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Generalize the wide-pointer total-size bound#2290

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TC/generalize-wide-pointer-total-size-bound
Jun 16, 2026
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Generalize the wide-pointer total-size bound#2290
traviscross merged 1 commit into
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TC/generalize-wide-pointer-total-size-bound

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We document that, for references and Box<T>, pointed-to values with slice or str metadata must
be no larger than isize::MAX. We hadn't required this for pointed-to values with dyn metadata.
It's tempting to think this isn't necessary since we separately require that the metadata point to
a vtable generated by the compiler, which ensures the encoded size of the erased type is OK.

But the bound is on the total size of the pointed-to value, including any sized prefix of a type
with an unsized tail. Since the prefix combined with the size in the vtable can push us past the
limit, we need the separate restriction.

Let's apply the rule to both cases and add an admonition to remind ourselves of why this is needed.


I'm breaking this out from #2282 so that we can merge the prerequisites before considering the new lang guarantees.

This is stacked on #2286 and #2287 and #2288 and those should be merged first.

cc @ehuss @RalfJung @Mark-Simulacrum

@rustbot rustbot added the S-waiting-on-review Status: The marked PR is awaiting review from a maintainer label Jun 16, 2026
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@ehuss ehuss removed the S-waiting-on-review Status: The marked PR is awaiting review from a maintainer label Jun 16, 2026
We document that, for references and `Box<T>`, pointed-to values
with slice or `str` metadata must be no larger than `isize::MAX`.  We
hadn't required this for pointed-to values with `dyn` metadata.  It's
tempting to think this isn't necessary since we separately require
that the metadata point to a vtable generated by the compiler, which
ensures the encoded size of the erased type is OK.

But the bound is on the total size of the pointed-to value, including
any sized prefix of a type with an unsized tail.  Since the prefix
combined with the size in the vtable can push us past the limit, we
need the separate restriction.

Let's apply the rule to both cases and add an admonition to remind
ourselves of why this is needed.
@traviscross traviscross force-pushed the TC/generalize-wide-pointer-total-size-bound branch from df82d18 to 4a5f81c Compare June 16, 2026 19:30
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This PR was rebased onto a different master commit. Here's a range-diff highlighting what actually changed.

Rebasing is a normal part of keeping PRs up to date, so no action is needed—this note is just to help reviewers.

@traviscross traviscross enabled auto-merge June 16, 2026 19:31
@traviscross traviscross added this pull request to the merge queue Jun 16, 2026
Merged via the queue into master with commit fca9d52 Jun 16, 2026
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3 participants