Explain rustc_on_unimplemented

src/diagnostics.md

@@ -342,3 +342,150 @@ The JSON emitter defines [its own `Diagnostic`
 struct](https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/blob/b2c6b8c29f13f8d1f242da89e587960b95337819/src/libsyntax/json.rs#L85-L99)
 (and sub-structs) for the JSON serialization. Don't confuse this with
 [`errors::Diagnostic`](https://doc.rust-lang.org/nightly/nightly-rustc/rustc_errors/struct.Diagnostic.html)!
+
+## `#[rustc_on_unimplemented(...)]`
+
+The `#[rustc_on_unimplemented]` attribute allows trait definitions to add specialized
+notes to error messages when an implementation was expected but not found.
+You can refer to the trait's generic arguments by name and to the resolved type using `Self`.
+
+For example:
+
+```rust,ignore
+#![feature(rustc_attrs)]
+
+#[rustc_on_unimplemented="an iterator over elements of type `{A}` \
+    cannot be built from a collection of type `{Self}`"]
+trait MyIterator<A> {
+    fn next(&mut self) -> A;
+}
+
+fn iterate_chars<I: MyIterator<char>>(i: I) {
+    // ...
+}
+
+fn main() {
+    iterate_chars(&[1, 2, 3][..]);
+}
+```
+
+When the user compiles this, they will see the following;
+
+```txt
+error[E0277]: the trait bound `&[{integer}]: MyIterator<char>` is not satisfied
+  --> <anon>:14:5
+   |
+14 |     iterate_chars(&[1, 2, 3][..]);
+   |     ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ an iterator over elements of type `char` cannot be built from a collection of type `&[{integer}]`
+   |
+   = help: the trait `MyIterator<char>` is not implemented for `&[{integer}]`
+   = note: required by `iterate_chars`
+```
+
+`rustc_on_unimplemented` also supports advanced filtering for better targeting
+of messages, as well as modifying specific parts of the error message. You
+target the text of:
+
+ - the main error message (`message`)
+ - the label (`label`)
+ - an extra note (`note`)
+
+For example, the following attribute
+
+```rust,ignore
+#[rustc_on_unimplemented(
+    message="message",
+    label="label",
+    note="note"
+)]
+trait MyIterator<A> {
+    fn next(&mut self) -> A;
+}
+```
+
+Would generate the following output:
+
+```text
+error[E0277]: message
+  --> <anon>:14:5
+   |
+14 |     iterate_chars(&[1, 2, 3][..]);
+   |     ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ label
+   |
+   = note: note
+   = help: the trait `MyIterator<char>` is not implemented for `&[{integer}]`
+   = note: required by `iterate_chars`
+```
+
+To allow more targeted error messages, it is possible to filter the
+application of these fields based on a variety of attributes when using
+`on`:
+
+ - `crate_local`: whether the code causing the trait bound to not be
+   fulfilled is part of the user's crate. This is used to avoid suggesting
+   code changes that would require modifying a dependency.
+ - Any of the generic arguments that can be substituted in the text can be
+   referred by name as well for filtering, like `Rhs="i32"`, except for
+   `Self`.
+ - `_Self`: to filter only on a particular calculated trait resolution, like
+   `Self="std::iter::Iterator<char>"`. This is needed because `Self` is a
+   keyword which cannot appear in attributes.
+ - `direct`: user-specified rather than derived obligation.
+ - `from_method`: usable both as boolean (whether the flag is present, like
+   `crate_local`) or matching against a particular method. Currently used
+   for `try`.
+ - `from_desugaring`: usable both as boolean (whether the flag is present)
+   or matching against a particular desugaring. The desugaring is identified
+   with its variant name in the `DesugaringKind` enum.
+
+For example, the `Iterator` trait can be annotated in the following way:
+
+```rust,ignore
+#[rustc_on_unimplemented(
+    on(
+        _Self="&str",
+        note="call `.chars()` or `.as_bytes()` on `{Self}"
+    ),
+    message="`{Self}` is not an iterator",
+    label="`{Self}` is not an iterator",
+    note="maybe try calling `.iter()` or a similar method"
+)]
+pub trait Iterator {}
+```
+
+Which would produce the following outputs:
+
+```text
+error[E0277]: `Foo` is not an iterator
+ --> src/main.rs:4:16
+  |
+4 |     for foo in Foo {}
+  |                ^^^ `Foo` is not an iterator
+  |
+  = note: maybe try calling `.iter()` or a similar method
+  = help: the trait `std::iter::Iterator` is not implemented for `Foo`
+  = note: required by `std::iter::IntoIterator::into_iter`
+
+error[E0277]: `&str` is not an iterator
+ --> src/main.rs:5:16
+  |
+5 |     for foo in "" {}
+  |                ^^ `&str` is not an iterator
+  |
+  = note: call `.chars()` or `.bytes() on `&str`
+  = help: the trait `std::iter::Iterator` is not implemented for `&str`
+  = note: required by `std::iter::IntoIterator::into_iter`
+```
+
+If you need to filter on multiple attributes, you can use `all`, `any` or
+`not` in the following way:
+
+```rust,ignore
+#[rustc_on_unimplemented(
+    on(
+        all(_Self="&str", T="std::string::String"),
+        note="you can coerce a `{T}` into a `{Self}` by writing `&*variable`"
+    )
+)]
+pub trait From<T>: Sized { /* ... */ }
+```