nullability.h 11 KB

123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566676869707172737475767778798081828384858687888990919293949596979899100101102103104105106107108109110111112113114115116117118119120121122123124125126127128129130131132133134135136137138139140141142143144145146147148149150151152153154155156157158159160161162163164165166167168169170171172173174175176177178179180181182183184185186187188189190191192193194195196197198199200201202203204205206207208209210211212213214215216217218219220221222223224225226227228229230231232233234235236237238239240241242243244245246247248249250
  1. // Copyright 2023 The Abseil Authors.
  2. //
  3. // Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  4. // you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
  5. // You may obtain a copy of the License at
  6. //
  7. // https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
  8. //
  9. // Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
  10. // distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
  11. // WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
  12. // See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  13. // limitations under the License.
  14. //
  15. // -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  16. // File: nullability.h
  17. // -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  18. //
  19. // This header file defines a set of "templated annotations" for designating the
  20. // expected nullability of pointers. These annotations allow you to designate
  21. // pointers in one of three classification states:
  22. //
  23. // * "Non-null" (for pointers annotated `Nonnull<T>`), indicating that it is
  24. // invalid for the given pointer to ever be null.
  25. // * "Nullable" (for pointers annotated `Nullable<T>`), indicating that it is
  26. // valid for the given pointer to be null.
  27. // * "Unknown" (for pointers annotated `NullabilityUnknown<T>`), indicating
  28. // that the given pointer has not been yet classified as either nullable or
  29. // non-null. This is the default state of unannotated pointers.
  30. //
  31. // NOTE: unannotated pointers implicitly bear the annotation
  32. // `NullabilityUnknown<T>`; you should rarely, if ever, see this annotation used
  33. // in the codebase explicitly.
  34. //
  35. // -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  36. // Nullability and Contracts
  37. // -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  38. //
  39. // These nullability annotations allow you to more clearly specify contracts on
  40. // software components by narrowing the *preconditions*, *postconditions*, and
  41. // *invariants* of pointer state(s) in any given interface. It then depends on
  42. // context who is responsible for fulfilling the annotation's requirements.
  43. //
  44. // For example, a function may receive a pointer argument. Designating that
  45. // pointer argument as "non-null" tightens the precondition of the contract of
  46. // that function. It is then the responsibility of anyone calling such a
  47. // function to ensure that the passed pointer is not null.
  48. //
  49. // Similarly, a function may have a pointer as a return value. Designating that
  50. // return value as "non-null" tightens the postcondition of the contract of that
  51. // function. In this case, however, it is the responsibility of the function
  52. // itself to ensure that the returned pointer is not null.
  53. //
  54. // Clearly defining these contracts allows providers (and consumers) of such
  55. // pointers to have more confidence in their null state. If a function declares
  56. // a return value as "non-null", for example, the caller should not need to
  57. // check whether the returned value is `nullptr`; it can simply assume the
  58. // pointer is valid.
  59. //
  60. // Of course most interfaces already have expectations on the nullability state
  61. // of pointers, and these expectations are, in effect, a contract; often,
  62. // however, those contracts are either poorly or partially specified, assumed,
  63. // or misunderstood. These nullability annotations are designed to allow you to
  64. // formalize those contracts within the codebase.
  65. //
  66. // -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  67. // Using Nullability Annotations
  68. // -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  69. //
  70. // It is important to note that these annotations are not distinct strong
  71. // *types*. They are alias templates defined to be equal to the underlying
  72. // pointer type. A pointer annotated `Nonnull<T*>`, for example, is simply a
  73. // pointer of type `T*`. Each annotation acts as a form of documentation about
  74. // the contract for the given pointer. Each annotation requires providers or
  75. // consumers of these pointers across API boundaries to take appropriate steps
  76. // when setting or using these pointers:
  77. //
  78. // * "Non-null" pointers should never be null. It is the responsibility of the
  79. // provider of this pointer to ensure that the pointer may never be set to
  80. // null. Consumers of such pointers can treat such pointers as non-null.
  81. // * "Nullable" pointers may or may not be null. Consumers of such pointers
  82. // should precede any usage of that pointer (e.g. a dereference operation)
  83. // with a a `nullptr` check.
  84. // * "Unknown" pointers may be either "non-null" or "nullable" but have not been
  85. // definitively determined to be in either classification state. Providers of
  86. // such pointers across API boundaries should determine -- over time -- to
  87. // annotate the pointer in either of the above two states. Consumers of such
  88. // pointers across an API boundary should continue to treat such pointers as
  89. // they currently do.
  90. //
  91. // Example:
  92. //
  93. // // PaySalary() requires the passed pointer to an `Employee` to be non-null.
  94. // void PaySalary(y_absl::Nonnull<Employee *> e) {
  95. // pay(e->salary); // OK to dereference
  96. // }
  97. //
  98. // // CompleteTransaction() guarantees the returned pointer to an `Account` to
  99. // // be non-null.
  100. // y_absl::Nonnull<Account *> balance CompleteTransaction(double fee) {
  101. // ...
  102. // }
  103. //
  104. // // Note that specifying a nullability annotation does not prevent someone
  105. // // from violating the contract:
  106. //
  107. // Nullable<Employee *> find(Map& employees, std::string_view name);
  108. //
  109. // void g(Map& employees) {
  110. // Employee *e = find(employees, "Pat");
  111. // // `e` can now be null.
  112. // PaySalary(e); // Violates contract, but compiles!
  113. // }
  114. //
  115. // Nullability annotations, in other words, are useful for defining and
  116. // narrowing contracts; *enforcement* of those contracts depends on use and any
  117. // additional (static or dynamic analysis) tooling.
