[Draft] open and public protocols

Left unsaid from my reply about enums is that implicit conversions
should absolutely be added. We already have this magic for one
particular enum, Optional.

I can only see a generalization of this being used for evil.
Perhaps that's best left to be discussed on some other knock-down,
drag-out thread.

I'm not arguing with you that enums are currently unsuitable. In fact
I entirely agree. But Chris Lattner and others have said (now I'm
paraphrasing, but I believe accurately) that they *should* be. What
will it take? At minimum, some way to opt into implicit conversions.
It's a no-brainer in my mind.

Bottom line: the language needs one excellent way to model Foo | Bar |
Baz, not two or three mediocre workarounds. The core team has said
that they want that excellence to be built through enums. Let's do it.

I don't understand how extending protocols to parallel the changes we
already made to classes — and in line with what's planned for enums — is
a mediocre workaround.

I have low confidence in Evolution being able to produce a passable
union type design in a meaningful amount of time, particularly for Swift
4 Phase 2; I also question their need in the first place.

Sincerely,

  Zachary Waldowski

  zach@waldowski.me

···

On Sun, Feb 19, 2017, at 10:57 PM, Xiaodi Wu via swift-evolution wrote:

Sorry, I have read through this thread twice and do not understand the point you are making. Can you explain your example once more?

Specifically, I do not understand why it is that your code should have problems with third-party types that conform to your protocol. If your protocol has requirements that third-party types cannot fulfill, then naturally those requirements will prevent a third-party from conforming new types to your protocol. OTOH, if your protocol does not have any requirements that third-party types cannot fulfill, then your code that accepts anything that conforms to your protocol should be indifferent to whether the conforming type is defined by you or someone else. After all, a conforming type would fulfill all the semantic and syntactic requirements of the protocol! If your protocol has requirements that you are unable to state in code, causing third-party types to conform that really shouldn't, then that is a case for additional features that allow you to express those requirements more accurately, not an argument for having protocols that can't be conformed to by a third-party. What am I missing?

Yeah, sums up my opinion pretty accurately.

···

On 19 Feb 2017, at 23:24, Xiaodi Wu via swift-evolution <swift-evolution@swift.org> wrote:

On Sun, Feb 19, 2017 at 11:53 AM, Adrian Zubarev via swift-evolution <swift-evolution@swift.org <mailto:swift-evolution@swift.org>> wrote:
That’s the whole point I was making. :) Thank you Matthew. That makes my example a real world example and not just some bike shedding.

--
Adrian Zubarev
Sent with Airmail

Am 19. Februar 2017 um 18:50:31, Matthew Johnson (matthew@anandabits.com <mailto:matthew@anandabits.com>) schrieb:

Sent from my iPad

On Feb 19, 2017, at 11:29 AM, David Waite via swift-evolution <swift-evolution@swift.org <mailto:swift-evolution@swift.org>> wrote:

Just FYI, I solved this issue in my own library (which included a json jpointer implementation) via:

public enum SubscriptParameter {
  case string(String)
  case int(Int)
}

extension SubscriptParameter : ExpressibleByIntegerLiteral {
  public init(integerLiteral value: Int) {
    self = .int(value)
  }
}

extension SubscriptParameter : ExpressibleByStringLiteral {
  public init(stringLiteral value: String) {
    self = .string(value)
  }
  public init(extendedGraphemeClusterLiteral value: String) {
    self.init(stringLiteral: value)
  }
  public init(unicodeScalarLiteral value: String) {
    self.init(stringLiteral: value)
  }
}

extension SubscriptParameter : CustomStringConvertible {
  public var description: String {
    switch self {
    case .string(let str):
      return "\"\(str)\""
    case .int(let i):
      return String(i)
    }
  }
}

func debug(_ path:SubscriptParameter...) {
  print("path is \(path)")
}

debug(1, "foo", 2, "bar”) // path is [1, “foo”, 2, “bar”]

Can you make this work with variables - not just literals - and still prevent users from extending the set of types and without requiring an enum case constructor to be used by clients?

On Feb 19, 2017, at 1:14 AM, Adrian Zubarev <adrian.zubarev@devandartist.com <mailto:adrian.zubarev@devandartist.com>> wrote:

If you haven’t followed the other thread Matthew previously opened than you have missed the example I showed there.

Here it is again:

public protocol SubscriptParameterType {
       
    // This property was needed to prevent the client from breaking
    // the library by conforming to the protocol, but I'd like to
    // keep it invisible for the client, or even better prevent the
    // client from conforming to the protocol.
    var parameter: Document.SubscriptParameter { get }
}

extension Document {
       
    public enum SubscriptParameter {
               
        case string(String)
        case integer(Int)
    }
}

extension String : SubscriptParameterType {
       
    public var parameter: Document.SubscriptParameter {
           
        return .string(self)
    }
}

extension Int : SubscriptParameterType {
       
    public var parameter: Document.SubscriptParameter {
           
        return .integer(self)
    }
}

// Somewhere inside the `Document` type
public subscript(firstKey: String, parameters: SubscriptParameterType...) -> Value? { … }
The absence of closed protocols forced me to create a special requirement on that protocol to prevent the client from conforming to that protocol and passing instances of other types my API wouldn’t want to deal with. That creates unnecessary copies and I need to unpack the enum payload to find out which type the user passed. Instead I could simply close the protocol, wouldn’t need the requirement to exist and I could simply cast the type to String or Int when needed.

That implementation enables more safe queries of my Document type like

document["key1", intIndexInstance, stringKeyInstance, 10, "key"]

rather than

document["key1/\(intIndexInstance)/\(stringKeyInstance)/10/key"].

Here is a list of hidden and semi-hidden protocols from the standard library that could be closed. Formatted version: swift-closed-protocols.md · GitHub
Path Protocol
/swift/stdlib/public/core/AnyHashable.swift:16 _HasCustomAnyHashableRepresentation
/swift/stdlib/public/core/BidirectionalCollection.swift:21 _BidirectionalIndexable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/BridgeObjectiveC.swift:19 _ObjectiveCBridgeable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Collection.swift:20 _IndexableBase
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Collection.swift:176 _Indexable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:193 _ExpressibleByBuiltinIntegerLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:240 _ExpressibleByBuiltinFloatLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:283 _ExpressibleByBuiltinBooleanLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:316 _ExpressibleByBuiltinUnicodeScalarLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:350 _ExpressibleByBuiltinExtendedGraphemeClusterLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:398 _ExpressibleByBuiltinStringLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:407 _ExpressibleByBuiltinUTF16StringLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:670 _ExpressibleByStringInterpolation
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:709 _ExpressibleByColorLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:720 _ExpressibleByImageLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:730 _ExpressibleByFileReferenceLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:750 _DestructorSafeContainer
/swift/stdlib/public/core/FixedPoint.swift.gyb:53 _Integer
/swift/stdlib/public/core/FixedPoint.swift.gyb:70 _SignedInteger
/swift/stdlib/public/core/FixedPoint.swift.gyb:108 _DisallowMixedSignArithmetic
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Hashable.swift:16 _Hashable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Index.swift:16 _Incrementable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/IntegerArithmetic.swift.gyb:33 _IntegerArithmetic
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Mirror.swift:721 _DefaultCustomPlaygroundQuickLookable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/MutableCollection.swift:20 _MutableIndexable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/NewtypeWrapper.swift.gyb:16 _SwiftNewtypeWrapper
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Pointer.swift:16 _Pointer
/swift/stdlib/public/core/RandomAccessCollection.swift:20 _RandomAccessIndexable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/RangeReplaceableCollection.swift.gyb:27 _RangeReplaceableIndexable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ReflectionLegacy.swift:41 _Mirror
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:27 _ShadowProtocol
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:31 _NSFastEnumeration
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:41 _NSEnumerator
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:51 _NSCopying
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:61 _NSArrayCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:83 _NSDictionaryCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:125 _NSDictionary
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:137 _NSSetCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:171 _NSSet
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:177 _NSNumber
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:187 _NSArrayCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:188 _NSDictionaryCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:189 _NSSetCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/StringBridge.swift:194 _NSStringCore
/swift/stdlib/public/SDK/Foundation/NSError.swift:353 _ObjectiveCBridgeableError
/swift/stdlib/public/SDK/Foundation/NSError.swift:379 __BridgedNSError
/swift/stdlib/public/SDK/Foundation/NSError.swift:446 _BridgedNSError
/swift/stdlib/public/SDK/Foundation/NSError.swift:456 _BridgedStoredNSError
/swift/stdlib/public/SDK/Foundation/NSError.swift:564 _ErrorCodeProtocol

--
Adrian Zubarev
Sent with Airmail

Am 19. Februar 2017 um 07:59:45, David Waite via swift-evolution (swift-evolution@swift.org <mailto:swift-evolution@swift.org>) schrieb:

I am unsure if this feature is a good idea. Does someone have a real-world use for this which isn’t just hiding strong implementation coupling behind a protocol?

When I consume a protocol, it is under the assumption that the protocol is documented such that I would be able to work against *any* implementation of the protocol. With a closed protocol, I would have to assume that there are significant side effects, either undocumented or difficult for a third party to duplicate. To my experience, that sounds brittle.

Assuming you aren’t switching on the implementing type of a protocol (which itself can be a sign that your design isn’t properly using polymorphism), one could get this design by creating a struct with the interface desired, and passing invocations through to an internal protocol reference.

-DW

> On Feb 18, 2017, at 1:41 PM, Matthew Johnson via swift-evolution <swift-evolution@swift.org <mailto:swift-evolution@swift.org>> wrote:
>
> Now that we’re in phase 2 I’d like to officially propose we introduce `open` protocols and require conformances to `public` protocols be inside the declaring module. Let’s use this thread for feedback on the official proposal. After a healthy round of discussion I’ll open a PR to submit it for review.
>
>
> # Feature name
>
> * Proposal: [SE-NNNN](NNNN-open-public-protocols.md <http://protocols.md/&gt;\)
> * Authors: [Matthew Johnson](https://github.com/anandabits\)
> * Review Manager: TBD
> * Status: **Awaiting review**
>
> ## Introduction
>
> This proposal introduces `open protocol` and changes the meaning of `public protocol` to match the meaning of `public class` (in this case, conformances are only allowed inside the declaring module).
>
> The pitch thread leading up to this proposal was: [consistent public access modifiers](https://lists.swift.org/pipermail/swift-evolution/Week-of-Mon-20170206/031653.html\)
>
> ## Motivation
>
> A general principle the Swift community has adopted for access control is that defaults should reserve maximum flexibility for a library. The ensures that any capabilities beyond mere visibility are not available unless the author of the library has explicitly declared their intent that the capabilities be made available. Finally, when it is possible to switch from one semantic to another without breaking clients (but not vice-versa) we should prefer the more forgiving (i.e. fixable) semantic as the (soft) default.
>
> `public` is considered a "soft default" in the sense that it is the first access modifier a user will reach for when exposing a declaration outside of the module. In the case of protocols the current meaning of `public` does not meet the principle of preserving maximum flexibility for the author of the library. It allows users of the library to conform to the protocol.
>
> There are good reasons a library may not wish to allow users to add conformances to a protocol. For example, it may not wish to expose the conforming concrete types. While similar behavior could be accomplished with an enum if cases could be private, that requires an implementation to use switch statements rather than polymorphism.
>
> Even if all the conforming types are also public there are cases where polymorphism is the preferred implementation. For example, if the set of conforming types is not expected to be fixed (despite all being inside the library) the authors may not want to have to maintain switch statements every time they need to add or remove a confroming type which would be necessary if an enum were used instead. Polymorphism allows us to avoid this, giving us the ability to add and remove conforming types within the implementation of the library without the burden of maintaining switch statements.
>
> Aligning the access modifiers for protocols and classes allows us to specify both conformable and non-conformable protocols, provides a soft default that is consistent with the principle of (soft) defaults reserving maximum flexibility for the library, and increases the overall consistency of the language by aligning the semantics of access control for protocols and classes.
>
> The standard library currently has at least one protocol (`MirrorPath`) that is documented as disallowing client conformances. If this proposal is adopted it is likely that `MirrorPath` would be declared `public protocol` and not `open protocol`.
>
> Jordan Rose has indicated that the Apple frameworks also include a number of protocols documented with the intent that users do not add conformances. Perhaps an importer annotation would allow the compiler to enforce these semantics in Swift code as well.
>
> ## Proposed solution
>
> The proposed solution is to change the meaning of `public protocol` to disallow conformances outside the declaring module and introduce `open protocol` to allow conformances outside the decalring module (equivalent to the current meaning of `public protocol`).
>
> ## Detailed design
>
> The detailed design is relatively straightforward but there are three important wrinkles to consider.
>
> ### User refinement of public protocols
>
> Consider the following example:
>
> ```swift
> // Library module:
> public protocol P {}
> public class C: P {}
>
> // User module:
> protocol User: P {}
> extension C: User {}
> ```
>
> The user module is allowed to add a refinement to `P` because this does not have any impact on the impelementation of the library or its possible evolution. It simply allows the user to write code that is generic over a subset of the conforming types provided by the library.
>
> ### Public protocols with open conforming classes
>
> Consider the following example:
>
> ```swift
> public protocol P P{}
> open class C: P {}
> ```
>
> Users of this module will be able to add subclasses of `C` that have a conformance to `P`. This is allowed becuase the client of the module did not need to explicitly declare a conformance and the module has explicitly stated its intent to allow subclasses of `C` with the `open` access modifier.
>
> ### Open protocols that refine public protocols
>
> Consider the following example:
>
> ```swift
> // library module:
> public protocol P {}
> open protocol Q: P {}
> open protocol R: P {}
>
> // user module:
> struct S: P {} // error `P` is not `open`
> struct T: Q {} // ok
> struct U: R {} // ok
> ```
>
> The user module is allowed to introudce a conformance to `P`, but only indirectly by also conforming to `Q`. The meaning we have ascribed to the keywords implies that this should be allowed and it offers libraries a very wide design space from which to choose. The library is able to have types that conform directly to `P`, while placing additional requirements on user types if necessary.
>
> ## Source compatibility
>
> This proposal breaks source compatibility, but in a way that allows for a simple mechanical migration. A multi-release stratgegy will be used to roll out this proposal to provide maximum possible source compatibility from one release to the next.
>
> 1. In Swift 4, introduce the `open` keyword and the `@nonopen` attribute (which can be applied to `public protocol` to give it the new semantics of `public`).
> 2. In Swift 4 (or 4.1 if necessary) start warning for `public protocol` with no annotation.
> 3. In the subsequent release `public protocol` without annotation becomes an error.
> 4. In the subsequent relase `public protocol` without annotation takes on the new semantics.
> 5. `@nonopen` becomes a warning, and evenutally an erro as soon as we are comfortable making those changes.
>
> ## Effect on ABI stability
>
> I would appreciate it if others can offer input regarding this section. I believe this proposal has ABI consequences, but it's possible that it could be an additivie ABI change where the ABI for conformable protocols remains the same and we add ABI for non-conformable protocols later. If that is possible, the primary impact would be the ABI of any standard library protocols that would prefer to be non-conformable.
>
> ## Effect on API resilience
>
> This proposal would may impact one or more protocols in the standard library, such as `MirrorPath`, which would likely choose to remain `public` rather than adopt `open`.
>
> ## Alternatives considered
>
> The primary alternatives are to either make no change, or to add something like `closed protocol`. The issues motivating the current proposal as a better alternative than either of these options are covered in the motivation section.
>
> _______________________________________________
> swift-evolution mailing list
> swift-evolution@swift.org <mailto:swift-evolution@swift.org>
> https://lists.swift.org/mailman/listinfo/swift-evolution

_______________________________________________
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I see it as an API expressivity thing; it’s not that clients _can’t_ technically conform to the protocol, it’s that they _shouldn’t_ because that’s not why I’m exposing it.

There are protocols that you do expose because you expect others to conform to them. There are others which you only expect to be used as generic/existential constraints.

That’s basically the same reasoning as having a distinction between public/open for classes, too; before we had “open” as a separate thing, you could subclass anything that was public. There was extra motivation for classes because of the opportunities for the optimiser to devirtualise function calls which may not be as strong a factor for protocols, but from an API design perspective it’s still nice to have consistent capabilities. From looking at my own code, I know that marking-up protocols which clients can conform to with @open would make both of our lives easier.

I wouldn’t mind if we allowed the compiler to not enforce this rule very strongly (e.g. with a suppressible warning). Depends on what is achievable.

- Karl

···

On 19 Feb 2017, at 23:24, Xiaodi Wu via swift-evolution <swift-evolution@swift.org> wrote:

Sorry, I have read through this thread twice and do not understand the point you are making. Can you explain your example once more?

Specifically, I do not understand why it is that your code should have problems with third-party types that conform to your protocol. If your protocol has requirements that third-party types cannot fulfill, then naturally those requirements will prevent a third-party from conforming new types to your protocol. OTOH, if your protocol does not have any requirements that third-party types cannot fulfill, then your code that accepts anything that conforms to your protocol should be indifferent to whether the conforming type is defined by you or someone else. After all, a conforming type would fulfill all the semantic and syntactic requirements of the protocol! If your protocol has requirements that you are unable to state in code, causing third-party types to conform that really shouldn't, then that is a case for additional features that allow you to express those requirements more accurately, not an argument for having protocols that can't be conformed to by a third-party. What am I missing?

Matthew has pretty much summed up everything with a single question in his last reply. It makes me tired of repeating myself over and over again.

Here’s the challenge for you:

Implement a subscript where the first parameter is a String (trivial), but the second to n are String’s and/or Int’s. There is no restriction of order for the Int’s and String’s and there could be as many as you’d like, so no overloads are allowed (a hint: variadics). You should be able to use variables in that subscript and literals. You’re not allowed to use enum constructors and the client should not be able to extend the set of types you can pass to that subscript. That said it can look like this: someInstance["key", "key1", 1, stringKeyInstance, intIndexInstance, intIndexInstance, …]

Creating hacks like unreachable types with hidden inits is prohibited.

Have fun!

···

--
Adrian Zubarev
Sent with Airmail

Am 19. Februar 2017 um 23:25:11, Xiaodi Wu (xiaodi.wu@gmail.com) schrieb:

Sorry, I have read through this thread twice and do not understand the point you are making. Can you explain your example once more?

Specifically, I do not understand why it is that your code should have problems with third-party types that conform to your protocol. If your protocol has requirements that third-party types cannot fulfill, then naturally those requirements will prevent a third-party from conforming new types to your protocol. OTOH, if your protocol does not have any requirements that third-party types cannot fulfill, then your code that accepts anything that conforms to your protocol should be indifferent to whether the conforming type is defined by you or someone else. After all, a conforming type would fulfill all the semantic and syntactic requirements of the protocol! If your protocol has requirements that you are unable to state in code, causing third-party types to conform that really shouldn't, then that is a case for additional features that allow you to express those requirements more accurately, not an argument for having protocols that can't be conformed to by a third-party. What am I missing?

