Rollup merge of #140249 - BoxyUwU:remove_weak_alias_terminology, r=oli-obk

Remove `weak` alias terminology

I find the "weak" alias terminology to be quite confusing. It implies the existence of "strong" aliases (which do not exist) and I'm not really sure what about weak aliases is "weak". I much prefer "free alias" as the term. I think it's much more obvious what it means as "free function" is a well defined term that already exists in rust.

It's also a little confusing given "weak alias" is already a term in linker/codegen spaces which are part of the compiler too. Though I'm not particularly worried about that as it's usually very obvious if you're talking about the type system or not lol. I'm also currently trying to write documentation about aliases and it's somewhat awkward/confusing to be talking about *weak* aliases, when I'm not really sure what the basis for that as the term actually *is*.

I would also be happy to just find out there's a nice meaning behind calling them "weak" aliases :-)

r? `@oli-obk`

maybe we want a types MCP to decide on a specific naming here? or maybe we think its just too late to go back on this naming decision ^^'

Author: GuillaumeGomez

compiler/rustc_const_eval/src/util/type_name.rs

@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ impl<'tcx> Printer<'tcx> for AbsolutePathPrinter<'tcx> {
             | ty::Coroutine(def_id, args) => self.print_def_path(def_id, args),
             ty::Foreign(def_id) => self.print_def_path(def_id, &[]),
 
-            ty::Alias(ty::Weak, _) => bug!("type_name: unexpected weak projection"),
+            ty::Alias(ty::Free, _) => bug!("type_name: unexpected free alias"),
             ty::Alias(ty::Inherent, _) => bug!("type_name: unexpected inherent projection"),
             ty::CoroutineWitness(..) => bug!("type_name: unexpected `CoroutineWitness`"),
         }

compiler/rustc_hir_analysis/src/check/wfcheck.rs

@@ -2019,7 +2019,7 @@ fn check_variances_for_type_defn<'tcx>(
         ItemKind::TyAlias(..) => {
             assert!(
                 tcx.type_alias_is_lazy(item.owner_id),
-                "should not be computing variance of non-weak type alias"
+                "should not be computing variance of non-free type alias"
             );
         }
         kind => span_bug!(item.span, "cannot compute the variances of {kind:?}"),
@@ -2251,7 +2251,7 @@ impl<'tcx> TypeVisitor<TyCtxt<'tcx>> for IsProbablyCyclical<'tcx> {
     fn visit_ty(&mut self, ty: Ty<'tcx>) -> ControlFlow<(), ()> {
         let def_id = match ty.kind() {
             ty::Adt(adt_def, _) => Some(adt_def.did()),
-            ty::Alias(ty::Weak, alias_ty) => Some(alias_ty.def_id),
+            ty::Alias(ty::Free, alias_ty) => Some(alias_ty.def_id),
             _ => None,
         };
         if let Some(def_id) = def_id {

compiler/rustc_hir_analysis/src/coherence/inherent_impls.rs

@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ impl<'tcx> InherentCollect<'tcx> {
         let id = id.owner_id.def_id;
         let item_span = self.tcx.def_span(id);
         let self_ty = self.tcx.type_of(id).instantiate_identity();
-        let mut self_ty = self.tcx.peel_off_weak_alias_tys(self_ty);
+        let mut self_ty = self.tcx.peel_off_free_alias_tys(self_ty);
         // We allow impls on pattern types exactly when we allow impls on the base type.
         // FIXME(pattern_types): Figure out the exact coherence rules we want here.
         while let ty::Pat(base, _) = *self_ty.kind() {
@@ -188,7 +188,7 @@ impl<'tcx> InherentCollect<'tcx> {
             | ty::CoroutineClosure(..)
             | ty::Coroutine(..)
             | ty::CoroutineWitness(..)
-            | ty::Alias(ty::Weak, _)
+            | ty::Alias(ty::Free, _)
             | ty::Bound(..)
             | ty::Placeholder(_)
             | ty::Infer(_) => {

