Extend E0308 description with dynamic dispatch example

Author: Andre Bogus

src/librustc_error_codes/error_codes/E0308.md

@@ -17,3 +17,50 @@ variable. It can occur for several cases, the most common of which is a
 mismatch in the expected type that the compiler inferred for a variable's
 initializing expression, and the actual type explicitly assigned to the
 variable.
+
+One possible scenario is that we have a trait and want to use multiple
+implementors conditionally via dynamic dispatch. E. g.
+
+```compile_fail,E0308
+use std::{io, fs, env};
+
+let arg = env::args().nth(1);
+
+let mut input = if arg == "-" {
+    std::io::stdin()
+} else {
+    fs::File::open(arg)?
+    // expected struct `std::io::Stdin`, found struct `std::fs::File
+};
+// - if and else have incompatible types
+
+Ok::<(), io::Error>(())
+```
+
+In many cases, the trait methods use self by (mutable) reference. Thus we can
+create a `dyn` reference, but we need two variables for the actual objects,
+because as shown above, one variable can only hold one type of object. We must
+still declare the variables outside of the `if` to make sure they live long
+enough.
+
+Note that this relies on the fact that while one needs to initialize a value to
+use it, Rust is clever enough to allow unused values to stay uninitialized:
+
+```no_run
+use std::{io, fs, env};
+
+let arg = env::args().nth(1).unwrap_or("-".into());
+
+// We only declare, not initialize the values.
+let (mut stdin, mut file);
+
+// We need to ascribe the type here to select dynamic dispatch.
+let input: &mut dyn io::Read = if arg == "-" {
+    stdin = std::io::stdin();
+    &mut stdin
+} else {
+    file = fs::File::open(arg)?;
+    &mut file
+};
+Ok::<(), io::Error>(())
+```