On Sun, Feb 19, 2017 at 11:53 AM, Adrian Zubarev via swift-evolution <swift-evolution@swift.org> wrote:
That’s the whole point I was making. :) Thank you Matthew. That makes my example a real world example and not just some bike shedding.

--
Adrian Zubarev
Sent with Airmail

Am 19. Februar 2017 um 18:50:31, Matthew Johnson (matthew@anandabits.com) schrieb:

Sent from my iPad

On Feb 19, 2017, at 11:29 AM, David Waite via swift-evolution <swift-evolution@swift.org> wrote:

Just FYI, I solved this issue in my own library (which included a json jpointer implementation) via:

public enum SubscriptParameter {
case string(String)
case int(Int)
}

extension SubscriptParameter : ExpressibleByIntegerLiteral {
public init(integerLiteral value: Int) {
self = .int(value)
}
}

extension SubscriptParameter : ExpressibleByStringLiteral {
public init(stringLiteral value: String) {
self = .string(value)
}
public init(extendedGraphemeClusterLiteral value: String) {
self.init(stringLiteral: value)
}
public init(unicodeScalarLiteral value: String) {
self.init(stringLiteral: value)
}
}

extension SubscriptParameter : CustomStringConvertible {
public var description: String {
switch self {
case .string(let str):
return "\"\(str)\""
case .int(let i):
return String(i)
}
}
}

func debug(_ path:SubscriptParameter...) {
print("path is \(path)")
}

debug(1, "foo", 2, "bar”) // path is [1, “foo”, 2, “bar”]

Can you make this work with variables - not just literals - and still prevent users from extending the set of types and without requiring an enum case constructor to be used by clients?

On Feb 19, 2017, at 1:14 AM, Adrian Zubarev <adrian.zubarev@devandartist.com> wrote:

If you haven’t followed the other thread Matthew previously opened than you have missed the example I showed there.

Here it is again:

public protocol SubscriptParameterType {
        
    // This property was needed to prevent the client from breaking
    // the library by conforming to the protocol, but I'd like to
    // keep it invisible for the client, or even better prevent the
    // client from conforming to the protocol.
    var parameter: Document.SubscriptParameter { get }
}

extension Document {
        
    public enum SubscriptParameter {
                
        case string(String)
        case integer(Int)
    }
}

extension String : SubscriptParameterType {
        
    public var parameter: Document.SubscriptParameter {
            
        return .string(self)
    }
}

extension Int : SubscriptParameterType {
        
    public var parameter: Document.SubscriptParameter {
            
        return .integer(self)
    }
}

// Somewhere inside the `Document` type
public subscript(firstKey: String, parameters: SubscriptParameterType...) -> Value? { … }
The absence of closed protocols forced me to create a special requirement on that protocol to prevent the client from conforming to that protocol and passing instances of other types my API wouldn’t want to deal with. That creates unnecessary copies and I need to unpack the enum payload to find out which type the user passed. Instead I could simply close the protocol, wouldn’t need the requirement to exist and I could simply cast the type to String or Int when needed.

That implementation enables more safe queries of my Document type like

document["key1", intIndexInstance, stringKeyInstance, 10, "key"]

rather than

document["key1/\(intIndexInstance)/\(stringKeyInstance)/10/key"].

Here is a list of hidden and semi-hidden protocols from the standard library that could be closed. Formatted version: swift-closed-protocols.md · GitHub

Path Protocol
/swift/stdlib/public/core/AnyHashable.swift:16 _HasCustomAnyHashableRepresentation
/swift/stdlib/public/core/BidirectionalCollection.swift:21 _BidirectionalIndexable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/BridgeObjectiveC.swift:19 _ObjectiveCBridgeable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Collection.swift:20 _IndexableBase
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Collection.swift:176 _Indexable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:193 _ExpressibleByBuiltinIntegerLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:240 _ExpressibleByBuiltinFloatLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:283 _ExpressibleByBuiltinBooleanLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:316 _ExpressibleByBuiltinUnicodeScalarLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:350 _ExpressibleByBuiltinExtendedGraphemeClusterLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:398 _ExpressibleByBuiltinStringLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:407 _ExpressibleByBuiltinUTF16StringLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:670 _ExpressibleByStringInterpolation
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:709 _ExpressibleByColorLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:720 _ExpressibleByImageLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:730 _ExpressibleByFileReferenceLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:750 _DestructorSafeContainer
/swift/stdlib/public/core/FixedPoint.swift.gyb:53 _Integer
/swift/stdlib/public/core/FixedPoint.swift.gyb:70 _SignedInteger
/swift/stdlib/public/core/FixedPoint.swift.gyb:108 _DisallowMixedSignArithmetic
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Hashable.swift:16 _Hashable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Index.swift:16 _Incrementable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/IntegerArithmetic.swift.gyb:33 _IntegerArithmetic
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Mirror.swift:721 _DefaultCustomPlaygroundQuickLookable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/MutableCollection.swift:20 _MutableIndexable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/NewtypeWrapper.swift.gyb:16 _SwiftNewtypeWrapper
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Pointer.swift:16 _Pointer
/swift/stdlib/public/core/RandomAccessCollection.swift:20 _RandomAccessIndexable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/RangeReplaceableCollection.swift.gyb:27 _RangeReplaceableIndexable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ReflectionLegacy.swift:41 _Mirror
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:27 _ShadowProtocol
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:31 _NSFastEnumeration
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:41 _NSEnumerator
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:51 _NSCopying
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:61 _NSArrayCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:83 _NSDictionaryCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:125 _NSDictionary
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:137 _NSSetCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:171 _NSSet
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:177 _NSNumber
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:187 _NSArrayCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:188 _NSDictionaryCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:189 _NSSetCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/StringBridge.swift:194 _NSStringCore
/swift/stdlib/public/SDK/Foundation/NSError.swift:353 _ObjectiveCBridgeableError
/swift/stdlib/public/SDK/Foundation/NSError.swift:379 __BridgedNSError
/swift/stdlib/public/SDK/Foundation/NSError.swift:446 _BridgedNSError
/swift/stdlib/public/SDK/Foundation/NSError.swift:456 _BridgedStoredNSError
/swift/stdlib/public/SDK/Foundation/NSError.swift:564 _ErrorCodeProtocol

--
Adrian Zubarev
Sent with Airmail

Am 19. Februar 2017 um 07:59:45, David Waite via swift-evolution (swift-evolution@swift.org) schrieb:

I am unsure if this feature is a good idea. Does someone have a real-world use for this which isn’t just hiding strong implementation coupling behind a protocol?

When I consume a protocol, it is under the assumption that the protocol is documented such that I would be able to work against *any* implementation of the protocol. With a closed protocol, I would have to assume that there are significant side effects, either undocumented or difficult for a third party to duplicate. To my experience, that sounds brittle.

Assuming you aren’t switching on the implementing type of a protocol (which itself can be a sign that your design isn’t properly using polymorphism), one could get this design by creating a struct with the interface desired, and passing invocations through to an internal protocol reference.

-DW

On Feb 18, 2017, at 1:41 PM, Matthew Johnson via swift-evolution <swift-evolution@swift.org> wrote:

Now that we’re in phase 2 I’d like to officially propose we introduce `open` protocols and require conformances to `public` protocols be inside the declaring module. Let’s use this thread for feedback on the official proposal. After a healthy round of discussion I’ll open a PR to submit it for review.

# Feature name

* Proposal: [SE-NNNN](NNNN-open-public-protocols.md)
* Authors: [Matthew Johnson](https://github.com/anandabits\)
* Review Manager: TBD
* Status: **Awaiting review**

## Introduction

This proposal introduces `open protocol` and changes the meaning of `public protocol` to match the meaning of `public class` (in this case, conformances are only allowed inside the declaring module).

The pitch thread leading up to this proposal was: [consistent public access modifiers](https://lists.swift.org/pipermail/swift-evolution/Week-of-Mon-20170206/031653.html\)

## Motivation

A general principle the Swift community has adopted for access control is that defaults should reserve maximum flexibility for a library. The ensures that any capabilities beyond mere visibility are not available unless the author of the library has explicitly declared their intent that the capabilities be made available. Finally, when it is possible to switch from one semantic to another without breaking clients (but not vice-versa) we should prefer the more forgiving (i.e. fixable) semantic as the (soft) default.

`public` is considered a "soft default" in the sense that it is the first access modifier a user will reach for when exposing a declaration outside of the module. In the case of protocols the current meaning of `public` does not meet the principle of preserving maximum flexibility for the author of the library. It allows users of the library to conform to the protocol.

There are good reasons a library may not wish to allow users to add conformances to a protocol. For example, it may not wish to expose the conforming concrete types. While similar behavior could be accomplished with an enum if cases could be private, that requires an implementation to use switch statements rather than polymorphism.

Even if all the conforming types are also public there are cases where polymorphism is the preferred implementation. For example, if the set of conforming types is not expected to be fixed (despite all being inside the library) the authors may not want to have to maintain switch statements every time they need to add or remove a confroming type which would be necessary if an enum were used instead. Polymorphism allows us to avoid this, giving us the ability to add and remove conforming types within the implementation of the library without the burden of maintaining switch statements.

Aligning the access modifiers for protocols and classes allows us to specify both conformable and non-conformable protocols, provides a soft default that is consistent with the principle of (soft) defaults reserving maximum flexibility for the library, and increases the overall consistency of the language by aligning the semantics of access control for protocols and classes.

The standard library currently has at least one protocol (`MirrorPath`) that is documented as disallowing client conformances. If this proposal is adopted it is likely that `MirrorPath` would be declared `public protocol` and not `open protocol`.

Jordan Rose has indicated that the Apple frameworks also include a number of protocols documented with the intent that users do not add conformances. Perhaps an importer annotation would allow the compiler to enforce these semantics in Swift code as well.

## Proposed solution

The proposed solution is to change the meaning of `public protocol` to disallow conformances outside the declaring module and introduce `open protocol` to allow conformances outside the decalring module (equivalent to the current meaning of `public protocol`).

## Detailed design

The detailed design is relatively straightforward but there are three important wrinkles to consider.

### User refinement of public protocols

Consider the following example:

// Library module:
public protocol P {}
public class C: P {}
 
// User module:
protocol User: P {}
extension C: User {}

The user module is allowed to add a refinement to `P` because this does not have any impact on the impelementation of the library or its possible evolution. It simply allows the user to write code that is generic over a subset of the conforming types provided by the library.

### Public protocols with open conforming classes

Consider the following example:

public protocol P P{}
open class C: P {}

Users of this module will be able to add subclasses of `C` that have a conformance to `P`. This is allowed becuase the client of the module did not need to explicitly declare a conformance and the module has explicitly stated its intent to allow subclasses of `C` with the `open` access modifier.

### Open protocols that refine public protocols

Consider the following example:

// library module:
public protocol P {}
open protocol Q: P {}
open protocol R: P {}
 
// user module:
struct S: P {} // error `P` is not `open`
struct T: Q {} // ok
struct U: R {} // ok

The user module is allowed to introudce a conformance to `P`, but only indirectly by also conforming to `Q`. The meaning we have ascribed to the keywords implies that this should be allowed and it offers libraries a very wide design space from which to choose. The library is able to have types that conform directly to `P`, while placing additional requirements on user types if necessary.

## Source compatibility

This proposal breaks source compatibility, but in a way that allows for a simple mechanical migration. A multi-release stratgegy will be used to roll out this proposal to provide maximum possible source compatibility from one release to the next.

1. In Swift 4, introduce the `open` keyword and the `@nonopen` attribute (which can be applied to `public protocol` to give it the new semantics of `public`).
2. In Swift 4 (or 4.1 if necessary) start warning for `public protocol` with no annotation.
3. In the subsequent release `public protocol` without annotation becomes an error.
4. In the subsequent relase `public protocol` without annotation takes on the new semantics.
5. `@nonopen` becomes a warning, and evenutally an erro as soon as we are comfortable making those changes.

## Effect on ABI stability

I would appreciate it if others can offer input regarding this section. I believe this proposal has ABI consequences, but it's possible that it could be an additivie ABI change where the ABI for conformable protocols remains the same and we add ABI for non-conformable protocols later. If that is possible, the primary impact would be the ABI of any standard library protocols that would prefer to be non-conformable.

## Effect on API resilience

This proposal would may impact one or more protocols in the standard library, such as `MirrorPath`, which would likely choose to remain `public` rather than adopt `open`.

## Alternatives considered

The primary alternatives are to either make no change, or to add something like `closed protocol`. The issues motivating the current proposal as a better alternative than either of these options are covered in the motivation section.

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https://lists.swift.org/mailman/listinfo/swift-evolution

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https://lists.swift.org/mailman/listinfo/swift-evolution

I really feel I’m blind, I cannot find it. Is the access modifier of open protocol *members* on open/public classes public by default, or open?

If open, can we downgrade it to public in an open class?

I didn't specifically address members of open classes but did address open classes. This proposal does not have any impact of the visibility of members of open classes that conform to a public (nonopen) protocol, including the default.

···

Sent from my iPhone

On Feb 19, 2017, at 10:28 AM, Adrian Zubarev <adrian.zubarev@devandartist.com> wrote:

--
Adrian Zubarev
Sent with Airmail

Am 19. Februar 2017 um 17:16:59, Matthew Johnson (matthew@anandabits.com) schrieb:

Sent from my iPhone

On Feb 19, 2017, at 10:11 AM, Adrian Zubarev <adrian.zubarev@devandartist.com> wrote:

@Matthew: Have you considered what happens with the access modifier of an open protocol when an open/public class conforms to it?

Yes I covered this in the detailed design section of the proposal.

// Module A
open protocol A {
    func foo()
}

// Module B
open class B : A {
    (open or public) func foo() {}
    // If `open`, can we downgrade to `public`?
    // The other way around seems straightforward
}

>
> Sorry, I have read through this thread twice and do not understand the
point you are making. Can you explain your example once more?
>
> Specifically, I do not understand why it is that your code should have
problems with third-party types that conform to your protocol. If your
protocol has requirements that third-party types cannot fulfill, then
naturally those requirements will prevent a third-party from conforming new
types to your protocol. OTOH, if your protocol does not have any
requirements that third-party types cannot fulfill, then your code that
accepts anything that conforms to your protocol should be indifferent to
whether the conforming type is defined by you or someone else. After all, a
conforming type would fulfill all the semantic and syntactic requirements
of the protocol! If your protocol has requirements that you are unable to
state in code, causing third-party types to conform that really shouldn't,
then that is a case for additional features that allow you to express those
requirements more accurately, not an argument for having protocols that
can't be conformed to by a third-party. What am I missing?
>

I see it as an API expressivity thing; it’s not that clients _can’t_
technically conform to the protocol, it’s that they _shouldn’t_ because
that’s not why I’m exposing it.

There are protocols that you do expose because you expect others to
conform to them. There are others which you only expect to be used as
generic/existential constraints.

That’s basically the same reasoning as having a distinction between
public/open for classes, too;

It isn't. The text of the proposal spends several paragraphs motivating the
distinction between public and open classes in the following way:

"A subclass that overrides methods of its superclass is intricately
intertwined with it. The two systems are not composed, and their behavior
cannot be understood independently. [...] Subclasses cannot be
independently tested using a mocked implementation of the superclass or
composed to apply the customizations of two different subclasses to a
single instance."

This is in direct contradistinction to protocols. Protocols *are* meant to
be composed. While a type is meant to uphold the semantic guarantees of
protocols to which it conforms, the behavior of a protocol and its
conforming types *are* meant to be understood independently. Conforming
types *are* meant to be testable independently from the protocols to which
they conform.

before we had “open” as a separate thing, you could subclass anything that

···

On Sun, Feb 19, 2017 at 4:46 PM, Karl Wagner <razielim@gmail.com> wrote:

> On 19 Feb 2017, at 23:24, Xiaodi Wu via swift-evolution < > swift-evolution@swift.org> wrote:
was public. There was extra motivation for classes because of the
opportunities for the optimiser to devirtualise function calls which may
not be as strong a factor for protocols, but from an API design perspective
it’s still nice to have consistent capabilities. From looking at my own
code, I know that marking-up protocols which clients can conform to with
@open would make both of our lives easier.

I wouldn’t mind if we allowed the compiler to not enforce this rule very
strongly (e.g. with a suppressible warning). Depends on what is achievable.

- Karl

Matthew has pretty much summed up everything with a single question in his
last reply. It makes me tired of repeating myself over and over again.

Here’s the challenge for you:

Implement a subscript where the first parameter is a String (trivial), but
the second to n are String’s and/or Int’s. There is no restriction of order
for the Int’s and String’s and there could be as many as you’d like, so no
overloads are allowed (a hint: variadics). You should be able to use
variables in that subscript and literals. You’re not allowed to use enum
constructors

Why not? You want a parameter that takes either String or Int. In another
language, you might express this as `String | Int`, but Chris Lattner and
others have said on this list that enums are the intended way of expressing
this in Swift.

···

On Sun, Feb 19, 2017 at 4:51 PM, Adrian Zubarev < adrian.zubarev@devandartist.com> wrote:

and the client should not be able to extend the set of types you can pass
to that subscript. That said it can look like this: someInstance["key",
"key1", 1, stringKeyInstance, intIndexInstance, intIndexInstance, …]

Creating hacks like unreachable types with hidden inits is prohibited.

Have fun!

--
Adrian Zubarev
Sent with Airmail

Am 19. Februar 2017 um 23:25:11, Xiaodi Wu (xiaodi.wu@gmail.com) schrieb:

Sorry, I have read through this thread twice and do not understand the
point you are making. Can you explain your example once more?

Specifically, I do not understand why it is that your code should have
problems with third-party types that conform to your protocol. If your
protocol has requirements that third-party types cannot fulfill, then
naturally those requirements will prevent a third-party from conforming new
types to your protocol. OTOH, if your protocol does not have any
requirements that third-party types cannot fulfill, then your code that
accepts anything that conforms to your protocol should be indifferent to
whether the conforming type is defined by you or someone else. After all, a
conforming type would fulfill all the semantic and syntactic requirements
of the protocol! If your protocol has requirements that you are unable to
state in code, causing third-party types to conform that really shouldn't,
then that is a case for additional features that allow you to express those
requirements more accurately, not an argument for having protocols that
can't be conformed to by a third-party. What am I missing?

On Sun, Feb 19, 2017 at 11:53 AM, Adrian Zubarev via swift-evolution < > swift-evolution@swift.org> wrote:

That’s the whole point I was making. :) Thank you Matthew. That makes my
example a real world example and not just some bike shedding.

