Rust: Byte-rearranging methods on `u8` and `i8` should be deprecated
Considering how there's no common trait for these, it makes sense that u8::swap_bytes, u8::from_le, u8::from_be, u8::to_be, and u8::from_be should all be deprecated. These methods have no effect and it is slightly confusing to have them.
clarfonthey
All 4 comments
I am slightly confused about this issue, but it might just be me!
- Why does "there's no common trait for these" matter?
- They "have no effect"? At least the docs show examples where they do things.
steveklabnik
on 20 Sep 2017
@steveklabnik All of these are identity functions ("no effect") since u8 and i8 are one-byte long.
kennytm
on 20 Sep 2017
I think consistency with other integer types can be an argument for keeping the functions even though they are no-ops. Responding to the "there is no trait" argument, you can implement generic stuff via macros as well and expect the functions to exist. Being generic over integer types is notoriously hard as there is no "summary trait" for integers, at least not in the standard library.
est31
on 20 Sep 2017
As mentioned, these methods can be useful in macro-generated code.
dtolnay
on 14 Nov 2017
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Most helpful comment
I think consistency with other integer types can be an argument for keeping the functions even though they are no-ops. Responding to the "there is no trait" argument, you can implement generic stuff via macros as well and expect the functions to exist. Being generic over integer types is notoriously hard as there is no "summary trait" for integers, at least not in the standard library.