<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class="">Hi Matthew,<div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Your arguments made sense to me. I modified the proposal to choose strategy number 3: deprecating and removing <b class="">class</b> over several versions to favour <b class="">AnyObject</b>. Mind having another proof read?</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><a href="https://github.com/hartbit/swift-evolution/blob/subclass-existentials/proposals/XXXX-subclass-existentials.md" class="">https://github.com/hartbit/swift-evolution/blob/subclass-existentials/proposals/XXXX-subclass-existentials.md</a></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Anybody has counter arguments?</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><h1 style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.25; padding-bottom: 0.3em; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol'; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-top: 0px !important;" class="">Class and Subtype existentials</h1><ul style="box-sizing: border-box; padding-left: 2em; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 16px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol'; font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><li style="box-sizing: border-box;" class="">Proposal: <a href="https://github.com/hartbit/swift-evolution/blob/subclass-existentials/proposals/XXXX-subclass-existentials.md" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; -webkit-text-decoration-skip: objects; color: rgb(64, 120, 192); text-decoration: none;" class="">SE-XXXX</a></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.25em;" class="">Authors: <a href="http://github.com/hartbit/" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; -webkit-text-decoration-skip: objects; color: rgb(64, 120, 192); text-decoration: none;" class="">David Hart</a>, <a href="http://github.com/austinzheng" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; -webkit-text-decoration-skip: objects; color: rgb(64, 120, 192); text-decoration: none;" class="">Austin Zheng</a></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.25em;" class="">Review Manager: TBD</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.25em;" class="">Status: TBD</li></ul><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; line-height: 1.25; padding-bottom: 0.3em; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol'; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><a id="user-content-introduction" class="anchor" href="https://github.com/hartbit/swift-evolution/tree/subclass-existentials#introduction" aria-hidden="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; -webkit-text-decoration-skip: objects; color: rgb(64, 120, 192); text-decoration: none; float: left; padding-right: 4px; margin-left: -20px; line-height: 1;"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="octicon octicon-link" height="16" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 16 16" width="16"><path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M4 9h1v1H4c-1.5 0-3-1.69-3-3.5S2.55 3 4 3h4c1.45 0 3 1.69 3 3.5 0 1.41-.91 2.72-2 3.25V8.59c.58-.45 1-1.27 1-2.09C10 5.22 8.98 4 8 4H4c-.98 0-2 1.22-2 2.5S3 9 4 9zm9-3h-1v1h1c1 0 2 1.22 2 2.5S13.98 12 13 12H9c-.98 0-2-1.22-2-2.5 0-.83.42-1.64 1-2.09V6.25c-1.09.53-2 1.84-2 3.25C6 11.31 7.55 13 9 13h4c1.45 0 3-1.69 3-3.5S14.5 6 13 6z"></path></svg></a>Introduction</h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 16px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol'; font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">This proposal brings more expressive power to the type system by allowing Swift to represent existentials of classes and subtypes which conform to protocols.</p><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; line-height: 1.25; padding-bottom: 0.3em; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol'; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><a id="user-content-motivation" class="anchor" href="https://github.com/hartbit/swift-evolution/tree/subclass-existentials#motivation" aria-hidden="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; -webkit-text-decoration-skip: objects; color: rgb(64, 120, 192); text-decoration: none; float: left; padding-right: 4px; margin-left: -20px; line-height: 1;"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="octicon octicon-link" height="16" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 16 16" width="16"><path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M4 9h1v1H4c-1.5 0-3-1.69-3-3.5S2.55 3 4 3h4c1.45 0 3 1.69 3 3.5 0 1.41-.91 2.72-2 3.25V8.59c.58-.45 1-1.27 1-2.09C10 5.22 8.98 4 8 4H4c-.98 0-2 1.22-2 2.5S3 9 4 9zm9-3h-1v1h1c1 0 2 1.22 2 2.5S13.98 12 13 12H9c-.98 0-2-1.22-2-2.5 0-.83.42-1.64 1-2.09V6.25c-1.09.53-2 1.84-2 3.25C6 11.31 7.55 13 9 13h4c1.45 0 3-1.69 3-3.5S14.5 6 13 6z"></path></svg></a>Motivation</h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 16px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol'; font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">Currently, the only existentials which can be represented in Swift are conformances to a set of protocols, using the <code style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; padding: 0.2em 0px; margin: 0px; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0392157); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px;" class="">&</code>protocol composition syntax:</p><div class="highlight highlight-source-swift" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 16px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol'; font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><pre style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.45; word-wrap: normal; padding: 16px; overflow: auto; background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px; word-break: normal;" class="">Protocol1 <span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">&</span> Protocol2</pre></div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 16px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol'; font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">On the other hand, Objective-C is capable of expressing existentials of classes and subclasses conforming to protocols with the following syntax:</p><div class="highlight highlight-source-objc" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 16px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol'; font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><pre style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.45; word-wrap: normal; padding: 16px; overflow: auto; background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px; word-break: normal;" class=""><span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">id</span><Protocol1, Protocol2>