--
Adrian Zubarev
Sent with Airmail

Am 19. Februar 2017 um 18:50:31, Matthew Johnson (matthew@anandabits.com)
schrieb:

Sent from my iPad

On Feb 19, 2017, at 11:29 AM, David Waite via swift-evolution < >> swift-evolution@swift.org> wrote:

Just FYI, I solved this issue in my own library (which included a json
jpointer implementation) via:

public enum SubscriptParameter {
  case string(String)
  case int(Int)
}

extension SubscriptParameter : ExpressibleByIntegerLiteral {
  public init(integerLiteral value: Int) {
    self = .int(value)
  }
}

extension SubscriptParameter : ExpressibleByStringLiteral {
  public init(stringLiteral value: String) {
    self = .string(value)
  }
  public init(extendedGraphemeClusterLiteral value: String) {
    self.init(stringLiteral: value)
  }

  public init(unicodeScalarLiteral value: String) {
    self.init(stringLiteral: value)
  }
}

extension SubscriptParameter : CustomStringConvertible {
  public var description: String {
    switch self {
    case .string(let str):
      return "\"\(str)\""
    case .int(let i):
      return String(i)
    }
  }
}

func debug(_ path:SubscriptParameter...) {
  print("path is \(path)")
}

debug(1, "foo", 2, "bar”) // path is [1, “foo”, 2, “bar”]

Can you make this work with variables - not just literals - and still
prevent users from extending the set of types and without requiring an enum
case constructor to be used by clients?

On Feb 19, 2017, at 1:14 AM, Adrian Zubarev < >> adrian.zubarev@devandartist.com> wrote:

If you haven’t followed the other thread Matthew previously opened than
you have missed the example I showed there.

Here it is again:

public protocol SubscriptParameterType {

    // This property was needed to prevent the client from breaking
    // the library by conforming to the protocol, but I'd like to
    // keep it invisible for the client, or even better prevent the
    // client from conforming to the protocol.
    var parameter: Document.SubscriptParameter { get }
}

extension Document {

    public enum SubscriptParameter {

        case string(String)
        case integer(Int)
    }
}

extension String : SubscriptParameterType {

    public var parameter: Document.SubscriptParameter {

        return .string(self)
    }
}

extension Int : SubscriptParameterType {

    public var parameter: Document.SubscriptParameter {

        return .integer(self)
    }
}

// Somewhere inside the `Document` type
public subscript(firstKey: String, parameters: SubscriptParameterType...) -> Value? { … }

The absence of closed protocols forced me to create a special requirement
on that protocol to prevent the client from conforming to that protocol and
passing instances of other types my API wouldn’t want to deal with. That
creates unnecessary copies and I need to unpack the enum payload to find
out which type the user passed. Instead I could simply close the protocol,
wouldn’t need the requirement to exist and I could simply cast the type to
String or Int when needed.

That implementation enables more safe queries of my Document type like

document["key1", intIndexInstance, stringKeyInstance, 10, "key"]

rather than

document["key1/\(intIndexInstance)/\(stringKeyInstance)/10/key"].
------------------------------

Here is a list of hidden and semi-hidden protocols from the standard
library that could be closed. Formatted version: https://gist.github.c
om/DevAndArtist/168c800d784829be536c407311953ab7
Path Protocol
/swift/stdlib/public/core/AnyHashable.swift:16
_HasCustomAnyHashableRepresentation
/swift/stdlib/public/core/BidirectionalCollection.swift:21
_BidirectionalIndexable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/BridgeObjectiveC.swift:19 _ObjectiveCBridgeable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Collection.swift:20 _IndexableBase
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Collection.swift:176 _Indexable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:193
_ExpressibleByBuiltinIntegerLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:240
_ExpressibleByBuiltinFloatLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:283
_ExpressibleByBuiltinBooleanLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:316
_ExpressibleByBuiltinUnicodeScalarLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:350
_ExpressibleByBuiltinExtendedGraphemeClusterLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:398
_ExpressibleByBuiltinStringLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:407
_ExpressibleByBuiltinUTF16StringLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:670
_ExpressibleByStringInterpolation
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:709
_ExpressibleByColorLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:720
_ExpressibleByImageLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:730
_ExpressibleByFileReferenceLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:750
_DestructorSafeContainer
/swift/stdlib/public/core/FixedPoint.swift.gyb:53 _Integer
/swift/stdlib/public/core/FixedPoint.swift.gyb:70 _SignedInteger
/swift/stdlib/public/core/FixedPoint.swift.gyb:108
_DisallowMixedSignArithmetic
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Hashable.swift:16 _Hashable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Index.swift:16 _Incrementable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/IntegerArithmetic.swift.gyb:33
_IntegerArithmetic
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Mirror.swift:721 _DefaultCustomPlaygroundQuickL
ookable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/MutableCollection.swift:20 _MutableIndexable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/NewtypeWrapper.swift.gyb:16
_SwiftNewtypeWrapper
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Pointer.swift:16 _Pointer
/swift/stdlib/public/core/RandomAccessCollection.swift:20
_RandomAccessIndexable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/RangeReplaceableCollection.swift.gyb:27
_RangeReplaceableIndexable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ReflectionLegacy.swift:41 _Mirror
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:27 _ShadowProtocol
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:31 _NSFastEnumeration
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:41 _NSEnumerator
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:51 _NSCopying
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:61 _NSArrayCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:83 _NSDictionaryCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:125 _NSDictionary
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:137 _NSSetCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:171 _NSSet
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:177 _NSNumber
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:187 _NSArrayCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:188 _NSDictionaryCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:189 _NSSetCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/StringBridge.swift:194 _NSStringCore
/swift/stdlib/public/SDK/Foundation/NSError.swift:353
_ObjectiveCBridgeableError
/swift/stdlib/public/SDK/Foundation/NSError.swift:379 __BridgedNSError
/swift/stdlib/public/SDK/Foundation/NSError.swift:446 _BridgedNSError
/swift/stdlib/public/SDK/Foundation/NSError.swift:456
_BridgedStoredNSError
/swift/stdlib/public/SDK/Foundation/NSError.swift:564 _ErrorCodeProtocol

--
Adrian Zubarev
Sent with Airmail

Am 19. Februar 2017 um 07:59:45, David Waite via swift-evolution (
swift-evolution@swift.org) schrieb:

I am unsure if this feature is a good idea. Does someone have a
real-world use for this which isn’t just hiding strong implementation
coupling behind a protocol?

When I consume a protocol, it is under the assumption that the protocol
is documented such that I would be able to work against *any*
implementation of the protocol. With a closed protocol, I would have to
assume that there are significant side effects, either undocumented or
difficult for a third party to duplicate. To my experience, that sounds
brittle.

Assuming you aren’t switching on the implementing type of a protocol
(which itself can be a sign that your design isn’t properly using
polymorphism), one could get this design by creating a struct with the
interface desired, and passing invocations through to an internal protocol
reference.

-DW

> On Feb 18, 2017, at 1:41 PM, Matthew Johnson via swift-evolution < >> swift-evolution@swift.org> wrote:
>
> Now that we’re in phase 2 I’d like to officially propose we introduce
`open` protocols and require conformances to `public` protocols be inside
the declaring module. Let’s use this thread for feedback on the official
proposal. After a healthy round of discussion I’ll open a PR to submit it
for review.
>
>
> # Feature name
>
> * Proposal: [SE-NNNN](NNNN-open-public-protocols.md)
> * Authors: [Matthew Johnson](https://github.com/anandabits\)
> * Review Manager: TBD
> * Status: **Awaiting review**
>
> ## Introduction
>
> This proposal introduces `open protocol` and changes the meaning of
`public protocol` to match the meaning of `public class` (in this case,
conformances are only allowed inside the declaring module).
>
> The pitch thread leading up to this proposal was: [consistent public
access modifiers](The swift-evolution Archives
/Week-of-Mon-20170206/031653.html)
>
> ## Motivation
>
> A general principle the Swift community has adopted for access control
is that defaults should reserve maximum flexibility for a library. The
ensures that any capabilities beyond mere visibility are not available
unless the author of the library has explicitly declared their intent that
the capabilities be made available. Finally, when it is possible to switch
from one semantic to another without breaking clients (but not vice-versa)
we should prefer the more forgiving (i.e. fixable) semantic as the (soft)
default.
>
> `public` is considered a "soft default" in the sense that it is the
first access modifier a user will reach for when exposing a declaration
outside of the module. In the case of protocols the current meaning of
`public` does not meet the principle of preserving maximum flexibility for
the author of the library. It allows users of the library to conform to the
protocol.
>
> There are good reasons a library may not wish to allow users to add
conformances to a protocol. For example, it may not wish to expose the
conforming concrete types. While similar behavior could be accomplished
with an enum if cases could be private, that requires an implementation to
use switch statements rather than polymorphism.
>
> Even if all the conforming types are also public there are cases where
polymorphism is the preferred implementation. For example, if the set of
conforming types is not expected to be fixed (despite all being inside the
library) the authors may not want to have to maintain switch statements
every time they need to add or remove a confroming type which would be
necessary if an enum were used instead. Polymorphism allows us to avoid
this, giving us the ability to add and remove conforming types within the
implementation of the library without the burden of maintaining switch
statements.
>
> Aligning the access modifiers for protocols and classes allows us to
specify both conformable and non-conformable protocols, provides a soft
default that is consistent with the principle of (soft) defaults reserving
maximum flexibility for the library, and increases the overall consistency
of the language by aligning the semantics of access control for protocols
and classes.
>
> The standard library currently has at least one protocol (`MirrorPath`)
that is documented as disallowing client conformances. If this proposal is
adopted it is likely that `MirrorPath` would be declared `public protocol`
and not `open protocol`.
>
> Jordan Rose has indicated that the Apple frameworks also include a
number of protocols documented with the intent that users do not add
conformances. Perhaps an importer annotation would allow the compiler to
enforce these semantics in Swift code as well.
>
> ## Proposed solution
>
> The proposed solution is to change the meaning of `public protocol` to
disallow conformances outside the declaring module and introduce `open
protocol` to allow conformances outside the decalring module (equivalent to
the current meaning of `public protocol`).
>
> ## Detailed design
>
> The detailed design is relatively straightforward but there are three
important wrinkles to consider.
>
> ### User refinement of public protocols
>
> Consider the following example:
>
> ```swift
> // Library module:
> public protocol P {}
> public class C: P {}
>
> // User module:
> protocol User: P {}
> extension C: User {}
> ```
>
> The user module is allowed to add a refinement to `P` because this does
not have any impact on the impelementation of the library or its possible
evolution. It simply allows the user to write code that is generic over a
subset of the conforming types provided by the library.
>
> ### Public protocols with open conforming classes
>
> Consider the following example:
>
> ```swift
> public protocol P P{}
> open class C: P {}
> ```
>
> Users of this module will be able to add subclasses of `C` that have a
conformance to `P`. This is allowed becuase the client of the module did
not need to explicitly declare a conformance and the module has explicitly
stated its intent to allow subclasses of `C` with the `open` access
modifier.
>
> ### Open protocols that refine public protocols
>
> Consider the following example:
>
> ```swift
> // library module:
> public protocol P {}
> open protocol Q: P {}
> open protocol R: P {}
>
> // user module:
> struct S: P {} // error `P` is not `open`
> struct T: Q {} // ok
> struct U: R {} // ok
> ```
>
> The user module is allowed to introudce a conformance to `P`, but only
indirectly by also conforming to `Q`. The meaning we have ascribed to the
keywords implies that this should be allowed and it offers libraries a very
wide design space from which to choose. The library is able to have types
that conform directly to `P`, while placing additional requirements on user
types if necessary.
>
> ## Source compatibility
>
> This proposal breaks source compatibility, but in a way that allows for
a simple mechanical migration. A multi-release stratgegy will be used to
roll out this proposal to provide maximum possible source compatibility
from one release to the next.
>
> 1. In Swift 4, introduce the `open` keyword and the `@nonopen`
attribute (which can be applied to `public protocol` to give it the new
semantics of `public`).
> 2. In Swift 4 (or 4.1 if necessary) start warning for `public protocol`
with no annotation.
> 3. In the subsequent release `public protocol` without annotation
becomes an error.
> 4. In the subsequent relase `public protocol` without annotation takes
on the new semantics.
> 5. `@nonopen` becomes a warning, and evenutally an erro as soon as we
are comfortable making those changes.
>
> ## Effect on ABI stability
>
> I would appreciate it if others can offer input regarding this section.
I believe this proposal has ABI consequences, but it's possible that it
could be an additivie ABI change where the ABI for conformable protocols
remains the same and we add ABI for non-conformable protocols later. If
that is possible, the primary impact would be the ABI of any standard
library protocols that would prefer to be non-conformable.
>
> ## Effect on API resilience
>
> This proposal would may impact one or more protocols in the standard
library, such as `MirrorPath`, which would likely choose to remain `public`
rather than adopt `open`.
>
> ## Alternatives considered
>
> The primary alternatives are to either make no change, or to add
something like `closed protocol`. The issues motivating the current
proposal as a better alternative than either of these options are covered
in the motivation section.
>
> _______________________________________________
> swift-evolution mailing list
> swift-evolution@swift.org
> https://lists.swift.org/mailman/listinfo/swift-evolution

_______________________________________________
swift-evolution mailing list
swift-evolution@swift.org
https://lists.swift.org/mailman/listinfo/swift-evolution

_______________________________________________
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swift-evolution@swift.org
https://lists.swift.org/mailman/listinfo/swift-evolution

_______________________________________________
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swift-evolution@swift.org
https://lists.swift.org/mailman/listinfo/swift-evolution

Still not what I was asking about.

Module A contains a single open protocol: open protocol P { func foo() }
Module B contains a single open class that conforms to P:
open class B : P {
    /* what is the default access modifier here? */ func foo()
}

···

--
Adrian Zubarev
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Am 19. Februar 2017 um 17:35:04, Matthew Johnson (matthew@anandabits.com) schrieb:

Sent from my iPhone

On Feb 19, 2017, at 10:28 AM, Adrian Zubarev <adrian.zubarev@devandartist.com> wrote:

I really feel I’m blind, I cannot find it. Is the access modifier of open protocol *members* on open/public classes public by default, or open?

If open, can we downgrade it to public in an open class?

I didn't specifically address members of open classes but did address open classes. This proposal does not have any impact of the visibility of members of open classes that conform to a public (nonopen) protocol, including the default.

--
Adrian Zubarev
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Am 19. Februar 2017 um 17:16:59, Matthew Johnson (matthew@anandabits.com) schrieb:

Sent from my iPhone

On Feb 19, 2017, at 10:11 AM, Adrian Zubarev <adrian.zubarev@devandartist.com> wrote:

@Matthew: Have you considered what happens with the access modifier of an open protocol when an open/public class conforms to it?

Yes I covered this in the detailed design section of the proposal.
// Module A
open protocol A {
    func foo()
}

// Module B
open class B : A {
    (open or public) func foo() {}
    // If `open`, can we downgrade to `public`?
    // The other way around seems straightforward
}

In my case we don’t have an Either type, nor do we allow implicit type conversions. Remove the property from my protocol and forget about the enum that I used there. Conform to the protocol in your app a type different from String or Int and call the subscript. This will result in a runtime crash, because the API won’t know what do to with your type. Sure it could return nil, but then I can only say “happy debugging to find your wrong type”.

But isn't the either type the right solution to make sure you always get the output type you expect while allowing clients to provide custom type that conform to the protocol and generate your expected types (string and ont) in interesting ways?

···

On 19 Feb 2017, at 17:00, Adrian Zubarev <adrian.zubarev@devandartist.com> wrote:

The usage of the protocol is simply an implementation artifact, because there is no other way (except crazy long overloads) of creating such a subscript that accepts a String or an Int from the second parameter. The protocol was never meant to be conformable to outside the API itself.

The requirement that the protocol has in my example was the workaround to prevent the crash and iff you device to conform to that protocol, which, as I already mentioned, is not intended at all.

I can only repeat myself: if you haven’t bumped into such an issue, than call yourself lucky.

--
Adrian Zubarev
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Am 19. Februar 2017 um 16:05:28, David Hart (david@hartbit.com) schrieb:

I'm sorry but I'm really lost: in your example, how could the client break the library by providing a custom type that conforms to the protocol? Why do you say that something like KeyConvertible shouldn't even exist? They exist so clients can extend libraires and make them even more useful. I still haven't seen a case where it's necessary to avoid clients to conform to a protocol.

On 19 Feb 2017, at 14:02, Adrian Zubarev <adrian.zubarev@devandartist.com> wrote:

That won’t work, plus the suggested solution makes life even more complicated. I need to be able to index an array, so I’m not willing to simply give up integers and do some extra work behind the scenes and convert a String to an Int. Furthermore there is no need something like KeyConvertible to even exist.

--
Adrian Zubarev
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Am 19. Februar 2017 um 13:58:35, David Hart (david@hartbit.com) schrieb:

I honestly don't see the use case. The example you showed is an example of how your circumvented the lack of "closed" protocols in Swift. But I'd really like to see an example of the necessity for closed protocols in the first place:

In your case, I would simply defined the API as:

protocol KeyConvertible {
    var key: String { get }
}

public subscript(firstKey: String, parameters: KeyConvertible...) {}

Which would allow clients to implement their own KeyConvertible conforming types which convert into key paths.

On 19 Feb 2017, at 09:14, Adrian Zubarev via swift-evolution <swift-evolution@swift.org> wrote:

If you haven’t followed the other thread Matthew previously opened than you have missed the example I showed there.

Here it is again:

public protocol SubscriptParameterType {
        
    // This property was needed to prevent the client from breaking
    // the library by conforming to the protocol, but I'd like to
    // keep it invisible for the client, or even better prevent the
    // client from conforming to the protocol.
    var parameter: Document.SubscriptParameter { get }
}

extension Document {
        
    public enum SubscriptParameter {
                
        case string(String)
        case integer(Int)
    }
}

extension String : SubscriptParameterType {
        
    public var parameter: Document.SubscriptParameter {
            
        return .string(self)
    }
}

extension Int : SubscriptParameterType {
        
    public var parameter: Document.SubscriptParameter {
            
        return .integer(self)
    }
}

// Somewhere inside the `Document` type
public subscript(firstKey: String, parameters: SubscriptParameterType...) -> Value? { … }
The absence of closed protocols forced me to create a special requirement on that protocol to prevent the client from conforming to that protocol and passing instances of other types my API wouldn’t want to deal with. That creates unnecessary copies and I need to unpack the enum payload to find out which type the user passed. Instead I could simply close the protocol, wouldn’t need the requirement to exist and I could simply cast the type to String or Int when needed.

That implementation enables more safe queries of my Document type like

document["key1", intIndexInstance, stringKeyInstance, 10, "key"]

rather than

document["key1/\(intIndexInstance)/\(stringKeyInstance)/10/key"].