compiler/rustc_hir_analysis/src/coherence/orphan.rs

@@ -189,7 +189,7 @@ pub(crate) fn orphan_check_impl(
                     ty::Projection => "associated type",
                     // type Foo = (impl Sized, bool)
                     // impl AutoTrait for Foo {}
-                    ty::Weak => "type alias",
+                    ty::Free => "type alias",
                     // type Opaque = impl Trait;
                     // impl AutoTrait for Opaque {}
                     ty::Opaque => "opaque type",

compiler/rustc_hir_analysis/src/constrained_generic_params.rs

@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ pub(crate) fn parameters_for<'tcx>(
     include_nonconstraining: bool,
 ) -> Vec<Parameter> {
     let mut collector = ParameterCollector { parameters: vec![], include_nonconstraining };
-    let value = if !include_nonconstraining { tcx.expand_weak_alias_tys(value) } else { value };
+    let value = if !include_nonconstraining { tcx.expand_free_alias_tys(value) } else { value };
     value.visit_with(&mut collector);
     collector.parameters
 }
@@ -68,9 +68,9 @@ impl<'tcx> TypeVisitor<TyCtxt<'tcx>> for ParameterCollector {
             {
                 return;
             }
-            // All weak alias types should've been expanded beforehand.
-            ty::Alias(ty::Weak, _) if !self.include_nonconstraining => {
-                bug!("unexpected weak alias type")
+            // All free alias types should've been expanded beforehand.
+            ty::Alias(ty::Free, _) if !self.include_nonconstraining => {
+                bug!("unexpected free alias type")
             }
             ty::Param(param) => self.parameters.push(Parameter::from(param)),
             _ => {}

compiler/rustc_hir_analysis/src/hir_ty_lowering/mod.rs

@@ -958,7 +958,7 @@ impl<'tcx> dyn HirTyLowerer<'tcx> + '_ {
             // feature `lazy_type_alias` enabled get encoded as a type alias that normalization will
             // then actually instantiate the where bounds of.
             let alias_ty = ty::AliasTy::new_from_args(tcx, did, args);
-            Ty::new_alias(tcx, ty::Weak, alias_ty)
+            Ty::new_alias(tcx, ty::Free, alias_ty)
         } else {
             tcx.at(span).type_of(did).instantiate(tcx, args)
         }

compiler/rustc_hir_analysis/src/outlives/implicit_infer.rs

@@ -157,10 +157,10 @@ fn insert_required_predicates_to_be_wf<'tcx>(
                 );
             }
 
-            ty::Alias(ty::Weak, alias) => {
+            ty::Alias(ty::Free, alias) => {
                 // This corresponds to a type like `Type<'a, T>`.
                 // We check inferred and explicit predicates.
-                debug!("Weak");
+                debug!("Free");
                 check_inferred_predicates(
                     tcx,
                     alias.def_id,

compiler/rustc_hir_analysis/src/variance/constraints.rs

@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@ impl<'a, 'tcx> ConstraintContext<'a, 'tcx> {
         let current_item = &CurrentItem { inferred_start };
         let ty = tcx.type_of(def_id).instantiate_identity();
 
-        // The type as returned by `type_of` is the underlying type and generally not a weak projection.
+        // The type as returned by `type_of` is the underlying type and generally not a free alias.
         // Therefore we need to check the `DefKind` first.
         if let DefKind::TyAlias = tcx.def_kind(def_id)
             && tcx.type_alias_is_lazy(def_id)
@@ -282,7 +282,7 @@ impl<'a, 'tcx> ConstraintContext<'a, 'tcx> {
                 self.add_constraints_from_invariant_args(current, data.args, variance);
             }
 
