diff --git a/library/core/src/option.rs b/library/core/src/option.rs index d0746698f40..28ea45ed235 100644 --- a/library/core/src/option.rs +++ b/library/core/src/option.rs @@ -708,6 +708,26 @@ impl Option { /// let x: Option<&str> = None; /// x.expect("fruits are healthy"); // panics with `fruits are healthy` /// ``` + /// + /// # Recommended Message Style + /// + /// We recommend that `expect` messages are used to describe the reason you + /// _expect_ the `Option` should be `Some`. + /// + /// ```should_panic + /// # let slice: &[u8] = &[]; + /// let item = slice.get(0) + /// .expect("slice should not be empty"); + /// ``` + /// + /// **Hint**: If you're having trouble remembering how to phrase expect + /// error messages remember to focus on the word "should" as in "env + /// variable should be set by blah" or "the given binary should be available + /// and executable by the current user". + /// + /// For more detail on expect message styles and the reasoning behind our + /// recommendation please refer to the section on ["Common Message + /// Styles"](../../std/error/index.html#common-message-styles) in the [`std::error`](../../std/error/index.html) module docs. #[inline] #[track_caller] #[stable(feature = "rust1", since = "1.0.0")] diff --git a/library/core/src/result.rs b/library/core/src/result.rs index 5e5f8a5ab95..c4dc34fff97 100644 --- a/library/core/src/result.rs +++ b/library/core/src/result.rs @@ -1023,6 +1023,26 @@ impl Result { /// let x: Result = Err("emergency failure"); /// x.expect("Testing expect"); // panics with `Testing expect: emergency failure` /// ``` + /// + /// # Recommended Message Style + /// + /// We recommend that `expect` messages are used to describe the reason you + /// _expect_ the `Result` should be `Ok`. + /// + /// ```should_panic + /// let path = std::env::var("IMPORTANT_PATH") + /// .expect("env variable `IMPORTANT_PATH` should be set by `wrapper_script.sh`"); + /// ``` + /// + /// **Hint**: If you're having trouble remembering how to phrase expect + /// error messages remember to focus on the word "should" as in "env + /// variable should be set by blah" or "the given binary should be available + /// and executable by the current user". + /// + /// For more detail on expect message styles and the reasoning behind our recommendation please + /// refer to the section on ["Common Message + /// Styles"](../../std/error/index.html#common-message-styles) in the + /// [`std::error`](../../std/error/index.html) module docs. #[inline] #[track_caller] #[stable(feature = "result_expect", since = "1.4.0")] diff --git a/library/std/src/error.rs b/library/std/src/error.rs index 438304e1664..c2d30616019 100644 --- a/library/std/src/error.rs +++ b/library/std/src/error.rs @@ -1,4 +1,140 @@ -//! Traits for working with Errors. +//! Interfaces for working with Errors. +//! +//! # Error Handling In Rust +//! +//! The Rust language provides two complementary systems for constructing / +//! representing, reporting, propagating, reacting to, and discarding errors. +//! These responsibilities are collectively known as "error handling." The +//! components of the first system, the panic runtime and interfaces, are most +//! commonly used to represent bugs that have been detected in your program. The +//! components of the second system, `Result`, the error traits, and user +//! defined types, are used to represent anticipated runtime failure modes of +//! your program. +//! +//! ## The Panic Interfaces +//! +//! The following are the primary interfaces of the panic system and the +//! responsibilities they cover: +//! +//! * [`panic!`] and [`panic_any`] (Constructing, Propagated automatically) +//! * [`PanicInfo`] (Reporting) +//! * [`set_hook`], [`take_hook`], and [`#[panic_handler]`][panic-handler] (Reporting) +//! * [`catch_unwind`] and [`resume_unwind`] (Discarding, Propagating) +//! +//! The following are the primary interfaces of the error system and the +//! responsibilities they cover: +//! +//! * [`Result`] (Propagating, Reacting) +//! * The [`Error`] trait (Reporting) +//! * User defined types (Constructing / Representing) +//! * [`match`] and [`downcast`] (Reacting) +//! * The question mark operator ([`?