[swift-evolution] [Pitch] Remove associated type inference

[Patrick Smith]

While this has been a handy feature, I don’t mind making things more explicit, as I think it helps communication. Sometimes clarity that helps the compiler will also help the reader. It’s only really convenient when writing.

I would be happy with this change as long as the issue with same named generics were changed. Currently in Swift 2.2 I can’t do this:

struct SomeGenericGenerator<Element> : GeneratorType {
  typealias Element = Element // Error: Type alias ‘Element’ circularly references itself
}

It’s a real pain, as now I have to think up some alternate name for the generic parameter ‘Element’.

Whereas, with automatic inference, I can do this without the compiler complaining:

struct SomeGenericGenerator<Element> : GeneratorType {
  mutating func next() -> Element? {
    return nil
  }
}

So I’d like to see the above `typealias Element = Element` allowed if possible.


> On 26 May 2016, at 7:43 AM, David Hart via swift-evolution <swift-evolution at swift.org> wrote:
> 
> Here’s a pitch for removing associated type inference as per the Generics Manifesto. If we want to do it, we’d better do it before Swift 3:
> 
> Remove associated type inference
> 
> Proposal: SE-XXXX <https://github.com/apple/swift-evolution/blob/master/proposals/XXXX-remove-associated-type-inference.md>
> Author: David Hart <https://github.com/hartbit>, Douglas Gregor <https://github.com/DougGregor>
> Status: TBD
> Review manager: TBD
>  <https://github.com/hartbit/swift-evolution/blob/remove-associated-type-inference/proposals/XXXX-remove-associated-type-inference.md#introduction>Introduction
> 
> This proposal seeks to remove the inference of associated types in types conforming to protocols.
> 
>  <https://github.com/hartbit/swift-evolution/blob/remove-associated-type-inference/proposals/XXXX-remove-associated-type-inference.md#motivation>Motivation
> 
> Even if associated types inference in a useful feature, it is also a big source of bugs in the compiler. This proposal argues that the usefulness does not outweight its architectural complexity. As per the Generics Manifesto <https://github.com/apple/swift/blob/master/docs/GenericsManifesto.md>:
> 
> associated type inference is the only place in Swift where we have a global type inference problem: it has historically been a major source of bugs, and implementing it fully and correctly requires a drastically different architecture to the type checker.
> Because this is a breaking change, it would be beneficial to implement it for Swift 3. 
> 
>  <https://github.com/hartbit/swift-evolution/blob/remove-associated-type-inference/proposals/XXXX-remove-associated-type-inference.md#detailed-design>Detailed Design
> 
> The proposal would remove associated type inference and make code which relied on it invalid:
> 
> protocol IteratorProtocol {
>   associatedtype Element
>   mutating func next() -> Element?
> }
> 
> struct IntIterator : IteratorProtocol {
>   mutating func next() -> Int? { ... }  // used to infer Element = Int
> }
> The compiler would generate an error message stating: error: IntIterator is missing its Element associated type declaration. The code would have to be modified as follows to fix the error:
> 
> struct IntIterator : IteratorProtocol {
>     typealias Element = Int
>     mutating func next() -> Int? { return nil }  // used to infer Element = Int
> }
>  <https://github.com/hartbit/swift-evolution/blob/remove-associated-type-inference/proposals/XXXX-remove-associated-type-inference.md#impact-on-existing-code>Impact on Existing Code
> 
> This is a breaking change that will require conforming types which relied on the inference, including in the Standard Library, to explicitly declare associated types. A Fix-It could be introduced to add the typealias and leave the type to be filled in. That way, all the type inference could be removed from the compiler.
> 
>  <https://github.com/hartbit/swift-evolution/blob/remove-associated-type-inference/proposals/XXXX-remove-associated-type-inference.md#alternatives-considered>Alternatives Considered
> 
> The only alternative is to keep the inference with the known consequences on the compiler.
> _______________________________________________
> swift-evolution mailing list
> swift-evolution at swift.org
> https://lists.swift.org/mailman/listinfo/swift-evolution

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