[swift-evolution] [Pitch] Introducing the "Unwrap or Die" operator to the standard library

[Xiaodi Wu]

On Wed, Jun 28, 2017 at 8:13 PM, Erica Sadun <erica at ericasadun.com> wrote:

>
> On Jun 28, 2017, at 6:26 PM, Xiaodi Wu <xiaodi.wu at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> On Wed, Jun 28, 2017 at 5:05 PM, ilya via swift-evolution <
> swift-evolution at swift.org> wrote:
>
>> One could, for example, extend the existing* documentation markup sign*
>> *///* to pick up text as force unwrap messages:
>>
>>     `let last = array.last! /// Array guaranteed non-empty`
>>
>
> I did not call this out initially, but I feel like this is an important
> point to address:
>
> In the initial example, repeated here in largely identical form, the
> desired comment is "array must be non-empty." In what way does that provide
> more information than a bare `!`?
>
>
> That is why I changed it back to my "*guarantee*" version when replying:
>
> guard !array.isEmpty else { ... }
> /* ... */
> let finalElement  = array.last !! "Array guaranteed non-empty"
>
>
> The expected unwrap behavior is clear and audited, even when other code
> appears between the guard statement and the explained forced unwrap.
>
> As you point out, it's senseless to annotate a logical assertion known to
> be true ("must be non-empty") *unless that annotation enhances the
> expression of why and how this otherwise dangerous operation is taking
> place*. That explanation forms the mission statement of the `!!` operator.
>

Sorry, I fail to see how either wording enhances the expression of why this
operation is taking place. The entire explanation seems self-evident to me
in `!`.


> By explaining, the `!!` operator differs from the direct use of `!`. It
> explains a fact known to hold true that allows the lhs to safely unwrap. It
> provides this in a way that is succinct and readable. It naturally moves
> with the line of code it is part of. The adoption of `!!` has already
> broadly been integrated into any number idiomatic libraries. Coders have
> done so to differentiate an *audited known fact* from the stray `!`,
> which may or may not be followed by a comment.
>

_Every_ use of `!` is an assertion that it is an audited known fact that
the operand is not nil. What I'm saying is that, so far in this
conversation, I have seen no example where any other known fact on the RHS
of your proposed operator is not trivially deducible from the built-in
known fact signified by `!` itself.

One last point: it is not the mission of document comments to provide any
> role beyond annotation. They are not there to guarantee preconditions,
> assertions, or any other behavioral contracts. They merely document.
>
> -- Erica
>
>
>
>
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