std: simplify NonNull variance documentation

Streamlined the explanation of covariance for `NonNull<T>`,
focusing on practical usage and reducing scary explanation.
Added a concise example for cases where invariance is required,
showing how to use `PhantomData<Cell<T>>

Signed-off-by: xizheyin <xizheyin@smail.nju.edu.cn>
This commit is contained in:
xizheyin 2025-06-04 01:39:02 +08:00
parent 91fad92585
commit 871397342c
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@ -20,19 +20,24 @@ use crate::{fmt, hash, intrinsics, mem, ptr};
/// as a discriminant -- `Option<NonNull<T>>` has the same size as `*mut T`.
/// However the pointer may still dangle if it isn't dereferenced.
///
/// Unlike `*mut T`, `NonNull<T>` was chosen to be covariant over `T`. This makes it
/// possible to use `NonNull<T>` when building covariant types, but introduces the
/// risk of unsoundness if used in a type that shouldn't actually be covariant.
/// (The opposite choice was made for `*mut T` even though technically the unsoundness
/// could only be caused by calling unsafe functions.)
/// Unlike `*mut T`, `NonNull<T>` is covariant over `T`. This is usually the correct
/// choice for most data structures and safe abstractions, such as `Box`, `Rc`, `Arc`, `Vec`,
/// and `LinkedList`.
///
/// Covariance is correct for most safe abstractions, such as `Box`, `Rc`, `Arc`, `Vec`,
/// and `LinkedList`. This is the case because they provide a public API that follows the
/// normal shared XOR mutable rules of Rust.
/// In rare cases, if your type exposes a way to mutate the value of `T` through a `NonNull<T>`,
/// and you need to prevent unsoundness from variance (for example, if `T` could be a reference
/// with a shorter lifetime), you should add a field to make your type invariant, such as
/// `PhantomData<Cell<T>>` or `PhantomData<&'a mut T>`.
///
/// If your type cannot safely be covariant, you must ensure it contains some
/// additional field to provide invariance. Often this field will be a [`PhantomData`]
/// type like `PhantomData<Cell<T>>` or `PhantomData<&'a mut T>`.
/// Example of a type that must be invariant:
/// ```rust
/// use std::cell::Cell;
/// use std::marker::PhantomData;
/// struct Invariant<T> {
/// ptr: std::ptr::NonNull<T>,
/// _invariant: PhantomData<Cell<T>>,
/// }
/// ```
///
/// Notice that `NonNull<T>` has a `From` instance for `&T`. However, this does
/// not change the fact that mutating through a (pointer derived from a) shared