  118. //
  119. // NOTE: The "unknown" annotation state indicates that a pointer's contract has
  120. // not yet been positively identified. The unknown state therefore acts as a
  121. // form of documentation of your technical debt, and a codebase that adopts
  122. // nullability annotations should aspire to annotate every pointer as either
  123. // "non-null" or "nullable".
  124. //
  125. // -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  126. // Applicability of Nullability Annotations
  127. // -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  128. //
  129. // By default, nullability annotations are applicable to raw and smart
  130. // pointers. User-defined types can indicate compatibility with nullability
  131. // annotations by adding the Y_ABSL_NULLABILITY_COMPATIBLE attribute.
  132. //
  133. // // Example:
  134. // struct Y_ABSL_NULLABILITY_COMPATIBLE MyPtr {
  135. // ...
  136. // };
  137. //
  138. // Note: For the time being, nullability-compatible classes should additionally
  139. // be marked with an `absl_nullability_compatible` nested type (this will soon
  140. // be deprecated). The actual definition of this inner type is not relevant as
  141. // it is used merely as a marker. It is common to use a using declaration of
  142. // `absl_nullability_compatible` set to void.
  143. //
  144. // // Example:
  145. // struct MyPtr {
  146. // using absl_nullability_compatible = void;
  147. // ...
  148. // };
  149. //
  150. // DISCLAIMER:
  151. // ===========================================================================
  152. // These nullability annotations are primarily a human readable signal about the
  153. // intended contract of the pointer. They are not *types* and do not currently
  154. // provide any correctness guarantees. For example, a pointer annotated as
  155. // `Nonnull<T*>` is *not guaranteed* to be non-null, and the compiler won't
  156. // alert or prevent assignment of a `Nullable<T*>` to a `Nonnull<T*>`.
  157. // ===========================================================================
  158. #ifndef Y_ABSL_BASE_NULLABILITY_H_
  159. #define Y_ABSL_BASE_NULLABILITY_H_
  160. #include "y_absl/base/config.h"
  161. #include "y_absl/base/internal/nullability_impl.h"
  162. namespace y_absl {
  163. Y_ABSL_NAMESPACE_BEGIN
  164. // y_absl::Nonnull
  165. //
  166. // The indicated pointer is never null. It is the responsibility of the provider
  167. // of this pointer across an API boundary to ensure that the pointer is never
  168. // set to null. Consumers of this pointer across an API boundary may safely
  169. // dereference the pointer.
  170. //
  171. // Example:
  172. //
  173. // // `employee` is designated as not null.
  174. // void PaySalary(y_absl::Nonnull<Employee *> employee) {
  175. // pay(*employee); // OK to dereference
  176. // }
  177. template <typename T>
  178. using Nonnull = nullability_internal::NonnullImpl<T>;
  179. // y_absl::Nullable
  180. //
  181. // The indicated pointer may, by design, be either null or non-null. Consumers
  182. // of this pointer across an API boundary should perform a `nullptr` check
  183. // before performing any operation using the pointer.
  184. //
  185. // Example:
  186. //
  187. // // `employee` may be null.
  188. // void PaySalary(y_absl::Nullable<Employee *> employee) {
  189. // if (employee != nullptr) {
  190. // Pay(*employee); // OK to dereference
  191. // }
  192. // }
  193. template <typename T>
  194. using Nullable = nullability_internal::NullableImpl<T>;
  195. // y_absl::NullabilityUnknown (default)
  196. //
  197. // The indicated pointer has not yet been determined to be definitively
  198. // "non-null" or "nullable." Providers of such pointers across API boundaries
  199. // should, over time, annotate such pointers as either "non-null" or "nullable."
  200. // Consumers of these pointers across an API boundary should treat such pointers
  201. // with the same caution they treat currently unannotated pointers. Most
  202. // existing code will have "unknown" pointers, which should eventually be
  203. // migrated into one of the above two nullability states: `Nonnull<T>` or
  204. // `Nullable<T>`.
  205. //
  206. // NOTE: Because this annotation is the global default state, unannotated
  207. // pointers are assumed to have "unknown" semantics. This assumption is designed
  208. // to minimize churn and reduce clutter within the codebase.
  209. //
  210. // Example:
  211. //
  212. // // `employee`s nullability state is unknown.
  213. // void PaySalary(y_absl::NullabilityUnknown<Employee *> employee) {
  214. // Pay(*employee); // Potentially dangerous. API provider should investigate.
  215. // }
  216. //
  217. // Note that a pointer without an annotation, by default, is assumed to have the
  218. // annotation `NullabilityUnknown`.
  219. //
  220. // // `employee`s nullability state is unknown.
  221. // void PaySalary(Employee* employee) {
  222. // Pay(*employee); // Potentially dangerous. API provider should investigate.
  223. // }
  224. template <typename T>
  225. using NullabilityUnknown = nullability_internal::NullabilityUnknownImpl<T>;
  226. Y_ABSL_NAMESPACE_END
  227. } // namespace y_absl
  228. // Y_ABSL_NULLABILITY_COMPATIBLE
  229. //
  230. // Indicates that a class is compatible with nullability annotations.
  231. //
  232. // For example:
  233. //
  234. // struct Y_ABSL_NULLABILITY_COMPATIBLE MyPtr {
  235. // ...
  236. // };
  237. #if Y_ABSL_HAVE_FEATURE(nullability_on_classes)
  238. #define Y_ABSL_NULLABILITY_COMPATIBLE _Nullable
  239. #else
  240. #define Y_ABSL_NULLABILITY_COMPATIBLE
  241. #endif
  242. #endif // Y_ABSL_BASE_NULLABILITY_H_