Inline calls to constant functions and evaluate them at compile time
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- Rust
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Description
Originally posted by @nazar-pc in #300
The basic problem right now is that calls into const fn are not inlined recursively. Here is an example:
const K: u8 = 20;
const PARAM_EXT: u8 = 6;
const fn y_size_bits(k: u8) -> u32 {
k as u32 + PARAM_EXT as u32
}
const fn metadata_size_bits(k: u8, table_number: u8) -> u32 {
k as u32
* match table_number {
1 => 1,
2 => 2,
3 | 4 => 4,
5 => 3,
6 => 2,
7 => 0,
_ => unreachable!(),
}
}
fn compute_fn_impl<const PARENT_TABLE_NUMBER: u8>(
) -> u32 {
let parent_metadata_bits = metadata_size_bits(K, PARENT_TABLE_NUMBER);
let num_bytes_with_data = (y_size_bits(K) + parent_metadata_bits * 2).div_ceil(u8::BITS);
// ..
}
Right now this requires Int8 capability:
error: Missing required capabilities for types
|
= note: `u8` type used without `OpCapability Int8`
Even though the exact value of num_bytes_with_data is known at compile time for every instantiation of the function and no u8 should actually exist anywhere in runtime. Some workarounds exist:
-
This helps with the first variable, but doesn't scale further.let parent_metadata_bits = const { metadata_size_bits(K, PARENT_TABLE_NUMBER) }; - Making ^ a proper constant doesn't work due to "error[E0401]: can’t use generic parameters from outer function" error
The only real solution is to inline everything recursively manually and wrap with const {}, which hurts code readability a lot, but perhaps this is something compiler can do as a workaround without redesigning too many of things.
In the end, I expect that all constants, variables and const fn calls to be inlined into a single constant value at compile time automatically, including any possible integer casts (like u8 -> u32), which for constant values are also known at compile time.
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start by reproducing the Rust example and its missing Int8 capability error in the compiler or code-generation pipeline. Trace how const fn calls, generic instantiations, casts, and constant expressions are lowered, then verify that the example compiles without runtime u8 values or an Int8 capability.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- rust
- Domain
- compilers
- Issue type
- Feature
- Difficulty
- 5/5
- Estimated time
- Over a week
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 35/100