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Proposal documents for user-defined conversions

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5<title>Conversions for Cforall</title>
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15<body>
16<h1>Conversions for Cforall</h1>
17
18<p><b>NOTE:</b> This proposal for constructors and user-defined conversions
19does not represent the current state of Cforall language development, but is
20maintained for its possible utility in building user-defined conversions. See
21<tt>doc/proposals/user_conversions.md</tt> for a more current presentation of
22these ideas.</p>
23
24<p>This is the first draft of a description of a possible extension to the
25current definition of Cforall ("Cforall-as-is") that would let programmers
26fit new types into Cforall's system of conversions.</p>
27
28<ol>
29  <li><a href="#notes">Design Notes</a>
30      <ol>
31        <li><a href="#goals">Goals</a></li>
32        <li><a href="#conversions">Conversions</a></li>
33        <li><a href="#constructors">Constructors</a></li>
34        <li><a href="#ambiguity">Ambiguity</a></li>
35      </ol>
36  </li>
37  <li><a href="#extension">Proposed Extension</a>
38      <ol>
39        <li><a href="#ops">New Operator Identifiers</a></li>
40        <li><a href="#casts">Cast Expressions</a></li>
41        <li><a href='#definitions'>Object Definitions</a></li>
42        <li><a href='#default'>Default Functions</a></li>
43      </ol>
44  </li>
45  <li><a href="#chaining">Conversion Composition</a></li>
46  <li><a href='#cost'>Constructors and Cost</a></li>
47  <li><a href='#heap'>Heap Allocation</a></li>
48  <li><a href='#generic'>Generic Conversions and Constructors</a></li>
49  <li><a href="#usual">C's "Usual Arithmetic Conversions"</a>
50      <ol>
51        <li><a href="#floating">Floating-Point Types</a></li>
52        <li><a href="#largeint">Large Integer Types</a></li>
53        <li><a href="#intpromo">C's "Integer Promotions"</a></li>
54      </ol>
55  </li>
56  <li><a href="#otherpromo">Other Promotions</a></li>
57  <li><a href="#demotions">Other Pre-Defined Implicit Conversions</a></li>
58  <li><a href="#explicit">Pre-Defined Explicit Conversions</a></li>
59  <li><a href="#nonconversions">Non-Conversions</a></li>
60  <li><a href="#assignment">Assignment Operators</a></li>
61  <li><a href="#overload">Overload Resolution</a></li>
62  <li><a href="#final">Final Notes</a></li>
63</ol>
64
65<h2 id="notes">Design Notes</h2>
66
67<h3 id='goals'>Goals</h3>
68<p>My design goal for this extension is to provide a framework that
69explains the bulk of C's conversion semantics in terms of more basic
70languages, just as Cforall explains most expression semantics in terms of
71overloaded function calls.</p>
72
73<p>My pragmatic goal is to allow a programmer to define a portable rational
74number data type, fit it into the existing C type system, and use it in
75mixed-mode arithmetic expressions, all in a convenient and esthetically
76pleasing manner.</p>
77
78<h3 id="conversions">Conversions</h3>
79
80<p>A <dfn>conversion</dfn> creates a value from a value of a different
81type.  C defines a large number of conversions, especially between
82arithmetic types.  A subset of these can be performed by <dfn>implicit
83conversions</dfn>, which occurs in certain contexts: in assignment
84expressions, when passing arguments to function (where parameters are
85"assigned the value of the corresponding argument"), in initialized
86declarations (where "the same type constraints and conversions as for
87simple assignment apply"), and in mixed mode arithmetic.  All conversions
88can be performed explicitly by cast expressions.</p>
89
90<p>C prefers some implicit conversions, the <dfn>promotions</dfn>, to the
91others.  The promotions are ranked among themselves, creating a hierarchy
92of types.  In mixed-mode operations, the "usual arithmetic conversions"
93promote the operands to what amounts to their least common supertype.
94Cforall-as-is uses a slightly larger set of promotions to choose the
95smallest possible promotion when resolving overloading.</p>
96
97<p>An extension should allow Cforall to explain C's conversions as a set of
98pre-defined functions, including its explicit conversions, implicit
99conversions, and preferences among conversions.  The extension must let the
100programmer define new conversions for programmer-defined types, for
101instance so that new arithmetic types can be used conveniently in
102mixed-mode arithmetic.</p>
103
104<h3 id="constructors">Constructors</h3>
105
106<p>C++ introduced constructors to the C language family, and I will use its
107terminology.  A <dfn>constructor</dfn> is a function that initializes an
108object.  C does not have constructors; instead, it makes do with
109initialization, which works like assignment.  Cforall-as-is does not have
110constructors, either: instead, by analogy with C's semantics, a
111programmer-defined assignment function may be called during initialization.
112However, there is a key difference between a function that implements
113assignment and a constructor: constructors assume that the object is
114uninitialized, and must set up any data structure invariants that the
115object is supposed to obey.  An assignment function assumes that the target
116object obeys its invariants.</p>
117
118<p>A <dfn>default constructor</dfn> has no parameters other than the object it
119initializes.  It establishes invariants, but need not do anything else.  A
120default constructor for a rational number type might set the denominator to be
121non-zero, but leave the numerator undefined.</p>
122
123<p>A <dfn>copy constructor</dfn> has two parameters: the object it
124initializes, and a value of the same type.  Its purpose is to copy the
125value into the object, and so it is very similar to an assignment
126function.  In fact, it could be expressed as a call to a default constructor
127followed by an assignment.</p>
128
129<p>A <dfn>converting constructor</dfn> also has two parameters, but the
130second parameter is a value of some type different from the type
131of the object it initializes.  Its purpose is to convert the value to the
132object's type before copying it, and so it is very similar to a C
133assignment operation that performs an implicit conversion.</p>
134
135<p>C++ sensibly defines parameter passing as call by initialization, since
136the parameter is uninitialized when the argument value is placed in it.
137Extended Cforall should do the same.  However, parameter passing is one of
138the main places where implicit conversions occur.  Hence in extended
139Cforall <em>constructors define the implicit conversions</em>.  Cforall
140should also encourage programmers to maintain the similarity between
141constructors and assignment.</p>
142
143<h3 id="ambiguity">Ambiguity</h3>
144
145<p>In extended Cforall, programmer-defined conversions should fit in with
146the predefined conversions.  For instance, programmer-defined promotions
147should interact with the normal promotions so that programmer-defined types
148can take part in mixed-mode arithmetic expressions.  The first design that
149springs to mind is to define a minimal set of conversions between
150neighbouring types in the type hierarchy, and to have Cforall create
151conversions between more distant types by composition of predefined and
152programmer-defined conversions.  Unfortunately, if one draws a graph of C's
153promotions, with C's types as vertices and C's promotions as edges, the
154result is a directed acyclic graph, not a tree.  This means that an attempt
155to build the full set of promotions by composition of a minimal set of
156promotions will fail.</p>
157
158<p> Consider a simple processor with 32-bit <code>int</code> and
159<code>long</code> types.  On such a machine, C's "usual arithmetic
160conversions" dictate that mixed-mode arithmetic that combines a signed
161integer with an unsigned integer must promote the signed integer to an
162unsigned type.  Here is a directed graph showing the some of the minimal
163set of promotions.  Each of the four promotions is necessary, because each
164could be required by some mixed-mode expression, and none can be decomposed
165into simpler conversions.</p>
166
167<pre>
168long --------> unsigned long
169 ^               ^
170 |               |
171int ---------> unsigned int
172</pre>
173
174<p>Now imagine attempting to compose an <code>int</code>-to-<code>unsigned
175long</code> conversion from the minimal set: there are two paths through
176the graph, so the composition is ambiguous.</p>
177
178<p>(In C, and in Cforall-as-is, no ambiguity exists: there is just one
179<code>int</code>-to-<code>unsigned long</code> promotion, defined by the
180language semantics.  In Cforall-as-is, the preference for
181<code>int</code>-to-<code>long</code> over
182<code>int</code>-to-<code>unsigned long</code> is determined by a
183"conversion cost" calculated from the graph of the full set of promotions,
184but the calculation depends on maximal path lengths, not the exact
185path.)</p>
186
187<p>Unfortunately, the same problem with ambiguity creeps in any time
188conversions might be chained together.  The extension must carefully
189control conversion composition, so that programmers can avoid ambiguous
190conversions.</p>
191
192<h2 id='extension'>Proposed Extension</h2>
193
194<p>The rest of this document describes my proposal to add
195programmer-definable conversions and constructors to Cforall.</p>
196
197<p class='rationale'>If your browser supports CSS style sheets, the
198proposal will appear in "normal" paragraphs, and commentary on the proposal
199will have the same appearance as this paragraph.</p>
200
201<h3 id='ops'>New Operator Identifiers</h3>
202
203<p>Cforall would be given a <dfn>cast identifier</dfn>, two
204<dfn>constructor identifiers</dfn>, and a <dfn>destructor
205identifier</dfn>:</p>
206
207<ul>
208  <li> <code>(?)?</code>, for cast functions.</li>
209  <li> <code>(?create)?</code>, for constructors.</li>
210  <li> <code>(?promote)?</code>, for constructors that are promotions.</li>
211  <li> <code>(?destroy)?</code>, for destructors.</li>
212</ul>
213
214<div class='rationale'>
215<p>The ugly identifier <code>(?)?</code> is meant to be mnemonic for the
216cast expression.  The other identifiers are pretty weak (suggestions,
217anyone?) but are supposed to remind the programmer of the connection
218between conversions and constructors.</p>
219
220<p>We could instead use a single <code>(?create)?</code> identifier for
221constructors and add a <code>promote</code> storage class specifier, at
222some small risk clashes of with identifiers in existing code.</p> </div>
223
224<p>It is an error to declare two functions with different constructor
225identifiers that have the same type in the same translation unit.</p>
226
227<p>Functions declared with these identifiers can be polymorphic.  Unlike
228other polymorphic functions, the return type of a polymorphic cast function
229need not be derivable from the type of its parameters</p>
230
231<div class='rationale'>
232<p>The return type of a call to a polymorphic cast
233function can be deduced from the calling context.</p>
234
235<pre>
236forall(type T1) T1 (?)?(T2);  // <i>Legal.</i>
237forall(type T1) T1 pfun(T2);  // <i>Illegal -- no way to infer </i>T1.
