Proposal: return; should be valid only in functions with no declared return type.

2026-10-04 10:21:04 +01:00 · 2021-06-02 11:38:29 -07:00
parent 567b9bb5a4
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@@ -54,5 +54,6 @@ request:
 -   [0438 - Functions](p0438.md)
 -   [0444 - GitHub Discussions](p0444.md)
 -   [0447 - Generics terminology](p0447.md)
+-   [0538 - `return` with no argument](p0538.md)

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+# `return` with no argument
+
+<!--
+Part of the Carbon Language project, under the Apache License v2.0 with LLVM
+Exceptions. See /LICENSE for license information.
+SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0 WITH LLVM-exception
+-->
+
+[Pull request](https://github.com/carbon-language/carbon-lang/pull/538)
+
+<!-- toc -->
+
+## Table of contents
+
+-   [Problem](#problem)
+    -   [Use cases](#use-cases)
+    -   [What's wrong with the C++ rule?](#whats-wrong-with-the-c-rule)
+-   [Background](#background)
+-   [Proposal](#proposal)
+-   [Details](#details)
+    -   [Relation to upcoming proposals](#relation-to-upcoming-proposals)
+-   [Rationale based on Carbon's goals](#rationale-based-on-carbons-goals)
+-   [Alternatives considered](#alternatives-considered)
+    -   [Retain the C++ rule](#retain-the-c-rule)
+    -   [Fully divorce functions and procedures](#fully-divorce-functions-and-procedures)
+
+<!-- tocstop -->
+
+## Problem
+
+### Use cases
+
+We wish to support the following use cases:
+
+-   Functions that return values. This should be supported for any type for
+    which a value can be formed, and such support should be uniform and
+    independent of whether the return type is `()`. A return value must always
+    be produced.
+-   Functions that do not return a value ("procedures"). In such functions, we
+    do not need or want to be able to return a value. No return value is needed,
+    so if control flow reaches the end of a procedure, it should return to its
+    caller.
+-   Functions with parameterized return types, that may be either of the above,
+    depending on the parameterization. For example, a call wrapper might be
+    parameterized by the type of its callee, and might return the same type that
+    its callee returns, or a type computed based on that type.
+
+### What's wrong with the C++ rule?
+
+C++ treats `void` as a special case in a number of ways. We want to minimize the
+impact of this special-case treatment for the corresponding Carbon types. One
+way that this special treatment is visible in C++ is that functions with the
+return type `void` obey different rules: the operand of `return` becomes
+optional (but is still permitted), and reaching the end of the function becomes
+equivalent to `return;`. In a function template, this can even happen invisibly,
+with some instantiations having an implicit `return;` and others not.
+
+This interferes with the ability to reason about programs. Consider:
+
+```
+template<typename T> auto f() {
+  if (T::cond())
+    return T::run();
+}
+```
+
+Here, it is possible for control flow to reach the end of the function. However,
+a compiler can't warn on this without false positives, because it's possible
+that `T::run()` has type `void`, in which case this function has an implicit
+`return;` added before its `}`, and indeed, it might be the case that `T::run()`
+always has return type `void` for any `T` where `T::cond()` returns `false`.
+
+## Background
+
+See the following issues:
+
+-   [Proposal: function declaration syntax](https://github.com/carbon-language/carbon-lang/pull/438)
+-   [Proposal: `return` statements](https://github.com/carbon-language/carbon-lang/pull/415)
+-   [Leads question: what is the relationship between `Void` and `()`?](https://github.com/carbon-language/carbon-lang/issues/443)
+-   [Leads question: should we allow `return;` in functions with a `Void` return type?](https://github.com/carbon-language/carbon-lang/issues/518)
+
+## Proposal
+
+Instead of applying special-case rules based on whether the return type of a
+function is `()`, we apply special-case rules based on whether a return type is
+provided.
+
+## Details
+
+A function with no declared return type is a _procedure_. The return type of a
+procedure is implicitly `()`, and a procedure always returns the value `()` if
+and when it returns. Inside a procedure, `return` must have no argument, and if
+control flow reaches the end of a procedure, the behavior is as if `return;` is
+executed.
+
+```
+// F is a procedure.
+fn F() {
+  if (cond) {
+    return;
+  }
+  if (cond2) {
+    // Error: cannot return a value from a procedure.
+    return F();
+  }
+
+  // Implicitly `return;` here.
+}
+```
+
+A function with a declared return type is treated uniformly regardless of
+whether that return type happens to be `()`. Every `return` statement must
+return a value. There is no implicit `return` at the end of the function, and
+instead a compile error is produced if control flow can reach the end of the
+function, even if the return type is `()` -- or any other unit type.
+
+```
+fn G() -> () {
+  if (cond) {
+    // OK, F() returns ().
+    return F();
+  }
+  if (cond2) {
+    // Error: return without value in value-returning function.
+    return;
+  }
+
+  // Error: control flow can reach end of value-returning function.