Here is a list of hidden and semi-hidden protocols from the standard library that could be closed. Formatted version: swift-closed-protocols.md · GitHub

Path Protocol
/swift/stdlib/public/core/AnyHashable.swift:16 _HasCustomAnyHashableRepresentation
/swift/stdlib/public/core/BidirectionalCollection.swift:21 _BidirectionalIndexable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/BridgeObjectiveC.swift:19 _ObjectiveCBridgeable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Collection.swift:20 _IndexableBase
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Collection.swift:176 _Indexable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:193 _ExpressibleByBuiltinIntegerLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:240 _ExpressibleByBuiltinFloatLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:283 _ExpressibleByBuiltinBooleanLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:316 _ExpressibleByBuiltinUnicodeScalarLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:350 _ExpressibleByBuiltinExtendedGraphemeClusterLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:398 _ExpressibleByBuiltinStringLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:407 _ExpressibleByBuiltinUTF16StringLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:670 _ExpressibleByStringInterpolation
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:709 _ExpressibleByColorLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:720 _ExpressibleByImageLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:730 _ExpressibleByFileReferenceLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:750 _DestructorSafeContainer
/swift/stdlib/public/core/FixedPoint.swift.gyb:53 _Integer
/swift/stdlib/public/core/FixedPoint.swift.gyb:70 _SignedInteger
/swift/stdlib/public/core/FixedPoint.swift.gyb:108 _DisallowMixedSignArithmetic
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Hashable.swift:16 _Hashable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Index.swift:16 _Incrementable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/IntegerArithmetic.swift.gyb:33 _IntegerArithmetic
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Mirror.swift:721 _DefaultCustomPlaygroundQuickLookable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/MutableCollection.swift:20 _MutableIndexable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/NewtypeWrapper.swift.gyb:16 _SwiftNewtypeWrapper
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Pointer.swift:16 _Pointer
/swift/stdlib/public/core/RandomAccessCollection.swift:20 _RandomAccessIndexable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/RangeReplaceableCollection.swift.gyb:27 _RangeReplaceableIndexable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ReflectionLegacy.swift:41 _Mirror
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:27 _ShadowProtocol
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:31 _NSFastEnumeration
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:41 _NSEnumerator
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:51 _NSCopying
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:61 _NSArrayCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:83 _NSDictionaryCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:125 _NSDictionary
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:137 _NSSetCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:171 _NSSet
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:177 _NSNumber
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:187 _NSArrayCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:188 _NSDictionaryCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:189 _NSSetCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/StringBridge.swift:194 _NSStringCore
/swift/stdlib/public/SDK/Foundation/NSError.swift:353 _ObjectiveCBridgeableError
/swift/stdlib/public/SDK/Foundation/NSError.swift:379 __BridgedNSError
/swift/stdlib/public/SDK/Foundation/NSError.swift:446 _BridgedNSError
/swift/stdlib/public/SDK/Foundation/NSError.swift:456 _BridgedStoredNSError
/swift/stdlib/public/SDK/Foundation/NSError.swift:564 _ErrorCodeProtocol

--
Adrian Zubarev
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Am 19. Februar 2017 um 07:59:45, David Waite via swift-evolution (swift-evolution@swift.org) schrieb:

I am unsure if this feature is a good idea. Does someone have a real-world use for this which isn’t just hiding strong implementation coupling behind a protocol?

When I consume a protocol, it is under the assumption that the protocol is documented such that I would be able to work against *any* implementation of the protocol. With a closed protocol, I would have to assume that there are significant side effects, either undocumented or difficult for a third party to duplicate. To my experience, that sounds brittle.

Assuming you aren’t switching on the implementing type of a protocol (which itself can be a sign that your design isn’t properly using polymorphism), one could get this design by creating a struct with the interface desired, and passing invocations through to an internal protocol reference.

-DW

> On Feb 18, 2017, at 1:41 PM, Matthew Johnson via swift-evolution <swift-evolution@swift.org> wrote:
>
> Now that we’re in phase 2 I’d like to officially propose we introduce `open` protocols and require conformances to `public` protocols be inside the declaring module. Let’s use this thread for feedback on the official proposal. After a healthy round of discussion I’ll open a PR to submit it for review.
>
>
> # Feature name
>
> * Proposal: [SE-NNNN](NNNN-open-public-protocols.md)
> * Authors: [Matthew Johnson](https://github.com/anandabits\)
> * Review Manager: TBD
> * Status: **Awaiting review**
>
> ## Introduction
>
> This proposal introduces `open protocol` and changes the meaning of `public protocol` to match the meaning of `public class` (in this case, conformances are only allowed inside the declaring module).
>
> The pitch thread leading up to this proposal was: [consistent public access modifiers](https://lists.swift.org/pipermail/swift-evolution/Week-of-Mon-20170206/031653.html\)
>
> ## Motivation
>
> A general principle the Swift community has adopted for access control is that defaults should reserve maximum flexibility for a library. The ensures that any capabilities beyond mere visibility are not available unless the author of the library has explicitly declared their intent that the capabilities be made available. Finally, when it is possible to switch from one semantic to another without breaking clients (but not vice-versa) we should prefer the more forgiving (i.e. fixable) semantic as the (soft) default.
>
> `public` is considered a "soft default" in the sense that it is the first access modifier a user will reach for when exposing a declaration outside of the module. In the case of protocols the current meaning of `public` does not meet the principle of preserving maximum flexibility for the author of the library. It allows users of the library to conform to the protocol.
>
> There are good reasons a library may not wish to allow users to add conformances to a protocol. For example, it may not wish to expose the conforming concrete types. While similar behavior could be accomplished with an enum if cases could be private, that requires an implementation to use switch statements rather than polymorphism.
>
> Even if all the conforming types are also public there are cases where polymorphism is the preferred implementation. For example, if the set of conforming types is not expected to be fixed (despite all being inside the library) the authors may not want to have to maintain switch statements every time they need to add or remove a confroming type which would be necessary if an enum were used instead. Polymorphism allows us to avoid this, giving us the ability to add and remove conforming types within the implementation of the library without the burden of maintaining switch statements.
>
> Aligning the access modifiers for protocols and classes allows us to specify both conformable and non-conformable protocols, provides a soft default that is consistent with the principle of (soft) defaults reserving maximum flexibility for the library, and increases the overall consistency of the language by aligning the semantics of access control for protocols and classes.
>
> The standard library currently has at least one protocol (`MirrorPath`) that is documented as disallowing client conformances. If this proposal is adopted it is likely that `MirrorPath` would be declared `public protocol` and not `open protocol`.
>
> Jordan Rose has indicated that the Apple frameworks also include a number of protocols documented with the intent that users do not add conformances. Perhaps an importer annotation would allow the compiler to enforce these semantics in Swift code as well.
>
> ## Proposed solution
>
> The proposed solution is to change the meaning of `public protocol` to disallow conformances outside the declaring module and introduce `open protocol` to allow conformances outside the decalring module (equivalent to the current meaning of `public protocol`).
>
> ## Detailed design
>
> The detailed design is relatively straightforward but there are three important wrinkles to consider.
>
> ### User refinement of public protocols
>
> Consider the following example:
>
> ```swift
> // Library module:
> public protocol P {}
> public class C: P {}
>
> // User module:
> protocol User: P {}
> extension C: User {}
> ```
>
> The user module is allowed to add a refinement to `P` because this does not have any impact on the impelementation of the library or its possible evolution. It simply allows the user to write code that is generic over a subset of the conforming types provided by the library.
>
> ### Public protocols with open conforming classes
>
> Consider the following example:
>
> ```swift
> public protocol P P{}
> open class C: P {}
> ```
>
> Users of this module will be able to add subclasses of `C` that have a conformance to `P`. This is allowed becuase the client of the module did not need to explicitly declare a conformance and the module has explicitly stated its intent to allow subclasses of `C` with the `open` access modifier.
>
> ### Open protocols that refine public protocols
>
> Consider the following example:
>
> ```swift
> // library module:
> public protocol P {}
> open protocol Q: P {}
> open protocol R: P {}
>
> // user module:
> struct S: P {} // error `P` is not `open`
> struct T: Q {} // ok
> struct U: R {} // ok
> ```
>
> The user module is allowed to introudce a conformance to `P`, but only indirectly by also conforming to `Q`. The meaning we have ascribed to the keywords implies that this should be allowed and it offers libraries a very wide design space from which to choose. The library is able to have types that conform directly to `P`, while placing additional requirements on user types if necessary.
>
> ## Source compatibility
>
> This proposal breaks source compatibility, but in a way that allows for a simple mechanical migration. A multi-release stratgegy will be used to roll out this proposal to provide maximum possible source compatibility from one release to the next.
>
> 1. In Swift 4, introduce the `open` keyword and the `@nonopen` attribute (which can be applied to `public protocol` to give it the new semantics of `public`).
> 2. In Swift 4 (or 4.1 if necessary) start warning for `public protocol` with no annotation.
> 3. In the subsequent release `public protocol` without annotation becomes an error.
> 4. In the subsequent relase `public protocol` without annotation takes on the new semantics.
> 5. `@nonopen` becomes a warning, and evenutally an erro as soon as we are comfortable making those changes.
>
> ## Effect on ABI stability
>
> I would appreciate it if others can offer input regarding this section. I believe this proposal has ABI consequences, but it's possible that it could be an additivie ABI change where the ABI for conformable protocols remains the same and we add ABI for non-conformable protocols later. If that is possible, the primary impact would be the ABI of any standard library protocols that would prefer to be non-conformable.
>
> ## Effect on API resilience
>
> This proposal would may impact one or more protocols in the standard library, such as `MirrorPath`, which would likely choose to remain `public` rather than adopt `open`.
>
> ## Alternatives considered
>
> The primary alternatives are to either make no change, or to add something like `closed protocol`. The issues motivating the current proposal as a better alternative than either of these options are covered in the motivation section.
>
> _______________________________________________
> swift-evolution mailing list
> swift-evolution@swift.org
> https://lists.swift.org/mailman/listinfo/swift-evolution

_______________________________________________
swift-evolution mailing list
swift-evolution@swift.org
https://lists.swift.org/mailman/listinfo/swift-evolution

_______________________________________________
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https://lists.swift.org/mailman/listinfo/swift-evolution

Because someInstance["key", .string("key1"), .integer(1), .string(stringKeyInstance), .integer(intIndexInstance), .integer(intIndexInstance), …] is simply ugly and should be hidden. Such API looks horrible.

Is this discussion really going to end with every statement being questioned with “why”? Why is 42 the number that rules the universe?

···

--
Adrian Zubarev
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Am 20. Februar 2017 um 00:03:44, Xiaodi Wu (xiaodi.wu@gmail.com) schrieb:

On Sun, Feb 19, 2017 at 4:51 PM, Adrian Zubarev <adrian.zubarev@devandartist.com> wrote:
Matthew has pretty much summed up everything with a single question in his last reply. It makes me tired of repeating myself over and over again.

Here’s the challenge for you:

Implement a subscript where the first parameter is a String (trivial), but the second to n are String’s and/or Int’s. There is no restriction of order for the Int’s and String’s and there could be as many as you’d like, so no overloads are allowed (a hint: variadics). You should be able to use variables in that subscript and literals. You’re not allowed to use enum constructors

Why not? You want a parameter that takes either String or Int. In another language, you might express this as `String | Int`, but Chris Lattner and others have said on this list that enums are the intended way of expressing this in Swift.
and the client should not be able to extend the set of types you can pass to that subscript. That said it can look like this: someInstance["key", "key1", 1, stringKeyInstance, intIndexInstance, intIndexInstance, …]

Creating hacks like unreachable types with hidden inits is prohibited.

Have fun!

--
Adrian Zubarev
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Am 19. Februar 2017 um 23:25:11, Xiaodi Wu (xiaodi.wu@gmail.com) schrieb:

Sorry, I have read through this thread twice and do not understand the point you are making. Can you explain your example once more?

Specifically, I do not understand why it is that your code should have problems with third-party types that conform to your protocol. If your protocol has requirements that third-party types cannot fulfill, then naturally those requirements will prevent a third-party from conforming new types to your protocol. OTOH, if your protocol does not have any requirements that third-party types cannot fulfill, then your code that accepts anything that conforms to your protocol should be indifferent to whether the conforming type is defined by you or someone else. After all, a conforming type would fulfill all the semantic and syntactic requirements of the protocol! If your protocol has requirements that you are unable to state in code, causing third-party types to conform that really shouldn't, then that is a case for additional features that allow you to express those requirements more accurately, not an argument for having protocols that can't be conformed to by a third-party. What am I missing?

On Sun, Feb 19, 2017 at 11:53 AM, Adrian Zubarev via swift-evolution <swift-evolution@swift.org> wrote:
That’s the whole point I was making. :) Thank you Matthew. That makes my example a real world example and not just some bike shedding.

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Am 19. Februar 2017 um 18:50:31, Matthew Johnson (matthew@anandabits.com) schrieb:

Sent from my iPad

On Feb 19, 2017, at 11:29 AM, David Waite via swift-evolution <swift-evolution@swift.org> wrote:

Just FYI, I solved this issue in my own library (which included a json jpointer implementation) via:

public enum SubscriptParameter {
case string(String)
case int(Int)
}

extension SubscriptParameter : ExpressibleByIntegerLiteral {
public init(integerLiteral value: Int) {
self = .int(value)
}
}

extension SubscriptParameter : ExpressibleByStringLiteral {
public init(stringLiteral value: String) {
self = .string(value)
}
public init(extendedGraphemeClusterLiteral value: String) {
self.init(stringLiteral: value)
}
public init(unicodeScalarLiteral value: String) {
self.init(stringLiteral: value)
}
}

extension SubscriptParameter : CustomStringConvertible {
public var description: String {
switch self {
case .string(let str):
return "\"\(str)\""
case .int(let i):
return String(i)
}
}
}

func debug(_ path:SubscriptParameter...) {
print("path is \(path)")
}

debug(1, "foo", 2, "bar”) // path is [1, “foo”, 2, “bar”]

Can you make this work with variables - not just literals - and still prevent users from extending the set of types and without requiring an enum case constructor to be used by clients?

On Feb 19, 2017, at 1:14 AM, Adrian Zubarev <adrian.zubarev@devandartist.com> wrote:

If you haven’t followed the other thread Matthew previously opened than you have missed the example I showed there.

Here it is again:

public protocol SubscriptParameterType {
         
    // This property was needed to prevent the client from breaking
    // the library by conforming to the protocol, but I'd like to
    // keep it invisible for the client, or even better prevent the
    // client from conforming to the protocol.
    var parameter: Document.SubscriptParameter { get }
}

extension Document {
         
    public enum SubscriptParameter {
                 
        case string(String)
        case integer(Int)
    }
}

extension String : SubscriptParameterType {
         
    public var parameter: Document.SubscriptParameter {
             
        return .string(self)
    }
}

extension Int : SubscriptParameterType {
         
    public var parameter: Document.SubscriptParameter {
             
        return .integer(self)
    }
}

// Somewhere inside the `Document` type
public subscript(firstKey: String, parameters: SubscriptParameterType...) -> Value? { … }
The absence of closed protocols forced me to create a special requirement on that protocol to prevent the client from conforming to that protocol and passing instances of other types my API wouldn’t want to deal with. That creates unnecessary copies and I need to unpack the enum payload to find out which type the user passed. Instead I could simply close the protocol, wouldn’t need the requirement to exist and I could simply cast the type to String or Int when needed.

That implementation enables more safe queries of my Document type like

document["key1", intIndexInstance, stringKeyInstance, 10, "key"]

rather than

document["key1/\(intIndexInstance)/\(stringKeyInstance)/10/key"].

Here is a list of hidden and semi-hidden protocols from the standard library that could be closed. Formatted version: swift-closed-protocols.md · GitHub

Path Protocol
/swift/stdlib/public/core/AnyHashable.swift:16 _HasCustomAnyHashableRepresentation
/swift/stdlib/public/core/BidirectionalCollection.swift:21 _BidirectionalIndexable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/BridgeObjectiveC.swift:19 _ObjectiveCBridgeable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Collection.swift:20 _IndexableBase
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Collection.swift:176 _Indexable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:193 _ExpressibleByBuiltinIntegerLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:240 _ExpressibleByBuiltinFloatLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:283 _ExpressibleByBuiltinBooleanLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:316 _ExpressibleByBuiltinUnicodeScalarLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:350 _ExpressibleByBuiltinExtendedGraphemeClusterLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:398 _ExpressibleByBuiltinStringLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:407 _ExpressibleByBuiltinUTF16StringLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:670 _ExpressibleByStringInterpolation
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:709 _ExpressibleByColorLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:720 _ExpressibleByImageLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:730 _ExpressibleByFileReferenceLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:750 _DestructorSafeContainer
/swift/stdlib/public/core/FixedPoint.swift.gyb:53 _Integer
/swift/stdlib/public/core/FixedPoint.swift.gyb:70 _SignedInteger
/swift/stdlib/public/core/FixedPoint.swift.gyb:108 _DisallowMixedSignArithmetic
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Hashable.swift:16 _Hashable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Index.swift:16 _Incrementable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/IntegerArithmetic.swift.gyb:33 _IntegerArithmetic
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Mirror.swift:721 _DefaultCustomPlaygroundQuickLookable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/MutableCollection.swift:20 _MutableIndexable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/NewtypeWrapper.swift.gyb:16 _SwiftNewtypeWrapper
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Pointer.swift:16 _Pointer
/swift/stdlib/public/core/RandomAccessCollection.swift:20 _RandomAccessIndexable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/RangeReplaceableCollection.swift.gyb:27 _RangeReplaceableIndexable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ReflectionLegacy.swift:41 _Mirror
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:27 _ShadowProtocol
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:31 _NSFastEnumeration
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:41 _NSEnumerator
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:51 _NSCopying
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:61 _NSArrayCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:83 _NSDictionaryCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:125 _NSDictionary
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:137 _NSSetCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:171 _NSSet
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:177 _NSNumber
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:187 _NSArrayCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:188 _NSDictionaryCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:189 _NSSetCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/StringBridge.swift:194 _NSStringCore
/swift/stdlib/public/SDK/Foundation/NSError.swift:353 _ObjectiveCBridgeableError
/swift/stdlib/public/SDK/Foundation/NSError.swift:379 __BridgedNSError
/swift/stdlib/public/SDK/Foundation/NSError.swift:446 _BridgedNSError
/swift/stdlib/public/SDK/Foundation/NSError.swift:456 _BridgedStoredNSError
/swift/stdlib/public/SDK/Foundation/NSError.swift:564 _ErrorCodeProtocol

--
Adrian Zubarev
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Am 19. Februar 2017 um 07:59:45, David Waite via swift-evolution (swift-evolution@swift.org) schrieb:

I am unsure if this feature is a good idea. Does someone have a real-world use for this which isn’t just hiding strong implementation coupling behind a protocol?

When I consume a protocol, it is under the assumption that the protocol is documented such that I would be able to work against *any* implementation of the protocol. With a closed protocol, I would have to assume that there are significant side effects, either undocumented or difficult for a third party to duplicate. To my experience, that sounds brittle.

