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Final edit, it's good to deploy

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Bradlee Speice 2018-09-01 15:29:37 -04:00
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_posts/2018-09-01-rusts-primitives-are-weird.md
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@ -18,8 +18,8 @@ fn main() {
And to my complete befuddlement, it compiled, ran, and produced a completely sensible output.
The reason I was so surprised has to do with how Rust treats a special category of things
I'm going to call *primitives*. In the current version of the Rust book, you'll see them
referred to as [scalars](rust_scalar), and in older versions they'll be called [primitives](rust_primitive).
We're going to stick with the name *primitive* for the time being though because to explain
referred to as [scalars](rust_scalar), and in older versions they'll be called [primitives](rust_primitive),
but we're going to stick with the name *primitive* for the time being. Explaining
why this program is so cool requires talking about a number of other programming languages,
and keeping a consistent terminology makes things easier.
@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ float double
```
They are referred to as [primitives][java_primitive]. And relative to the other bits of Java,
they have two super-cool features. First, they don't have to worry about the
they have two unique features. First, they don't have to worry about the
[billion-dollar mistake](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Hoare#Apologies_and_retractions);
primitives in Java can never be `null`. Second: *they can't have instance methods*.
Remember that Rust program from earlier? Java has no idea what to do with it:
@ -62,9 +62,9 @@ Main.java:5: error: int cannot be dereferenced
1 error
```
Specifically, Java considers [`Object`](https://docs.oracle.com/javase/10/docs/api/java/lang/Object.html)
and things that inherit from it as pointers, and thus we have to dereference the pointer
before the fields and methods it defines can be used. In contrast, *primitive types are just values* -
Specifically, Java's [`Object`](https://docs.oracle.com/javase/10/docs/api/java/lang/Object.html)
and things that inherit from it are pointers under the hood, and we have to dereference them before
the fields and methods they define can be used. In contrast, *primitive types are just values* -
there's nothing to be dereferenced. In memory, they're just a sequence of bits.
If we really want, we can turn the `int` into an
@ -83,12 +83,12 @@ class Main {
This creates the variable `y` of type `Integer` (which inherits `Object`), and at run time we
dereference `y` to locate the `toString()` function and call it. Rust obviously handles things a bit
differently, but we have to look at some low-level details to see how differently it actually is.
differently, but we have to dig into the low-level details to see it in action.
# Low Level Handling of Primitives (C)
We first need to build a foundation for reading and understanding the assembly code the
final answer involves. Let's begin with showing how the `C` language (and your computer)
final answer requires. Let's begin with showing how the `C` language (and your computer)
thinks about "primitive" values in memory:
```c
@ -176,7 +176,7 @@ example::my_function:
ret
```
The generated Rust assembly is functionally pretty close to the C assembly (and Java as well):
The generated Rust assembly is functionally pretty close to the C assembly:
*When working with primitives, we're just dealing with bits in memory*.
In Java we have to dereference a pointer to call its functions; in Rust, there's no pointer to dereference. So what
@ -208,7 +208,7 @@ example::main:
lea rax, [rip + .Lbyte_str.u]
mov rsi, rax
; Bombshell right here
; Cool stuff right here
call <T as alloc::string::ToString>::to_string@PLT
mov rdi, rsp