rust-lang / rust-lang/rust

Permit `include!(…)` in pattern position for completeness's sake

Open
#146,372 7 comments 2 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

Nobody has claimed this yet.

A-macros A-patterns C-enhancement I-lang-radar P-low T-lang
Dominant language
Rust
Stars
119k
Forks
16.1k
PR merge metrics
PR metrics pending

Description

At the time of writing, built-in attr include is not permitted to expand into a pattern context (its expander doesn't override make_pat):

fn main() {
    match () { include!("/dev/null") => {} } //~ ERROR non-pattern macro in pattern position: include
}

For nothing but "completeness" (item, expr, pat trifecta) and for consistency with include_str and include_bytes I propose that we permit them in this position.

include's expander would then parse a PatternNoTopGuard (as defined in RFC 3637), i.e., top-level or-patterns are permitted (and guards aren't – ignoring guard_patterns for now). Meaning let include!("file"); with file containing false | true would be permitted despite let false | true; not being valid (requiring parentheses) since the macro expansion would act as invisible delimiters. Leading vert / bar would be permitted as well, naturally.

Lastly, don't strip shebang or frontmatter (meaning they'll lead to an error since the pattern parser won't accept it). Edit: Well, it depends on the outcome of https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/pull/146377.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

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 with the built-in include expander and its missing make_pat handling, then review the PatternNoTopGuard requirements from RFC 3637 and the related PR #146377. Done means include! can expand in pattern position with the specified or-pattern and leading-bar behavior, while shebang/frontmatter handling follows the outcome of that PR.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
rust
Domain
compilers
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
42/100

Get new issues in your inbox

A short digest of beginner-friendly GitHub issues.