fsharp / fsharp/fslang-suggestions

Checked arithmetic operators

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Description

# Checked arithmetic operators

The C# team is considering to add [checked operators](https://github.com/dotnet/csharplang/issues/4665): `static T checked operator +(T lhs, T rhs);` which will be preferred in `checked` contexts, and only consider the regular (infer checkedness from compiler switch) operator if the signature of the checked operator does not fit. In contrast, when not in a checked context, checked operators will be ignored.

Although F# reserves `checked` as a keyword, my guess is that as with `event` and `sealed`, attributes will be used.
```fs
open System
type C =
{ c : int }
static member (+) ({ c = x }, { c = y }) = x + y
[]
static member (+) ({ c = x }, { c = y }) = Checked.(+) x y
```
With #96:
```fs
open System
type C =
{ c : int }
static member (+) ({ c = x }, { c = y }) = x + y
[]
static member (+) ({ c = x }, { c = y }) =
open Checked
x + y
```
This will emit `op_Addition` and `op_AdditionChecked`. If a checked operator is defined without the regular (infer checkedness from compiler switch) equivalent, an error will be raised.

C# will imply a `checked` scope inside implementations of checked arithmetic operators. Not sure if F# should follow.

The existing way of approaching this problem in F# is to write `op_AdditionChecked` directly that can only be used in C# once implemented in their end but being forced to write `op_AdditionChecked` when using from F#.

Whether allowing explicit unchecked operators is still unresolved from the C# side.

## Pros and Cons

The advantages of making this adjustment to F# are
> There is no way for a user to declare a type and support both checked and unchecked versions of an operator. This will make it hard to port various algorithms to use the proposed `generic math` interfaces exposed by the libraries team. Likewise, this makes it impossible to expose a type such as `Int128` or `UInt128` without the language simultaneously shipping its own support to avoid breaking changes.

The disadvantages of making this adjustment to F# are
> This adds additional complexity to the language and allows users to introduce more kinds of breaking changes to their types.

## Extra information

Estimated cost (XS, S, M, L, XL, XXL): S

Related suggestions: https://github.com/dotnet/csharplang/issues/4665 - the linked C# issue

## Affidavit (please submit!)

Please tick this by placing a cross in the box:
* [x] This is not a question (e.g. like one you might ask on [stackoverflow](http://stackoverflow.com)) and I have searched stackoverflow for discussions of this issue
* [x] I have [searched both open and closed suggestions on this site](http://github.com/fsharp/fslang-suggestions/issues) and believe this is not a duplicate
* [x] This is not something which has obviously "already been decided" in previous versions of F#. If you're questioning a fundamental design decision that has obviously already been taken (e.g. "Make F# untyped") then please don't submit it.

Please tick all that apply:
* [x] This is not a breaking change to the F# language design
* [x] I or my company would be willing to help implement and/or test this

## For Readers

If you would like to see this issue implemented, please click the :+1: emoji on this issue. These counts are used to generally order the suggestions by engagement.

Contributor guide

No contributing guide indexed for this repository

Research direction

Start with the linked C# issue and the existing F# approach of declaring op_AdditionChecked directly. Review the proposed attribute syntax, checked-context behavior, operator naming, and unresolved explicit-unchecked question; done requires an agreed language design plus implementation and tests for checked and regular operators.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
csharp, fsharp
Domain
compilers
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
28/100

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