rust-lang / rust-lang/rust

unsafe { &mut *x } vs &mut unsafe { *x }

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A-diagnostics A-raw-pointers D-terse
Dominant language
Rust
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Description

I tried this code:

fn main() {
    let y: &mut [bool] = &mut [false; 2];
    let x = unsafe { &mut *(y as *mut [_] as *mut [std::mem::MaybeUninit<_>]) };
    let x = &x[0].write(true);
    println!("{x}");
}

which works fine, but if you move the unsafe ever so slightly inwards, like so:

fn main() {
    let y: &mut [bool] = &mut [false; 2];
    let x = &mut unsafe { *(y as *mut [_] as *mut [std::mem::MaybeUninit<_>]) };
    let x = &x[0].write(true);
    println!("{x}");
}

you get this error output:

error[[E0161]](https://doc.rust-lang.org/stable/error_codes/E0161.html): cannot move a value of type `[MaybeUninit<bool>]`
 --> src/main.rs:3:18
  |
3 |     let x = &mut unsafe { *(y as *mut [_] as *mut [std::mem::MaybeUninit<_>]) };
  |                  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ the size of `[MaybeUninit<bool>]` cannot be statically determined

error[[E0508]](https://doc.rust-lang.org/stable/error_codes/E0508.html): cannot move out of type `[MaybeUninit<bool>]`, a non-copy slice
 --> src/main.rs:3:27
  |
3 |     let x = &mut unsafe { *(y as *mut [_] as *mut [std::mem::MaybeUninit<_>]) };
  |                           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  |                           |
  |                           cannot move out of here
  |                           move occurs because value has type `[MaybeUninit<bool>]`, which does not implement the `Copy` trait

Some errors have detailed explanations: E0161, E0508.
For more information about an error, try `rustc --explain E0161`.
error: could not compile `playground` (bin "playground") due to 2 previous errors

Version tested is 1.82.0 and current nightly on the playground

Contributor guide

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First steps

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  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Reproduce both snippets in src/main.rs using the stable 1.82.0 compiler and current nightly on the linked Playground, then compare the diagnostics for the two placements of unsafe. Trace the compiler behavior involved in the differing treatment of the dereference; done means the issue's expected behavior and resulting diagnostics are resolved or clearly documented.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

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

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