Base<Protocol>*</pre></div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 16px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol'; font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">We propose to provide similar expressive power to Swift, which will also improve the bridging of those types from Objective-C.</p><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; line-height: 1.25; padding-bottom: 0.3em; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol'; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><a id="user-content-proposed-solution" class="anchor" href="https://github.com/hartbit/swift-evolution/tree/subclass-existentials#proposed-solution" aria-hidden="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; -webkit-text-decoration-skip: objects; color: rgb(64, 120, 192); text-decoration: none; float: left; padding-right: 4px; margin-left: -20px; line-height: 1;"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="octicon octicon-link" height="16" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 16 16" width="16"><path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M4 9h1v1H4c-1.5 0-3-1.69-3-3.5S2.55 3 4 3h4c1.45 0 3 1.69 3 3.5 0 1.41-.91 2.72-2 3.25V8.59c.58-.45 1-1.27 1-2.09C10 5.22 8.98 4 8 4H4c-.98 0-2 1.22-2 2.5S3 9 4 9zm9-3h-1v1h1c1 0 2 1.22 2 2.5S13.98 12 13 12H9c-.98 0-2-1.22-2-2.5 0-.83.42-1.64 1-2.09V6.25c-1.09.53-2 1.84-2 3.25C6 11.31 7.55 13 9 13h4c1.45 0 3-1.69 3-3.5S14.5 6 13 6z"></path></svg></a>Proposed solution</h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 16px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol'; font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">The proposal keeps the existing <code style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; padding: 0.2em 0px; margin: 0px; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0392157); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px;" class="">&</code> syntax but allows the first element, and only the first, to be either the <code style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; padding: 0.2em 0px; margin: 0px; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0392157); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px;" class="">AnyObject</code>keyword or of class type. The equivalent to the above Objective-C types would look like this:</p><div class="highlight highlight-source-swift" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 16px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol'; font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><pre style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.45; word-wrap: normal; padding: 16px; overflow: auto; background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px; word-break: normal;" class=""><span class="pl-c1" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 134, 179);">AnyObject</span> <span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">&</span> Protocol1 <span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">&</span> Protocol2
<span class="pl-c1" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 134, 179);">Base</span> <span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">&</span> Protocol</pre></div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 16px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol'; font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">As in Objective-C, the first line is an existential of classes which conform to <code style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; padding: 0.2em 0px; margin: 0px; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0392157); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px;" class="">Protocol1</code> and <code style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; padding: 0.2em 0px; margin: 0px; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0392157); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px;" class="">Protocol2</code>, and the second line is an existential of subtypes of <code style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; padding: 0.2em 0px; margin: 0px; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0392157); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px;" class="">Base</code> which conform to <code style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; padding: 0.2em 0px; margin: 0px; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0392157); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px;" class="">Protocol</code>.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 16px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol'; font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">Here are the new proposed rules for what is valid in a existential conjunction syntax:</p><h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; font-size: 1.25em; line-height: 1.25; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol'; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><a id="user-content-1-the-first-element-in-the-protocol-composition-syntax-can-be-the-anyobject-keyword-to-enforce-a-class-constraint" class="anchor" href="https://github.com/hartbit/swift-evolution/tree/subclass-existentials#1-the-first-element-in-the-protocol-composition-syntax-can-be-the-anyobject-keyword-to-enforce-a-class-constraint" aria-hidden="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; -webkit-text-decoration-skip: objects; color: rgb(64, 120, 192); text-decoration: none; float: left; padding-right: 4px; margin-left: -20px; line-height: 1;"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="octicon octicon-link" height="16" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 16 16" width="16"><path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M4 9h1v1H4c-1.5 0-3-1.69-3-3.5S2.55 3 4 3h4c1.45 0 3 1.69 3 3.5 0 1.41-.91 2.72-2 3.25V8.59c.58-.45 1-1.27 1-2.09C10 5.22 8.98 4 8 4H4c-.98 0-2 1.22-2 2.5S3 9 4 9zm9-3h-1v1h1c1 0 2 1.22 2 2.5S13.98 12 13 12H9c-.98 0-2-1.22-2-2.5 0-.83.42-1.64 1-2.09V6.25c-1.09.53-2 1.84-2 3.25C6 11.31 7.55 13 9 13h4c1.45 0 3-1.69 3-3.5S14.5 6 13 6z"></path></svg></a>1. The first element in the protocol composition syntax can be the <code style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; font-size: inherit; padding: 0.2em 0px; margin: 0px; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0392157); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px;" class="">AnyObject</code> keyword to enforce a class constraint:</h3><div class="highlight highlight-source-swift" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 16px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol'; font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><pre style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.45; word-wrap: normal; padding: 16px; overflow: auto; background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px; word-break: normal;" class=""><span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">protocol</span> <span class="pl-en" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(121, 93, 163);">P</span> {}
<span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">struct</span> <span class="pl-en" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(121, 93, 163);">S</span> : <span class="pl-e" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(121, 93, 163);">P </span>{}
<span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">class</span> <span class="pl-en" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(121, 93, 163);">C</span> : <span class="pl-e" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(121, 93, 163);">P </span>{}
<span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">let</span> t<span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">:</span> P <span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">&</span> <span class="pl-c1" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 134, 179);">AnyObject</span> <span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(150, 152, 150);"><span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box;">//</span> Compiler error: AnyObject requirement must be in first position</span>
