptr as usize;
/// let fnptr = fnptr_addr as *const ();
/// let fnptr: fn(i32) -> i32 = unsafe { std::mem::transmute(fnptr) };
/// assert_eq!(fnptr(40), 42);
/// ```
///
/// Crucially, we `as`-cast to a raw pointer before `transmute`ing to a function pointer.
/// This avoids an integer-to-pointer `transmute`, which can be problematic.
/// Transmuting between raw pointers and function pointers (i.e., two pointer types) is fine.
///
/// Note that all of this is not portable to platforms where function pointers and data pointers
/// have different sizes.
///
/// ### Traits
///
/// Function pointers implement the following traits:
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