-            ty::Alias(ty::Weak, ref data) => {
+            ty::Alias(ty::Free, ref data) => {
                 self.add_constraints_from_args(current, data.def_id, data.args, variance);
             }
 

compiler/rustc_hir_typeck/src/fn_ctxt/mod.rs

@@ -337,7 +337,7 @@ impl<'tcx> HirTyLowerer<'tcx> for FnCtxt<'_, 'tcx> {
         match ty.kind() {
             ty::Adt(adt_def, _) => Some(*adt_def),
             // FIXME(#104767): Should we handle bound regions here?
-            ty::Alias(ty::Projection | ty::Inherent | ty::Weak, _)
+            ty::Alias(ty::Projection | ty::Inherent | ty::Free, _)
                 if !ty.has_escaping_bound_vars() =>
             {
                 if self.next_trait_solver() {
@@ -357,7 +357,7 @@ impl<'tcx> HirTyLowerer<'tcx> for FnCtxt<'_, 'tcx> {
             // WF obligations that are registered elsewhere, but they have a
             // better cause code assigned to them in `add_required_obligations_for_hir`.
             // This means that they should shadow obligations with worse spans.
-            if let ty::Alias(ty::Projection | ty::Weak, ty::AliasTy { args, def_id, .. }) =
+            if let ty::Alias(ty::Projection | ty::Free, ty::AliasTy { args, def_id, .. }) =
                 ty.kind()
             {
                 self.add_required_obligations_for_hir(span, *def_id, args, hir_id);

compiler/rustc_infer/src/infer/relate/generalize.rs

@@ -113,7 +113,7 @@ impl<'tcx> InferCtxt<'tcx> {
                         }]);
                     }
                     // The old solver only accepts projection predicates for associated types.
-                    ty::Alias(ty::Inherent | ty::Weak | ty::Opaque, _) => {
+                    ty::Alias(ty::Inherent | ty::Free | ty::Opaque, _) => {
                         return Err(TypeError::CyclicTy(source_ty));
                     }
                     _ => bug!("generalized `{source_ty:?} to infer, not an alias"),

compiler/rustc_lint/src/types.rs

@@ -1381,7 +1381,7 @@ impl<'a, 'tcx> ImproperCTypesVisitor<'a, 'tcx> {
             ty::UnsafeBinder(_) => todo!("FIXME(unsafe_binder)"),
 
             ty::Param(..)
-            | ty::Alias(ty::Projection | ty::Inherent | ty::Weak, ..)
+            | ty::Alias(ty::Projection | ty::Inherent | ty::Free, ..)
             | ty::Infer(..)
             | ty::Bound(..)
             | ty::Error(_)

compiler/rustc_middle/src/query/mod.rs

@@ -289,7 +289,7 @@ rustc_queries! {
 
     /// Returns whether the type alias given by `DefId` is lazy.
     ///
-    /// I.e., if the type alias expands / ought to expand to a [weak] [alias type]
+    /// I.e., if the type alias expands / ought to expand to a [free] [alias type]
     /// instead of the underyling aliased type.
     ///
     /// Relevant for features `lazy_type_alias` and `type_alias_impl_trait`.
@@ -298,7 +298,7 @@ rustc_queries! {
     ///
     /// This query *may* panic if the given definition is not a type alias.
     ///
-    /// [weak]: rustc_middle::ty::Weak
+    /// [free]: rustc_middle::ty::Free
     /// [alias type]: rustc_middle::ty::AliasTy
     query type_alias_is_lazy(key: DefId) -> bool {
         desc { |tcx|
@@ -2280,7 +2280,7 @@ rustc_queries! {
     /// Do not call this query directly: Invoke `normalize` instead.
     ///
     /// </div>
-    query normalize_canonicalized_weak_ty(
+    query normalize_canonicalized_free_alias(
         goal: CanonicalAliasGoal<'tcx>
     ) -> Result<
         &'tcx Canonical<'tcx, canonical::QueryResponse<'tcx, NormalizationResult<'tcx>>>,

compiler/rustc_middle/src/traits/mod.rs

@@ -404,7 +404,7 @@ pub enum ObligationCauseCode<'tcx> {
     /// Requirement for a `const N: Ty` to implement `Ty: ConstParamTy`
     ConstParam(Ty<'tcx>),
 
