rust-lang / rust-lang/rust

Indexing with `slice::binary_search_by`'s result should not produce panicking branch

Open
#146,789 8 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

Nobody has claimed this yet.

C-optimization
Dominant language
Rust
Stars
119k
Forks
16.1k
PR merge metrics
PR metrics pending

Description

In this code:

fn binary_search_repro(needle: &str) -> Option<&str> {
    let haystack = &["a", "b"];
    haystack.binary_search(&needle).ok().map(|i| haystack[i])
}

the compiler should be able to use the hint from slice::binary_search_by in order to elide the length check in the index operation (haystack[i]).

Seems the knowledge from this assert_unchecked is lost somehow:
https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/blob/e10aa8891182378de002bd71bf4d04181fb8231d/library/core/src/slice/mod.rs#L2975

Godbolt: https://rust.godbolt.org/z/8zqq8vrrv

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 binary_search_repro example and the linked assert_unchecked in library/core/src/slice/mod.rs. Inspect how the compiler carries the binary-search result into the haystack[i] indexing operation, using the linked Godbolt reproduction to compare generated code. Done means the bounds check is eliminated for this pattern without changing behavior.

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
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
45/100

Get new issues in your inbox

A short digest of beginner-friendly GitHub issues.