Assuming you aren’t switching on the implementing type of a protocol (which itself can be a sign that your design isn’t properly using polymorphism), one could get this design by creating a struct with the interface desired, and passing invocations through to an internal protocol reference.

-DW

On Feb 18, 2017, at 1:41 PM, Matthew Johnson via swift-evolution <swift-evolution@swift.org> wrote:

Now that we’re in phase 2 I’d like to officially propose we introduce `open` protocols and require conformances to `public` protocols be inside the declaring module. Let’s use this thread for feedback on the official proposal. After a healthy round of discussion I’ll open a PR to submit it for review.

# Feature name

* Proposal: [SE-NNNN](NNNN-open-public-protocols.md)
* Authors: [Matthew Johnson](https://github.com/anandabits\)
* Review Manager: TBD
* Status: **Awaiting review**

## Introduction

This proposal introduces `open protocol` and changes the meaning of `public protocol` to match the meaning of `public class` (in this case, conformances are only allowed inside the declaring module).

The pitch thread leading up to this proposal was: [consistent public access modifiers](https://lists.swift.org/pipermail/swift-evolution/Week-of-Mon-20170206/031653.html\)

## Motivation

A general principle the Swift community has adopted for access control is that defaults should reserve maximum flexibility for a library. The ensures that any capabilities beyond mere visibility are not available unless the author of the library has explicitly declared their intent that the capabilities be made available. Finally, when it is possible to switch from one semantic to another without breaking clients (but not vice-versa) we should prefer the more forgiving (i.e. fixable) semantic as the (soft) default.

`public` is considered a "soft default" in the sense that it is the first access modifier a user will reach for when exposing a declaration outside of the module. In the case of protocols the current meaning of `public` does not meet the principle of preserving maximum flexibility for the author of the library. It allows users of the library to conform to the protocol.

There are good reasons a library may not wish to allow users to add conformances to a protocol. For example, it may not wish to expose the conforming concrete types. While similar behavior could be accomplished with an enum if cases could be private, that requires an implementation to use switch statements rather than polymorphism.

Even if all the conforming types are also public there are cases where polymorphism is the preferred implementation. For example, if the set of conforming types is not expected to be fixed (despite all being inside the library) the authors may not want to have to maintain switch statements every time they need to add or remove a confroming type which would be necessary if an enum were used instead. Polymorphism allows us to avoid this, giving us the ability to add and remove conforming types within the implementation of the library without the burden of maintaining switch statements.

Aligning the access modifiers for protocols and classes allows us to specify both conformable and non-conformable protocols, provides a soft default that is consistent with the principle of (soft) defaults reserving maximum flexibility for the library, and increases the overall consistency of the language by aligning the semantics of access control for protocols and classes.

The standard library currently has at least one protocol (`MirrorPath`) that is documented as disallowing client conformances. If this proposal is adopted it is likely that `MirrorPath` would be declared `public protocol` and not `open protocol`.

Jordan Rose has indicated that the Apple frameworks also include a number of protocols documented with the intent that users do not add conformances. Perhaps an importer annotation would allow the compiler to enforce these semantics in Swift code as well.

## Proposed solution

The proposed solution is to change the meaning of `public protocol` to disallow conformances outside the declaring module and introduce `open protocol` to allow conformances outside the decalring module (equivalent to the current meaning of `public protocol`).

## Detailed design

The detailed design is relatively straightforward but there are three important wrinkles to consider.

### User refinement of public protocols

Consider the following example:

// Library module:
public protocol P {}
public class C: P {}
 
// User module:
protocol User: P {}
extension C: User {}

The user module is allowed to add a refinement to `P` because this does not have any impact on the impelementation of the library or its possible evolution. It simply allows the user to write code that is generic over a subset of the conforming types provided by the library.

### Public protocols with open conforming classes

Consider the following example:

public protocol P P{}
open class C: P {}

Users of this module will be able to add subclasses of `C` that have a conformance to `P`. This is allowed becuase the client of the module did not need to explicitly declare a conformance and the module has explicitly stated its intent to allow subclasses of `C` with the `open` access modifier.

### Open protocols that refine public protocols

Consider the following example:

// library module:
public protocol P {}
open protocol Q: P {}
open protocol R: P {}
 
// user module:
struct S: P {} // error `P` is not `open`
struct T: Q {} // ok
struct U: R {} // ok

The user module is allowed to introudce a conformance to `P`, but only indirectly by also conforming to `Q`. The meaning we have ascribed to the keywords implies that this should be allowed and it offers libraries a very wide design space from which to choose. The library is able to have types that conform directly to `P`, while placing additional requirements on user types if necessary.

## Source compatibility

This proposal breaks source compatibility, but in a way that allows for a simple mechanical migration. A multi-release stratgegy will be used to roll out this proposal to provide maximum possible source compatibility from one release to the next.

1. In Swift 4, introduce the `open` keyword and the `@nonopen` attribute (which can be applied to `public protocol` to give it the new semantics of `public`).
2. In Swift 4 (or 4.1 if necessary) start warning for `public protocol` with no annotation.
3. In the subsequent release `public protocol` without annotation becomes an error.
4. In the subsequent relase `public protocol` without annotation takes on the new semantics.
5. `@nonopen` becomes a warning, and evenutally an erro as soon as we are comfortable making those changes.

## Effect on ABI stability

I would appreciate it if others can offer input regarding this section. I believe this proposal has ABI consequences, but it's possible that it could be an additivie ABI change where the ABI for conformable protocols remains the same and we add ABI for non-conformable protocols later. If that is possible, the primary impact would be the ABI of any standard library protocols that would prefer to be non-conformable.

## Effect on API resilience

This proposal would may impact one or more protocols in the standard library, such as `MirrorPath`, which would likely choose to remain `public` rather than adopt `open`.

## Alternatives considered

The primary alternatives are to either make no change, or to add something like `closed protocol`. The issues motivating the current proposal as a better alternative than either of these options are covered in the motivation section.

_______________________________________________
swift-evolution mailing list
swift-evolution@swift.org
https://lists.swift.org/mailman/listinfo/swift-evolution

_______________________________________________
swift-evolution mailing list
swift-evolution@swift.org
https://lists.swift.org/mailman/listinfo/swift-evolution

_______________________________________________
swift-evolution mailing list
swift-evolution@swift.org
https://lists.swift.org/mailman/listinfo/swift-evolution

_______________________________________________
swift-evolution mailing list
swift-evolution@swift.org
https://lists.swift.org/mailman/listinfo/swift-evolution

Still not what I was asking about.

Module A contains a single open protocol: open protocol P { func foo() }
Module B contains a single open class that conforms to P:
open class B : P {
    /* what is the default access modifier here? */ func foo()
}

I believe it would be the same with or without the protocol conformance. In any case, this has nothing to do with this proposal. It does not affect open classes or open protocols.

···

Sent from my iPad

On Feb 19, 2017, at 10:39 AM, Adrian Zubarev <adrian.zubarev@devandartist.com> wrote:

--
Adrian Zubarev
Sent with Airmail

Am 19. Februar 2017 um 17:35:04, Matthew Johnson (matthew@anandabits.com) schrieb:

Sent from my iPhone

On Feb 19, 2017, at 10:28 AM, Adrian Zubarev <adrian.zubarev@devandartist.com> wrote:

I really feel I’m blind, I cannot find it. Is the access modifier of open protocol *members* on open/public classes public by default, or open?

If open, can we downgrade it to public in an open class?

I didn't specifically address members of open classes but did address open classes. This proposal does not have any impact of the visibility of members of open classes that conform to a public (nonopen) protocol, including the default.

--
Adrian Zubarev
Sent with Airmail

Am 19. Februar 2017 um 17:16:59, Matthew Johnson (matthew@anandabits.com) schrieb:

Sent from my iPhone

On Feb 19, 2017, at 10:11 AM, Adrian Zubarev <adrian.zubarev@devandartist.com> wrote:

@Matthew: Have you considered what happens with the access modifier of an open protocol when an open/public class conforms to it?

Yes I covered this in the detailed design section of the proposal.

// Module A
open protocol A {
    func foo()
}

// Module B
open class B : A {
    (open or public) func foo() {}
    // If `open`, can we downgrade to `public`?
    // The other way around seems straightforward
}

Because someInstance["key", .string("key1"), .integer(1),
.string(stringKeyInstance), .integer(intIndexInstance),
.integer(intIndexInstance), …] is simply ugly and should be hidden. Such
API looks horrible.

I agree. This cries out for improvements to enums. Indeed, I have run into
the same issue with this and have a proposal idea saved up regarding
anonymous enum cases and subtyping relationships. It would not have been
in-scope for phase 1, so I did not write to the list about it. I'm short on
time these days, but eventually I'll propose it unless someone else gets to
it first. However, this problem does not justify `open` vs. `public`.

Is this discussion really going to end with every statement being
questioned with “why”?

Why not?

Why is 42 the number that rules the universe?

Surely, it is for the same reason that May 25 is Towel Day.

···

On Sun, Feb 19, 2017 at 5:10 PM, Adrian Zubarev < adrian.zubarev@devandartist.com> wrote:

--
Adrian Zubarev
Sent with Airmail

Am 20. Februar 2017 um 00:03:44, Xiaodi Wu (xiaodi.wu@gmail.com) schrieb:

On Sun, Feb 19, 2017 at 4:51 PM, Adrian Zubarev < > adrian.zubarev@devandartist.com> wrote:

Matthew has pretty much summed up everything with a single question in
his last reply. It makes me tired of repeating myself over and over again.

Here’s the challenge for you:

Implement a subscript where the first parameter is a String (trivial),
but the second to n are String’s and/or Int’s. There is no restriction of
order for the Int’s and String’s and there could be as many as you’d like,
so no overloads are allowed (a hint: variadics). You should be able to use
variables in that subscript and literals. You’re not allowed to use enum
constructors

Why not? You want a parameter that takes either String or Int. In another
language, you might express this as `String | Int`, but Chris Lattner and
others have said on this list that enums are the intended way of expressing
this in Swift.

and the client should not be able to extend the set of types you can pass
to that subscript. That said it can look like this: someInstance["key",
"key1", 1, stringKeyInstance, intIndexInstance, intIndexInstance, …]

Creating hacks like unreachable types with hidden inits is prohibited.

Have fun!

--
Adrian Zubarev
Sent with Airmail

Am 19. Februar 2017 um 23:25:11, Xiaodi Wu (xiaodi.wu@gmail.com) schrieb:

Sorry, I have read through this thread twice and do not understand the
point you are making. Can you explain your example once more?

Specifically, I do not understand why it is that your code should have
problems with third-party types that conform to your protocol. If your
protocol has requirements that third-party types cannot fulfill, then
naturally those requirements will prevent a third-party from conforming new
types to your protocol. OTOH, if your protocol does not have any
requirements that third-party types cannot fulfill, then your code that
accepts anything that conforms to your protocol should be indifferent to
whether the conforming type is defined by you or someone else. After all, a
conforming type would fulfill all the semantic and syntactic requirements
of the protocol! If your protocol has requirements that you are unable to
state in code, causing third-party types to conform that really shouldn't,
then that is a case for additional features that allow you to express those
requirements more accurately, not an argument for having protocols that
can't be conformed to by a third-party. What am I missing?

On Sun, Feb 19, 2017 at 11:53 AM, Adrian Zubarev via swift-evolution < >> swift-evolution@swift.org> wrote:

That’s the whole point I was making. :) Thank you Matthew. That makes my
example a real world example and not just some bike shedding.

--
Adrian Zubarev
Sent with Airmail

Am 19. Februar 2017 um 18:50:31, Matthew Johnson (matthew@anandabits.com)
schrieb:

Sent from my iPad

On Feb 19, 2017, at 11:29 AM, David Waite via swift-evolution < >>> swift-evolution@swift.org> wrote:

Just FYI, I solved this issue in my own library (which included a json
jpointer implementation) via:

public enum SubscriptParameter {
  case string(String)
  case int(Int)
}

extension SubscriptParameter : ExpressibleByIntegerLiteral {
  public init(integerLiteral value: Int) {
    self = .int(value)
  }
}

extension SubscriptParameter : ExpressibleByStringLiteral {
  public init(stringLiteral value: String) {
    self = .string(value)
  }
  public init(extendedGraphemeClusterLiteral value: String) {
    self.init(stringLiteral: value)
  }

  public init(unicodeScalarLiteral value: String) {
    self.init(stringLiteral: value)
  }
}

extension SubscriptParameter : CustomStringConvertible {
  public var description: String {
    switch self {
    case .string(let str):
      return "\"\(str)\""
    case .int(let i):
      return String(i)
    }
  }
}

func debug(_ path:SubscriptParameter...) {
  print("path is \(path)")
}

debug(1, "foo", 2, "bar”) // path is [1, “foo”, 2, “bar”]

Can you make this work with variables - not just literals - and still
prevent users from extending the set of types and without requiring an enum
case constructor to be used by clients?

On Feb 19, 2017, at 1:14 AM, Adrian Zubarev < >>> adrian.zubarev@devandartist.com> wrote:

If you haven’t followed the other thread Matthew previously opened than
you have missed the example I showed there.

Here it is again:

public protocol SubscriptParameterType {

    // This property was needed to prevent the client from breaking
    // the library by conforming to the protocol, but I'd like to
    // keep it invisible for the client, or even better prevent the
    // client from conforming to the protocol.
    var parameter: Document.SubscriptParameter { get }
}

extension Document {

    public enum SubscriptParameter {

        case string(String)
        case integer(Int)
    }
}

extension String : SubscriptParameterType {

    public var parameter: Document.SubscriptParameter {

        return .string(self)
    }
}

extension Int : SubscriptParameterType {

    public var parameter: Document.SubscriptParameter {

        return .integer(self)
    }
}

// Somewhere inside the `Document` type
public subscript(firstKey: String, parameters: SubscriptParameterType...) -> Value? { … }

The absence of closed protocols forced me to create a special
requirement on that protocol to prevent the client from conforming to that
protocol and passing instances of other types my API wouldn’t want to deal
with. That creates unnecessary copies and I need to unpack the enum payload
to find out which type the user passed. Instead I could simply close the
protocol, wouldn’t need the requirement to exist and I could simply cast
the type to String or Int when needed.

That implementation enables more safe queries of my Document type like

document["key1", intIndexInstance, stringKeyInstance, 10, "key"]

rather than

document["key1/\(intIndexInstance)/\(stringKeyInstance)/10/key"].
------------------------------

Here is a list of hidden and semi-hidden protocols from the standard
library that could be closed. Formatted version: https://gist.github.c
om/DevAndArtist/168c800d784829be536c407311953ab7
Path Protocol
/swift/stdlib/public/core/AnyHashable.swift:16
_HasCustomAnyHashableRepresentation
/swift/stdlib/public/core/BidirectionalCollection.swift:21
_BidirectionalIndexable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/BridgeObjectiveC.swift:19
_ObjectiveCBridgeable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Collection.swift:20 _IndexableBase
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Collection.swift:176 _Indexable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:193
_ExpressibleByBuiltinIntegerLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:240
_ExpressibleByBuiltinFloatLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:283
_ExpressibleByBuiltinBooleanLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:316
_ExpressibleByBuiltinUnicodeScalarLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:350
_ExpressibleByBuiltinExtendedGraphemeClusterLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:398
_ExpressibleByBuiltinStringLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:407
_ExpressibleByBuiltinUTF16StringLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:670
_ExpressibleByStringInterpolation
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:709
_ExpressibleByColorLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:720
_ExpressibleByImageLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:730
_ExpressibleByFileReferenceLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:750
_DestructorSafeContainer
/swift/stdlib/public/core/FixedPoint.swift.gyb:53 _Integer
/swift/stdlib/public/core/FixedPoint.swift.gyb:70 _SignedInteger
/swift/stdlib/public/core/FixedPoint.swift.gyb:108
_DisallowMixedSignArithmetic
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Hashable.swift:16 _Hashable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Index.swift:16 _Incrementable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/IntegerArithmetic.swift.gyb:33
_IntegerArithmetic
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Mirror.swift:721
_DefaultCustomPlaygroundQuickLookable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/MutableCollection.swift:20 _MutableIndexable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/NewtypeWrapper.swift.gyb:16
_SwiftNewtypeWrapper
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Pointer.swift:16 _Pointer
/swift/stdlib/public/core/RandomAccessCollection.swift:20
_RandomAccessIndexable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/RangeReplaceableCollection.swift.gyb:27
_RangeReplaceableIndexable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ReflectionLegacy.swift:41 _Mirror
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:27 _ShadowProtocol
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:31 _NSFastEnumeration
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:41 _NSEnumerator
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:51 _NSCopying
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:61 _NSArrayCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:83 _NSDictionaryCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:125 _NSDictionary
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:137 _NSSetCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:171 _NSSet
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:177 _NSNumber
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:187 _NSArrayCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:188 _NSDictionaryCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:189 _NSSetCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/StringBridge.swift:194 _NSStringCore
/swift/stdlib/public/SDK/Foundation/NSError.swift:353
_ObjectiveCBridgeableError
/swift/stdlib/public/SDK/Foundation/NSError.swift:379 __BridgedNSError
/swift/stdlib/public/SDK/Foundation/NSError.swift:446 _BridgedNSError
/swift/stdlib/public/SDK/Foundation/NSError.swift:456
_BridgedStoredNSError
/swift/stdlib/public/SDK/Foundation/NSError.swift:564 _ErrorCodeProtocol

--
Adrian Zubarev
Sent with Airmail

Am 19. Februar 2017 um 07:59:45, David Waite via swift-evolution (
swift-evolution@swift.org) schrieb:

I am unsure if this feature is a good idea. Does someone have a
real-world use for this which isn’t just hiding strong implementation
coupling behind a protocol?

When I consume a protocol, it is under the assumption that the protocol
is documented such that I would be able to work against *any*
implementation of the protocol. With a closed protocol, I would have to
assume that there are significant side effects, either undocumented or
difficult for a third party to duplicate. To my experience, that sounds
brittle.

Assuming you aren’t switching on the implementing type of a protocol
(which itself can be a sign that your design isn’t properly using
polymorphism), one could get this design by creating a struct with the
interface desired, and passing invocations through to an internal protocol
reference.