238</pre>
239</div>
240
241<p>A <dfn>cast function</dfn> from type <code>T1</code> to type
242<code>T2</code> is named "<code>(?)?</code>", accepts exactly one explicit
243argument of type <i>T1</i>, and returns a value of type <i>T2</i>.</p>
244
245<p class='rationale'>If the cast function is polymorphic, it will have
246type parameters and assertion parameters as well, and can be said to be a
247cast function from many different types to many different types.
248</p>
249
250<p>A <dfn>default constructor function</dfn> for type <i>T</i> is named
251"<code>(?create)?</code>", accepts exactly one explicit argument of type
252<i>T</i><code>*</code>, and returns <code>void</code>.</p>
253
254<p>A <dfn>copy constructor function</dfn> for type <i>T</i> is named
255<code>"(?create)?</code>", accepts exactly two explicit arguments of types
256<i>T</i><code>*</code> and <i>T</i>, and returns <code>void</code>.</p>
257
258<p>A <dfn>converting constructor function</dfn> for type <i>T1</i> from
259<i>T2</i> is named "<code>(?create)?</code>" or "<code>(?promote)?</code>",
260accepts exactly two explicit arguments of types <i>T1</i><code>*</code> and
261<i>T2</i>, and returns <code>void</code>.</p>
262
263<p>A <dfn>destructor function</dfn> for type <i>T</i> is named
264"<code>(?destroy)?</code>", accepts exactly one explicit argument of type
265<i>T</i><code>*</code>, and returns <code>void</code>.</p>
266
267<div class='rationale'>
268
269<p>The monomorphic function prototypes for these functions are</p>
270<pre>
271<i>T1</i>   (?)?(<i>T2</i>);
272void (?create)?(<i>T1</i>*);
273void (?create)?(<i>T1</i>*, <i>T2</i>);
274void (?promote)?(<i>T1</i>*, <i>T2</i>);
275void (?destroy)?(<i>T1</i>*);
276</pre>
277</div>
278
279<h3 id='casts'>Cast Expressions</h3>
280
281<p>In most cases the cast expression <code>(<i>T</i>)<i>e</i></code> would
282be treated like the function call <code>(?)?(<i>e</i>)</code>, except that
283only cast functions to type <i>T</i> would be valid interpretations of
284<code>(?)?</code>, and <code><i>e</i></code> would not be implicitly
285converted to the cast function's parameter type.  In particular, the usual
286rules for resolving function overloading (see <a href='#overload'>below</a>)
287would be used to choose the best interpretation of the expression.</p>
288
289<div class='rationale'>
290<p>For example, in</p>
291<pre>
292type Wazzit;
293type Thingum;
294Wazzit w;
295(Thingum)w;
296</pre>
297<p>the cast function that is called must be "<code>Thingum
298(?)?(Wazzit)</code>", or a polymorphic function that can be specialized to
299that.</p>
300
301<p>The ban on implicit conversions within the cast allows programmers to
302explicitly control composition of conversions and avoid ambiguity.  I also
303hope that this will make it easier for compilers and programmers to
304determine which conversions will be applied in which circumstances.  If
305implicit conversions could be applied to the inputs and outputs of casts,
306when any and all of the conversion functions involved could be polymorphic
307... the possibilities seem endless, unfortunately.</p>
308
309</div>
310
311<h3 id='definitions'>Object Definitions</h3>
312<p>A definition of an object <i>x</i> would call a constructor function.  Let
313<i>T</i> be <i>x</i>'s type with type qualifiers removed, and let <i>a</i>
314be <i>x</i>'s address (with type <code><i>T</i>*</code>).</p>
315
316<p class='rationale'>If type qualifiers weren't ignored, <code>const</code>
317objects couldn't be initialized, and every constructor would have to be
318duplicated, with one version for <i>T</i>* objects and one for
319<code>volatile</code> <i>T</i>* objects.</p>
320
321<ul>
322  <li>A definition with an initializer that is a single expression
323      <i>e</i>, optionally enclosed in braces, would call a copy or converting
324      constructor.  The call would be treated much like the function call
325      <code><i>f</i>(<i>a</i>,<i>e</i>)</code>, except that only copy and
326      converting constructors for type <i>T</i> would be valid interpretations
327      of <code><i>f</i></code>, and <i>e</i> would not be  implicitly
328      converted to the type of the constructor's second parameter.</li>
329  <li>If <i>x</i> has automatic storage duration and is not initialized
330      explicitly, the definition would call a default constructor function.
331      The call would be treated much like the function call
332      <code><i>f</i>(<i>a</i>)</code>, except that only default
333      constructor functions for type <i>T</i> would be valid interpretations of
334      <code><i>f</i></code>.</li>
335  <li><p>If <i>x</i> has static storage duration and is not initialized
336      explicitly, and is defined within the scope of a type definition that
337      defines <i>T</i>, then <i>T</i>'s implementation type would determine how
338      <i>x</i> is initialized.</p>
339      <div class='rationale'>
340      <pre>
341      type Rational = struct { int numerator; unsigned denominator; };
342      Rational r; // Both members initialized to 0.
343      </pre>
344      </div>
345  </li>
346  <li><p>If <i>x</i> has static storage duration and is not initialized
347      explicitly, and the type <i>T</i> is an opaque type, the definition
348      would be treated as if <i>x</i> was initialized with the expression
349      <code>0</code>.</p>
350      <div class='rationale'>
351      <p>This is a simple extension of C's rules for static objects,
352      which initialized them all to 0.  Frequently, the 0 involved
353      will have type <i>T</i>, and the definition will call a copy
354      constructor.</p>
355      <pre>
356      extern type Rational;
357      extern Rational 0;
358      static Rational r;  // initialized with the Rational 0.