src/test/ui/json-bom-plus-crlf-multifile.stderr

@@ -17,6 +17,53 @@ variable. It can occur for several cases, the most common of which is a
 mismatch in the expected type that the compiler inferred for a variable's
 initializing expression, and the actual type explicitly assigned to the
 variable.
+
+One possible scenario is that we have a trait and want to use multiple
+implementors conditionally via dynamic dispatch. E. g.
+
+```compile_fail,E0308
+use std::{io, fs, env};
+
+let arg = env::args().nth(1);
+
+let mut input = if arg == \"-\" {
+    std::io::stdin()
+} else {
+    fs::File::open(arg)?
+    // expected struct `std::io::Stdin`, found struct `std::fs::File
+};
+// - if and else have incompatible types
+
+Ok::<(), io::Error>(())
+```
+
+In many cases, the trait methods use self by (mutable) reference. Thus we can
+create a `dyn` reference, but we need two variables for the actual objects,
+because as shown above, one variable can only hold one type of object. We must
+still declare the variables outside of the `if` to make sure they live long
+enough.
+
+Note that this relies on the fact that while one needs to initialize a value to
+use it, Rust is clever enough to allow unused values to stay uninitialized:
+
+```no_run
+use std::{io, fs, env};
+
+let arg = env::args().nth(1).unwrap_or(\"-\".into());
+
+// We only declare, not initialize the values.
+let (mut stdin, mut file);
+
+// We need to ascribe the type here to select dynamic dispatch.
+let input: &mut dyn io::Read = if arg == \"-\" {
+    stdin = std::io::stdin();
+    &mut stdin
+} else {
+    file = fs::File::open(arg)?;
+    &mut file
+};
+Ok::<(), io::Error>(())
+```
 "},"level":"error","spans":[{"file_name":"$DIR/json-bom-plus-crlf-multifile-aux.rs","byte_start":621,"byte_end":622,"line_start":17,"line_end":17,"column_start":22,"column_end":23,"is_primary":true,"text":[{"text":"    let s : String = 1;  // Error in the middle of line.","highlight_start":22,"highlight_end":23}],"label":"expected struct `std::string::String`, found integer","suggested_replacement":null,"suggestion_applicability":null,"expansion":null},{"file_name":"$DIR/json-bom-plus-crlf-multifile-aux.rs","byte_start":612,"byte_end":618,"line_start":17,"line_end":17,"column_start":13,"column_end":19,"is_primary":false,"text":[{"text":"    let s : String = 1;  // Error in the middle of line.","highlight_start":13,"highlight_end":19}],"label":"expected due to this","suggested_replacement":null,"suggestion_applicability":null,"expansion":null}],"children":[{"message":"try using a conversion method","code":null,"level":"help","spans":[{"file_name":"$DIR/json-bom-plus-crlf-multifile-aux.rs","byte_start":621,"byte_end":622,"line_start":17,"line_end":17,"column_start":22,"column_end":23,"is_primary":true,"text":[{"text":"    let s : String = 1;  // Error in the middle of line.","highlight_start":22,"highlight_end":23}],"label":null,"suggested_replacement":"1.to_string()","suggestion_applicability":"MaybeIncorrect","expansion":null}],"children":[],"rendered":null}],"rendered":"$DIR/json-bom-plus-crlf-multifile-aux.rs:17:22: error[E0308]: mismatched types
 "}
 {"message":"mismatched types","code":{"code":"E0308","explanation":"Expected type did not match the received type.
@@ -38,6 +85,53 @@ variable. It can occur for several cases, the most common of which is a
 mismatch in the expected type that the compiler inferred for a variable's
 initializing expression, and the actual type explicitly assigned to the
 variable.
+
+One possible scenario is that we have a trait and want to use multiple
+implementors conditionally via dynamic dispatch. E. g.
+
+```compile_fail,E0308
+use std::{io, fs, env};
+
+let arg = env::args().nth(1);
+
+let mut input = if arg == \"-\" {
+    std::io::stdin()
+} else {
+    fs::File::open(arg)?
+    // expected struct `std::io::Stdin`, found struct `std::fs::File
+};
+// - if and else have incompatible types
+
+Ok::<(), io::Error>(())
+```
+
+In many cases, the trait methods use self by (mutable) reference. Thus we can
+create a `dyn` reference, but we need two variables for the actual objects,
+because as shown above, one variable can only hold one type of object. We must
+still declare the variables outside of the `if` to make sure they live long
+enough.
+
+Note that this relies on the fact that while one needs to initialize a value to
+use it, Rust is clever enough to allow unused values to stay uninitialized:
+
+```no_run
+use std::{io, fs, env};
+
+let arg = env::args().nth(1).unwrap_or(\"-\".into());
+
+// We only declare, not initialize the values.
+let (mut stdin, mut file);
+
+// We need to ascribe the type here to select dynamic dispatch.
+let input: &mut dyn io::Read = if arg == \"-\" {
+    stdin = std::io::stdin();
+    &mut stdin
+} else {
+    file = fs::File::open(arg)?;
+    &mut file
+};
+Ok::<(), io::Error>(())
+```
 "},"level":"error","spans":[{"file_name":"$DIR/json-bom-plus-crlf-multifile-aux.rs","byte_start":681,"byte_end":682,"line_start":19,"line_end":19,"column_start":22,"column_end":23,"is_primary":true,"text":[{"text":"    let s : String = 1","highlight_start":22,"highlight_end":23}],"label":"expected struct `std::string::String`, found integer","suggested_replacement":null,"suggestion_applicability":null,"expansion":null},{"file_name":"$DIR/json-bom-plus-crlf-multifile-aux.rs","byte_start":672,"byte_end":678,"line_start":19,"line_end":19,"column_start":13,"column_end":19,"is_primary":false,"text":[{"text":"    let s : String = 1","highlight_start":13,"highlight_end":19}],"label":"expected due to this","suggested_replacement":null,"suggestion_applicability":null,"expansion":null}],"children":[{"message":"try using a conversion method","code":null,"level":"help","spans":[{"file_name":"$DIR/json-bom-plus-crlf-multifile-aux.rs","byte_start":681,"byte_end":682,"line_start":19,"line_end":19,"column_start":22,"column_end":23,"is_primary":true,"text":[{"text":"    let s : String = 1","highlight_start":22,"highlight_end":23}],"label":null,"suggested_replacement":"1.to_string()","suggestion_applicability":"MaybeIncorrect","expansion":null}],"children":[],"rendered":null}],"rendered":"$DIR/json-bom-plus-crlf-multifile-aux.rs:19:22: error[E0308]: mismatched types
