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Give more detail about eq in book about enums
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mdinger committed Feb 2, 2015
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183 changes: 90 additions & 93 deletions src/doc/trpl/compound-data-types.md
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Expand Up @@ -200,8 +200,62 @@ destructuring `let`, as we discussed previously in 'tuples.' In this case, the
## Enums

Finally, Rust has a "sum type", an *enum*. Enums are an incredibly useful
feature of Rust, and are used throughout the standard library. This is an enum
that is provided by the Rust standard library:
feature of Rust, and are used throughout the standard library. An `enum` is
a type which ties a set of alternates to a specific name. For example, below
we define `Character` to be either a `Digit` or something else. These
can be used via their fully scoped names: `Character::Other` (more about `::`
below).

```rust
enum Character {
Digit(i32),
Other,
}
```

An `enum` variant can be defined as most normal types. Below are some example
types have been listed which also would be allowed in an `enum`.

```rust
struct Empty;
struct Color(i32, i32, i32);
struct Length(i32);
struct Status { Health: i32, Mana: i32, Attack: i32, Defense: i32 }
struct HeightDatabase(Vec<i32>);
```

So you see that depending on the sub-datastructure, the `enum` variant, same as
a struct, may or may not hold data. That is, in `Character`, `Digit` is a name
tied to an `i32` where `Other` is just a name. However, the fact that they are
distinct makes this very useful.

As with structures, enums don't by default have access to operators such as
compare ( `==` and `!=`), binary operations (`*` and `+`), and order
(`<` and `>=`). As such, using the previous `Character` type, the
following code is invalid:

```{rust,ignore}
// These assignments both succeed
let ten = Character::Digit(10);
let four = Character::Digit(4);
// Error: `*` is not implemented for type `Character`
let forty = ten * four;
// Error: `<=` is not implemented for type `Character`
let four_is_smaller = four <= ten;
// Error: `==` is not implemented for type `Character`
let four_equals_ten = four == ten;
```

This may seem rather limiting, particularly equality being invalid; in
many cases however, it's unnecessary. Rust provides the [`match`][match]
keyword, which will be examined in more detail in the next section, which
often allows better and easier branch control than a series of `if`/`else`
statements would. However, for our [game][game] we need the comparisons
to work so we will utilize the `Ordering` `enum` provided by the standard
library which supports such comparisons. It has this form:

```{rust}
enum Ordering {
Expand All @@ -211,14 +265,9 @@ enum Ordering {
}
```

An `Ordering` can only be _one_ of `Less`, `Equal`, or `Greater` at any given
time.

Because `Ordering` is provided by the standard library, we can use the `use`
keyword to use it in our code. We'll learn more about `use` later, but it's
used to bring names into scope.

Here's an example of how to use `Ordering`:
Because we did not define `Ordering`, we must import it (from the std
library) with the `use` keyword. Here's an example of how `Ordering` is
used:

```{rust}
use std::cmp::Ordering;
Expand All @@ -245,11 +294,10 @@ fn main() {
}
```

There's a symbol here we haven't seen before: the double colon (`::`).
This is used to indicate a namespace. In this case, `Ordering` lives in
the `cmp` submodule of the `std` module. We'll talk more about modules
later in the guide. For now, all you need to know is that you can `use`
things from the standard library if you need them.
The `::` symbol is used to indicate a namespace. In this case, `Ordering` lives
in the `cmp` submodule of the `std` module. We'll talk more about modules later
in the guide. For now, all you need to know is that you can `use` things from
the standard library if you need them.

Okay, let's talk about the actual code in the example. `cmp` is a function that
compares two things, and returns an `Ordering`. We return either
Expand All @@ -259,95 +307,44 @@ the two values are less, greater, or equal. Note that each variant of the
`Greater`.

The `ordering` variable has the type `Ordering`, and so contains one of the
three values. We can then do a bunch of `if`/`else` comparisons to check which
one it is. However, repeated `if`/`else` comparisons get quite tedious. Rust
has a feature that not only makes them nicer to read, but also makes sure that
you never miss a case. Before we get to that, though, let's talk about another
kind of enum: one with values.
three values. We then do a bunch of `if`/`else` comparisons to check which
one it is.

This enum has two variants, one of which has a value:
This `Ordering::Greater` notation is too long. Lets use `use` to import can
the `enum` variants instead. This will avoid full scoping:

```{rust}
enum OptionalInt {
Value(i32),
Missing,
}
```

This enum represents an `i32` that we may or may not have. In the `Missing`
case, we have no value, but in the `Value` case, we do. This enum is specific
to `i32`s, though. We can make it usable by any type, but we haven't quite
gotten there yet!

You can also have any number of values in an enum:
use std::cmp::Ordering::{self, Equal, Less, Greater};
```{rust}
enum OptionalColor {
Color(i32, i32, i32),
Missing,
}
```

And you can also have something like this:

```{rust}
enum StringResult {
StringOK(String),
ErrorReason(String),
fn cmp(a: i32, b: i32) -> Ordering {
if a < b { Less }
else if a > b { Greater }
else { Equal }
}
```
Where a `StringResult` is either a `StringResult::StringOK`, with the result of
a computation, or a `StringResult::ErrorReason` with a `String` explaining
what caused the computation to fail. These kinds of `enum`s are actually very
useful and are even part of the standard library.
Here is an example of using our `StringResult`:
fn main() {
let x = 5;
let y = 10;
```rust
enum StringResult {
StringOK(String),
ErrorReason(String),
}
let ordering = cmp(x, y); // ordering: Ordering
fn respond(greeting: &str) -> StringResult {
if greeting == "Hello" {
StringResult::StringOK("Good morning!".to_string())
} else {
StringResult::ErrorReason("I didn't understand you!".to_string())
}
if ordering == Less { println!("less"); }
else if ordering == Greater { println!("greater"); }
else if ordering == Equal { println!("equal"); }
}
```

That's a lot of typing! We can use the `use` keyword to make it shorter:
Importing variants is convenient and compact, but can also cause name conflicts,
so do this with caution. It's considered good style to rarely import variants
for this reason.

```rust
use StringResult::StringOK;
use StringResult::ErrorReason;
As you can see, `enum`s are quite a powerful tool for data representation, and are
even more useful when they're [generic][generics] across types. Before we
get to generics, though, let's talk about how to use them with pattern matching, a
tool that will let us deconstruct this sum type (the type theory term for enums)
in a very elegant way and avoid all these messy `if`/`else`s.

enum StringResult {
StringOK(String),
ErrorReason(String),
}

# fn main() {}

fn respond(greeting: &str) -> StringResult {
if greeting == "Hello" {
StringOK("Good morning!".to_string())
} else {
ErrorReason("I didn't understand you!".to_string())
}
}
```

`use` declarations must come before anything else, which looks a little strange in this example,
since we `use` the variants before we define them. Anyway, in the body of `respond`, we can just
say `StringOK` now, rather than the full `StringResult::StringOK`. Importing variants can be
convenient, but can also cause name conflicts, so do this with caution. It's considered good style
to rarely import variants for this reason.

As you can see, `enum`s with values are quite a powerful tool for data representation,
and can be even more useful when they're generic across types. Before we get to generics,
though, let's talk about how to use them with pattern matching, a tool that will
let us deconstruct this sum type (the type theory term for enums) in a very elegant
way and avoid all these messy `if`/`else`s.
[match]: ./match.html
[game]: ./guessing-game.html#comparing-guesses
[generics]: ./generics.html

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