<span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(150, 152, 150);"></span><span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">let</span> u<span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">:</span> <span class="pl-c1" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 134, 179);">AnyObject</span> <span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">&</span> P <span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">=</span> <span class="pl-c1" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 134, 179);">S</span>() <span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(150, 152, 150);"><span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box;">//</span> Compiler error: S is not of class type</span>
<span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(150, 152, 150);"></span><span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">let</span> v<span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">:</span> <span class="pl-c1" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 134, 179);">AnyObject</span> <span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">&</span> P <span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">=</span> <span class="pl-c1" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 134, 179);">C</span>() <span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(150, 152, 150);"><span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box;">//</span> Compiles successfully</span></pre></div><h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; font-size: 1.25em; line-height: 1.25; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol'; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><a id="user-content-2-the-first-element-in-the-protocol-composition-syntax-can-be-a-class-type-to-enforce-the-existential-to-be-a-subtype-of-the-class" class="anchor" href="https://github.com/hartbit/swift-evolution/tree/subclass-existentials#2-the-first-element-in-the-protocol-composition-syntax-can-be-a-class-type-to-enforce-the-existential-to-be-a-subtype-of-the-class" aria-hidden="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; -webkit-text-decoration-skip: objects; color: rgb(64, 120, 192); text-decoration: none; float: left; padding-right: 4px; margin-left: -20px; line-height: 1;"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="octicon octicon-link" height="16" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 16 16" width="16"><path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M4 9h1v1H4c-1.5 0-3-1.69-3-3.5S2.55 3 4 3h4c1.45 0 3 1.69 3 3.5 0 1.41-.91 2.72-2 3.25V8.59c.58-.45 1-1.27 1-2.09C10 5.22 8.98 4 8 4H4c-.98 0-2 1.22-2 2.5S3 9 4 9zm9-3h-1v1h1c1 0 2 1.22 2 2.5S13.98 12 13 12H9c-.98 0-2-1.22-2-2.5 0-.83.42-1.64 1-2.09V6.25c-1.09.53-2 1.84-2 3.25C6 11.31 7.55 13 9 13h4c1.45 0 3-1.69 3-3.5S14.5 6 13 6z"></path></svg></a>2. The first element in the protocol composition syntax can be a class type to enforce the existential to be a subtype of the class:</h3><div class="highlight highlight-source-swift" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 16px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol'; font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><pre style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.45; word-wrap: normal; padding: 16px; overflow: auto; background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px; word-break: normal;" class=""><span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">protocol</span> <span class="pl-en" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(121, 93, 163);">P</span> {}
<span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">struct</span> <span class="pl-en" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(121, 93, 163);">S</span> {}
<span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">class</span> <span class="pl-en" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(121, 93, 163);">C</span> {}
<span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">class</span> <span class="pl-en" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(121, 93, 163);">D</span> : <span class="pl-e" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(121, 93, 163);">P </span>{}
<span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">class</span> <span class="pl-en" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(121, 93, 163);">E</span> : <span class="pl-e" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(121, 93, 163);">C</span>, <span class="pl-e" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(121, 93, 163);">P </span>{}
<span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">let</span> t<span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">:</span> P <span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">&</span> C <span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(150, 152, 150);"><span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box;">//</span> Compiler error: subclass constraint must be in first position</span>
<span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(150, 152, 150);"></span><span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">let</span> u<span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">:</span> S <span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">&</span> P <span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(150, 152, 150);"><span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box;">//</span> Compiler error: S is not of class type</span>
<span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(150, 152, 150);"></span><span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">let</span> v<span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">:</span> C <span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">&</span> P <span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">=</span> <span class="pl-c1" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 134, 179);">D</span>() <span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(150, 152, 150);"><span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box;">//</span> Compiler error: D is not a subtype of C</span>
<span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(150, 152, 150);"></span><span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">let</span> w<span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">:</span> C <span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">&</span> P <span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">=</span> <span class="pl-c1" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 134, 179);">E</span>() <span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(150, 152, 150);"><span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box;">//</span> Compiles successfully</span></pre></div><h3 style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; font-size: 1.25em; line-height: 1.25; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol'; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><a id="user-content-3-when-a-protocol-composition-type-contains-a-typealias-the-validity-of-the-type-is-determined-using-the-following-steps" class="anchor" href="https://github.com/hartbit/swift-evolution/tree/subclass-existentials#3-when-a-protocol-composition-type-contains-a-typealias-the-validity-of-the-type-is-determined-using-the-following-steps" aria-hidden="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; -webkit-text-decoration-skip: objects; color: rgb(64, 120, 192); text-decoration: none; float: left; padding-right: 4px; margin-left: -20px; line-height: 1;"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="octicon octicon-link" height="16" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 16 16" width="16"><path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M4 9h1v1H4c-1.5 0-3-1.69-3-3.5S2.55 3 4 3h4c1.45 0 3 1.69 3 3.5 0 1.41-.91 2.72-2 3.25V8.59c.58-.45 1-1.27 1-2.09C10 5.22 8.98 4 8 4H4c-.98 0-2 1.22-2 2.5S3 9 4 9zm9-3h-1v1h1c1 0 2 1.22 2 2.5S13.98 12 13 12H9c-.98 0-2-1.22-2-2.5 0-.83.42-1.64 1-2.09V6.25c-1.09.53-2 1.84-2 3.25C6 11.31 7.55 13 9 13h4c1.45 0 3-1.69 3-3.5S14.5 6 13 6z"></path></svg></a>3. When a protocol composition type contains a typealias, the validity of the type is determined using the following steps:</h3><ul style="box-sizing: border-box; padding-left: 2em; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 16px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol'; font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><li style="box-sizing: border-box;" class="">Expand the typealias</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.25em;" class="">Normalize the type by removing duplicate constraints and replacing less specific constraints by more specific constraints (a <code style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; padding: 0.2em 0px; margin: 0px; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0392157); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px;" class="">class</code> constraint is less specific than a class type constraint, which is less specific than a constraint of a subclass of that class).</li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.25em;" class="">Check that the type does not contain two class-type constraints</li></ul><div class="highlight highlight-source-swift" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 16px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol'; font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><pre style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.45; word-wrap: normal; padding: 16px; overflow: auto; background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px; word-break: normal;" class=""><span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">class</span> <span class="pl-en" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(121, 93, 163);">C</span> {}
<span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">class</span> <span class="pl-en" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(121, 93, 163);">D</span> : <span class="pl-e" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(121, 93, 163);">C </span>{}
<span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">class</span> <span class="pl-en" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(121, 93, 163);">E</span> {}
<span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">protocol</span> <span class="pl-en" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(121, 93, 163);">P1</span> {}
<span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">protocol</span> <span class="pl-en" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(121, 93, 163);">P2</span> {}
<span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">typealias</span> <span class="pl-en" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(121, 93, 163);">TA1</span> <span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">=</span> <span class="pl-c1" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 134, 179);">AnyObject</span> <span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">&</span> P1
<span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">typealias</span> <span class="pl-en" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(121, 93, 163);">TA2</span> <span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">=</span> <span class="pl-c1" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 134, 179);">AnyObject</span> <span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">&</span> P2
<span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">typealias</span> <span class="pl-en" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(121, 93, 163);">TA3</span> <span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">=</span> C <span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">&</span> P2
<span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">typealias</span> <span class="pl-en" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(121, 93, 163);">TA4</span> <span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">=</span> D <span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">&</span> P2
<span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">typealias</span> <span class="pl-en" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(121, 93, 163);">TA5</span> <span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">=</span> E <span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">&</span> P2
<span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">typealias</span> <span class="pl-en" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(121, 93, 163);">TA5</span> <span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">=</span> TA1 <span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">&</span> TA2
<span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(150, 152, 150);"><span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box;">//</span> Expansion: typealias TA5 = AnyObject & P1 & AnyObject & P2</span>
<span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(150, 152, 150);"><span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box;">//</span> Normalization: typealias TA5 = AnyObject & P1 & P2 </span>
<span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(150, 152, 150);"><span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box;">//</span> TA5 is valid</span>
<span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(150, 152, 150);"></span>
<span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">typealias</span> <span class="pl-en" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(121, 93, 163);">TA6</span> <span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">=</span> TA1 <span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">&</span> TA3
<span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(150, 152, 150);"><span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box;">//</span> Expansion: typealias TA6 = AnyObject & P1 & C & P2 </span>
<span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(150, 152, 150);"><span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box;">//</span> Normalization (AnyObject < C): typealias TA6 = C & P1 & P2 </span>
<span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(150, 152, 150);"><span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box;">//</span> TA6 is valid</span>
<span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(150, 152, 150);"></span>
<span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">typealias</span> <span class="pl-en" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(121, 93, 163);">TA7</span> <span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">=</span> TA3 <span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">&</span> TA4
<span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(150, 152, 150);"><span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box;">//</span> Expansion: typealias TA7 = C & P2 & D & P2</span>
<span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(150, 152, 150);"><span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box;">//</span> Normalization (C < D): typealias TA7 = D & P2</span>