359      </pre>
360      <p>In other cases, the 0 will be an integer or null pointer, and the
361      definition will call a converting constructor.</p>
362
363      <p>The obvious alternative design would call <i>T</i>'s default
364      constructor.  That design would be inconsistent, because some static
365      objects would go uninitialized.  It would also cause subtle problems,
366      because a particular static definition could be uninitialized or
367      initialized to 0 depending on whether <i>T</i> is an <code>extern
368      type</code> or a <code>typedef</code>.</p>
369      </div>
370  </li>
371</ul>
372
373<p>Except when calling constructors, parameter passing invokes constructor
374functions.  Passing argument expression <i>e</i> to a parameter would be
375equivalent to initializing the parameter with that expression.  When
376calling constructors, the value of the argument would be copied into the
377parameter.</p>
378
379<p>When the lifetime of <i>x</i> ends, a destructor function would be called.
380The call would be treated much like the function call
381<code>(?destroy)?(<i>a</i>)</code>.  When a block ends, the objects that were
382defined in the block would be destroyed in the reverse of the order in which
383they are declared.</p>
384
385<p>The storage class specifier <code>register</code> will have the
386semantics that it has in C++, instead of the semantics of C: it is merely a
387hint to the implementation that the object will be heavily used, and does
388not prevent programs from computing the address of the object.</p>
389
390<h3 id='default'>Default Functions</h3>
391
392<p>In Cforall-as-is, every declaration with type-class <code>type</code>
393implicitly declares a default assignment function, with the same scope and
394linkage as the type.  Extended Cforall would also declare a <dfn>default
395default constructor</dfn> and a <dfn>default destructor</dfn>.</p>
396
397<div class='rationale'>
398<pre>
399{
400    extern type T;
401    T t;           // <i>calls external constructor for T.</i>
402    }              // <i>calls external destructor for T.</i>
403</pre>
404<p>The destructor and some sort of constructor are necessary to instantiate
405the type.  I include the default constructor because it is the most basic.
406Arguably the declaration should also declare a default copy constructor,
407but I chose not to because Cforall can construct a copy constructor from
408the default constructor and the assignment operator, as will be seen
409<a href="#generic">below</a>.</p>
410
411<p>If the type does not need to be instantiated, it probably should have
412been declared by <code>dtype</code> instead of by <code>type</code>.</p>
413</div>
414
415<p>A type definition would implicitly define a default constructor and
416destructor by inheriting the implementation type's default constructor and
417destructor, just as is done for the implicitly defined default assignment
418function.</p>
419
420<h2 id='chaining'>Conversion Composition</h2>
421
422<p>As mentioned above, Cforall does not apply implicit conversions to the
423arguments and results of cast expressions or constructor calls.  Neither
424does it automatically create conversions or constructors by composing
425programmer-defined compositions: given</p>
426
427<pre>
428T1 (?)?(T2);
429T2 (?)?(T3);
430T3 v3;
431(T1)v3;
432</pre>
433
434<p>then Cforall does not automatically create</p>
435
436<pre>
437T1 (?)?(T3 p) { return (T1)(T2)p; }
438</pre>
439
440<p>Composition of conversions does show up through a third mechanism where
441the programmer has more control: assertion lists.  Consider a
442<code>Month</code> type, that represents months as integers between 0 and
44311.  Clearly a <code>Month</code> can be promoted to <code>unsigned</code>,
444and to any type above <code>unsigned</code> in the arithmetic type
445hierarchy as well.</p>
446
447<pre id='monthpromo'>
448type Month = unsigned;
449
450forall(type T | void (?promote)(T*, unsigned))
451  void (?promote)?(T* target, Month source) {
452    unsigned u_temp = (unsigned)source;
453    T t_temp = u_temp;           // <i>calls the assertion parameter.</i>
454    *target = t_temp;
455  }
456</pre>
457
458<p>The intimidating polymorphic promotion declaration says that, if
459<code>T</code> is a type and <code>unsigned</code> can be promoted to
460<code>T</code>, then the function can promote <code>Month</code> to
461<code>T</code>.</p>
462
463<pre>
464Month m;
465unsigned long ul = m;
466</pre>
467
468<p>To initialize <code>ul</code>, Cforall must bind <code>T</code> to
469<code>unsigned long</code>, find the (pre-defined)
470<code>unsigned</code>-to-<code>unsigned long</code> promotion, and pass it
471to the assertion parameter of the polymorphic
472<code>Month</code>-to-<code>T</code> function.</p>
473
474<p>But what about converting from <code>Month</code> to
475<code>unsigned</code> itself?</p>
476
477<pre>
478unsigned u = m;  // <i>How?</i>
479</pre>
480
481<p>A monomorphic <code>Month</code>-to-<code>unsigned</code> constructor
482would do the job, but its body would mostly duplicate the body of the
483polymorphic function.</p>
484
485<p>Instead, Cforall should use the polymorphic promotion and the
486<code>unsigned</code> copy constructor.  To initialize <code>u</code>,
487Cforall should pass the <code>unsigned</code> copy constructor to the assertion
488parameter of the polymorphic <code>Month</code> promotion, and bind
489<code>T</code> to <code>unsigned</code>.</p>
490
491<p>Note that the polymorphic promotion can promote <code>Month</code> to
492the standard types, to implementation-defined extended types, and to
493programmer-defined types that have yet to be written.  This is much better
494than writing a flock of monomorphic promotions, with function bodies that
495would be nearly identical, to convert <code>Month</code> to each unsigned
496type individually.  The predefined constructors make heavy use of this
497<dfn id='idiom'>constructor idiom</dfn>: instead of writing</p>
498
499<pre>
500void (?promote)? (T1*, T2);
501</pre>
502
503<p>("You can make a T2 into a T1"), write</p>
504<pre>
505forall(type T | void (?promote)?(T*, T1) ) void (?promote)?(T*, T2);
506</pre>
507
508<p>("You can make a T2 into anything that can be made from a T1").</p>
509
510<h2 id='cost'>Constructors and Cost</h2>
511
512<p>Calls to constructors have <dfn>construction costs</dfn>, which let
513Cforall choose the least expensive implicit conversion when given a
514choice.</p>
515
516<ol>
517  <li>The cost of a call to a copy constructor is 0.</li>
518  <li>The cost of a call to a monomorphic constructor is 1.</li>
519  <li>The cost of a call to a polymorphic constructor, or a specialization
520      of it, is 1 plus the sum of the construction costs of constructors
521      that are passed to it through assertion parameters.</li>
522</ol>
523
524<div class='rationale'>
525
526<p>Note that, although point 3 refers to constructors that are
527passed at run-time, the translator statically matches arguments to
528assertion parameters, so it can determine construction costs statically.</p>
529
530<p>Construction cost is defined for <em>every</em>
531constructor, not just the promotions (which are the equivalent of the safe
532conversions of Cforall-as-is).  This seemed like the easiest way to handle
533(admittedly dicey) "mixed" constructors, where the constructor and its
534assertion parameter have different identifiers:</p>
535
536<pre>
537type Thingum;
538type Wazzit;
539forall(type T | void (?create)?(T*, Thingum) )
540  void (?promote)?(T*, Wazzit);
541</pre>
542</div>
543
544<h3>Examples:</h3>
545<p>"<code>unsigned ui = 42U;</code>" calls a copy constructor, and so has
546cost 0.</p>
547
548<p>"<code>unsigned ui = m;</code>", where <code>m</code> has type
549<code>Month</code>, calls the polymorphic <code>Month</code> promotion
550defined <a href="#monthpromo">previously</a>.  It passes the
551<code>unsigned</code>-to-<code>unsigned</code> copy constructor to the
552assertion parameter, and so has cost 1+0&nbsp;=&nbsp;1.</p>
553
554<p>"<code>unsigned long ul = m;</code>" calls the polymorphic
555<code>Month</code> promotion, passing the
556<code>unsigned</code>-to-<code>unsigned long</code> constructor to the
557assertion parameter.  <code>unsigned</code>-to-<code>unsigned long</code>
558is defined below and will turn out to have cost 1, so the total cost is 2.</p>
559
560<p>Inside the body of the <code>Month</code> promotion, the assertion
561parameter has a monomorphic type, and so has a construction cost of 1 where
562it is called by the initialization of <code>t_temp</code>.  The cost of the
563<em>argument</em> passed through the assertion parameter has no relevance
564inside the body of the promotion.</p>
565
566<h2 id='overload'>Overload Resolution</h2>
567
568<p>In Cforall-as-is, there is at most one language-defined implicit
569conversion between any two types.  In extended Cforall, more than one
570conversion may be applicable, and overload resolution must be adapted to
571account for that, by using the lowest-cost conversion.</p>
572
573<p>The <dfn>unsafe conversion cost</dfn> of a function call expression
574would be the total conversion cost of implicit calls of
575<code>(?create)?()</code> constructors applied directly to arguments of the
576function -- 0 if there are none.</p>
577
578<p class='rationale'>This would replace a rule in Cforall-as-is, which
579considers all unsafe conversions to be equally bad and just counts them.  I
580think the difference would be subtle and unimportant.</p>
581
582<p>The <dfn>promotion cost</dfn> would be the total conversion costs of
583implicit calls of <code>(?promote)?()</code> constructors applied directly
584to arguments of the function -- 0 if there are none.</p>
585
586<p>Overload resolution would examine each argument expression individually.