-    /// Obligations emitted during the normalization of a weak type alias.
+    /// Obligations emitted during the normalization of a free type alias.
     TypeAlias(ObligationCauseCodeHandle<'tcx>, Span, DefId),
 }
 

compiler/rustc_middle/src/traits/query.rs

@@ -181,7 +181,7 @@ pub struct MethodAutoderefBadTy<'tcx> {
     pub ty: Canonical<'tcx, QueryResponse<'tcx, Ty<'tcx>>>,
 }
 
-/// Result of the `normalize_canonicalized_{{,inherent_}projection,weak}_ty` queries.
+/// Result of the `normalize_canonicalized_{{,inherent_}projection,free}_ty` queries.
 #[derive(Clone, Debug, HashStable, TypeFoldable, TypeVisitable)]
 pub struct NormalizationResult<'tcx> {
     /// Result of the normalization.

compiler/rustc_middle/src/ty/context.rs

@@ -226,7 +226,7 @@ impl<'tcx> Interner for TyCtxt<'tcx> {
                 }
             }
             DefKind::OpaqueTy => ty::Opaque,
-            DefKind::TyAlias => ty::Weak,
+            DefKind::TyAlias => ty::Free,
             kind => bug!("unexpected DefKind in AliasTy: {kind:?}"),
         }
     }
@@ -242,7 +242,7 @@ impl<'tcx> Interner for TyCtxt<'tcx> {
                 }
             }
             DefKind::OpaqueTy => ty::AliasTermKind::OpaqueTy,
-            DefKind::TyAlias => ty::AliasTermKind::WeakTy,
+            DefKind::TyAlias => ty::AliasTermKind::FreeTy,
             DefKind::AssocConst => ty::AliasTermKind::ProjectionConst,
             DefKind::AnonConst | DefKind::Const | DefKind::Ctor(_, CtorKind::Const) => {
                 ty::AliasTermKind::UnevaluatedConst

compiler/rustc_middle/src/ty/error.rs

@@ -205,7 +205,7 @@ impl<'tcx> Ty<'tcx> {
             ty::Placeholder(..) => "higher-ranked type".into(),
             ty::Bound(..) => "bound type variable".into(),
             ty::Alias(ty::Projection | ty::Inherent, _) => "associated type".into(),
-            ty::Alias(ty::Weak, _) => "type alias".into(),
+            ty::Alias(ty::Free, _) => "type alias".into(),
             ty::Param(_) => "type parameter".into(),
             ty::Alias(ty::Opaque, ..) => "opaque type".into(),
         }

compiler/rustc_middle/src/ty/inhabitedness/mod.rs

@@ -127,7 +127,7 @@ impl<'tcx> Ty<'tcx> {
                 InhabitedPredicate::True
             }
             Never => InhabitedPredicate::False,
-            Param(_) | Alias(ty::Projection | ty::Weak, _) => InhabitedPredicate::GenericType(self),
+            Param(_) | Alias(ty::Projection | ty::Free, _) => InhabitedPredicate::GenericType(self),
             Alias(ty::Opaque, alias_ty) => {
                 match alias_ty.def_id.as_local() {
                     // Foreign opaque is considered inhabited.

compiler/rustc_middle/src/ty/print/pretty.rs

@@ -820,7 +820,7 @@ pub trait PrettyPrinter<'tcx>: Printer<'tcx> + fmt::Write {
             ty::Foreign(def_id) => {
                 p!(print_def_path(def_id, &[]));
             }
-            ty::Alias(ty::Projection | ty::Inherent | ty::Weak, ref data) => {
+            ty::Alias(ty::Projection | ty::Inherent | ty::Free, ref data) => {
                 p!(print(data))
             }
             ty::Placeholder(placeholder) => match placeholder.bound.kind {
@@ -3205,7 +3205,7 @@ define_print! {
                     p!(print_def_path(self.def_id, self.args));
                 }
             }
-            | ty::AliasTermKind::WeakTy
+            | ty::AliasTermKind::FreeTy
             | ty::AliasTermKind::OpaqueTy
             | ty::AliasTermKind::UnevaluatedConst
             | ty::AliasTermKind::ProjectionConst => {

