Sizedness in default trait fns

help
1

This works:

trait A {
    fn to_boxed_b(self: Box<Self>) -> Box<B> where Self: 'static;
}

impl<T> A for T {
    fn to_boxed_b(self: Box<Self>) -> Box<B> where Self: 'static {
        Box::new(*self) as _
    }
}

trait B {}

impl<T: A> B for T {}

fn boxed_a() -> Box<A> { unimplemented!() }

fn main() {
    boxed_a().to_boxed_b();
}

This doesn't:

trait A {
    fn to_boxed_b(self: Box<Self>) -> Box<B> where Self: 'static {
        Box::new(*self) as _
    }
}

trait B {}

impl<T: A> B for T {}

fn boxed_a() -> Box<A> { unimplemented!() }

fn main() {
    boxed_a().to_boxed_b();
}

I've tried many variations. Is there any way to make the default fn work? If not, why not?

2

So, here's how I'm understanding it.

The difference is the bounds on T. In the first example, Self is the generic parameter T which thus defaults to T: Sized. This is necessary for the implementation to be valid.

In the second example example, since it is the body of a trait, we have a default of Self: ?Sized and the implementation fails. In other words, the current bounds on Self are too general for it to work.

If you try adding a where Self: Sized bound to A::to_boxed_b (as you've probably tried), the default impl now compiles (hooray!), but the call to to_boxed_b() fails (booo!). This is because, at the callsite, Self is the trait object A, which isn't Sized.

Thinking in terms of "types as proofs", I feel like this comes down to a disconnect between the proofs we provide to the type system, and what we obtain back from it.

Consider:

  • T: Trait as the proposition that T implements Trait
  • impl Trait for T as providing a proof that T implements Trait.

In this language, there is one very special proof we never need to write, which is the fact that Trait: Trait (the one on the left being the trait object type). The compiler does this for us, and that's what lets the first example work.

3

This comes down to how fat pointers are implemented. Or rather, how type erasure is done. If you have an erased type Box<Trait> you cannot go to Box<AnotherTrait> since there’s no way to find the vtbl for that underlying object’s AnotherTrait impl. Once you add Sized bound then you’re working with thin pointers and those aren’t type erased.