bevy/examples/async_tasks
MrGVSV f16768d868 bevy_derive: Add derives for Deref and DerefMut (#4328)
# Objective

A common pattern in Rust is the [newtype](https://doc.rust-lang.org/rust-by-example/generics/new_types.html). This is an especially useful pattern in Bevy as it allows us to give common/foreign types different semantics (such as allowing it to implement `Component` or `FromWorld`) or to simply treat them as a "new type" (clever). For example, it allows us to wrap a common `Vec<String>` and do things like:

```rust
#[derive(Component)]
struct Items(Vec<String>);

fn give_sword(query: Query<&mut Items>) { 
  query.single_mut().0.push(String::from("Flaming Poisoning Raging Sword of Doom"));
}
```

> We could then define another struct that wraps `Vec<String>` without anything clashing in the query.

However, one of the worst parts of this pattern is the ugly `.0` we have to write in order to access the type we actually care about. This is why people often implement `Deref` and `DerefMut` in order to get around this.

Since it's such a common pattern, especially for Bevy, it makes sense to add a derive macro to automatically add those implementations.


## Solution

Added a derive macro for `Deref` and another for `DerefMut` (both exported into the prelude). This works on all structs (including tuple structs) as long as they only contain a single field:

```rust
#[derive(Deref)]
struct Foo(String);

#[derive(Deref, DerefMut)]
struct Bar {
  name: String,
}
```

This allows us to then remove that pesky `.0`:

```rust
#[derive(Component, Deref, DerefMut)]
struct Items(Vec<String>);

fn give_sword(query: Query<&mut Items>) { 
  query.single_mut().push(String::from("Flaming Poisoning Raging Sword of Doom"));
}
```

### Alternatives

There are other alternatives to this such as by using the [`derive_more`](https://crates.io/crates/derive_more) crate. However, it doesn't seem like we need an entire crate just yet since we only need `Deref` and `DerefMut` (for now).

### Considerations

One thing to consider is that the Rust std library recommends _not_ using `Deref` and `DerefMut` for things like this: "`Deref` should only be implemented for smart pointers to avoid confusion" ([reference](https://doc.rust-lang.org/std/ops/trait.Deref.html)). Personally, I believe it makes sense to use it in the way described above, but others may disagree.

### Additional Context

Discord: https://discord.com/channels/691052431525675048/692572690833473578/956648422163746827 (controversiality discussed [here](https://discord.com/channels/691052431525675048/692572690833473578/956711911481835630))

---

## Changelog

- Add `Deref` derive macro (exported to prelude)
- Add `DerefMut` derive macro (exported to prelude)
- Updated most newtypes in examples to use one or both derives

Co-authored-by: MrGVSV <49806985+MrGVSV@users.noreply.github.com>
2022-03-29 02:10:06 +00:00
..
async_compute.rs bevy_derive: Add derives for Deref and DerefMut (#4328) 2022-03-29 02:10:06 +00:00
external_source_external_thread.rs bevy_derive: Add derives for Deref and DerefMut (#4328) 2022-03-29 02:10:06 +00:00