compiler/rustc_middle/src/ty/sty.rs

@@ -489,7 +489,7 @@ impl<'tcx> Ty<'tcx> {
             (kind, tcx.def_kind(alias_ty.def_id)),
             (ty::Opaque, DefKind::OpaqueTy)
                 | (ty::Projection | ty::Inherent, DefKind::AssocTy)
-                | (ty::Weak, DefKind::TyAlias)
+                | (ty::Free, DefKind::TyAlias)
         );
         Ty::new(tcx, Alias(kind, alias_ty))
     }

compiler/rustc_middle/src/ty/util.rs

@@ -911,7 +911,7 @@ impl<'tcx> TyCtxt<'tcx> {
             || self.extern_crate(key).is_some_and(|e| e.is_direct())
     }
 
-    /// Expand any [weak alias types][weak] contained within the given `value`.
+    /// Expand any [free alias types][free] contained within the given `value`.
     ///
     /// This should be used over other normalization routines in situations where
     /// it's important not to normalize other alias types and where the predicates
@@ -926,19 +926,19 @@ impl<'tcx> TyCtxt<'tcx> {
     /// <div class="warning">
     /// This delays a bug on overflow! Therefore you need to be certain that the
     /// contained types get fully normalized at a later stage. Note that even on
-    /// overflow all well-behaved weak alias types get expanded correctly, so the
+    /// overflow all well-behaved free alias types get expanded correctly, so the
     /// result is still useful.
     /// </div>
     ///
-    /// [weak]: ty::Weak
-    pub fn expand_weak_alias_tys<T: TypeFoldable<TyCtxt<'tcx>>>(self, value: T) -> T {
-        value.fold_with(&mut WeakAliasTypeExpander { tcx: self, depth: 0 })
+    /// [free]: ty::Free
+    pub fn expand_free_alias_tys<T: TypeFoldable<TyCtxt<'tcx>>>(self, value: T) -> T {
+        value.fold_with(&mut FreeAliasTypeExpander { tcx: self, depth: 0 })
     }
 
-    /// Peel off all [weak alias types] in this type until there are none left.
+    /// Peel off all [free alias types] in this type until there are none left.
     ///
-    /// This only expands weak alias types in “head” / outermost positions. It can
-    /// be used over [expand_weak_alias_tys] as an optimization in situations where
+    /// This only expands free alias types in “head” / outermost positions. It can
+    /// be used over [expand_free_alias_tys] as an optimization in situations where
     /// one only really cares about the *kind* of the final aliased type but not
     /// the types the other constituent types alias.
     ///
@@ -947,17 +947,17 @@ impl<'tcx> TyCtxt<'tcx> {
     /// type gets fully normalized at a later stage.
     /// </div>
     ///
-    /// [weak]: ty::Weak
-    /// [expand_weak_alias_tys]: Self::expand_weak_alias_tys
-    pub fn peel_off_weak_alias_tys(self, mut ty: Ty<'tcx>) -> Ty<'tcx> {
-        let ty::Alias(ty::Weak, _) = ty.kind() else { return ty };
+    /// [free]: ty::Free
+    /// [expand_free_alias_tys]: Self::expand_free_alias_tys
+    pub fn peel_off_free_alias_tys(self, mut ty: Ty<'tcx>) -> Ty<'tcx> {
+        let ty::Alias(ty::Free, _) = ty.kind() else { return ty };
 
         let limit = self.recursion_limit();
         let mut depth = 0;
 
-        while let ty::Alias(ty::Weak, alias) = ty.kind() {
+        while let ty::Alias(ty::Free, alias) = ty.kind() {
             if !limit.value_within_limit(depth) {
-                let guar = self.dcx().delayed_bug("overflow expanding weak alias type");
+                let guar = self.dcx().delayed_bug("overflow expanding free alias type");
                 return Ty::new_error(self, guar);
             }
 
