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Stop using higher-order macros to declare arenas#159955

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Zalathar:arena
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Stop using higher-order macros to declare arenas#159955
Zalathar wants to merge 3 commits into
rust-lang:mainfrom
Zalathar:arena

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@Zalathar

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The arenas used by rustc_hir and rustc_middle are declared via macros. But instead of invoking rustc_arena::declare_arena! directly, those crates declare a higher-order macro containing a list of types, and then invoke that macro with declare_arena! as an argument.

From what I can tell, the only reason for this arrangement is so that the list of types can also contain [decode] modifiers that produce a corresponding implementation of RefDecodable that decodes into the arena. But the number of types involved is small enough that it's easy to list them separately, and the advantage of doing so is that we can remove a layer of macro indirection, making it easier to navigate to the real code.

There should be no change to compiler behaviour.

@rustbot rustbot added S-waiting-on-review Status: Awaiting review from the assignee but also interested parties. T-compiler Relevant to the compiler team, which will review and decide on the PR/issue. labels Jul 26, 2026
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@Zalathar

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This will have textual conflicts with #159893.

@mejrs

mejrs commented Jul 27, 2026

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You should be able to get around the indirection and still keep the [decode] syntax like this

#[macro_export]
macro_rules! eat {
    (decode) => {};
}

#[rustc_macro_transparency = "semiopaque"]
pub macro declare_arena([$([$($a:ident)?] $name:ident: $ty:ty,)*]) {
    $(
        $(
            $crate::eat!($a); // or ${ignore($a)}
            impl<'tcx, D: TyDecoder<'tcx>> RefDecodable<'tcx, D> for $ty {
                #[inline]
                fn decode(decoder: &mut D) -> &'tcx Self {
                    todo!()
                }
            }

            impl<'tcx, D: TyDecoder<'tcx>> rRefDecodable<'tcx, D> for [$ty] {
                #[inline]
                fn decode(decoder: &mut D) -> &'tcx Self {
                    todo!()
                }
            }
        )?
    )*
   // stuff
}

That said, I haven't yet looked in-depth at how comfy either design would be if someone down the line has to add a[decode] in the rustc_hir arena.

Also another thought; maybe we should make the syntax a bit more rust-y?

rustc_arena::declare_arena! {
    pub struct Arena<'tcx> {
        asm_template: rustc_ast::InlineAsmTemplatePiece,
        #[decode]
        attribute: rustc_hir::Attribute,
        macro_def: rustc_ast::MacroDef,
    }
}

(then it can also be an attribute macro, with macro_attr)

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Zalathar added 3 commits July 27, 2026 15:20
This is a little more verbose than using a `[decode]` modifier, but will allow
us to stop using higher-order macros when declaring arenas.
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rustbot commented Jul 27, 2026

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This PR was rebased onto a different main commit. Here's a range-diff highlighting what actually changed.

Rebasing is a normal part of keeping PRs up to date, so no action is needed—this note is just to help reviewers.

@Zalathar

Zalathar commented Jul 27, 2026

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You should be able to get around the indirection and still keep the [decode] syntax like this
...
That said, I haven't yet looked in-depth at how comfy either design would be if someone down the line has to add a [decode] in the rustc_hir arena.

I think the value of being able to write [decode] inline is pretty low. We already need a separate list of types for implementing RefDecodable via arena on Copy types (since they don't need to be listed in the arena), and the number of needs-drop types that end up needing to be written out twice is very small.

I also have a strong preference for avoiding complex macros whenever reasonably possible. In this case, I think anything beyond a very simple macro is a high price to pay, and the value of [decode] doesn't justify that price.

Also another thought; maybe we should make the syntax a bit more rust-y?

IMO it's a good thing that the declare_arena! syntax doesn't resemble “real Rust” too closely.

E.g. if I saw something like that in some unfamiliar code, I would end up being pretty annoyed that the code was “lying” to me by resembling real code that is meaningfully different from the actual expansion.

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4 participants