`]) (Propagating) +//! * The partially stable [`Try`] traits (Propagating, Constructing) +//! * [`Termination`] (Reporting) +//! +//! ## Converting Errors into Panics +//! +//! The panic and error systems are not entirely distinct. Often times errors +//! that are anticipated runtime failures in an API might instead represent bugs +//! to a caller. For these situations the standard library provides APIs for +//! constructing panics with an `Error` as it's source. +//! +//! * [`Result::unwrap`] +//! * [`Result::expect`] +//! +//! These functions are equivalent, they either return the inner value if the +//! `Result` is `Ok` or panic if the `Result` is `Err` printing the inner error +//! as the source. The only difference between them is that with `expect` you +//! provide a panic error message to be printed alongside the source, whereas +//! `unwrap` has a default message indicating only that you unwraped an `Err`. +//! +//! Of the two, `expect` is generally preferred since its `msg` field allows you +//! to convey your intent and assumptions which makes tracking down the source +//! of a panic easier. `unwrap` on the other hand can still be a good fit in +//! situations where you can trivially show that a piece of code will never +//! panick, such as `"127.0.0.1".parse::().unwrap()` or early +//! prototyping. +//! +//! # Common Message Styles +//! +//! There are two common styles for how people word `expect` messages. Using +//! the message to present information to users encountering a panic +//! ("expect as error message") or using the message to present information +//! to developers debugging the panic ("expect as precondition"). +//! +//! In the former case the expect message is used to describe the error that +//! has occurred which is considered a bug. Consider the following example: +//! +//! ```should_panic +//! // Read environment variable, panic if it is not present +//! let path = std::env::var("IMPORTANT_PATH").unwrap(); +//! ``` +//! +//! In the "expect as error message" style we would use expect to describe +//! that the environment variable was not set when it should have been: +//! +//! ```should_panic +//! let path = std::env::var("IMPORTANT_PATH") +//! .expect("env variable `IMPORTANT_PATH` is not set"); +//! ``` +//! +//! In the "expect as precondition" style, we would instead describe the +//! reason we _expect_ the `Result` should be `Ok`. With this style we would +//! prefer to write: +//! +//! ```should_panic +//! let path = std::env::var("IMPORTANT_PATH") +//! .expect("env variable `IMPORTANT_PATH` should be set by `wrapper_script.sh`"); +//! ``` +//! +//! The "expect as error message" style does not work as well with the +//! default output of the std panic hooks, and often ends up repeating +//! information that is already communicated by the source error being +//! unwrapped: +//! +//! ```text +//! thread 'main' panicked at 'env variable `IMPORTANT_PATH` is not set: NotPresent', src/main.rs:4:6 +//! ``` +//! +//! In this example we end up mentioning that an env variable is not set, +//! followed by our source message that says the env is not present, the +//! only additional information we're communicating is the name of the +//! environment variable being checked. +//! +//! The "expect as precondition" style instead focuses on source code +//! readability, making it easier to understand what must have gone wrong in +//! situations where panics are being used to represent bugs exclusively. +//! Also, by framing our expect in terms of what "SHOULD" have happened to +//! prevent the source error, we end up introducing new information that is +//! independent from our source error. +//! +//! ```text +//! thread 'main' panicked at 'env variable `IMPORTANT_PATH` should be set by `wrapper_script.sh`: NotPresent', src/main.rs:4:6 +//! ``` +//! +//! In this example we are communicating not only the name of the +//! environment variable that should have been set, but also an explanation +//! for why it should have been set, and we let the source error display as +//! a clear contradiction to our expectation. +//! +//! **Hint**: If you're having trouble remembering how to phrase +//! expect-as-precondition style error messages remember to focus on the word +//! "should" as in "env variable should be set by blah" or "the given binary +//! should be available and executable by the current user". +//! +//! [`panic_any`]: crate::panic::panic_any +//! [`PanicInfo`]: crate::panic::PanicInfo +//! [`catch_unwind`]: crate::panic::catch_unwind +//! [`resume_unwind`]: crate::panic::resume_unwind +//! [`downcast`]: crate::error::Error +//! [`Termination`]: crate::process::Termination +//! [`Try`]: crate::ops::Try +//! [panic hook]: crate::panic::set_hook +//! [`set_hook`]: crate::panic::set_hook +//! [`take_hook`]: crate::panic::take_hook +//! [panic-handler]: +//! [`match`]: ../../std/keyword.match.html +//! [`?`]: ../../std/result/index.html#the-question-mark-operator- #![stable(feature = "rust1", since = "1.0.0")]