rust-lang / rust-lang/rust

Missed optimization with Option

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C-optimization needs-triage T-compiler
Dominant language
Rust
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Description

I tried this code:

#[unsafe(no_mangle)]
pub fn f(x: &mut Option<u32>) {
    let mut y = *x;
    y = y.map(|a| a + 1);
    *x = y;
}

#[unsafe(no_mangle)]
pub fn g(x: &mut Option<u32>) {
    let mut y = *x;
    if let Some(a) = &mut y {
        *a += 1;
    }
    *x = y;
}

I expected both code to generate the same assembly, but instead I got the following with -Copt-level=3 (Godbolt):

f:
        inc     dword ptr [rdi + 4]
        ret

g:
        mov     eax, dword ptr [rdi]
        add     dword ptr [rdi + 4], eax
        ret

Since both functions are unconditionally doing a typed copy to *x, the compiler should be free to mutate the uninitialized bytes in a None value.

Meta

Godbolt compiler version:

rustc 1.94.0-nightly (fa5eda19b 2025-12-12)
binary: rustc
commit-hash: fa5eda19b95201468f5b1c5c035ec2fc06fccd66
commit-date: 2025-12-12
host: x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu
release: 1.94.0-nightly
LLVM version: 21.1.5
Internal compiler ID: nightly

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 by reproducing functions f and g from the issue with rustc 1.94.0-nightly and -Copt-level=3, then compare their generated assembly through the linked Godbolt example. The report names no repository file or test entry point; done means identifying and correcting the missed optimization so the two equivalent cases compile to equivalent efficient code.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
rust
Domain
compilers, performance
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
45/100

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