-DW

> On Feb 18, 2017, at 1:41 PM, Matthew Johnson via swift-evolution < >>> swift-evolution@swift.org> wrote:
>
> Now that we’re in phase 2 I’d like to officially propose we introduce
`open` protocols and require conformances to `public` protocols be inside
the declaring module. Let’s use this thread for feedback on the official
proposal. After a healthy round of discussion I’ll open a PR to submit it
for review.
>
>
> # Feature name
>
> * Proposal: [SE-NNNN](NNNN-open-public-protocols.md)
> * Authors: [Matthew Johnson](https://github.com/anandabits\)
> * Review Manager: TBD
> * Status: **Awaiting review**
>
> ## Introduction
>
> This proposal introduces `open protocol` and changes the meaning of
`public protocol` to match the meaning of `public class` (in this case,
conformances are only allowed inside the declaring module).
>
> The pitch thread leading up to this proposal was: [consistent public
access modifiers](The swift-evolution Archives
/Week-of-Mon-20170206/031653.html)
>
> ## Motivation
>
> A general principle the Swift community has adopted for access control
is that defaults should reserve maximum flexibility for a library. The
ensures that any capabilities beyond mere visibility are not available
unless the author of the library has explicitly declared their intent that
the capabilities be made available. Finally, when it is possible to switch
from one semantic to another without breaking clients (but not vice-versa)
we should prefer the more forgiving (i.e. fixable) semantic as the (soft)
default.
>
> `public` is considered a "soft default" in the sense that it is the
first access modifier a user will reach for when exposing a declaration
outside of the module. In the case of protocols the current meaning of
`public` does not meet the principle of preserving maximum flexibility for
the author of the library. It allows users of the library to conform to the
protocol.
>
> There are good reasons a library may not wish to allow users to add
conformances to a protocol. For example, it may not wish to expose the
conforming concrete types. While similar behavior could be accomplished
with an enum if cases could be private, that requires an implementation to
use switch statements rather than polymorphism.
>
> Even if all the conforming types are also public there are cases where
polymorphism is the preferred implementation. For example, if the set of
conforming types is not expected to be fixed (despite all being inside the
library) the authors may not want to have to maintain switch statements
every time they need to add or remove a confroming type which would be
necessary if an enum were used instead. Polymorphism allows us to avoid
this, giving us the ability to add and remove conforming types within the
implementation of the library without the burden of maintaining switch
statements.
>
> Aligning the access modifiers for protocols and classes allows us to
specify both conformable and non-conformable protocols, provides a soft
default that is consistent with the principle of (soft) defaults reserving
maximum flexibility for the library, and increases the overall consistency
of the language by aligning the semantics of access control for protocols
and classes.
>
> The standard library currently has at least one protocol
(`MirrorPath`) that is documented as disallowing client conformances. If
this proposal is adopted it is likely that `MirrorPath` would be declared
`public protocol` and not `open protocol`.
>
> Jordan Rose has indicated that the Apple frameworks also include a
number of protocols documented with the intent that users do not add
conformances. Perhaps an importer annotation would allow the compiler to
enforce these semantics in Swift code as well.
>
> ## Proposed solution
>
> The proposed solution is to change the meaning of `public protocol` to
disallow conformances outside the declaring module and introduce `open
protocol` to allow conformances outside the decalring module (equivalent to
the current meaning of `public protocol`).
>
> ## Detailed design
>
> The detailed design is relatively straightforward but there are three
important wrinkles to consider.
>
> ### User refinement of public protocols
>
> Consider the following example:
>
> ```swift
> // Library module:
> public protocol P {}
> public class C: P {}
>
> // User module:
> protocol User: P {}
> extension C: User {}
> ```
>
> The user module is allowed to add a refinement to `P` because this
does not have any impact on the impelementation of the library or its
possible evolution. It simply allows the user to write code that is generic
over a subset of the conforming types provided by the library.
>
> ### Public protocols with open conforming classes
>
> Consider the following example:
>
> ```swift
> public protocol P P{}
> open class C: P {}
> ```
>
> Users of this module will be able to add subclasses of `C` that have a
conformance to `P`. This is allowed becuase the client of the module did
not need to explicitly declare a conformance and the module has explicitly
stated its intent to allow subclasses of `C` with the `open` access
modifier.
>
> ### Open protocols that refine public protocols
>
> Consider the following example:
>
> ```swift
> // library module:
> public protocol P {}
> open protocol Q: P {}
> open protocol R: P {}
>
> // user module:
> struct S: P {} // error `P` is not `open`
> struct T: Q {} // ok
> struct U: R {} // ok
> ```
>
> The user module is allowed to introudce a conformance to `P`, but only
indirectly by also conforming to `Q`. The meaning we have ascribed to the
keywords implies that this should be allowed and it offers libraries a very
wide design space from which to choose. The library is able to have types
that conform directly to `P`, while placing additional requirements on user
types if necessary.
>
> ## Source compatibility
>
> This proposal breaks source compatibility, but in a way that allows
for a simple mechanical migration. A multi-release stratgegy will be used
to roll out this proposal to provide maximum possible source compatibility
from one release to the next.
>
> 1. In Swift 4, introduce the `open` keyword and the `@nonopen`
attribute (which can be applied to `public protocol` to give it the new
semantics of `public`).
> 2. In Swift 4 (or 4.1 if necessary) start warning for `public
protocol` with no annotation.
> 3. In the subsequent release `public protocol` without annotation
becomes an error.
> 4. In the subsequent relase `public protocol` without annotation takes
on the new semantics.
> 5. `@nonopen` becomes a warning, and evenutally an erro as soon as we
are comfortable making those changes.
>
> ## Effect on ABI stability
>
> I would appreciate it if others can offer input regarding this
section. I believe this proposal has ABI consequences, but it's possible
that it could be an additivie ABI change where the ABI for conformable
protocols remains the same and we add ABI for non-conformable protocols
later. If that is possible, the primary impact would be the ABI of any
standard library protocols that would prefer to be non-conformable.
>
> ## Effect on API resilience
>
> This proposal would may impact one or more protocols in the standard
library, such as `MirrorPath`, which would likely choose to remain `public`
rather than adopt `open`.
>
> ## Alternatives considered
>
> The primary alternatives are to either make no change, or to add
something like `closed protocol`. The issues motivating the current
proposal as a better alternative than either of these options are covered
in the motivation section.
>
> _______________________________________________
> swift-evolution mailing list
> swift-evolution@swift.org
> https://lists.swift.org/mailman/listinfo/swift-evolution

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The are no reasons to allow that to the client. A key is a String and an index is an Int. I don’t see any point why the client would need its own model of generating a String or an Int. The usage of that protocol is a limitation of the language because we don’t support Either types, so I fall back to existentials.

···

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Am 19. Februar 2017 um 17:40:01, David Hart (david@hartbit.com) schrieb:

On 19 Feb 2017, at 17:00, Adrian Zubarev <adrian.zubarev@devandartist.com> wrote:

In my case we don’t have an Either type, nor do we allow implicit type conversions. Remove the property from my protocol and forget about the enum that I used there. Conform to the protocol in your app a type different from String or Int and call the subscript. This will result in a runtime crash, because the API won’t know what do to with your type. Sure it could return nil, but then I can only say “happy debugging to find your wrong type”.

But isn't the either type the right solution to make sure you always get the output type you expect while allowing clients to provide custom type that conform to the protocol and generate your expected types (string and ont) in interesting ways?

The usage of the protocol is simply an implementation artifact, because there is no other way (except crazy long overloads) of creating such a subscript that accepts a String or an Int from the second parameter. The protocol was never meant to be conformable to outside the API itself.

The requirement that the protocol has in my example was the workaround to prevent the crash and iff you device to conform to that protocol, which, as I already mentioned, is not intended at all.

I can only repeat myself: if you haven’t bumped into such an issue, than call yourself lucky.

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Am 19. Februar 2017 um 16:05:28, David Hart (david@hartbit.com) schrieb:

I'm sorry but I'm really lost: in your example, how could the client break the library by providing a custom type that conforms to the protocol? Why do you say that something like KeyConvertible shouldn't even exist? They exist so clients can extend libraires and make them even more useful. I still haven't seen a case where it's necessary to avoid clients to conform to a protocol.

On 19 Feb 2017, at 14:02, Adrian Zubarev <adrian.zubarev@devandartist.com> wrote:

That won’t work, plus the suggested solution makes life even more complicated. I need to be able to index an array, so I’m not willing to simply give up integers and do some extra work behind the scenes and convert a String to an Int. Furthermore there is no need something like KeyConvertible to even exist.

--
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Am 19. Februar 2017 um 13:58:35, David Hart (david@hartbit.com) schrieb:

I honestly don't see the use case. The example you showed is an example of how your circumvented the lack of "closed" protocols in Swift. But I'd really like to see an example of the necessity for closed protocols in the first place:

In your case, I would simply defined the API as:

protocol KeyConvertible {
var key: String { get }
}

public subscript(firstKey: String, parameters: KeyConvertible...) {}

Which would allow clients to implement their own KeyConvertible conforming types which convert into key paths.

On 19 Feb 2017, at 09:14, Adrian Zubarev via swift-evolution <swift-evolution@swift.org> wrote:

If you haven’t followed the other thread Matthew previously opened than you have missed the example I showed there.

Here it is again:

public protocol SubscriptParameterType {
         
    // This property was needed to prevent the client from breaking
    // the library by conforming to the protocol, but I'd like to
    // keep it invisible for the client, or even better prevent the
    // client from conforming to the protocol.
    var parameter: Document.SubscriptParameter { get }
}

extension Document {
         
    public enum SubscriptParameter {
                 
        case string(String)
        case integer(Int)
    }
}

extension String : SubscriptParameterType {
         
    public var parameter: Document.SubscriptParameter {
             
        return .string(self)
    }
}

extension Int : SubscriptParameterType {
         
    public var parameter: Document.SubscriptParameter {
             
        return .integer(self)
    }
}

// Somewhere inside the `Document` type
public subscript(firstKey: String, parameters: SubscriptParameterType...) -> Value? { … }
The absence of closed protocols forced me to create a special requirement on that protocol to prevent the client from conforming to that protocol and passing instances of other types my API wouldn’t want to deal with. That creates unnecessary copies and I need to unpack the enum payload to find out which type the user passed. Instead I could simply close the protocol, wouldn’t need the requirement to exist and I could simply cast the type to String or Int when needed.

That implementation enables more safe queries of my Document type like

document["key1", intIndexInstance, stringKeyInstance, 10, "key"]

rather than

document["key1/\(intIndexInstance)/\(stringKeyInstance)/10/key"].

Here is a list of hidden and semi-hidden protocols from the standard library that could be closed. Formatted version: swift-closed-protocols.md · GitHub

Path Protocol
/swift/stdlib/public/core/AnyHashable.swift:16 _HasCustomAnyHashableRepresentation
/swift/stdlib/public/core/BidirectionalCollection.swift:21 _BidirectionalIndexable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/BridgeObjectiveC.swift:19 _ObjectiveCBridgeable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Collection.swift:20 _IndexableBase
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Collection.swift:176 _Indexable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:193 _ExpressibleByBuiltinIntegerLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:240 _ExpressibleByBuiltinFloatLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:283 _ExpressibleByBuiltinBooleanLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:316 _ExpressibleByBuiltinUnicodeScalarLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:350 _ExpressibleByBuiltinExtendedGraphemeClusterLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:398 _ExpressibleByBuiltinStringLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:407 _ExpressibleByBuiltinUTF16StringLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:670 _ExpressibleByStringInterpolation
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:709 _ExpressibleByColorLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:720 _ExpressibleByImageLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:730 _ExpressibleByFileReferenceLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:750 _DestructorSafeContainer
/swift/stdlib/public/core/FixedPoint.swift.gyb:53 _Integer
/swift/stdlib/public/core/FixedPoint.swift.gyb:70 _SignedInteger
/swift/stdlib/public/core/FixedPoint.swift.gyb:108 _DisallowMixedSignArithmetic
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Hashable.swift:16 _Hashable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Index.swift:16 _Incrementable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/IntegerArithmetic.swift.gyb:33 _IntegerArithmetic
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Mirror.swift:721 _DefaultCustomPlaygroundQuickLookable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/MutableCollection.swift:20 _MutableIndexable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/NewtypeWrapper.swift.gyb:16 _SwiftNewtypeWrapper
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Pointer.swift:16 _Pointer
/swift/stdlib/public/core/RandomAccessCollection.swift:20 _RandomAccessIndexable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/RangeReplaceableCollection.swift.gyb:27 _RangeReplaceableIndexable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ReflectionLegacy.swift:41 _Mirror
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:27 _ShadowProtocol
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:31 _NSFastEnumeration
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:41 _NSEnumerator
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:51 _NSCopying
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:61 _NSArrayCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:83 _NSDictionaryCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:125 _NSDictionary
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:137 _NSSetCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:171 _NSSet
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:177 _NSNumber
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:187 _NSArrayCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:188 _NSDictionaryCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:189 _NSSetCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/StringBridge.swift:194 _NSStringCore
/swift/stdlib/public/SDK/Foundation/NSError.swift:353 _ObjectiveCBridgeableError
/swift/stdlib/public/SDK/Foundation/NSError.swift:379 __BridgedNSError
/swift/stdlib/public/SDK/Foundation/NSError.swift:446 _BridgedNSError
/swift/stdlib/public/SDK/Foundation/NSError.swift:456 _BridgedStoredNSError
/swift/stdlib/public/SDK/Foundation/NSError.swift:564 _ErrorCodeProtocol

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Am 19. Februar 2017 um 07:59:45, David Waite via swift-evolution (swift-evolution@swift.org) schrieb:

I am unsure if this feature is a good idea. Does someone have a real-world use for this which isn’t just hiding strong implementation coupling behind a protocol?

When I consume a protocol, it is under the assumption that the protocol is documented such that I would be able to work against *any* implementation of the protocol. With a closed protocol, I would have to assume that there are significant side effects, either undocumented or difficult for a third party to duplicate. To my experience, that sounds brittle.

Assuming you aren’t switching on the implementing type of a protocol (which itself can be a sign that your design isn’t properly using polymorphism), one could get this design by creating a struct with the interface desired, and passing invocations through to an internal protocol reference.

-DW

On Feb 18, 2017, at 1:41 PM, Matthew Johnson via swift-evolution <swift-evolution@swift.org> wrote:

Now that we’re in phase 2 I’d like to officially propose we introduce `open` protocols and require conformances to `public` protocols be inside the declaring module. Let’s use this thread for feedback on the official proposal. After a healthy round of discussion I’ll open a PR to submit it for review.

# Feature name

* Proposal: [SE-NNNN](NNNN-open-public-protocols.md)
* Authors: [Matthew Johnson](https://github.com/anandabits\)
* Review Manager: TBD
* Status: **Awaiting review**

## Introduction

This proposal introduces `open protocol` and changes the meaning of `public protocol` to match the meaning of `public class` (in this case, conformances are only allowed inside the declaring module).

The pitch thread leading up to this proposal was: [consistent public access modifiers](https://lists.swift.org/pipermail/swift-evolution/Week-of-Mon-20170206/031653.html\)

## Motivation

A general principle the Swift community has adopted for access control is that defaults should reserve maximum flexibility for a library. The ensures that any capabilities beyond mere visibility are not available unless the author of the library has explicitly declared their intent that the capabilities be made available. Finally, when it is possible to switch from one semantic to another without breaking clients (but not vice-versa) we should prefer the more forgiving (i.e. fixable) semantic as the (soft) default.

`public` is considered a "soft default" in the sense that it is the first access modifier a user will reach for when exposing a declaration outside of the module. In the case of protocols the current meaning of `public` does not meet the principle of preserving maximum flexibility for the author of the library. It allows users of the library to conform to the protocol.

There are good reasons a library may not wish to allow users to add conformances to a protocol. For example, it may not wish to expose the conforming concrete types. While similar behavior could be accomplished with an enum if cases could be private, that requires an implementation to use switch statements rather than polymorphism.

Even if all the conforming types are also public there are cases where polymorphism is the preferred implementation. For example, if the set of conforming types is not expected to be fixed (despite all being inside the library) the authors may not want to have to maintain switch statements every time they need to add or remove a confroming type which would be necessary if an enum were used instead. Polymorphism allows us to avoid this, giving us the ability to add and remove conforming types within the implementation of the library without the burden of maintaining switch statements.

Aligning the access modifiers for protocols and classes allows us to specify both conformable and non-conformable protocols, provides a soft default that is consistent with the principle of (soft) defaults reserving maximum flexibility for the library, and increases the overall consistency of the language by aligning the semantics of access control for protocols and classes.

The standard library currently has at least one protocol (`MirrorPath`) that is documented as disallowing client conformances. If this proposal is adopted it is likely that `MirrorPath` would be declared `public protocol` and not `open protocol`.

Jordan Rose has indicated that the Apple frameworks also include a number of protocols documented with the intent that users do not add conformances. Perhaps an importer annotation would allow the compiler to enforce these semantics in Swift code as well.

## Proposed solution

The proposed solution is to change the meaning of `public protocol` to disallow conformances outside the declaring module and introduce `open protocol` to allow conformances outside the decalring module (equivalent to the current meaning of `public protocol`).

## Detailed design

The detailed design is relatively straightforward but there are three important wrinkles to consider.

### User refinement of public protocols

Consider the following example:

// Library module:
public protocol P {}
public class C: P {}

// User module:
protocol User: P {}
extension C: User {}

The user module is allowed to add a refinement to `P` because this does not have any impact on the impelementation of the library or its possible evolution. It simply allows the user to write code that is generic over a subset of the conforming types provided by the library.

### Public protocols with open conforming classes

Consider the following example:

public protocol P P{}
open class C: P {}

Users of this module will be able to add subclasses of `C` that have a conformance to `P`. This is allowed becuase the client of the module did not need to explicitly declare a conformance and the module has explicitly stated its intent to allow subclasses of `C` with the `open` access modifier.

### Open protocols that refine public protocols

Consider the following example:

// library module:
public protocol P {}
open protocol Q: P {}
open protocol R: P {}

// user module:
struct S: P {} // error `P` is not `open`
struct T: Q {} // ok
struct U: R {} // ok

The user module is allowed to introudce a conformance to `P`, but only indirectly by also conforming to `Q`. The meaning we have ascribed to the keywords implies that this should be allowed and it offers libraries a very wide design space from which to choose. The library is able to have types that conform directly to `P`, while placing additional requirements on user types if necessary.

## Source compatibility

This proposal breaks source compatibility, but in a way that allows for a simple mechanical migration. A multi-release stratgegy will be used to roll out this proposal to provide maximum possible source compatibility from one release to the next.

1. In Swift 4, introduce the `open` keyword and the `@nonopen` attribute (which can be applied to `public protocol` to give it the new semantics of `public`).
2. In Swift 4 (or 4.1 if necessary) start warning for `public protocol` with no annotation.
3. In the subsequent release `public protocol` without annotation becomes an error.
4. In the subsequent relase `public protocol` without annotation takes on the new semantics.
5. `@nonopen` becomes a warning, and evenutally an erro as soon as we are comfortable making those changes.

## Effect on ABI stability

I would appreciate it if others can offer input regarding this section. I believe this proposal has ABI consequences, but it's possible that it could be an additivie ABI change where the ABI for conformable protocols remains the same and we add ABI for non-conformable protocols later. If that is possible, the primary impact would be the ABI of any standard library protocols that would prefer to be non-conformable.