587The best interpretations of an expression would be:</p>
588
589<ol>
590  <li>the interpretations with the lowest unsafe conversion cost;</li>
591  <li>of these, the interpretations with the lowest promotion cost;</li>
592  <li>of these, if any can be promoted to the parameter type, then just
593      those that can be converted at minimal cost; otherwise, all remaining
594      interpretations.</li>
595</ol>
596
597<p>The best interpretation would be implicitly converted to the parameter
598type, by calling the conversion function with minimal cost.  If there is
599more than one best interpretation, or if there is more than one
600minimal-cost conversion, the argument is ambiguous.</p>
601
602<p>A maximal set of interpretations of the function call expression that
603have compatible result types produces a single interpretation: the
604interpretations with the lowest unsafe conversion cost, and of these, the
605interpretations with the lowest promotion cost.  If there is more than one
606such interpretation, the function call expression is ambiguous.</p>
607
608<h2 id='heap'>Heap Allocation</h2>
609
610<p>Cforall would define new heap allocation functions that would ensure
611that constructors and destructors would be applied to objects in the
612heap.  There's lots of room for ambitious design here, but a simple
613facility might look like this:</p>
614
615<pre>
616forall(type T) void delete(T const volatile restrict* ptr) {
617  if (ptr) (?destroy)?(ptr);
618  free(ptr);
619}
620</pre>
621
622<div class='rationale'>
623<p>In a call to <code>delete()</code>, the argument might be a pointer to a
624pointer: <code>T</code> would be a pointer type, and the argument might
625have all three type qualifiers.  (If it doesn't, pointer conversions will add
626missing qualifiers to the argument.)</p>
627<pre>
628// <i>Pointer to a const volatile restricted pointer to an int:</i>
629int * const volatile restrict * pcvrpi;
630// <i>...</i>
631delete(cvrpi);    // T<i> bound to </i>int *
632</pre>
633</div>
634
635<p>A <code>new()</code> function would take the address of a pointer and an
636initial value, and points the pointer at heap storage initialized to that
637value.</p>
638<pre>
639forall(type T | void (?create)?(T*, T))
640  void new(T* volatile restrict* ptr, T val) {
641    *ptr = malloc(sizeof(T));
642    if (*ptr) (?create)?(*ptr, val);  // <i>explicit constructor call</i>
643}
644
645forall(type T | void (?create)?(T*, T))
646  void new(T const* volatile restrict* ptr, T val),
647       new(T volatile* volatile restrict* ptr, T val),
648       new(T restrict* volatile restrict* ptr, T val),
649       new(T const volatile* volatile restrict* ptr, T val),
650       new(T const restrict* volatile restrict* ptr, T val),
651       new(T volatile restrict* volatile restrict* ptr, T val),
652       new(T const volatile restrict* volatile restrict* ptr, T val);
653</pre>
654<p class='rationale'>Cforall can't add type qualifiers to pointed-at
655pointer types, so <code>new()</code> needs one variation for each set of
656type qualifiers.</p>
657
658<p>Another <code>new()</code> function would omit the initial value, and
659apply the default constructor.  <span class='rationale'>Obviously, there's
660no point in allocating <code>const</code>-qualified uninitialized
661storage.</span></p>
662<pre>
663forall(type T)
664  void new(T* volatile restrict * ptr) {
665    *ptr = malloc(sizeof(T));
666    if (*ptr) (?create)?(*ptr);   // <i>Explicit default constructor call.</i>
667}
668
669forall(type T)
670  void new(T volatile* volatile restrict*),
671  void new(T restrict* volatile restrict*),
672  void new(T volatile restrict* volatile restrict*);
673</pre>
674
675<h2 id='generic'>Generic Conversions and Constructors</h2>
676
677<p>Cforall would provide a polymorphic default constructor function and
678destructor function, for types that do not have their own:</p>
679
680<pre>
681forall(type T)
682  void (?create)?(T*) { return; };
683
684forall(type T)
685  void (?destroy)?(T*) { return; };
686</pre>
687
688<p class='rationale'>The generic default constructor and destructor provide
689C semantics for uninitialized variables: "do nothing".</p>
690
691<p>For every structure type <code>struct <i>s</i></code> Cforall would define a
692default constructor function that applies a default constructor to each
693member, in no particular order.  Similarly, it would define a destructor that
694applies the destructor of each member in no particular order.</p>
695
696<p>Any promotion would be treated as a plain constructor:</p>
697<pre>
698forall(type T, type S | void (?promote)(T*, S))
699  void (?create)?(T*, S) {
700    (?promote)?(T*, S);    // <i>Explicit constructor call!</i>
701  }
702</pre>
703
704<p>A predefined cast function would allow explicit conversions anywhere
705that implicit conversions are possible:</p>
706<pre>
707forall(type T, type S | void (?create)?(T*, S))
708  T (?)?(S source) {
709    T temp = source;
710    return temp;
711  }
712</pre>
713
714<p>A predefined converting constructor would allow initialization anywhere
715that assignment is defined:</p>
716<pre>
717forall(type T | void (?create)?(T*), type S | T ?=?(T*, S))
718  void (?create)?(T* target, S source) {
719    (?create)?(target);
720    *target = source;
721  }
722</pre>
723
724<p class='rationale'>This implements the typical semantic link between
725assignment and initialization.</p>
726
727<p>The predefined copy constructor function is</p>
728<pre>
729forall(type T)
730  void (?promote)?(T* target, T source) {
731    (?create)?(target);
732    *target = source;
733  }
734</pre>
735
736<p class='rationale'>Since Cforall defines assignment and default
737constructors for structure types, this provides the copy constructor for
738structure types.</p>
739
740<p>Finally, Cforall defines the conversion to <code>void</code>, which
741discards its argument.</p>
742<pre>
743forall(type T) void (?promote)(void*, T);
744</pre>
745
746<h2 id='usual'>C's "Usual Arithmetic Conversions"</h2>
747
748<p>C has five groups of arithmetic types: signed integers, unsigned
749integers, complex floating-point numbers, imaginary floating-point numbers,
750and real floating-point numbers.  (Implementations are not required to
751provide complex and imaginary types.)  Some of the "usual arithmetic
752conversions" promote upward within a group or to a more general group: from
753<code>int</code> to <code>long long</code>, for instance.   Others
754promote across from a type in one group to a similar type in another group:
755for instance, from <code>int</code> to <code>unsigned int</code>.</p>
756
757<h3 id='floating'>Floating-Point Types</h3>
758
759<p>The floating point types would use the <a href="#idiom">constructor
760idiom</a> for upward promotions, and monomorphic constructors for
761promotions across from real and imaginary types to complex types with the
762same precision.</p> 
763
764<p>I will use a macro to abbreviate the constructor idiom.
