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Clarify str::from_utf8_unchecked's invariants #95895

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Apr 12, 2022
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Clarify str::from_utf8_unchecked's invariants #95895

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6 changes: 1 addition & 5 deletions library/core/src/str/converts.rs
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -144,11 +144,7 @@ pub const fn from_utf8_mut(v: &mut [u8]) -> Result<&mut str, Utf8Error> {
///
/// # Safety
///
/// This function is unsafe because it does not check that the bytes passed to
/// it are valid UTF-8. If this constraint is violated, undefined behavior
/// results, as the rest of Rust assumes that [`&str`]s are valid UTF-8.
///
/// [`&str`]: str
/// The bytes passed in must be valid UTF-8.
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This isn't exactly right: A &str is allowed to contain invalid utf-8, but other functions might assume that a &str is valid utf-8, making a non-utf-8 &str very hard to safely use. But just calling this function with invalid utf-8 is, by itself, not unsafe.

See also e.g. https://doc.rust-lang.org/stable/std/string/struct.String.html#method.from_utf8_unchecked

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This is true, but this is perhaps even handled just by if the validity of &T is independent from whether the pointee bytes are valid at type T.

In general, from_unchecked functions do just say that it is UB to provide an argument which does not satisfy the safety invariant. This is useful, because it allows a sanitizing implementation of the function which checks the precondition.

A postcondition of "is not used in any way which causes UB" is much more difficult to reason about.

Another point is that str has the option of using &*(v as *const [u8] as *const str) to construct a &str to invalid-UTF-8. String doesn't have any such API, relying on conversion to/from Vec<u8>.

If any str/String methods actually documented that they were safe to call with a reference to invalid UTF-8, then this weaker documentation requirement makes sense. As is, the only possible thing to do with a str/String to invalid UTF-8 is to forget it. With that the case, the clearer precondition seems better to use.

///
/// # Examples
///
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