## Effect on API resilience

This proposal would may impact one or more protocols in the standard library, such as `MirrorPath`, which would likely choose to remain `public` rather than adopt `open`.

## Alternatives considered

The primary alternatives are to either make no change, or to add something like `closed protocol`. The issues motivating the current proposal as a better alternative than either of these options are covered in the motivation section.

_______________________________________________
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swift-evolution@swift.org
https://lists.swift.org/mailman/listinfo/swift-evolution

_______________________________________________
swift-evolution mailing list
swift-evolution@swift.org
https://lists.swift.org/mailman/listinfo/swift-evolution
_______________________________________________
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swift-evolution@swift.org
https://lists.swift.org/mailman/listinfo/swift-evolution

Agreed, if the use case is meant for working around the lack of union types, we should be very careful in deciding whether the fix should be:
1. Making enums syntactically better for representing union types
2. Adding union types to the language proper, distinct from enums
3. Using a type (such as a closed protocol) to ‘tag’ members of a union type
4. Propose the SubscriptParameter pattern given before as ‘the’ way to solve this problem.

Are closed protocols a quick fix or the pattern going forward?

-DW

···

On Feb 19, 2017, at 4:18 PM, Xiaodi Wu via swift-evolution <swift-evolution@swift.org> wrote:

On Sun, Feb 19, 2017 at 5:10 PM, Adrian Zubarev <adrian.zubarev@devandartist.com <mailto:adrian.zubarev@devandartist.com>> wrote:
Because someInstance["key", .string("key1"), .integer(1), .string(stringKeyInstance), .integer(intIndexInstance), .integer(intIndexInstance), …] is simply ugly and should be hidden. Such API looks horrible.

I agree. This cries out for improvements to enums. Indeed, I have run into the same issue with this and have a proposal idea saved up regarding anonymous enum cases and subtyping relationships. It would not have been in-scope for phase 1, so I did not write to the list about it. I'm short on time these days, but eventually I'll propose it unless someone else gets to it first. However, this problem does not justify `open` vs. `public`.

Because someInstance["key", .string("key1"), .integer(1), .string(stringKeyInstance), .integer(intIndexInstance), .integer(intIndexInstance), …] is simply ugly and should be hidden. Such API looks horrible.

Is this discussion really going to end with every statement being questioned with “why”? Why is 42 the number that rules the universe?

Lets stay polite and keep things civil.

The "the client should not be able to extend the set of types you can pass to that subscript.” requirement seems totally arbitrary and an anti-pattern. I’m perfectly happy with:

enum Key {
    case string(String)
    case int(Int)
}

protocol KeyConvertible {
    var key: Key { get }
}

subscript(initial: String, others: KeyConvertible...) -> Foo

···

On 20 Feb 2017, at 00:10, Adrian Zubarev via swift-evolution <swift-evolution@swift.org> wrote:

--
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Am 20. Februar 2017 um 00:03:44, Xiaodi Wu (xiaodi.wu@gmail.com <mailto:xiaodi.wu@gmail.com>) schrieb:

On Sun, Feb 19, 2017 at 4:51 PM, Adrian Zubarev <adrian.zubarev@devandartist.com <mailto:adrian.zubarev@devandartist.com>> wrote:
Matthew has pretty much summed up everything with a single question in his last reply. It makes me tired of repeating myself over and over again.

Here’s the challenge for you:

Implement a subscript where the first parameter is a String (trivial), but the second to n are String’s and/or Int’s. There is no restriction of order for the Int’s and String’s and there could be as many as you’d like, so no overloads are allowed (a hint: variadics). You should be able to use variables in that subscript and literals. You’re not allowed to use enum constructors

Why not? You want a parameter that takes either String or Int. In another language, you might express this as `String | Int`, but Chris Lattner and others have said on this list that enums are the intended way of expressing this in Swift.
and the client should not be able to extend the set of types you can pass to that subscript. That said it can look like this: someInstance["key", "key1", 1, stringKeyInstance, intIndexInstance, intIndexInstance, …]

Creating hacks like unreachable types with hidden inits is prohibited.

Have fun!

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Am 19. Februar 2017 um 23:25:11, Xiaodi Wu (xiaodi.wu@gmail.com <mailto:xiaodi.wu@gmail.com>) schrieb:

Sorry, I have read through this thread twice and do not understand the point you are making. Can you explain your example once more?

Specifically, I do not understand why it is that your code should have problems with third-party types that conform to your protocol. If your protocol has requirements that third-party types cannot fulfill, then naturally those requirements will prevent a third-party from conforming new types to your protocol. OTOH, if your protocol does not have any requirements that third-party types cannot fulfill, then your code that accepts anything that conforms to your protocol should be indifferent to whether the conforming type is defined by you or someone else. After all, a conforming type would fulfill all the semantic and syntactic requirements of the protocol! If your protocol has requirements that you are unable to state in code, causing third-party types to conform that really shouldn't, then that is a case for additional features that allow you to express those requirements more accurately, not an argument for having protocols that can't be conformed to by a third-party. What am I missing?

On Sun, Feb 19, 2017 at 11:53 AM, Adrian Zubarev via swift-evolution <swift-evolution@swift.org <mailto:swift-evolution@swift.org>> wrote:
That’s the whole point I was making. :) Thank you Matthew. That makes my example a real world example and not just some bike shedding.

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Am 19. Februar 2017 um 18:50:31, Matthew Johnson (matthew@anandabits.com <mailto:matthew@anandabits.com>) schrieb:

Sent from my iPad

On Feb 19, 2017, at 11:29 AM, David Waite via swift-evolution <swift-evolution@swift.org <mailto:swift-evolution@swift.org>> wrote:

Just FYI, I solved this issue in my own library (which included a json jpointer implementation) via:

public enum SubscriptParameter {
  case string(String)
  case int(Int)
}

extension SubscriptParameter : ExpressibleByIntegerLiteral {
  public init(integerLiteral value: Int) {
    self = .int(value)
  }
}

extension SubscriptParameter : ExpressibleByStringLiteral {
  public init(stringLiteral value: String) {
    self = .string(value)
  }
  public init(extendedGraphemeClusterLiteral value: String) {
    self.init(stringLiteral: value)
  }
  public init(unicodeScalarLiteral value: String) {
    self.init(stringLiteral: value)
  }
}

extension SubscriptParameter : CustomStringConvertible {
  public var description: String {
    switch self {
    case .string(let str):
      return "\"\(str)\""
    case .int(let i):
      return String(i)
    }
  }
}

func debug(_ path:SubscriptParameter...) {
  print("path is \(path)")
}

debug(1, "foo", 2, "bar”) // path is [1, “foo”, 2, “bar”]

Can you make this work with variables - not just literals - and still prevent users from extending the set of types and without requiring an enum case constructor to be used by clients?

On Feb 19, 2017, at 1:14 AM, Adrian Zubarev <adrian.zubarev@devandartist.com <mailto:adrian.zubarev@devandartist.com>> wrote:

If you haven’t followed the other thread Matthew previously opened than you have missed the example I showed there.

Here it is again:

public protocol SubscriptParameterType {
         
    // This property was needed to prevent the client from breaking
    // the library by conforming to the protocol, but I'd like to
    // keep it invisible for the client, or even better prevent the
    // client from conforming to the protocol.
    var parameter: Document.SubscriptParameter { get }
}

extension Document {
         
    public enum SubscriptParameter {
                 
        case string(String)
        case integer(Int)
    }
}

extension String : SubscriptParameterType {
         
    public var parameter: Document.SubscriptParameter {
             
        return .string(self)
    }
}

extension Int : SubscriptParameterType {
         
    public var parameter: Document.SubscriptParameter {
             
        return .integer(self)
    }
}

// Somewhere inside the `Document` type
public subscript(firstKey: String, parameters: SubscriptParameterType...) -> Value? { … }
The absence of closed protocols forced me to create a special requirement on that protocol to prevent the client from conforming to that protocol and passing instances of other types my API wouldn’t want to deal with. That creates unnecessary copies and I need to unpack the enum payload to find out which type the user passed. Instead I could simply close the protocol, wouldn’t need the requirement to exist and I could simply cast the type to String or Int when needed.

That implementation enables more safe queries of my Document type like

document["key1", intIndexInstance, stringKeyInstance, 10, "key"]

rather than

document["key1/\(intIndexInstance)/\(stringKeyInstance)/10/key"].

Here is a list of hidden and semi-hidden protocols from the standard library that could be closed. Formatted version: swift-closed-protocols.md · GitHub
Path Protocol
/swift/stdlib/public/core/AnyHashable.swift:16 _HasCustomAnyHashableRepresentation
/swift/stdlib/public/core/BidirectionalCollection.swift:21 _BidirectionalIndexable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/BridgeObjectiveC.swift:19 _ObjectiveCBridgeable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Collection.swift:20 _IndexableBase
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Collection.swift:176 _Indexable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:193 _ExpressibleByBuiltinIntegerLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:240 _ExpressibleByBuiltinFloatLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:283 _ExpressibleByBuiltinBooleanLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:316 _ExpressibleByBuiltinUnicodeScalarLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:350 _ExpressibleByBuiltinExtendedGraphemeClusterLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:398 _ExpressibleByBuiltinStringLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:407 _ExpressibleByBuiltinUTF16StringLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:670 _ExpressibleByStringInterpolation
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:709 _ExpressibleByColorLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:720 _ExpressibleByImageLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:730 _ExpressibleByFileReferenceLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:750 _DestructorSafeContainer
/swift/stdlib/public/core/FixedPoint.swift.gyb:53 _Integer
/swift/stdlib/public/core/FixedPoint.swift.gyb:70 _SignedInteger
/swift/stdlib/public/core/FixedPoint.swift.gyb:108 _DisallowMixedSignArithmetic
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Hashable.swift:16 _Hashable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Index.swift:16 _Incrementable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/IntegerArithmetic.swift.gyb:33 _IntegerArithmetic
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Mirror.swift:721 _DefaultCustomPlaygroundQuickLookable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/MutableCollection.swift:20 _MutableIndexable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/NewtypeWrapper.swift.gyb:16 _SwiftNewtypeWrapper
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Pointer.swift:16 _Pointer
/swift/stdlib/public/core/RandomAccessCollection.swift:20 _RandomAccessIndexable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/RangeReplaceableCollection.swift.gyb:27 _RangeReplaceableIndexable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ReflectionLegacy.swift:41 _Mirror
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:27 _ShadowProtocol
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:31 _NSFastEnumeration
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:41 _NSEnumerator
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:51 _NSCopying
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:61 _NSArrayCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:83 _NSDictionaryCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:125 _NSDictionary
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:137 _NSSetCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:171 _NSSet
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:177 _NSNumber
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:187 _NSArrayCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:188 _NSDictionaryCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:189 _NSSetCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/StringBridge.swift:194 _NSStringCore
/swift/stdlib/public/SDK/Foundation/NSError.swift:353 _ObjectiveCBridgeableError
/swift/stdlib/public/SDK/Foundation/NSError.swift:379 __BridgedNSError
/swift/stdlib/public/SDK/Foundation/NSError.swift:446 _BridgedNSError
/swift/stdlib/public/SDK/Foundation/NSError.swift:456 _BridgedStoredNSError
/swift/stdlib/public/SDK/Foundation/NSError.swift:564 _ErrorCodeProtocol

--
Adrian Zubarev
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Am 19. Februar 2017 um 07:59:45, David Waite via swift-evolution (swift-evolution@swift.org <mailto:swift-evolution@swift.org>) schrieb:

I am unsure if this feature is a good idea. Does someone have a real-world use for this which isn’t just hiding strong implementation coupling behind a protocol?

When I consume a protocol, it is under the assumption that the protocol is documented such that I would be able to work against *any* implementation of the protocol. With a closed protocol, I would have to assume that there are significant side effects, either undocumented or difficult for a third party to duplicate. To my experience, that sounds brittle.

Assuming you aren’t switching on the implementing type of a protocol (which itself can be a sign that your design isn’t properly using polymorphism), one could get this design by creating a struct with the interface desired, and passing invocations through to an internal protocol reference.

-DW

> On Feb 18, 2017, at 1:41 PM, Matthew Johnson via swift-evolution <swift-evolution@swift.org <mailto:swift-evolution@swift.org>> wrote:
>
> Now that we’re in phase 2 I’d like to officially propose we introduce `open` protocols and require conformances to `public` protocols be inside the declaring module. Let’s use this thread for feedback on the official proposal. After a healthy round of discussion I’ll open a PR to submit it for review.
>
>
> # Feature name
>
> * Proposal: [SE-NNNN](NNNN-open-public-protocols.md <http://protocols.md/&gt;\)
> * Authors: [Matthew Johnson](https://github.com/anandabits\)
> * Review Manager: TBD
> * Status: **Awaiting review**
>
> ## Introduction
>
> This proposal introduces `open protocol` and changes the meaning of `public protocol` to match the meaning of `public class` (in this case, conformances are only allowed inside the declaring module).
>
> The pitch thread leading up to this proposal was: [consistent public access modifiers](https://lists.swift.org/pipermail/swift-evolution/Week-of-Mon-20170206/031653.html\)
>
> ## Motivation
>
> A general principle the Swift community has adopted for access control is that defaults should reserve maximum flexibility for a library. The ensures that any capabilities beyond mere visibility are not available unless the author of the library has explicitly declared their intent that the capabilities be made available. Finally, when it is possible to switch from one semantic to another without breaking clients (but not vice-versa) we should prefer the more forgiving (i.e. fixable) semantic as the (soft) default.
>
> `public` is considered a "soft default" in the sense that it is the first access modifier a user will reach for when exposing a declaration outside of the module. In the case of protocols the current meaning of `public` does not meet the principle of preserving maximum flexibility for the author of the library. It allows users of the library to conform to the protocol.
>
> There are good reasons a library may not wish to allow users to add conformances to a protocol. For example, it may not wish to expose the conforming concrete types. While similar behavior could be accomplished with an enum if cases could be private, that requires an implementation to use switch statements rather than polymorphism.
>
> Even if all the conforming types are also public there are cases where polymorphism is the preferred implementation. For example, if the set of conforming types is not expected to be fixed (despite all being inside the library) the authors may not want to have to maintain switch statements every time they need to add or remove a confroming type which would be necessary if an enum were used instead. Polymorphism allows us to avoid this, giving us the ability to add and remove conforming types within the implementation of the library without the burden of maintaining switch statements.
>
> Aligning the access modifiers for protocols and classes allows us to specify both conformable and non-conformable protocols, provides a soft default that is consistent with the principle of (soft) defaults reserving maximum flexibility for the library, and increases the overall consistency of the language by aligning the semantics of access control for protocols and classes.
>
> The standard library currently has at least one protocol (`MirrorPath`) that is documented as disallowing client conformances. If this proposal is adopted it is likely that `MirrorPath` would be declared `public protocol` and not `open protocol`.
>
> Jordan Rose has indicated that the Apple frameworks also include a number of protocols documented with the intent that users do not add conformances. Perhaps an importer annotation would allow the compiler to enforce these semantics in Swift code as well.
>
> ## Proposed solution
>
> The proposed solution is to change the meaning of `public protocol` to disallow conformances outside the declaring module and introduce `open protocol` to allow conformances outside the decalring module (equivalent to the current meaning of `public protocol`).
>
> ## Detailed design
>
> The detailed design is relatively straightforward but there are three important wrinkles to consider.
>
> ### User refinement of public protocols
>
> Consider the following example:
>
> ```swift
> // Library module:
> public protocol P {}
> public class C: P {}
>
> // User module:
> protocol User: P {}
> extension C: User {}
> ```
>
> The user module is allowed to add a refinement to `P` because this does not have any impact on the impelementation of the library or its possible evolution. It simply allows the user to write code that is generic over a subset of the conforming types provided by the library.
>
> ### Public protocols with open conforming classes
>
> Consider the following example:
>
> ```swift
> public protocol P P{}
> open class C: P {}
> ```
>
> Users of this module will be able to add subclasses of `C` that have a conformance to `P`. This is allowed becuase the client of the module did not need to explicitly declare a conformance and the module has explicitly stated its intent to allow subclasses of `C` with the `open` access modifier.
>
> ### Open protocols that refine public protocols
>
> Consider the following example:
>
> ```swift
> // library module:
> public protocol P {}
> open protocol Q: P {}
> open protocol R: P {}
>
> // user module:
> struct S: P {} // error `P` is not `open`
> struct T: Q {} // ok
> struct U: R {} // ok
> ```
>
> The user module is allowed to introudce a conformance to `P`, but only indirectly by also conforming to `Q`. The meaning we have ascribed to the keywords implies that this should be allowed and it offers libraries a very wide design space from which to choose. The library is able to have types that conform directly to `P`, while placing additional requirements on user types if necessary.
>
> ## Source compatibility
>
> This proposal breaks source compatibility, but in a way that allows for a simple mechanical migration. A multi-release stratgegy will be used to roll out this proposal to provide maximum possible source compatibility from one release to the next.
>
> 1. In Swift 4, introduce the `open` keyword and the `@nonopen` attribute (which can be applied to `public protocol` to give it the new semantics of `public`).
> 2. In Swift 4 (or 4.1 if necessary) start warning for `public protocol` with no annotation.
> 3. In the subsequent release `public protocol` without annotation becomes an error.
> 4. In the subsequent relase `public protocol` without annotation takes on the new semantics.
> 5. `@nonopen` becomes a warning, and evenutally an erro as soon as we are comfortable making those changes.
>
> ## Effect on ABI stability
>
> I would appreciate it if others can offer input regarding this section. I believe this proposal has ABI consequences, but it's possible that it could be an additivie ABI change where the ABI for conformable protocols remains the same and we add ABI for non-conformable protocols later. If that is possible, the primary impact would be the ABI of any standard library protocols that would prefer to be non-conformable.
>
> ## Effect on API resilience
>
> This proposal would may impact one or more protocols in the standard library, such as `MirrorPath`, which would likely choose to remain `public` rather than adopt `open`.
>
> ## Alternatives considered
>
> The primary alternatives are to either make no change, or to add something like `closed protocol`. The issues motivating the current proposal as a better alternative than either of these options are covered in the motivation section.
>
> _______________________________________________
> swift-evolution mailing list
> swift-evolution@swift.org <mailto:swift-evolution@swift.org>
> https://lists.swift.org/mailman/listinfo/swift-evolution

_______________________________________________
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Indeed, I have run into the same issue with this and have a proposal idea saved up regarding anonymous enum cases and subtyping relationships. It would not have been in-scope for phase 1, so I did not write to the list about it. I’m short on time these days, but eventually I’ll propose it unless someone else gets to it first. However, this problem does not justify open vs. public.
Why is an anonymous enum case justifying the problem over a closed protocol?