765"<code>Promoter(T,S)</code>" promotes <code>S</code> to any type that
766<code>T</code> can be promoted to</p>
767<pre>
768#define Promoter(Target, Source) \
769  forall(type T | void (?promote)?(T*, Target)) void (?promote)?(T*, Source)
770
771Promoter(long double _Complex, double _Complex);      // <i>a</i>
772Promoter(double _Complex,      float _Complex);       // <i>b</i>
773Promoter(long double, double);                        // <i>c</i>
774Promoter(double,      float);                         // <i>d</i>
775Promoter(long double _Imaginary, double _Imaginary);  // <i>e</i>
776Promoter(double _Imaginary,      float _Imaginary);   // <i>f</i>
777
778void (?promote)?(long double _Complex*, long double);             // <i>g</i>
779void (?promote)?(long double _Complex*, long double _Imaginary);  // <i>h</i>
780void (?promote)?(double _Complex*, double);                       // <i>i</i>
781void (?promote)?(double _Complex*, double _Imaginary);            // <i>j</i>
782void (?promote)?(float _Complex*, float);                         // <i>k</i>
783void (?promote)?(float _Complex*, float _Imaginary);              // <i>l</i>
784</pre>
785
786<div class='rationale'>
787<p>It helps to draw a graph of the promotions.  In this diagram,
788monomorphic promotions are solid arrows from the source type to the target
789type, and polymorphic promotions are dotted arrows from the source type to
790a bubble that surrounds all possible target types.  (Twenty years after
791first hearing about them, I have finally found a use for directed
792multigraphs!)  To determine the promotion from one type to another, find a
793path of zero or more dotted arrows optionally ending with a solid arrow.</p>
794<div>
795<img alt="Floating point promotions" src="./float_promo.png">
796</div>
797
798<p>A <code>long double _Complex</code> can be constructed from</p>
799<ol>
800  <li>a <code>double _Complex</code>, via <i>a</i>, with a <code>double
801      _Complex</code> copy constructor passed as the assertion
802      parameter.</li>
803  <li>a <code>long double</code>, via constructor <i>g</i>.</li>
804  <li>a <code>double</code>, via <i>c</i> (which promotes
805      <code>double</code> to <code>long double</code> and higher), with
806      <i>g</i> passed as the assertion parameter.  In other words, the path
807      from <code>double</code> to <code>long double _Complex</code> passes
808      through <code>long double</code></li>
809  <li>a <code>float _Complex</code>, via <i>b</i>.  For the assertion
810      parameter, Cforall passes a <code>double
811      _Complex</code>-to-<code>long double _Complex</code> constructor that
812      it makes by specializing <i>a</i>; for the assertion parameter of the
813      specialization, it passes a <code>long double
814      _Complex</code>-to-<code>long double _Complex</code> copy
815      constructor.</li>
816  <li>a <code>float</code>, via <i>d</i>, with a specialization of <i>c</i>
817      passed as its assertion parameter, with <i>g</i> passed as the
818      specialization's assertion parameter.</li>
819</ol>
820
821<p>Note how "upward" and "across" promotions interact.  Polymorphic
822"upward" promotions connect widely separated types by composing
823constructors through their assertion parameters.  Monomorphic "across"
824promotions extend composition one step across to corresponding types in
825different groups.</p>
826
827<p>Defining the set of predefined promotions turned out to be quite tricky.
828For example, if "across" promotions used the constructor idiom, ambiguity
829would result: a conversion from <code>float</code> to <code>double
830_Complex</code> could convert upward through <code>double</code> or across
831through <code>float _Complex</code>.  The key points are:</p>
832<ol>
833  <li>Monomorphic constructors are only used to connect neighbouring types
834      in the conversion hierarchy, because they have constructor cost 1.</li>
835  <li>Polymorphic constructors only connect directly to neighbours, because
836      their minimal cost is 1.  They reach other types by composition.</li>
837  <li>The types in the assertion parameter of a polymorphic constructor
838      specify the exact path between two types by specifying the
839      next type in a sequence of composed constructors.</li>
840  <li>There can be more than one path between two types, provided that the
841      paths have different construction costs or degrees of
842      polymorphism.</li>
843</ol>
844
845</div>
846
847<h3 id='largeint'>Large Integer Types</h3>
848
849<p class='rationale'>The conversions for the integer types cannot be
850defined by a simple list, because the set of integer types is
851implementation-defined, the range of each type is implementation-defined,
852and the set of promotions depend on whether a particular signed type can
853represent all values of a particular unsigned type.  As I read the C
854standard, every signed type has a matching unsigned type, but the reverse
855is not true.  This complicates the definitions below.</p>
856
857<ul>
858  <li>Let the <dfn>rank</dfn> of an integer type be the integer conversion
859      rank defined in C99, with the added condition that the ranks form a
860      continuous sequence of integers.</li>
861  <li>Let <dfn><i>r</i><sub>int</sub></dfn> be the rank of
862      <code>int</code>.</li>
863  <li>Let <dfn><code>signed(<i>r</i>)</code></dfn> and
864      <dfn><code>unsigned(<i>r</i>)</code></dfn>
865      be the signed integer type and unsigned integer type with rank
866      <i>r</i>.</li>
867</ul>
868
869<p>Integers promote upward to floating-point types.  Let <i>SMax</i> be the
870highest ranking signed integer type, and let <i>UMax</i> be the highest
871ranking unsigned integer type.  Then Cforall would define</p>
872
873<pre>
874Promoter(float, <i>SMax</i>);
875Promoter(float, <i>Umax</i>);
876</pre>
877
878<p>Signed types promote across to unsigned types with the same rank.  For
879every <i>r</i> &gt;= <i>r</i><sub>int</sub> such that
880<code>signed(<i>r</i>)</code> exists, Cforall would define</p>
881
882<pre>
883void (?promote)?( unsigned(<i>r</i>)*, signed(<i>r</i>) );
884</pre>
885
886<p>Lower-ranking signed integers promote to higher-ranking signed integers.
887For every signed integer type <i>T</i> with rank greater than
888<i>r</i><sub>int</sub>, let <i>S</i> be the signed integer type with the
889next lowest rank.  Then Cforall would define</p>
890
891<pre>
892Promoter(<i>T</i>, <i>S</i>);
893</pre>
894
895<p>Similarly, lower-ranking unsigned integers promote to higher-ranking
896unsigned integers.  For every <i>r</i> &gt; <i>r</i><sub>int</sub>, Cforall
897would define</p>
898
899<pre>
900Promoter(unsigned(<i>r</i>), unsigned(<i>r</i>-1));
901</pre>
902
903<p>C's usual arithmetic conversions may promote an unsigned type to a
904signed type, but only if the signed type can represent every value of the
905unsigned type.  For every <i>r</i> &gt;= <i>r</i><sub>int</sub>, if there
906are any signed types that can represent every value in
907<code>unsigned(<i>r</i>)</code>, let <i>S</i> be the
908lowest ranking of these types; then Cforall defines</p>
909
910<pre>
911Promoter(<i>S</i>, unsigned(<i>r</i>));
912</pre>
913
914<h3 id='intpromo'>C's "Integer Promotions"</h3>
915
916<div class='rationale'>
917
918<p>C's <dfn>integer promotions</dfn> apply to "small" types (those with
919rank less than <i>r</i><sub>int</sub>): they promote to <code>int</code> if
920<code>int</code> can hold all of their values, and to <code>unsigned
921int</code> otherwise.  At least one unsigned type, <code>_Bool</code>,
922will promote to <code>int</code>.  This breaks the pattern set by the usual