+}
+```
+
+From the caller's perspective, there is no difference between a function
+declared as
+
+```
+fn DoTheThing() -> ();
+```
+
+and a function declared as
+
+```
+fn DoTheThing();
+```
+
+As a result, the choice to include or omit the `-> ()` in the definition is an
+implementation detail, and the syntax used in a forward declaration is not
+required to match that used in a definition. The use of `-> ()` in idiomatic
+Carbon code is expected to be rare, but it is permitted for uniformity, and in
+case there is a reason to desire the value-returning-function rules or to
+emphasize to the reader that `()` is the return type or similar.
+
+### Relation to upcoming proposals
+
+Issue [#510](https://github.com/carbon-language/carbon-lang/issues/510) asks
+whether we should support named return variables:
+
+```
+fn F() -> var ReturnType: x {
+  // initialize x
+  return;
+}
+```
+
+If we do, functions using that syntax should follow the rules for procedures in
+this proposal, including the implicit `return;` if control reaches the end of
+the function. In particular,
+
+```
+fn F() { ... }
+```
+
+would be exactly equivalent to
+
+```
+fn F() -> var (): _ = () { ... }
+```
+
+## Rationale based on Carbon's goals
+
+-   **Software and language evolution**
+    -   This proposal may decrease the number of places in which the return type
+        of a procedure is used, by discouraging the use of
+        `return Procedure();`. This in turn may make it easier to change a
+        return type from `()` to something else, but this proposal by itself is
+        insufficient to ensure that is always possible.
+-   **Code that is easy to read, understand, and write**
+    -   The conceptual integrity of the Carbon language is improved by making
+        the same syntax result in the same semantics, regardless of whether a
+        type happens to be `()` or not, and symmetrically by using different
+        syntax for different semantics.
+    -   The readability of Carbon code is improved and a source of surprise is
+        eliminated by removing the possibility of `return F();` being mixed with
+        `return;` in the same function.
+-   **Practical safety guarantees and testing mechanisms**
+    -   By making the presence or absence of an implicit `return` in a function
+        be determined based on syntax alone, we permit checks for missing
+        `return` statements to be provided in the definition of a template or
+        generic, without needing to know the arguments. This is important for
+        generics in particular, because we do not want monomorphization to be
+        able to fail and because we do not in general guarantee that
+        monomorphization will be performed.
+-   **Fast and scalable development**
+    -   The correct syntax for a `return` statement can be detected while
+        parsing, using only syntactic information rather than contextual,
+        semantic information. In practice, we will likely parse both kinds of
+        `return` statement in all functions and check the return type from a
+        context that has the semantic information, but the ability to do these
+        checks syntactically may be useful for simple tools and editor
+        integration.
+-   **Interoperability with and migration from existing C++ code**
+    -   This proposal rejects some constructs that would be valid in C++:
+        ```
+        return F();
+        ```
+        in a function with `void` return type would no longer be valid in a
+        corresponding Carbon function with no specified return type, and would
+        need to be translated into
+        ```
+        F();
+        return;
+        ```
+        (possibly with braces added). However, the fact that this construct is
+        valid in C++ is surprising to many, and the constructs that would be
+        idiomatic in C++ are still valid under these rules.
+
+## Alternatives considered
+
+### Retain the C++ rule
+
+The advantages of this approach compared to maintaining the C++ rule are
+discussed above. The advantage of maintaining the C++ rule would be that Carbon
+is more closely aligned with C++. However, the removed functionality --
+specifically, the ability to return an expression of type `void` from a `void`
+returning function -- is still available, albeit with a more verbose syntax, and
+the existence of that functionality in C++ is a source of surprise to C++
+programmers.
+
+### Fully divorce functions and procedures
+
+We could treat the choice of function with `()` return type versus procedure as
+being part of the interface rather than being an implementation detail.
+
+```
+// F is a procedure.
+fn F();
+// F is a function returning ().
+fn G() -> ();
+
+// ...
+
+// Error, procedure redeclared as a function.
+fn F() -> () {
+  return ();
+}
+
+// Error, function redeclared as a procedure.
+fn G() {
+}
+```
+
+Then, we could disallow any use of a procedure call in a context that depends on
+its return value, treating a procedure call as a statement rather than as an
+expression that can be used as a subexpression or an operand of an operator.
+
+```
+fn Func() -> ();
+fn Proc();
+// OK, x is of type ().
+auto x = Func();
+// Error, Proc is a procedure.
+auto y = Proc();
+```
+
+Advantages:
+
+-   Removes all special treatment of `()` in this context. Procedures no longer
+    need to say that their return type is implicitly `()` nor that they
+    implicitly return `()`.
+-   Adding a return type to a procedure -- converting it to a function -- would
+    be a non-breaking change.
+    -   But we don't have evidence that this is a common problem.
+-   Prevents a source of programming error where a returned `()` value is stored
+    and used.
+    -   But it's not clear that this would be a frequent error, and it would
+        likely be caught in other ways due to the limited API of `()`.
+
+Disadvantages:
+
+-   Having distinct notions of function versus procedure would be a surprise for
+    those coming from C++.
+-   Supporting `auto x = F();` regardless of whether `F` is a function or
+    procedure may be important for generic code.
+-   When migrating C++ code to Carbon, this makes the choice of function versus
+    procedure load-bearing, as there may be uses that depend on a return value
+    existing, for example in templates.