<span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(150, 152, 150);"><span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box;">//</span> TA7 is valid</span>
<span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(150, 152, 150);"></span>
<span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">typealias</span> <span class="pl-en" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(121, 93, 163);">TA8</span> <span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">=</span> TA4 <span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">&</span> TA5
<span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(150, 152, 150);"><span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box;">//</span> Expansion: typealias TA8 = D & P2 & E & P2</span>
<span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(150, 152, 150);"><span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box;">//</span> Normalization: typealias TA8 = D & E & P2</span>
<span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(150, 152, 150);"><span class="pl-c" style="box-sizing: border-box;">//</span> TA8 is invalid because the D and E constraints are incompatible</span></pre></div><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; line-height: 1.25; padding-bottom: 0.3em; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol'; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><a id="user-content-class-and-anyobject" class="anchor" href="https://github.com/hartbit/swift-evolution/tree/subclass-existentials#class-and-anyobject" aria-hidden="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; -webkit-text-decoration-skip: objects; color: rgb(64, 120, 192); text-decoration: none; float: left; padding-right: 4px; margin-left: -20px; line-height: 1;"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="octicon octicon-link" height="16" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 16 16" width="16"><path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M4 9h1v1H4c-1.5 0-3-1.69-3-3.5S2.55 3 4 3h4c1.45 0 3 1.69 3 3.5 0 1.41-.91 2.72-2 3.25V8.59c.58-.45 1-1.27 1-2.09C10 5.22 8.98 4 8 4H4c-.98 0-2 1.22-2 2.5S3 9 4 9zm9-3h-1v1h1c1 0 2 1.22 2 2.5S13.98 12 13 12H9c-.98 0-2-1.22-2-2.5 0-.83.42-1.64 1-2.09V6.25c-1.09.53-2 1.84-2 3.25C6 11.31 7.55 13 9 13h4c1.45 0 3-1.69 3-3.5S14.5 6 13 6z"></path></svg></a><code style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; font-size: inherit; padding: 0.2em 0px; margin: 0px; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0392157); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px;" class="">class</code> and <code style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; font-size: inherit; padding: 0.2em 0px; margin: 0px; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0392157); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px;" class="">AnyObject</code></h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 16px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol'; font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">This proposal merges the concepts of <code style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; padding: 0.2em 0px; margin: 0px; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0392157); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px;" class="">class</code> and <code style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; padding: 0.2em 0px; margin: 0px; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0392157); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px;" class="">AnyObject</code>, which now have the same meaning: they represent an existential for classes. To get rid of the duplication, we suggest only keeping <code style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; padding: 0.2em 0px; margin: 0px; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0392157); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px;" class="">AnyObject</code> around. To reduce source-breakage to a minimum, <code style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; padding: 0.2em 0px; margin: 0px; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0392157); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px;" class="">class</code> could be redefined as <code style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; padding: 0.2em 0px; margin: 0px; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0392157); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px;" class="">typealias class = AnyObject</code> and give a deprecation warning on <code style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; padding: 0.2em 0px; margin: 0px; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0392157); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px;" class="">class</code> for the first version of Swift this proposal is implemented in. Later, <code style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; padding: 0.2em 0px; margin: 0px; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0392157); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px;" class="">class</code> could be removed in a subsequent version of Swift.</p><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; line-height: 1.25; padding-bottom: 0.3em; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol'; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><a id="user-content-source-compatibility" class="anchor" href="https://github.com/hartbit/swift-evolution/tree/subclass-existentials#source-compatibility" aria-hidden="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; -webkit-text-decoration-skip: objects; color: rgb(64, 120, 192); text-decoration: none; float: left; padding-right: 4px; margin-left: -20px; line-height: 1;"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="octicon octicon-link" height="16" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 16 16" width="16"><path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M4 9h1v1H4c-1.5 0-3-1.69-3-3.5S2.55 3 4 3h4c1.45 0 3 1.69 3 3.5 0 1.41-.91 2.72-2 3.25V8.59c.58-.45 1-1.27 1-2.09C10 5.22 8.98 4 8 4H4c-.98 0-2 1.22-2 2.5S3 9 4 9zm9-3h-1v1h1c1 0 2 1.22 2 2.5S13.98 12 13 12H9c-.98 0-2-1.22-2-2.5 0-.83.42-1.64 1-2.09V6.25c-1.09.53-2 1.84-2 3.25C6 11.31 7.55 13 9 13h4c1.45 0 3-1.69 3-3.5S14.5 6 13 6z"></path></svg></a>Source compatibility</h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 16px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol'; font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">This change will not break Swift 3 compability mode because Objective-C types will continue to be imported as before. But in Swift 4 mode, all types bridged from Objective-C which use the equivalent Objective-C existential syntax could break code which does not meet the new protocol requirements. For example, the following Objective-C code:</p><div class="highlight highlight-source-objc" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 16px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol'; font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><pre style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.45; word-wrap: normal; padding: 16px; overflow: auto; background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px; word-break: normal;" class=""><span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">@interface</span> <span class="pl-en" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(121, 93, 163);">MyViewController</span>
