# Objective
Currently, the term "value" in the context of reflection is a bit
overloaded.
For one, it can be used synonymously with "data" or "variable". An
example sentence would be "this function takes a reflected value".
However, it is also used to refer to reflected types which are
`ReflectKind::Value`. These types are usually either primitives, opaque
types, or types that don't fall into any other `ReflectKind` (or perhaps
could, but don't due to some limitation/difficulty). An example sentence
would be "this function takes a reflected value type".
This makes it difficult to write good documentation or other learning
material without causing some amount of confusion to readers. Ideally,
we'd be able to move away from the `ReflectKind::Value` usage and come
up with a better term.
## Solution
This PR replaces the terminology of "value" with "opaque" across
`bevy_reflect`. This includes in documentation, type names, variant
names, and macros.
The term "opaque" was chosen because that's essentially how the type is
treated within the reflection API. In other words, its internal
structure is hidden. All we can do is work with the type itself.
### Primitives
While primitives are not technically opaque types, I think it's still
clearer to refer to them as "opaque" rather than keep the confusing
"value" terminology.
We could consider adding another concept for primitives (e.g.
`ReflectKind::Primitive`), but I'm not sure that provides a lot of
benefit right now. In most circumstances, they'll be treated just like
an opaque type. They would also likely use the same macro (or two copies
of the same macro but with different names).
## Testing
You can test locally by running:
```
cargo test --package bevy_reflect --all-features
```
---
## Migration Guide
The reflection concept of "value type" has been replaced with a clearer
"opaque type". The following renames have been made to account for this:
- `ReflectKind::Value` → `ReflectKind::Opaque`
- `ReflectRef::Value` → `ReflectRef::Opaque`
- `ReflectMut::Value` → `ReflectMut::Opaque`
- `ReflectOwned::Value` → `ReflectOwned::Opaque`
- `TypeInfo::Value` → `TypeInfo::Opaque`
- `ValueInfo` → `OpaqueInfo`
- `impl_reflect_value!` → `impl_reflect_opaque!`
- `impl_from_reflect_value!` → `impl_from_reflect_opaque!`
Additionally, declaring your own opaque types no longer uses
`#[reflect_value]`. This attribute has been replaced by
`#[reflect(opaque)]`:
```rust
// BEFORE
#[derive(Reflect)]
#[reflect_value(Default)]
struct MyOpaqueType(u32);
// AFTER
#[derive(Reflect)]
#[reflect(opaque)]
#[reflect(Default)]
struct MyOpaqueType(u32);
```
Note that the order in which `#[reflect(opaque)]` appears does not
matter.
# Objective
#13320 added convenience methods for casting a `TypeInfo` into its
respective variant:
```rust
let info: &TypeInfo = <Vec<i32> as Typed>::type_info();
// We know `info` contains a `ListInfo`, so we can simply cast it:
let list_info: &ListInfo = info.as_list().unwrap();
```
This is especially helpful when you have already verified a type is a
certain kind via `ReflectRef`, `ReflectMut`, `ReflectOwned`, or
`ReflectKind`.
As mentioned in that PR, though, it would be useful to add similar
convenience methods to those types as well.
## Solution
Added convenience casting methods to `ReflectRef`, `ReflectMut`, and
`ReflectOwned`.
With these methods, I was able to reduce our nesting in certain places
throughout the crate.
Additionally, I took this opportunity to move these types (and
`ReflectKind`) to their own module to help clean up the `reflect`
module.
## Testing
You can test locally by running:
```
cargo test --package bevy_reflect --all-features
```
---
## Showcase
Convenience methods for casting `ReflectRef`, `ReflectMut`, and
`ReflectOwned` into their respective variants has been added! This
allows you to write cleaner code if you already know the kind of your
reflected data:
```rust
// BEFORE
let ReflectRef::List(list) = list.reflect_ref() else {
panic!("expected list");
};
// AFTER
let list = list.reflect_ref().as_list().unwrap();
```
---------
Co-authored-by: Alice Cecile <alice.i.cecile@gmail.com>
Co-authored-by: Pablo Reinhardt <126117294+pablo-lua@users.noreply.github.com>
