bevy/crates/bevy_app
Gino Valente 423285cf1c
bevy_reflect: Store functions as DynamicClosure<'static> in FunctionRegistry (#14704)
# Objective

#14098 added the `FunctionRegistry` for registering functions such that
they can be retrieved by name and used dynamically. One thing we chose
to leave out in that initial PR is support for closures.

Why support closures? Mainly, we don't want to prohibit users from
injecting environmental data into their registered functions. This
allows these functions to not leak their internals to the public API.

For example, let's say we're writing a library crate that allows users
to register callbacks for certain actions. We want to perform some
actions before invoking the user's callback so we can't just call it
directly. We need a closure for this:

```rust
registry.register("my_lib::onclick", move |event: ClickEvent| {
    // ...other work...

    user_onclick.call(event); // <-- Captured variable
});
```

We could have made our callback take a reference to the user's callback.
This would remove the need for the closure, but it would change our
desired API to place the burden of fetching the correct callback on the
caller.

## Solution

Modify the `FunctionRegistry` to store registered functions as
`DynamicClosure<'static>` instead of `DynamicFunction` (now using
`IntoClosure` instead of `IntoFunction`).

Due to limitations in Rust and how function reflection works,
`DynamicClosure<'static>` is functionally equivalent to
`DynamicFunction`. And a normal function is considered a subset of
closures (it's a closure that doesn't capture anything), so there
shouldn't be any difference in usage: all functions that satisfy
`IntoFunction` should satisfy `IntoClosure`.

This means that the registration API introduced in #14098 should require
little-to-no changes on anyone following `main`.

### Closures vs Functions

One consideration here is whether we should keep closures and functions
separate.

This PR unifies them into `DynamicClosure<'static>`, but we can consider
splitting them up. The reasons we might want to do so are:

- Simplifies mental model and terminology (users don't have to
understand that functions turn into closures)
- If Rust ever improves its function model, we may be able to add
additional guarantees to `DynamicFunction` that make it useful to
separate the two
- Adding support for generic functions may be less confusing for users
since closures in Rust technically can't be generic

The reasons behind this PR's unification approach are:

- Reduces the number of methods needed on `FunctionRegistry`
- Reduces the number of lookups a user may have to perform (i.e.
"`get_function` or else `get_closure`")
- Establishes `DynamicClosure<'static>` as the de facto dynamic callable
(similar to how most APIs in Rust code tend to prefer `impl Fn() ->
String` over `fn() -> String`)

I'd love to hear feedback on this matter, and whether we should continue
with this PR's approach or switch to a split model.

## Testing

You can test locally by running:

```
cargo test --package bevy_reflect
```

---

## Showcase

Closures can now be registered into the `FunctionRegistry`:

```rust
let punct = String::from("!!!");

registry.register_with_name("my_crate::punctuate", move |text: String| {
  format!("{}{}", text, punct)
});
```
2024-08-17 00:20:47 +00:00
..
src bevy_reflect: Store functions as DynamicClosure<'static> in FunctionRegistry (#14704) 2024-08-17 00:20:47 +00:00
Cargo.toml bevy_reflect: Function registry (#14098) 2024-08-06 01:09:48 +00:00
README.md add and fix shields in Readmes (#9993) 2023-10-15 00:52:31 +00:00

Bevy App

License Crates.io Downloads Docs Discord

This crate is about everything concerning the highest-level, application layer of a Bevy app.