923arithmetic conversions, where unsigned types always promote to the next
924larger unsigned type.  Consider a machine with 32-bit <code>int</code>s and
92516-bit <code>unsigned short</code>s: if two <code>unsigned short</code>s
926are added, they must be promoted to <code>int</code> instead of
927<code>unsigned int</code>.  Hence for this machine there must <em>not</em>
928be a promotion from <code>unsigned short</code> to <code>unsigned
929int</code>.</p>
930
931<p>Since the C integer promotions always promote small signed types to
932<code>int</code>, Cforall would extend the chain of polymorphic "upward"
933and monomorphic "across" signed integer promotions to the small
934signed types.</p>
935</div>
936
937<p>For every signed integer type <i>S</i> with rank less than
938<i>r</i><sub>int</sub>, Cforall would define</p>
939<pre>
940Promoter(<i>T</i>, <i>S</i>);
941</pre>
942<p>where <i>T</i> is the signed integer type with the next highest
943rank.</p>
944
945<p>Let <i>r</i><sub>break</sub> be the rank of the highest-ranking unsigned
946type whose values can all be represented by <code>int</code>, and let
947<i>T</i> be the lowest-ranking signed type that can represent all of the
948values of <code>unsigned(<i>r</i><sub>break</sub>)</code>.  Cforall would
949define</p>
950
951<pre>
952Promoter(T, unsigned(<i>r</i><sub>break</sub>));
953</pre>
954
955<p>For every
956<i>r</i> less than <i>r</i><sub>int</sub> except
957<i>r</i><sub>break</sub>, Cforall would define</p>
958<pre>
959Promoter(unsigned(<i>r+1</i>), unsigned(<i>r</i>));
960</pre>
961
962<p class='rationale'><i>r</i><sub>break</sub> is the point where the normal
963pattern of unsigned promotion breaks.  Unsigned types with higher rank
964promote upward toward <code>unsigned int</code>.  Unsigned types with
965lower rank promote upward to the type at the break, which promotes upward
966to a signed type and onward toward <code>int</code>.</p>
967
968<p>For each <i>r</i> &lt; <i>r</i><sub>int</sub> such that
969<code>signed(<i>r</i>)</code> exists, Cforall would define</p>
970<pre>
971void (?promote)?(unsigned(<i>r</i>)*, signed(<i>r</i>));
972</pre>
973
974<p class='rationale'>These "across" promotions are not strictly necessary,
975but it seems useful to extend the pattern of signed-to-unsigned monomorphic
976conversions established by the larger integer types.  Note that because of
977these promotions, <code>unsigned(<i>r</i><sub>break</sub>)</code> does
978promote to the next larger unsigned type, after a detour through a signed
979type that increases the conversion cost.</p>
980
981<p>Finally, <code>char</code> is equivalent to <code>signed char</code> or
982<code>unsigned char</code>, on an implementation-defined basis.  If
983<code>char</code> is equivalent to <code>signed char</code>, the
984implementation would define</p>
985
986<pre>
987Promoter(signed char, char);
988</pre>
989
990<p>Otherwise, it would define</p>
991<pre>
992Promoter(unsigned char, char);
993</pre>
994
995<h2 id="otherpromo">Other Promotions</h2>
996<p>Promotions can add qualifiers to the pointed-to type of a
997pointer type.</p>
998<pre>
999forall(dtype DT) void (?promote)?(const DT**, DT*);
1000forall(dtype DT) void (?promote)?(volatile DT**, DT*);
1001forall(dtype DT) void (?promote)?(restrict DT**, DT*);
1002forall(dtype DT) void (?promote)?(const volatile DT**, DT*);
1003forall(dtype DT) void (?promote)?(const restrict DT**, DT*);
1004forall(dtype DT) void (?promote)?(volatile restrict DT**, DT*);
1005forall(dtype DT) void (?promote)?(const volatile restrict DT**, DT*);
1006
1007forall(dtype DT) void (?promote)?(const volatile DT**, const DT*);
1008forall(dtype DT) void (?promote)?(const restrict DT**, const DT*);
1009forall(dtype DT) void (?promote)?(const volatile restrict DT**, const DT*);
1010
1011forall(dtype DT) void (?promote)?(const volatile DT**, volatile DT*);
1012forall(dtype DT) void (?promote)?(volatile restrict DT**, volatile DT*);
1013forall(dtype DT) void (?promote)?(const volatile restrict DT**, volatile DT*);
1014
1015forall(dtype DT) void (?promote)?(const restrict DT**, restrict DT*);
1016forall(dtype DT) void (?promote)?(volatile restrict DT**, restrict DT*);
1017forall(dtype DT) void (?promote)?(const volatile restrict DT**, restrict
1018DT*);
1019
1020forall(dtype DT) void (?promote)?(const volatile restrict DT**, const volatile DT);
1021forall(dtype DT) void (?promote)?(const volatile restrict DT**, const restrict DT);
1022forall(dtype DT) void (?promote)?(const volatile restrict DT**, volatile restrict DT);
1023</pre>
1024
1025<p class='rationale'> The type qualifier promotions are simple, but verbose
1026because Cforall doesn't abstract over type qualifiers very well.  They also
1027give <em>every</em> type qualifier promotion a cost of 1.  It is possible
1028to define a smaller set of promotions, some using the constructor idiom,
1029that gives greater cost to promotions that add more qualifiers, but the set
1030is arbitrary and asymmetric: only one of the three promotions that add one
1031qualifier to an unqualified pointer type can use the constructor idiom, or
1032else ambiguity results.</p>
1033
1034<p>Within the scope of a type definition <code>type <i>T1</i> =
1035<i>T2</i>;</code>, constructors would convert between the new type and its
1036implementation type.</p>
1037
1038<pre>
1039void (?promote)(<i>T2</i>*, <i>T1</i>);
1040void (?promote)(<i>T2</i>**, <i>T1</i>*);
1041void (?create)?(<i>T1</i>*, <i>T2</i>);
1042void (?create)?(<i>T1</i>**, <i>T2</i>*);
1043</pre>
1044
1045<p class='rationale'>The conversion from the implementation type
1046<code><i>T2</i></code> to the new type <code><i>T1</i></code> gives
1047functions that implement operations on <code><i>T1</i></code> access to the
1048type's implementation.  The conversion is a promotion because most such
1049functions work with the implementation most of the time.  The reverse
1050conversion is merely implicit, so that mixed operations won't be
1051ambiguous.</p>
1052
1053<h2 id="demotions">Other Pre-Defined Implicit Conversions</h2>
1054<h3>Arithmetic Conversions</h3>
1055
1056<p class='rationale'>C defines implicit conversions between any two
1057arithmetic types.  In Cforall terms, the conversions that are not
1058promotions are ordinary conversions.  Most of the ordinary conversions
1059follow a pattern that looks like the <a href='#usual'>Usual Arithmetic
1060Conversions</a> in reverse.  Once again, I will use a macro to hide details
1061of the constructor idiom.</p>
1062
1063<pre>
1064#define Creator(Target, Source) \
1065  forall(type T | void (?create)?(T*, Target)) void (?create)?(T*, Source)
1066
1067Creator(double _Complex, long double _Complex);
1068Creator(float _Complex,  double _Complex);
1069Creator(double, long double);
1070Creator(float,  double);
1071Creator(double _Imaginary, long double _Imaginary);
1072Creator(float _Imaginary,  double _Imaginary);
1073
1074void (?create)?(long double*,            long double _Complex);
1075void (?create)?(long double _Imaginary*, long double _Complex);
1076void (?create)?(double*,            double _Complex);
1077void (?create)?(double _Imaginary*, double _Complex);
1078void (?create)?(float*,            float _Complex);
1079void (?create)?(float _Imaginary*, float _Complex);
1080</pre>
1081
1082<p class='rationale'>The C99 draft standards that I have access to state
1083that real types and imaginary types are implicitly interconvertible.  This
1084seems like a mistake, since the result of the conversion will always be
1085zero, but ...</p>
1086
1087<pre>
1088void (?create)?(long double*, long double _Imaginary);