@@ -985,7 +985,7 @@ impl<'tcx> TyCtxt<'tcx> {
             }
             ty::AliasTermKind::OpaqueTy => Some(self.variances_of(def_id)),
             ty::AliasTermKind::InherentTy
-            | ty::AliasTermKind::WeakTy
+            | ty::AliasTermKind::FreeTy
             | ty::AliasTermKind::UnevaluatedConst
             | ty::AliasTermKind::ProjectionConst => None,
         }
@@ -1078,25 +1078,25 @@ impl<'tcx> TypeFolder<TyCtxt<'tcx>> for OpaqueTypeExpander<'tcx> {
     }
 }
 
-struct WeakAliasTypeExpander<'tcx> {
+struct FreeAliasTypeExpander<'tcx> {
     tcx: TyCtxt<'tcx>,
     depth: usize,
 }
 
-impl<'tcx> TypeFolder<TyCtxt<'tcx>> for WeakAliasTypeExpander<'tcx> {
+impl<'tcx> TypeFolder<TyCtxt<'tcx>> for FreeAliasTypeExpander<'tcx> {
     fn cx(&self) -> TyCtxt<'tcx> {
         self.tcx
     }
 
     fn fold_ty(&mut self, ty: Ty<'tcx>) -> Ty<'tcx> {
-        if !ty.has_type_flags(ty::TypeFlags::HAS_TY_WEAK) {
+        if !ty.has_type_flags(ty::TypeFlags::HAS_TY_FREE_ALIAS) {
             return ty;
         }
-        let ty::Alias(ty::Weak, alias) = ty.kind() else {
+        let ty::Alias(ty::Free, alias) = ty.kind() else {
             return ty.super_fold_with(self);
         };
         if !self.tcx.recursion_limit().value_within_limit(self.depth) {
-            let guar = self.tcx.dcx().delayed_bug("overflow expanding weak alias type");
+            let guar = self.tcx.dcx().delayed_bug("overflow expanding free alias type");
             return Ty::new_error(self.tcx, guar);
         }
 
@@ -1107,7 +1107,7 @@ impl<'tcx> TypeFolder<TyCtxt<'tcx>> for WeakAliasTypeExpander<'tcx> {
     }
 
     fn fold_const(&mut self, ct: ty::Const<'tcx>) -> ty::Const<'tcx> {
-        if !ct.has_type_flags(ty::TypeFlags::HAS_TY_WEAK) {
+        if !ct.has_type_flags(ty::TypeFlags::HAS_TY_FREE_ALIAS) {
             return ct;
         }
         ct.super_fold_with(self)

compiler/rustc_middle/src/ty/visit.rs

@@ -139,7 +139,7 @@ impl<'tcx> TyCtxt<'tcx> {
     {
         let mut collector = LateBoundRegionsCollector::new(just_constrained);
         let value = value.skip_binder();
-        let value = if just_constrained { self.expand_weak_alias_tys(value) } else { value };
+        let value = if just_constrained { self.expand_free_alias_tys(value) } else { value };
         value.visit_with(&mut collector);
         collector.regions
     }
@@ -182,8 +182,8 @@ impl<'tcx> TypeVisitor<TyCtxt<'tcx>> for LateBoundRegionsCollector {
                 ty::Alias(ty::Projection | ty::Inherent | ty::Opaque, _) => {
                     return;
                 }
-                // All weak alias types should've been expanded beforehand.
-                ty::Alias(ty::Weak, _) => bug!("unexpected weak alias type"),
+                // All free alias types should've been expanded beforehand.
+                ty::Alias(ty::Free, _) => bug!("unexpected free alias type"),
                 _ => {}
             }
         }

compiler/rustc_next_trait_solver/src/solve/assembly/mod.rs

@@ -596,7 +596,7 @@ where
             }
 
             ty::Alias(kind @ (ty::Projection | ty::Opaque), alias_ty) => (kind, alias_ty),
-            ty::Alias(ty::Inherent | ty::Weak, _) => {
+            ty::Alias(ty::Inherent | ty::Free, _) => {
                 self.cx().delay_bug(format!("could not normalize {self_ty:?}, it is not WF"));
                 return;
             }