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Add initializers to Int and UInt to convert from UnsafePointer and UnsafeMutablePointer

Introduction

Just as users can create Unsafe[Mutable]Pointers from Ints and UInts, they should be able to create Ints and UInts from Unsafe[Mutable]Pointers. This will allow users to call C functions with intptr_t and uintptr_t parameters, and will allow users to perform more advanced pointer arithmetic than is allowed by UnsafePointers.

Swift Evolution Discussion, Review

Motivation

Swift currently lacks the ability to perform many complex operations on pointers, such as checking pointer alignment, tagging pointers, or XORing pointers (for working with XOR linked lists, for example). As a systems programming language, Swift ought to be able to solve these problems natively and concisely.

Additionally, since some C functions take intptr_t and uintptr_t parameters, Swift currently has no ability to call these functions directly. Users must wrap calls to these functions in C code.

Proposed solution

Initializers will be added to Int and UInt to convert from UnsafePointer, UnsafeMutablePointer, and OpaquePointer.

Currently, the only workaround which can solve these problems is to write any code that requires pointer arithmetic in C. Writing this code in Swift will be no safer than it is in C, as this is a fundamentally unsafe operation. However, it will be cleaner in that users will not be forced to write C code.

Detailed design

The initializers will be implemented using the built-in ptrtoint_Word function.

extension UInt {
  init<T>(bitPattern: UnsafePointer<T>) {
    self = UInt(Builtin.ptrtoint_Word(bitPattern._rawValue))
  }

  init<T>(bitPattern: UnsafeMutablePointer<T>) {
    self = UInt(Builtin.ptrtoint_Word(bitPattern._rawValue))
  }

  init(bitPattern: OpaquePointer) {
    self = UInt(Builtin.ptrtoint_Word(bitPattern._rawValue))
  }
}

extension Int {
  init<T>(bitPattern: UnsafePointer<T>) {
    self = Int(Builtin.ptrtoint_Word(bitPattern._rawValue))
  }

  init<T>(bitPattern: UnsafeMutablePointer<T>) {
    self = Int(Builtin.ptrtoint_Word(bitPattern._rawValue))
  }

  init(bitPattern: OpaquePointer) {
    self = Int(Builtin.ptrtoint_Word(bitPattern._rawValue))
  }
}

As an example, these initializers will allow the user to get the next address of an XOR linked list in Swift.

struct XORLinkedList<T> {
  let address: UnsafePointer<T>

  ...

  func successor(_ predecessor: XORLinkedList<T>) -> XORLinkedList<T> {
    let next = UInt(bitPattern: address) ^ UInt(bitPattern: predecessor.address)
    return XorLinkedList(UnsafePointer<T>(bitPattern: next))
  }
}

Impact on existing code

There is no impact on existing code.

Alternatives considered

Three alternatives were considered.

The first alternative was to add an intValue function to Unsafe[Mutable]Pointer. This alternative was rejected because it is preferred that type conversions be implemented as initializers where possible.

The next alternative was to add functions to Unsafe[Mutable]Pointer which covered the identified pointer arithmetic cases. This alternative was rejected because it either would have required us to imagine every use-case of pointer arithmetic and write functions for them, which is an impossible task, or it would have required adding a full suite of arithmetic and bitwise operators to Unsafe[Mutable]Pointer. Because some of these operations are defined only on signed integers, and others on unsigned, it would have required splitting Unsafe[Mutable]Pointer into signed and unsigned variants, which would have complicated things for users who did not need to do pointer arithmetic. Additionally, the implementations of these operations would have probably converted the pointers to integers, perform a single operation, and then convert them back. When chaining operations, this would create a lot of unnecessary conversions.

The last alternative was to forgo these initializers and force users to write all their complicated pointer code in C. This alternative was rejected because it makes Swift less useful as a systems programming language.

Changes from revision 1

  • The proposal was amended post-acceptance to include OpaquePointer. Originally it only included UnsafePointer and UnsafeMutablePointer.