1089void (?create)?(long double _Imaginary*, long double);
1090void (?create)?(double*, double _Imaginary);
1091void (?create)?(double _Imaginary*, double);
1092void (?create)?(float*, float _Imaginary);
1093void (?create)?(float _Imaginary*, float);
1094</pre>
1095
1096<p>Let <i>SMax</i> be the highest ranking signed integer type, and let
1097<i>UMax</i> be the highest ranking unsigned integer type.  Then Cforall
1098would define</p>
1099
1100<pre>
1101Creator(<i>SMax</i>, float);
1102Creator(<i>SMax</i>, float _Complex);
1103Creator(<i>SMax</i>, float _Imaginary);
1104Creator(<i>UMax</i>, float);
1105Creator(<i>UMax</i>, float _Complex);
1106Creator(<i>UMax</i>, float _Imaginary);
1107</pre>
1108
1109<p>For every signed integer type <i>T</i> with rank greater than that of
1110<code>signed char</code>, Cforall would define</p>
1111
1112<pre>
1113Creator(<i>S</i>, <i>T</i>);
1114</pre>
1115<p>where <i>S</i> is the signed integer type with the next lowest rank.</p>
1116
1117<p>For every rank <i>r</i> greater than the rank of <code>_Bool</code>,
1118Cforall would define</p>
1119
1120<pre>
1121Creator(unsigned(<i>r</i>-1), unsigned(<i>r</i>));
1122</pre>
1123
1124<p>For every rank <i>r</i> such that <code>signed(<i>r</i>)</code> exists,
1125Cforall would define</p>
1126
1127<pre>
1128void (?create)?( signed(<i>r</i>)*, unsigned(<i>r</i>) );
1129</pre>
1130
1131<p><code>char</code> and <code>_Bool</code> are interconvertible.</p>
1132<pre>
1133void (?create)?(char*, _Bool);
1134void (?create)?(_Bool*, char);
1135</pre>
1136
1137<p>If <code>char</code> is equivalent to <code>signed char</code>, the
1138implementation would define</p>
1139
1140<pre>
1141Creator(char, signed char);
1142void (?create)?(char*, unsigned char);
1143</pre>
1144
1145<p>Otherwise, the implementation would define</p>
1146<pre>
1147Creator(char, unsigned char);
1148void (?create)?(char*, signed char);
1149void (?create)?(_Bool*, signed char);
1150void (?create)?(signed char*, _Bool);
1151</pre>
1152
1153<h3>Pointer conversions</h3>
1154
1155<p>Pointer types are implicitly interconvertible with pointers to void,
1156provided that the target type has all of the qualifiers of the source
1157type.</p>
1158
1159<pre>
1160forall(dtype SourceType,
1161       type QVPtr | void (?promote)?(QVPtr*, void*))
1162  void (?create)?(QVPtr*, SourceType*);
1163</pre>
1164
1165<p class='rationale'>This conversion uses the constructor idiom, but note
1166that the assertion parameter is a promotion even though the conversion
1167itself is not a promotion.  My intent is that the assertion parameter will
1168be bound to a promotion that adds <a href='#otherpromo'>type qualifiers</a>
1169to a pointer type.  A conversion from <code>int*</code> to <code>const
1170void*</code> would bind <code>SourceType</code> to <code>int</code>,
1171<code>QVPtr</code> to <code>const void*</code>, and the assertion parameter
1172to a promotion from <code>void*</code> to <code>const void*</code> (which
1173is a specialization of one of the polymorphic type qualifier promotions
1174given above).  Because of this composition of pointer conversions, I don't
1175have to define conversions for every combination of type qualifiers on the
1176target type.  I do have to handle all combinations of qualifiers on the
1177source type:</p>
1178
1179<pre>
1180forall(dtype SourceType,
1181       type QVPtr | void (?promote)?(QVPtr*, const void*))
1182  void (?create)?(QVPtr*, const SourceType*);
1183forall(dtype SourceType,
1184       type QVPtr | void (?promote)?(QVPtr*, volatile void*))
1185  void (?create)?(QVPtr*, volatile SourceType*);
1186forall(dtype SourceType,
1187       type QVPtr | void (?promote)?(QVPtr*, restrict void*))
1188  void (?create)?(QVPtr*, restrict SourceType*);
1189forall(dtype SourceType,
1190       type QVPtr | void (?promote)?(QVPtr*, const volatile void*))
1191  void (?create)?(QVPtr*, const volatile SourceType*);
1192forall(dtype SourceType,
1193       type QVPtr | void (?promote)?(QVPtr*, const restrict void*))
1194  void (?create)?(QVPtr*, const restrict SourceType*);
1195forall(dtype SourceType,
1196       type QVPtr | void (?promote)?(QVPtr*, volatile restrict void*))
1197  void (?create)?(QVPtr*, volatile restrict SourceType*);
1198forall(dtype SourceType,
1199       type QVPtr | void (?promote)?(QVPtr*, const volatile restrict void*))
1200  void (?create)?(QVPtr*, const volatile restrict SourceType*);
1201
1202forall(type QTPtr,
1203       dtype TargetType | void (?promote)?(QTPtr*, TargetType*)
1204  void (?create)?(QTPtr*, void*);
1205forall(type QTPtr,
1206       dtype TargetType | void (?promote)?(QTPtr*, const TargetType*)
1207  void (?create)?(QTPtr*, const void*);
1208forall(type QTPtr,
1209       dtype TargetType | void (?promote)?(QTPtr*, volatile TargetType*)
1210  void (?create)?(QTPtr*, volatile void*);
1211forall(type QTPtr,
1212       dtype TargetType | void (?promote)?(QTPtr*, restrict TargetType*)
1213  void (?create)?(QTPtr*, restrict void*);
1214forall(type QTPtr,
1215       dtype TargetType | void (?promote)?(QTPtr*, const volatile TargetType*)
1216  void (?create)?(QTPtr*, const volatile void*);
1217forall(type QTPtr,
1218       dtype TargetType | void (?promote)?(QTPtr*, const restrict TargetType*)
1219  void (?create)?(QTPtr*, const restrict void*);
1220forall(type QTPtr,
1221       dtype TargetType | void (?promote)?(QTPtr*, volatile restrict TargetType*)
1222  void (?create)?(QTPtr*, volatile restrict void*);
1223forall(type QTPtr,
1224       dtype TargetType | void (?promote)?(QTPtr*, const volatile restrict TargetType*)
1225  void (?create)?(QTPtr*, const volatile restrict void*);
1226</pre>
1227
1228<h2 id="explicit">Pre-Defined Explicit Conversions</h2>
1229<p>Function pointers are interconvertible.</p>
1230<pre>
1231forall(ftype FT1, ftype FT2, type T | FT1* (?)?(T) ) FT2* (?)?(FT1*);
1232</pre>
1233
1234<p>Data pointers including pointers to <code>void</code> are
1235interconvertible, regardless of type qualifiers.</p>
1236
1237<pre>
1238forall(dtype DT1, dtype DT2) DT2*                (?)?(DT1*);
1239forall(dtype DT1, dtype DT2) const DT2*          (?)?(DT1*);
1240forall(dtype DT1, dtype DT2) volatile DT2*       (?)?(DT1*);
1241forall(dtype DT1, dtype DT2) const volatile DT2* (?)?(DT1*);
1242
1243forall(dtype DT1, dtype DT2) DT2*                (?)?(const DT1*);
1244forall(dtype DT1, dtype DT2) const DT2*          (?)?(const DT1*);
1245forall(dtype DT1, dtype DT2) volatile DT2*       (?)?(const DT1*);
1246forall(dtype DT1, dtype DT2) const volatile DT2* (?)?(const DT1*);
1247
1248forall(dtype DT1, dtype DT2) DT2*                (?)?(volatile DT*);
1249forall(dtype DT1, dtype DT2) const DT2*          (?)?(volatile DT*);
1250forall(dtype DT1, dtype DT2) volatile DT2*       (?)?(volatile DT*);
1251forall(dtype DT1, dtype DT2) const volatile DT2* (?)?(volatile DT*);
1252
1253forall(dtype DT1, dtype DT2) DT2*                (?)?(const volatile DT*);
1254forall(dtype DT1, dtype DT2) const DT2*          (?)?(const volatile DT*);
1255forall(dtype DT1, dtype DT2) volatile DT2*       (?)?(const volatile DT*);
1256forall(dtype DT1, dtype DT2) const volatile DT2* (?)?(const volatile DT*);
1257</pre>
1258
1259<p>Integers and pointers are interconvertible.  For every integer type
1260<i>I</i> define</p>
1261<pre>
1262forall(dtype DT, type T | <i>I</i> (?)?(T) ) DT* ?(?)(T);
1263forall(ftype FT, type T | <i>I</i> (?)?(T) ) FT* ?(?)(T);
1264
1265forall(dtype DT, type T | DT* (?)?(T) ) <i>I</i> (?)?(T);
1266forall(dtype DT, type T | DT* (?)?(T) ) <i>I</i> (?)?(T);
1267</pre>
1268
1269<h2 id='nonconversions'>Non-Conversions</h2>
1270<p>C99 has a few other "conversions" that don't fit into this proposal.