- (<span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">void</span>)<span class="pl-en" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(121, 93, 163);">setup</span><span class="pl-en" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(121, 93, 163);">:</span>(nonnull UIViewController<UITableViewDataSource,UITableViewDelegate>*)<span class="pl-smi" style="box-sizing: border-box;">tableViewController</span>;
<span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">@end</span></pre></div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 16px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol'; font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">is imported into Swift-3 mode as:</p><div class="highlight highlight-source-swift" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 16px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol'; font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><pre style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.45; word-wrap: normal; padding: 16px; overflow: auto; background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px; word-break: normal;" class=""><span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">class</span> <span class="pl-en" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(121, 93, 163);">MyViewController</span> {
<span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">func</span> <span class="pl-en" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(121, 93, 163);">setup</span>(<span class="pl-smi" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="pl-en" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(121, 93, 163);">tableViewController</span></span>: UIViewController) {}
}</pre></div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 16px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol'; font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">which allows calling the function with an invalid parameter:</p><div class="highlight highlight-source-swift" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 16px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol'; font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><pre style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.45; word-wrap: normal; padding: 16px; overflow: auto; background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px; word-break: normal;" class=""><span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">let</span> myViewController<span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">:</span> <span class="pl-c1" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 134, 179);">MyViewController</span>()
myViewController.<span class="pl-c1" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 134, 179);">setup</span>(<span class="pl-c1" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(0, 134, 179);">UIViewController</span>())</pre></div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 16px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol'; font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">The previous code continues to compile but still crashs if the Objective-C code calls a method of <code style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; padding: 0.2em 0px; margin: 0px; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0392157); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px;" class="">UITableViewDataSource</code> or <code style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; padding: 0.2em 0px; margin: 0px; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0392157); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px;" class="">UITableViewDelegate</code>. But if this proposal is accepted and implemented as-is, the Objective-C code will be imported in Swift 4 mode as:</p><div class="highlight highlight-source-swift" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 16px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol'; font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><pre style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.45; word-wrap: normal; padding: 16px; overflow: auto; background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px; word-break: normal;" class=""><span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">class</span> <span class="pl-en" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(121, 93, 163);">MyViewController</span> {
<span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">func</span> <span class="pl-en" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(121, 93, 163);">setup</span>(<span class="pl-smi" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="pl-en" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(121, 93, 163);">tableViewController</span></span>: UIViewController <span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">&</span> UITableViewDataSource <span class="pl-k" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: rgb(167, 29, 93);">&</span> UITableViewDelegate) {}
}</pre></div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 16px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol'; font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">That would then cause the Swift code run in version 4 mode to fail to compile with an error which states that <code style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; padding: 0.2em 0px; margin: 0px; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0392157); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px;" class="">UIViewController</code> does not conform to the <code style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; padding: 0.2em 0px; margin: 0px; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0392157); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px;" class="">UITableViewDataSource</code> and <code style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; padding: 0.2em 0px; margin: 0px; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0392157); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px;" class="">UITableViewDelegate</code> protocols.</p><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; line-height: 1.25; padding-bottom: 0.3em; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol'; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><a id="user-content-alternatives-considered" class="anchor" href="https://github.com/hartbit/swift-evolution/tree/subclass-existentials#alternatives-considered" aria-hidden="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; -webkit-text-decoration-skip: objects; color: rgb(64, 120, 192); text-decoration: none; float: left; padding-right: 4px; margin-left: -20px; line-height: 1;"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="octicon octicon-link" height="16" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 16 16" width="16"><path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M4 9h1v1H4c-1.5 0-3-1.69-3-3.5S2.55 3 4 3h4c1.45 0 3 1.69 3 3.5 0 1.41-.91 2.72-2 3.25V8.59c.58-.45 1-1.27 1-2.09C10 5.22 8.98 4 8 4H4c-.98 0-2 1.22-2 2.5S3 9 4 9zm9-3h-1v1h1c1 0 2 1.22 2 2.5S13.98 12 13 12H9c-.98 0-2-1.22-2-2.5 0-.83.42-1.64 1-2.09V6.25c-1.09.53-2 1.84-2 3.25C6 11.31 7.55 13 9 13h4c1.45 0 3-1.69 3-3.5S14.5 6 13 6z"></path></svg></a>Alternatives considered</h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 16px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol'; font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">An alternative solution to the <code style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; padding: 0.2em 0px; margin: 0px; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0392157); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px;" class="">class</code>/<code style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; padding: 0.2em 0px; margin: 0px; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0392157); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px;" class="">AnyObject</code> duplication was to keep both, redefine <code style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; padding: 0.2em 0px; margin: 0px; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0392157); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px;" class="">AnyObject</code> as <code style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; padding: 0.2em 0px; margin: 0px; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0392157); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px;" class="">typealias AnyObject = class</code> and favor the latter when used as a type name.