 "}
 {"message":"mismatched types","code":{"code":"E0308","explanation":"Expected type did not match the received type.
@@ -59,6 +153,53 @@ variable. It can occur for several cases, the most common of which is a
 mismatch in the expected type that the compiler inferred for a variable's
 initializing expression, and the actual type explicitly assigned to the
 variable.
+
+One possible scenario is that we have a trait and want to use multiple
+implementors conditionally via dynamic dispatch. E. g.
+
+```compile_fail,E0308
+use std::{io, fs, env};
+
+let arg = env::args().nth(1);
+
+let mut input = if arg == \"-\" {
+    std::io::stdin()
+} else {
+    fs::File::open(arg)?
+    // expected struct `std::io::Stdin`, found struct `std::fs::File
+};
+// - if and else have incompatible types
+
+Ok::<(), io::Error>(())
+```
+
+In many cases, the trait methods use self by (mutable) reference. Thus we can
+create a `dyn` reference, but we need two variables for the actual objects,
+because as shown above, one variable can only hold one type of object. We must
+still declare the variables outside of the `if` to make sure they live long
+enough.
+
+Note that this relies on the fact that while one needs to initialize a value to
+use it, Rust is clever enough to allow unused values to stay uninitialized:
+
+```no_run
+use std::{io, fs, env};
+
+let arg = env::args().nth(1).unwrap_or(\"-\".into());
+
+// We only declare, not initialize the values.
+let (mut stdin, mut file);
+
+// We need to ascribe the type here to select dynamic dispatch.
+let input: &mut dyn io::Read = if arg == \"-\" {
+    stdin = std::io::stdin();
+    &mut stdin
+} else {
+    file = fs::File::open(arg)?;
+    &mut file
+};
+Ok::<(), io::Error>(())
+```
 "},"level":"error","spans":[{"file_name":"$DIR/json-bom-plus-crlf-multifile-aux.rs","byte_start":745,"byte_end":746,"line_start":23,"line_end":23,"column_start":1,"column_end":2,"is_primary":true,"text":[{"text":"1;  // Error after the newline.","highlight_start":1,"highlight_end":2}],"label":"expected struct `std::string::String`, found integer","suggested_replacement":null,"suggestion_applicability":null,"expansion":null},{"file_name":"$DIR/json-bom-plus-crlf-multifile-aux.rs","byte_start":735,"byte_end":741,"line_start":22,"line_end":22,"column_start":13,"column_end":19,"is_primary":false,"text":[{"text":"    let s : String =","highlight_start":13,"highlight_end":19}],"label":"expected due to this","suggested_replacement":null,"suggestion_applicability":null,"expansion":null}],"children":[{"message":"try using a conversion method","code":null,"level":"help","spans":[{"file_name":"$DIR/json-bom-plus-crlf-multifile-aux.rs","byte_start":745,"byte_end":746,"line_start":23,"line_end":23,"column_start":1,"column_end":2,"is_primary":true,"text":[{"text":"1;  // Error after the newline.","highlight_start":1,"highlight_end":2}],"label":null,"suggested_replacement":"1.to_string()","suggestion_applicability":"MaybeIncorrect","expansion":null}],"children":[],"rendered":null}],"rendered":"$DIR/json-bom-plus-crlf-multifile-aux.rs:23:1: error[E0308]: mismatched types
 "}
 {"message":"mismatched types","code":{"code":"E0308","explanation":"Expected type did not match the received type.
@@ -80,6 +221,53 @@ variable. It can occur for several cases, the most common of which is a
 mismatch in the expected type that the compiler inferred for a variable's
 initializing expression, and the actual type explicitly assigned to the
 variable.
+
+One possible scenario is that we have a trait and want to use multiple
+implementors conditionally via dynamic dispatch. E. g.
+
+```compile_fail,E0308
+use std::{io, fs, env};
+
+let arg = env::args().nth(1);
+
+let mut input = if arg == \"-\" {
+    std::io::stdin()
+} else {
+    fs::File::open(arg)?
+    // expected struct `std::io::Stdin`, found struct `std::fs::File
+};
+// - if and else have incompatible types
+
+Ok::<(), io::Error>(())
+```
+
+In many cases, the trait methods use self by (mutable) reference. Thus we can
+create a `dyn` reference, but we need two variables for the actual objects,
+because as shown above, one variable can only hold one type of object. We must
+still declare the variables outside of the `if` to make sure they live long
+enough.
+
+Note that this relies on the fact that while one needs to initialize a value to
+use it, Rust is clever enough to allow unused values to stay uninitialized:
+
+```no_run
+use std::{io, fs, env};
+
+let arg = env::args().nth(1).unwrap_or(\"-\".into());
+
+// We only declare, not initialize the values.
+let (mut stdin, mut file);
+
+// We need to ascribe the type here to select dynamic dispatch.
+let input: &mut dyn io::Read = if arg == \"-\" {
+    stdin = std::io::stdin();
+    &mut stdin
+} else {
+    file = fs::File::open(arg)?;
+    &mut file
+};
+Ok::<(), io::Error>(())
+```
 "},"level":"error","spans":[{"file_name":"$DIR/json-bom-plus-crlf-multifile-aux.rs","byte_start":801,"byte_end":809,"line_start":25,"line_end":26,"column_start":22,"column_end":6,"is_primary":true,"text":[{"text":"    let s : String = (","highlight_start":22,"highlight_end":23},{"text":"    );  // Error spanning the newline.","highlight_start":1,"highlight_end":6}],"label":"expected struct `std::string::String`, found `()`","suggested_replacement":null,"suggestion_applicability":null,"expansion":null},{"file_name":"$DIR/json-bom-plus-crlf-multifile-aux.rs","byte_start":792,"byte_end":798,"line_start":25,"line_end":25,"column_start":13,"column_end":19,"is_primary":false,"text":[{"text":"    let s : String = (","highlight_start":13,"highlight_end":19}],"label":"expected due to this","suggested_replacement":null,"suggestion_applicability":null,"expansion":null}],"children":[],"rendered":"$DIR/json-bom-plus-crlf-multifile-aux.rs:25:22: error[E0308]: mismatched types
 "}
 {"message":"aborting due to 4 previous errors","code":null,"level":"error","spans":[],"children":[],"rendered":"error: aborting due to 4 previous errors