1271Outside of some special circumstances (such as application of
1272<code>sizeof</code>),</p>
1273<ul>
1274  <li>array lvalues "convert" to pointers</li>
1275  <li>function designators "convert" to pointers to functions</li>
1276  <li>non-array lvalues "convert" to plain values</li>
1277  <li>bit fields undergo "integer promotion" to <code>int</code> or
1278      <code>unsigned int</code> values.</li>
1279</ul>
1280
1281<p>I'd like to stop calling these "conversions".  Perhaps they could be
1282handled by some verbiage in the semantics of "Primary Expressions".</p>
1283
1284<p>Cforall-as-is provides "specialization", which reduces the number of
1285type parameters or assertion parameters of a polymorphic object or
1286function.  Specialization looks like a conversion -- it can happen
1287implicitly or as a result of a cast -- but would no longer be considered to
1288be a conversion.</p>
1289
1290<h2 id='assignment'>Assignment</h2>
1291
1292<p>Since extended Cforall separates conversion from assignment, it can
1293simplify Cforall-as-is's set of assignment operators.  Implicit conversions
1294can add type qualifiers to the target's type, and to the source's type in
1295the case of pointer assignment.</p>
1296
1297<pre>
1298char ?=?(volatile char*, char);
1299char ?+=?(volatile char*, char);
1300// <i>... and similarly for the rest of the basic types and</i>
1301// <i>compound assignment operators.</i>
1302</pre>
1303<pre class='rationale'>
1304char c;
1305c = 'a';  // <i>=&gt; ?=?( &amp;c, 'a' );</i>
1306          // <i>=&gt; ?=?( (volatile char*)&amp;c, 'a' );</i>
1307</pre>
1308
1309<pre>
1310// <i>Assignment between data pointers, where the target has all of</i>
1311// <i>the qualifiers of the source.</i>
1312forall(dtype DT)
1313  DT* ?=?(DT* volatile restrict*, DT*);
1314forall(dtype DT)
1315  const DT* ?=?(const DT* volatile restrict*, const DT*);
1316forall(dtype DT)
1317  volatile DT* ?=?(volatile DT* volatile restrict*, volatile DT*);
1318forall(dtype DT)
1319  const volatile DT* ?=?(const volatile DT* volatile restrict*, const volatile DT*);
1320
1321// <i>Assignment to data pointers from </i>void<i>pointers.</i>
1322forall(dtype DT) DT* ?=?(DT* volatile restrict*,  void*)
1323forall(dtype DT)
1324  const DT* ?=?(const DT* volatile restrict*, const void*);
1325forall(dtype DT)
1326  volatile DT* ?=?(volatile DT* volatile restrict*, volatile void*);
1327forall(dtype DT)
1328  const volatile DT* ?=?(const volatile DT* volatile restrict*, const volatile void*);
1329
1330// <i>Assignment to </i>void<i> pointers from data pointers.</i>
1331forall(dtype DT)
1332  void* ?=?(void* volatile restrict*, DT*);
1333forall(dtype DT)
1334  const void* ?=?(const void* volatile restrict*, const DT*);
1335forall(dtype DT)
1336  volatile void* ?=?(volatile void* volatile restrict*, volatile DT*);
1337forall(dtype DT)
1338  const volatile void* ?=?(const volatile void* volatile restrict*, const volatile DT*);
1339
1340// <i>Assignment from null pointers to other pointer types.</i>
1341forall(dtype DT)
1342  void* ?=?(void* volatile restrict*, forall(dtype DT2) const DT2*);
1343forall(dtype DT)
1344  const void* ?=?(const void* volatile restrict*, forall(dtype DT2) const DT2*);
1345forall(dtype DT)
1346  volatile void* ?=?(volatile void* volatile restrict*, forall(dtype DT2) const DT2*);
1347forall(dtype DT)
1348  const volatile void* ?=?(const volatile void* volatile restrict*, forall(dtype DT2) const DT2*);
1349
1350// <i>Function pointer assignment</i>
1351forall(ftype FT) FT* ?=?(FT* volatile restrict*, FT*);
1352forall(ftype FT) FT* ?=?(FT* volatile restrict*, forall(ftype FT2) FT2*);
1353</pre>
1354
1355<div class='rationale'>
1356
1357<p>The difference, relative to Cforall-as-is, is that assignment operators
1358come in one flavor (a pointer to a volatile value as the first operand)
1359instead of two (a pointer to volatile in one case, a plain pointer in the
1360other) or the four that <code>restrict</code> would have led to.</p>
1361
1362<p>However, to make this work, the type of <dfn>default assignment</dfn>
1363functions must also change.  A declaration of a type <code>T</code> would
1364implicitly declare</p> <pre> T ?=?(T volatile restrict*, T) </pre> </div>
1365
1366<h2 id='final'>Final Notes</h2>
1367
1368<p>The <a href='#idiom'>constructor idiom</a> is polymorphic in the
1369object's type: an initial value of one particular type can initialize
1370objects of many types.  The constructor that promotes a <code>Wazzit</code>
1371into a <code>Thingum</code> is declared</p>
1372
1373<pre>
1374forall(type T | void (?promote)?(T*, Thingum) )
1375  void (?promote)?(T*, Wazzit);
1376</pre>
1377<p>("You can make a <code>Wazzit</code> into a <code>Thingum</code> and
1378types higher in the hierarchy.")</p>
1379
1380<p>It would also be possible to use a constructor idiom where the object's
1381type is fixed and the initial value's type is polymorphic:</p>
1382
1383<pre>
1384forall(type T | void (?promote)?(Wazzit*, T) )
1385  void (?promote)?(Thingum*, T);
1386</pre>
1387<p>("You can make a <code>Thingum</code> from a <code>Wazzit</code> and
1388types lower in the hierarchy.")</p>
1389
1390<p>The "polymorphic value" idiom has the advantage that it is fairly
1391obvious that the function is a constructor for type <code>Thingum</code>.
1392In the "polymorphic object" idiom, <code>Thingum</code> is buried in the
1393assertion parameter.</p>
1394
1395<p>However, I chose the "polymorphic object" idiom because it matches C's
1396semantics for signed-to-unsigned integer conversions.  In the "polymorphic
1397object" idiom, the natural way to write the polymorphic promoter from
1398<code>int</code> to larger types is
1399</p>
1400
1401<pre>
1402forall(type T | void (?promote)?(T*, long) )
1403  void (?promote)?(T* tp, int i) {
1404    long l = i;
1405    *tp = (T)l;    // <i>calls the assertion parameter.</i>
1406    }
1407</pre>
1408
1409<p>Now consider the case of a CPU with 16-bit <code>int</code>s, where we
1410need to convert an <code>int</code> value <code>-1</code> to a 32-bit
1411<code>unsigned long</code>.  The assertion parameter will be bound to the
1412monomorphic <code>long</code>-to-<code>unsigned long</code> promoter.  The
1413function body above converts the <code>int</code> -1 to a <code>long</code>
1414-1, and then uses the assertion parameter to convert the result to the
1415correct <code>unsigned long</code> value: 4,294,967,295.</p>
1416
1417<p>In the "polymorphic value" idiom, the conversion would be done by
1418calling the polymorphic promoter to <code>unsigned long</code> from smaller
1419types:</p>
1420
1421<pre>
1422forall(type T | void (?promote)?(unsigned*, T) )
1423  void (?promote)?(unsigned long* ulp, T t) {
1424    unsigned u = t;    // <i>calls the assertion parameter.</i>
1425    *ulp = u;
1426    }
1427</pre>
1428
1429<p>This time the assertion parameter will be bound to the
1430<code>int</code>-to-<code>unsigned</code> promoter.  The function body uses
1431the assertion parameter to convert the integer -1 to <code>unsigned</code>
143265,565, and then converts the result to the incorrect <code>unsigned
1433long</code> value 65,535.</p>
1434
1435<p>Clearly the "polymorphic value" idiom would require the implementation
1436to do some unnatural, and probably implementation-dependent, bit mangling
1437to get the right answer.  Of course, an implementation is allowed to
1438perform any unnatural acts it chooses.  But programmers would have to
1439conform to the prevailing constructor idiom when writing their
1440constructors, and will want to write natural and portable code.</p>
1441
1442<!--
1443Multi-argument constructors and {...} notation.  Default and keyword
1444parameters?
1445
1446mutable.
1447
1448Automating implementation-dependent promotion, so new types can fit in
1449easily.
1450
1451Cast has no cost; implicit construction does.
1452
1453Allow instantiation of dtype/incomplete type if the type has a constructor?
1454The problem is space allocation: constructors would have to allocate space,
1455which would interfere with their use in dynamic allocation.
1456
1457generic function that treates promoters as creators might cause loops when
1458chaining creators.
1459
1460-->
1461</body>
1462</html>
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