</p><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; line-height: 1.25; padding-bottom: 0.3em; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol'; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class=""><a id="user-content-acknowledgements" class="anchor" href="https://github.com/hartbit/swift-evolution/tree/subclass-existentials#acknowledgements" aria-hidden="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; -webkit-text-decoration-skip: objects; color: rgb(64, 120, 192); text-decoration: none; float: left; padding-right: 4px; margin-left: -20px; line-height: 1;"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="octicon octicon-link" height="16" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 16 16" width="16"><path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M4 9h1v1H4c-1.5 0-3-1.69-3-3.5S2.55 3 4 3h4c1.45 0 3 1.69 3 3.5 0 1.41-.91 2.72-2 3.25V8.59c.58-.45 1-1.27 1-2.09C10 5.22 8.98 4 8 4H4c-.98 0-2 1.22-2 2.5S3 9 4 9zm9-3h-1v1h1c1 0 2 1.22 2 2.5S13.98 12 13 12H9c-.98 0-2-1.22-2-2.5 0-.83.42-1.64 1-2.09V6.25c-1.09.53-2 1.84-2 3.25C6 11.31 7.55 13 9 13h4c1.45 0 3-1.69 3-3.5S14.5 6 13 6z"></path></svg></a>Acknowledgements</h2><div style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol'; font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-bottom: 0px !important;" class="">Thanks to <a href="http://github.com/austinzheng" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; -webkit-text-decoration-skip: objects; color: rgb(64, 120, 192); text-decoration: none;" class="">Austin Zheng</a> and <a href="https://github.com/anandabits" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; -webkit-text-decoration-skip: objects; color: rgb(64, 120, 192); text-decoration: none;" class="">Matthew Johnson</a> who brought a lot of attention to existentials in this mailing-list and from whom most of the ideas in the proposal come from.</div></div><div class=""><br class=""><div><blockquote type="cite" class=""><div class="">On 9 Feb 2017, at 21:50, Matthew Johnson <<a href="mailto:matthew@anandabits.com" class="">matthew@anandabits.com</a>> wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><div class=""><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8" class=""><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><br class=""><div class=""><blockquote type="cite" class=""><div class="">On Feb 9, 2017, at 2:44 PM, David Hart <<a href="mailto:david@hartbit.com" class="">david@hartbit.com</a>> wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><div class=""><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" class=""><br class="Apple-interchange-newline">On 9 Feb 2017, at 20:43, Matthew Johnson via swift-evolution <<a href="mailto:swift-evolution@swift.org" class="">swift-evolution@swift.org</a>> wrote:<br class=""><br class=""></div><blockquote type="cite" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" class=""><div class=""><div class=""><br class=""><br class="">Sent from my iPad</div><div class=""><br class="">On Feb 9, 2017, at 1:30 PM, Hooman Mehr via swift-evolution <<a href="mailto:swift-evolution@swift.org" class="">swift-evolution@swift.org</a>> wrote:<br class=""><br class=""></div><blockquote type="cite" class=""><div class=""><br class=""><div class=""><blockquote type="cite" class=""><div class="">On Feb 9, 2017, at 10:47 AM, Joe Groff via swift-evolution <<a href="mailto:swift-evolution@swift.org" class="">swift-evolution@swift.org</a>> wrote:</div><div class=""><div class="" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;"><blockquote type="cite" class=""><div class="">On Feb 9, 2017, at 4:26 AM, Step Christopher via swift-evolution <<a href="mailto:swift-evolution@swift.org" class="">swift-evolution@swift.org</a>> wrote:</div><div class=""><div dir="auto" class=""><div class=""><span class=""></span></div><div class=""><div class=""></div><div class="">Looks good. Minor comments below:</div>The typealias 'T5' is repeated as both an initial composition, and as a demonstration of combining typealiases. <div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><blockquote type="cite" class=""><div class=""><div class="highlight highlight-source-swift" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 16px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol'; font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><pre class="" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; line-height: 1.45; word-wrap: normal; padding: 16px; overflow: auto; background-color: rgb(247, 247, 247); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px; word-break: normal;"><span class="" style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol'; font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">This proposal merges the concepts of </span><code class="" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; padding: 0.2em 0px; margin: 0px; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0392157); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px;">class</code><span class="" style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol'; font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> and </span><code class="" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; padding: 0.2em 0px; margin: 0px; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0392157); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px;">AnyObject</code><span class="" style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol'; font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, which now have the same meaning: they represent an existential for classes. They are four solutions to this dilemna:</span></pre></div><ol class="" style="box-sizing: border-box; padding-left: 2em; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 16px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol'; font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><li class="" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Do nothing.</li><li class="" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.25em;">Replace all uses of <code class="" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; padding: 0.2em 0px; margin: 0px; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0392157); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px;">AnyObject</code> by <code class="" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; padding: 0.2em 0px; margin: 0px; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0392157); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px;">class</code>, breaking source compatibility.