rust-lang / rust-lang/rust

Guarded byte string and C string non-raw literals should not report "unknown prefix"

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A-diagnostics T-compiler
Dominant language
Rust
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Description

Code
macro_rules! a {
    ($($t:tt)*) => {};
}

a! {
  b#""#
  c#""#
}
Current output
Compiling playground v0.0.1 (/playground)
error: prefix `b` is unknown
 --> src/lib.rs:6:3
  |
6 |   b#""#
  |   ^ unknown prefix
  |
  = note: prefixed identifiers and literals are reserved since Rust 2021
help: consider inserting whitespace here
  |
6 |   b #""#
  |    +

error: invalid string literal
 --> src/lib.rs:6:4
  |
6 |   b#""#
  |    ^^^^
  |
  = note: unprefixed guarded string literals are reserved for future use since Rust 2024
help: consider inserting whitespace here
  |
6 |   b# ""#
  |     +

error: prefix `c` is unknown
 --> src/lib.rs:7:3
  |
7 |   c#""#
  |   ^ unknown prefix
  |
  = note: prefixed identifiers and literals are reserved since Rust 2021
help: consider inserting whitespace here
  |
7 |   c #""#
  |    +

error: invalid string literal
 --> src/lib.rs:7:4
  |
7 |   c#""#
  |    ^^^^
  |
  = note: unprefixed guarded string literals are reserved for future use since Rust 2024
help: consider inserting whitespace here
  |
7 |   c# ""#
  |     +

error: could not compile `playground` (lib) due to 4 previous errors
Desired output
Compiling playground v0.0.1 (/playground)
error: invalid string literal
 --> src/lib.rs:6:4
  |
6 |   b#""#
  |   ^^  ^
  |
  = note: guarded byte string literals are not supported
help: did you mean to write a raw byte string literal?
  |
6 |   br#""#
  |    +

error: invalid string literal
 --> src/lib.rs:7:4
  |
7 |   c#""#
  |   ^^  ^
  |
  = note: guarded C string literals are not supported
help: did you mean to write a raw C string literal?
  |
7 |   cr#""#
  |    +

error: could not compile `playground` (lib) due to 2 previous errors
Rationale and extra context

The error message prefix `b` is unknown is incorrect. The prefix b for string literals does mean something, just not for guarded string literals.

Rust Version
1.88.0-nightly (2025-04-02 d5b4c2e4f19b6d703737)
(sorry this isn't the rustc --version --verbose output asked; i've tested with the online playground only)
Anything else?

Cursor::c_or_byte_string should lex a # character and produce a different error token than UnknownPrefix. It currently doesn't.

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 the issue with the Rust snippet, then read Cursor::c_or_byte_string in compiler/rustc_lexer/src/lib.rs around the referenced line. Trace how the # character is handled for b and c literals; done means the diagnostics match the desired output without separate unknown-prefix errors.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
rust
Domain
compilers
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
3/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Clearly specified
Newbie friendliness
45/100

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