rust-lang / rust-lang/rust-clippy

`type_complexity` fires on type that cannot be simplified

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#11,637 2 comments 1 reaction 0 assignees View on GitHub

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C-bug I-false-positive
Dominant language
Rust
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Description

Summary

I have a type that is admittedly complicated, but due to its structure,
I believe that there is no way to factor it apart.

Lint Name

type_complexity

Reproducer

I tried this code:

pub struct Filters<'f, E> {
    pub widgets: Box<dyn for<'a> FnOnce(&'a Widget) -> Result<(), E> + 'f>,
    pub gadgets: Box<dyn for<'a> FnOnce(Gadget<'a>) -> Result<(), E> + 'f>,
}
pub struct Widget;
pub struct Gadget<'a>(&'a ());

I saw this happen:

warning: very complex type used. Consider factoring parts into `type` definitions
 --> src/lib.rs:2:18
  |
2 |     pub widgets: Box<dyn for<'a> FnOnce(&'a Widget) -> Result<(), E> + 'f>,
  |                  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  |
  = help: for further information visit https://rust-lang.github.io/rust-clippy/master/index.html#type_complexity
  = note: `#[warn(clippy::type_complexity)]` on by default

warning: very complex type used. Consider factoring parts into `type` definitions
 --> src/lib.rs:3:18
  |
3 |     pub gadgets: Box<dyn for<'a> FnOnce(Gadget<'a>) -> Result<(), E> + 'f>,
  |                  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  |
  = help: for further information visit https://rust-lang.github.io/rust-clippy/master/index.html#type_complexity

warning: `playground` (lib) generated 2 warnings

See playground link.

I expected to see this happen:

No warning, since the type cannot be simplified.

I would love to simplify these types. Ideally, I would write something like:

// does not compile!
pub type Filter<'f, E, T> = Box<dyn for<'a> FnOnce(T<'a>) -> Result<(), E> + 'f>;

pub struct Filters<'f, E> {
    pub widgets: Filter<'f, E, &_ Widget>, // made-up syntax!
    pub gadgets: Filter<'f, E, Gadget<_>>, // made-up syntax!
}
pub struct Widget;
pub struct Gadget<'a>(&'a ());

But of course this does not work. I don't see a way to break down any
meaningful part of this type expression. (Even breaking out the type parameter
to Box<_> would require trait aliases, which aren't available on stable.)

Clippy shouldn't prompt me to improve code along an axis that admits no further
improvements.

Version
rustc 1.70.0 (90c541806 2023-05-31)
binary: rustc
commit-hash: 90c541806f23a127002de5b4038be731ba1458ca
commit-date: 2023-05-31
host: x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu
release: 1.70.0
LLVM version: 16.0.2
Additional Labels

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Contributor guide

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First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start at the type_complexity lint entry point and reproduce the report with the Rust snippet in the issue. Add a regression case covering the two higher-ranked FnOnce fields; the work is done when the lint no longer recommends factoring types that cannot be meaningfully simplified.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
rust
Domain
tooling
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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