</li><li class="" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.25em;">Replace all uses of <code class="" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; padding: 0.2em 0px; margin: 0px; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0392157); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px;">class</code> by <code class="" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; padding: 0.2em 0px; margin: 0px; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0392157); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px;">AnyObject</code>, breaking source compatibility.</li><li class="" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0.25em;">Redefine <code class="" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; padding: 0.2em 0px; margin: 0px; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0392157); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px;">AnyObject</code> as <code class="" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Consolas, 'Liberation Mono', Menlo, Courier, monospace; font-size: 13.600000381469727px; padding: 0.2em 0px; margin: 0px; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0392157); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px;">typealias AnyObject = class</code>.</li></ol></div></blockquote>I agree with other comments on recommending 4 here, and covering the others as alternatives<div class=""><blockquote type="cite" class=""><div class=""><h2 class="" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 24px; margin-bottom: 16px; line-height: 1.25; padding-bottom: 0.3em; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol'; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a id="user-content-source-compatibility" class="anchor" href="https://github.com/hartbit/swift-evolution/blob/e6411d8a9e7924bbd8a48fc292bf08d58a8d1199/proposals/XXXX-subclass-existentials.md#source-compatibility" aria-hidden="true" style="box-sizing: border-box; background-color: transparent; -webkit-text-decoration-skip: objects; color: rgb(64, 120, 192); text-decoration: none; float: left; padding-right: 4px; margin-left: -20px; line-height: 1;"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="octicon octicon-link" height="16" version="1.1" viewBox="0 0 16 16" width="16" style=""><path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M4 9h1v1H4c-1.5 0-3-1.69-3-3.5S2.55 3 4 3h4c1.45 0 3 1.69 3 3.5 0 1.41-.91 2.72-2 3.25V8.59c.58-.45 1-1.27 1-2.09C10 5.22 8.98 4 8 4H4c-.98 0-2 1.22-2 2.5S3 9 4 9zm9-3h-1v1h1c1 0 2 1.22 2 2.5S13.98 12 13 12H9c-.98 0-2-1.22-2-2.5 0-.83.42-1.64 1-2.09V6.25c-1.09.53-2 1.84-2 3.25C6 11.31 7.55 13 9 13h4c1.45 0 3-1.69 3-3.5S14.5 6 13 6z" style=""></path></svg></a></h2></div></blockquote></div></div></div></div></div></blockquote></div><span class="" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; display: inline !important;">I agree that we need the typealias for compatibility. I think it's still worth discussing whether the `AnyObject` typealias should *only* be there for compatibility; it could be deprecated or obsoleted in Swift 4 or future language versions.</span></div></blockquote><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">I think it might be worth keeping to provide a more sensible capitalization alternative than lower case “class” when used as a type name:</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">var obj: class // this looks weird because of capitalization.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><div class="">var obj: AnyObject // this looks better.</div></div></div></div></blockquote><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">I agree that it looks better and would choose AnyObject if source compatibility weren't an issue. One option that wasn't listed was to drop 'class' but use a multi-release deprecation strategy and a fix-it to facilitate a smooth transition. If the community is willing to adopt this approach it would be my first choice.</div></div></blockquote><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" class="">You mean option 3?</div></div></blockquote><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Pretty much, but option 3 does not make it clear that it won’t break source immediately in Swift 4. I think it becomes much more reasonable if Swift 3.1 code still compiles in Swift 4 mode, but with a deprecation warning.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">The reason I prefer `AnyObject` to `class` is because I think it’s ugly to have `class` as the name of an existential type. Type names are uppercase in Swift. It is also used to compose with protocols which also use uppercase names in Swift. Because it appears in contexts which use an uppercase convention it makes sense for this to have an uppercase name. `AnyObject` seems like the obvious choice if we’re going to go in that direction.</div><br class=""><blockquote type="cite" class=""><div class=""><br style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" class=""><blockquote type="cite" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" class=""><div class=""><blockquote type="cite" class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><br class=""></div></div><blockquote type="cite" class=""><div class=""><div class="" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;"><br class=""></div><div class="" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;">-Joe</div><span class="" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; display: inline !important;">_______________________________________________</span><br class="" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;"><span class="" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none; display: inline !important;">swift-evolution mailing list</span><br class="" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;"><a href="mailto:swift-evolution@swift.org" class="" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;">swift-evolution@swift.org</a><br class="" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;"><a href="https://lists.swift.org/mailman/listinfo/swift-evolution" class="" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;">https://lists.swift.org/mailman/listinfo/swift-evolution</a></div></blockquote></div><br class=""></div></blockquote><blockquote type="cite" class=""><div class=""><span class="">_______________________________________________</span><br class=""><span class="">swift-evolution mailing list</span><br class=""><span class=""><a href="mailto:swift-evolution@swift.org" class="">swift-evolution@swift.org</a></span><br class=""><span class=""><a href="https://lists.swift.org/mailman/listinfo/swift-evolution" class="">https://lists.swift.org/mailman/listinfo/swift-evolution</a></span><br class=""></div></blockquote></div></blockquote><blockquote type="cite" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" class=""><div class=""><span class="">_______________________________________________</span><br class=""><span class="">swift-evolution mailing list</span><br class=""><span class=""><a href="mailto:swift-evolution@swift.org" class="">swift-evolution@swift.org</a></span><br class=""><span class=""><a href="https://lists.swift.org/mailman/listinfo/swift-evolution" class="">https://lists.swift.org/mailman/listinfo/swift-evolution</a></span></div></blockquote></div></blockquote></div><br class=""></div></div></blockquote></div><br class=""></div></body></html>