Indeed, I have run into the same issue with this and have a proposal idea saved up regarding anonymous enum cases and subtyping relationships. It would not have been in-scope for phase 1, so I did not write to the list about it. I’m short on time these days, but eventually I’ll propose it unless someone else gets to it first. However, this problem does not justify open vs. public.
Why is an anonymous enum case justifying the problem over a closed protocol? Can an anonymous enum case solve every problem a closed protocol can?

Indeed, I have run into the same issue with this and have a proposal idea
saved up regarding anonymous enum cases and subtyping relationships. It
would not have been in-scope for phase 1, so I did not write to the list
about it. I’m short on time these days, but eventually I’ll propose it
unless someone else gets to it first. However, this problem does not
justify open vs. public.

Why is an anonymous enum case justifying the problem over a closed
protocol?

It's justified because enums are (according to the Swift core team) Swift's
sum type. That is, when you want something to be "either X or Y" (or "one
of X, Y, Z, or A"), enums are intended to provide all the facilities
necessary to express that concisely and with the greatest ease. As you
recall from discussion about union types, the core team has said that in
circumstances where that goal is not met (clearly, here), they welcome
proposals to improve enums so that they serve that use case. That is why
anonymous enum cases (or some other design to improve the experience of
using enums as a type for "either X or Y") is justified.

Can an anonymous enum case solve every problem a closed protocol can?

Perhaps, perhaps not. The point is that you proposed a use case

purportedly to motivate closed protocols, and I am saying that it is
insufficient to justify closed protocols because the core team has already
stated that enums are intended to enable that use case. So it is up to you,
if you wish to promote this idea, to come up with one or more compelling
use cases and not for me or others to enumerate every use case for them.

···

On Sun, Feb 19, 2017 at 5:26 PM, Adrian Zubarev < adrian.zubarev@devandartist.com> wrote:

I’m polite but I don’t see why every single piece is questioned with “why”.

Your example is exactly the workaround I presented in first place. Interesting right? But it still fails the challenge, because the set of types can be extended by the client, however at least with this there won’t be any runtime crashes in Swift 3.X.

···

--
Adrian Zubarev
Sent with Airmail

Am 20. Februar 2017 um 00:14:28, David Hart (david@hartbit.com) schrieb:

On 20 Feb 2017, at 00:10, Adrian Zubarev via swift-evolution <swift-evolution@swift.org> wrote:

Because someInstance["key", .string("key1"), .integer(1), .string(stringKeyInstance), .integer(intIndexInstance), .integer(intIndexInstance), …] is simply ugly and should be hidden. Such API looks horrible.

Is this discussion really going to end with every statement being questioned with “why”? Why is 42 the number that rules the universe?

Lets stay polite and keep things civil.

The "the client should not be able to extend the set of types you can pass to that subscript.” requirement seems totally arbitrary and an anti-pattern. I’m perfectly happy with:

enum Key {
case string(String)
case int(Int)
}

protocol KeyConvertible {
var key: Key { get }
}

subscript(initial: String, others: KeyConvertible...) -> Foo

--
Adrian Zubarev
Sent with Airmail

Am 20. Februar 2017 um 00:03:44, Xiaodi Wu (xiaodi.wu@gmail.com) schrieb:

On Sun, Feb 19, 2017 at 4:51 PM, Adrian Zubarev <adrian.zubarev@devandartist.com> wrote:
Matthew has pretty much summed up everything with a single question in his last reply. It makes me tired of repeating myself over and over again.

Here’s the challenge for you:

Implement a subscript where the first parameter is a String (trivial), but the second to n are String’s and/or Int’s. There is no restriction of order for the Int’s and String’s and there could be as many as you’d like, so no overloads are allowed (a hint: variadics). You should be able to use variables in that subscript and literals. You’re not allowed to use enum constructors

Why not? You want a parameter that takes either String or Int. In another language, you might express this as `String | Int`, but Chris Lattner and others have said on this list that enums are the intended way of expressing this in Swift.
and the client should not be able to extend the set of types you can pass to that subscript. That said it can look like this: someInstance["key", "key1", 1, stringKeyInstance, intIndexInstance, intIndexInstance, …]

Creating hacks like unreachable types with hidden inits is prohibited.

Have fun!

--
Adrian Zubarev
Sent with Airmail

Am 19. Februar 2017 um 23:25:11, Xiaodi Wu (xiaodi.wu@gmail.com) schrieb:

Sorry, I have read through this thread twice and do not understand the point you are making. Can you explain your example once more?

Specifically, I do not understand why it is that your code should have problems with third-party types that conform to your protocol. If your protocol has requirements that third-party types cannot fulfill, then naturally those requirements will prevent a third-party from conforming new types to your protocol. OTOH, if your protocol does not have any requirements that third-party types cannot fulfill, then your code that accepts anything that conforms to your protocol should be indifferent to whether the conforming type is defined by you or someone else. After all, a conforming type would fulfill all the semantic and syntactic requirements of the protocol! If your protocol has requirements that you are unable to state in code, causing third-party types to conform that really shouldn't, then that is a case for additional features that allow you to express those requirements more accurately, not an argument for having protocols that can't be conformed to by a third-party. What am I missing?

On Sun, Feb 19, 2017 at 11:53 AM, Adrian Zubarev via swift-evolution <swift-evolution@swift.org> wrote:
That’s the whole point I was making. :) Thank you Matthew. That makes my example a real world example and not just some bike shedding.

--
Adrian Zubarev
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Am 19. Februar 2017 um 18:50:31, Matthew Johnson (matthew@anandabits.com) schrieb:

Sent from my iPad

On Feb 19, 2017, at 11:29 AM, David Waite via swift-evolution <swift-evolution@swift.org> wrote:

Just FYI, I solved this issue in my own library (which included a json jpointer implementation) via:

public enum SubscriptParameter {
case string(String)
case int(Int)
}

extension SubscriptParameter : ExpressibleByIntegerLiteral {
public init(integerLiteral value: Int) {
self = .int(value)
}
}

extension SubscriptParameter : ExpressibleByStringLiteral {
public init(stringLiteral value: String) {
self = .string(value)
}
public init(extendedGraphemeClusterLiteral value: String) {
self.init(stringLiteral: value)
}
public init(unicodeScalarLiteral value: String) {
self.init(stringLiteral: value)
}
}

extension SubscriptParameter : CustomStringConvertible {
public var description: String {
switch self {
case .string(let str):
return "\"\(str)\""
case .int(let i):
return String(i)
}
}
}

func debug(_ path:SubscriptParameter...) {
print("path is \(path)")
}

debug(1, "foo", 2, "bar”) // path is [1, “foo”, 2, “bar”]

Can you make this work with variables - not just literals - and still prevent users from extending the set of types and without requiring an enum case constructor to be used by clients?

On Feb 19, 2017, at 1:14 AM, Adrian Zubarev <adrian.zubarev@devandartist.com> wrote:

If you haven’t followed the other thread Matthew previously opened than you have missed the example I showed there.

Here it is again:

public protocol SubscriptParameterType {
          
    // This property was needed to prevent the client from breaking
    // the library by conforming to the protocol, but I'd like to
    // keep it invisible for the client, or even better prevent the
    // client from conforming to the protocol.
    var parameter: Document.SubscriptParameter { get }
}

extension Document {
          
    public enum SubscriptParameter {
                  
        case string(String)
        case integer(Int)
    }
}

extension String : SubscriptParameterType {
          
    public var parameter: Document.SubscriptParameter {
              
        return .string(self)
    }
}

extension Int : SubscriptParameterType {
          
    public var parameter: Document.SubscriptParameter {
              
        return .integer(self)
    }
}

// Somewhere inside the `Document` type
public subscript(firstKey: String, parameters: SubscriptParameterType...) -> Value? { … }
The absence of closed protocols forced me to create a special requirement on that protocol to prevent the client from conforming to that protocol and passing instances of other types my API wouldn’t want to deal with. That creates unnecessary copies and I need to unpack the enum payload to find out which type the user passed. Instead I could simply close the protocol, wouldn’t need the requirement to exist and I could simply cast the type to String or Int when needed.

That implementation enables more safe queries of my Document type like

document["key1", intIndexInstance, stringKeyInstance, 10, "key"]

rather than

document["key1/\(intIndexInstance)/\(stringKeyInstance)/10/key"].

Here is a list of hidden and semi-hidden protocols from the standard library that could be closed. Formatted version: swift-closed-protocols.md · GitHub

Path Protocol
/swift/stdlib/public/core/AnyHashable.swift:16 _HasCustomAnyHashableRepresentation
/swift/stdlib/public/core/BidirectionalCollection.swift:21 _BidirectionalIndexable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/BridgeObjectiveC.swift:19 _ObjectiveCBridgeable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Collection.swift:20 _IndexableBase
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Collection.swift:176 _Indexable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:193 _ExpressibleByBuiltinIntegerLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:240 _ExpressibleByBuiltinFloatLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:283 _ExpressibleByBuiltinBooleanLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:316 _ExpressibleByBuiltinUnicodeScalarLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:350 _ExpressibleByBuiltinExtendedGraphemeClusterLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:398 _ExpressibleByBuiltinStringLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:407 _ExpressibleByBuiltinUTF16StringLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:670 _ExpressibleByStringInterpolation
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:709 _ExpressibleByColorLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:720 _ExpressibleByImageLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:730 _ExpressibleByFileReferenceLiteral
/swift/stdlib/public/core/CompilerProtocols.swift:750 _DestructorSafeContainer
/swift/stdlib/public/core/FixedPoint.swift.gyb:53 _Integer
/swift/stdlib/public/core/FixedPoint.swift.gyb:70 _SignedInteger
/swift/stdlib/public/core/FixedPoint.swift.gyb:108 _DisallowMixedSignArithmetic
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Hashable.swift:16 _Hashable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Index.swift:16 _Incrementable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/IntegerArithmetic.swift.gyb:33 _IntegerArithmetic
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Mirror.swift:721 _DefaultCustomPlaygroundQuickLookable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/MutableCollection.swift:20 _MutableIndexable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/NewtypeWrapper.swift.gyb:16 _SwiftNewtypeWrapper
/swift/stdlib/public/core/Pointer.swift:16 _Pointer
/swift/stdlib/public/core/RandomAccessCollection.swift:20 _RandomAccessIndexable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/RangeReplaceableCollection.swift.gyb:27 _RangeReplaceableIndexable
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ReflectionLegacy.swift:41 _Mirror
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:27 _ShadowProtocol
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:31 _NSFastEnumeration
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:41 _NSEnumerator
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:51 _NSCopying
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:61 _NSArrayCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:83 _NSDictionaryCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:125 _NSDictionary
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:137 _NSSetCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:171 _NSSet
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:177 _NSNumber
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:187 _NSArrayCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:188 _NSDictionaryCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/ShadowProtocols.swift:189 _NSSetCore
/swift/stdlib/public/core/StringBridge.swift:194 _NSStringCore
/swift/stdlib/public/SDK/Foundation/NSError.swift:353 _ObjectiveCBridgeableError
/swift/stdlib/public/SDK/Foundation/NSError.swift:379 __BridgedNSError
/swift/stdlib/public/SDK/Foundation/NSError.swift:446 _BridgedNSError
/swift/stdlib/public/SDK/Foundation/NSError.swift:456 _BridgedStoredNSError
/swift/stdlib/public/SDK/Foundation/NSError.swift:564 _ErrorCodeProtocol

--
Adrian Zubarev
Sent with Airmail

Am 19. Februar 2017 um 07:59:45, David Waite via swift-evolution (swift-evolution@swift.org) schrieb:

I am unsure if this feature is a good idea. Does someone have a real-world use for this which isn’t just hiding strong implementation coupling behind a protocol?

When I consume a protocol, it is under the assumption that the protocol is documented such that I would be able to work against *any* implementation of the protocol. With a closed protocol, I would have to assume that there are significant side effects, either undocumented or difficult for a third party to duplicate. To my experience, that sounds brittle.

Assuming you aren’t switching on the implementing type of a protocol (which itself can be a sign that your design isn’t properly using polymorphism), one could get this design by creating a struct with the interface desired, and passing invocations through to an internal protocol reference.

-DW

On Feb 18, 2017, at 1:41 PM, Matthew Johnson via swift-evolution <swift-evolution@swift.org> wrote:

Now that we’re in phase 2 I’d like to officially propose we introduce `open` protocols and require conformances to `public` protocols be inside the declaring module. Let’s use this thread for feedback on the official proposal. After a healthy round of discussion I’ll open a PR to submit it for review.

# Feature name

* Proposal: [SE-NNNN](NNNN-open-public-protocols.md)
* Authors: [Matthew Johnson](https://github.com/anandabits\)
* Review Manager: TBD
* Status: **Awaiting review**

## Introduction

This proposal introduces `open protocol` and changes the meaning of `public protocol` to match the meaning of `public class` (in this case, conformances are only allowed inside the declaring module).

The pitch thread leading up to this proposal was: [consistent public access modifiers](https://lists.swift.org/pipermail/swift-evolution/Week-of-Mon-20170206/031653.html\)

## Motivation

A general principle the Swift community has adopted for access control is that defaults should reserve maximum flexibility for a library. The ensures that any capabilities beyond mere visibility are not available unless the author of the library has explicitly declared their intent that the capabilities be made available. Finally, when it is possible to switch from one semantic to another without breaking clients (but not vice-versa) we should prefer the more forgiving (i.e. fixable) semantic as the (soft) default.

`public` is considered a "soft default" in the sense that it is the first access modifier a user will reach for when exposing a declaration outside of the module. In the case of protocols the current meaning of `public` does not meet the principle of preserving maximum flexibility for the author of the library. It allows users of the library to conform to the protocol.

There are good reasons a library may not wish to allow users to add conformances to a protocol. For example, it may not wish to expose the conforming concrete types. While similar behavior could be accomplished with an enum if cases could be private, that requires an implementation to use switch statements rather than polymorphism.

Even if all the conforming types are also public there are cases where polymorphism is the preferred implementation. For example, if the set of conforming types is not expected to be fixed (despite all being inside the library) the authors may not want to have to maintain switch statements every time they need to add or remove a confroming type which would be necessary if an enum were used instead. Polymorphism allows us to avoid this, giving us the ability to add and remove conforming types within the implementation of the library without the burden of maintaining switch statements.

Aligning the access modifiers for protocols and classes allows us to specify both conformable and non-conformable protocols, provides a soft default that is consistent with the principle of (soft) defaults reserving maximum flexibility for the library, and increases the overall consistency of the language by aligning the semantics of access control for protocols and classes.

The standard library currently has at least one protocol (`MirrorPath`) that is documented as disallowing client conformances. If this proposal is adopted it is likely that `MirrorPath` would be declared `public protocol` and not `open protocol`.

Jordan Rose has indicated that the Apple frameworks also include a number of protocols documented with the intent that users do not add conformances. Perhaps an importer annotation would allow the compiler to enforce these semantics in Swift code as well.

## Proposed solution

The proposed solution is to change the meaning of `public protocol` to disallow conformances outside the declaring module and introduce `open protocol` to allow conformances outside the decalring module (equivalent to the current meaning of `public protocol`).

## Detailed design

The detailed design is relatively straightforward but there are three important wrinkles to consider.

### User refinement of public protocols

Consider the following example:

// Library module:
public protocol P {}
public class C: P {}
 
// User module:
protocol User: P {}
extension C: User {}

The user module is allowed to add a refinement to `P` because this does not have any impact on the impelementation of the library or its possible evolution. It simply allows the user to write code that is generic over a subset of the conforming types provided by the library.

### Public protocols with open conforming classes

Consider the following example:

public protocol P P{}
open class C: P {}

Users of this module will be able to add subclasses of `C` that have a conformance to `P`. This is allowed becuase the client of the module did not need to explicitly declare a conformance and the module has explicitly stated its intent to allow subclasses of `C` with the `open` access modifier.

### Open protocols that refine public protocols

Consider the following example:

// library module:
public protocol P {}
open protocol Q: P {}
open protocol R: P {}
 
// user module:
struct S: P {} // error `P` is not `open`
struct T: Q {} // ok
struct U: R {} // ok

The user module is allowed to introudce a conformance to `P`, but only indirectly by also conforming to `Q`. The meaning we have ascribed to the keywords implies that this should be allowed and it offers libraries a very wide design space from which to choose. The library is able to have types that conform directly to `P`, while placing additional requirements on user types if necessary.

## Source compatibility

This proposal breaks source compatibility, but in a way that allows for a simple mechanical migration. A multi-release stratgegy will be used to roll out this proposal to provide maximum possible source compatibility from one release to the next.

1. In Swift 4, introduce the `open` keyword and the `@nonopen` attribute (which can be applied to `public protocol` to give it the new semantics of `public`).
2. In Swift 4 (or 4.1 if necessary) start warning for `public protocol` with no annotation.
3. In the subsequent release `public protocol` without annotation becomes an error.
4. In the subsequent relase `public protocol` without annotation takes on the new semantics.
5. `@nonopen` becomes a warning, and evenutally an erro as soon as we are comfortable making those changes.

## Effect on ABI stability

I would appreciate it if others can offer input regarding this section. I believe this proposal has ABI consequences, but it's possible that it could be an additivie ABI change where the ABI for conformable protocols remains the same and we add ABI for non-conformable protocols later. If that is possible, the primary impact would be the ABI of any standard library protocols that would prefer to be non-conformable.

## Effect on API resilience

This proposal would may impact one or more protocols in the standard library, such as `MirrorPath`, which would likely choose to remain `public` rather than adopt `open`.

## Alternatives considered

The primary alternatives are to either make no change, or to add something like `closed protocol`. The issues motivating the current proposal as a better alternative than either of these options are covered in the motivation section.

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I don’t see it, can you elaborate a whole proposal first, otherwise I’m not convinced. Why?

···

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Adrian Zubarev
Sent with Airmail

Am 20. Februar 2017 um 00:51:18, Xiaodi Wu (xiaodi.wu@gmail.com) schrieb:

On Sun, Feb 19, 2017 at 5:26 PM, Adrian Zubarev <adrian.zubarev@devandartist.com> wrote:
Indeed, I have run into the same issue with this and have a proposal idea saved up regarding anonymous enum cases and subtyping relationships. It would not have been in-scope for phase 1, so I did not write to the list about it. I’m short on time these days, but eventually I’ll propose it unless someone else gets to it first. However, this problem does not justify open vs. public.

Why is an anonymous enum case justifying the problem over a closed protocol?

It's justified because enums are (according to the Swift core team) Swift's sum type. That is, when you want something to be "either X or Y" (or "one of X, Y, Z, or A"), enums are intended to provide all the facilities necessary to express that concisely and with the greatest ease. As you recall from discussion about union types, the core team has said that in circumstances where that goal is not met (clearly, here), they welcome proposals to improve enums so that they serve that use case. That is why anonymous enum cases (or some other design to improve the experience of using enums as a type for "either X or Y") is justified.

Can an anonymous enum case solve every problem a closed protocol can?

Perhaps, perhaps not. The point is that you proposed a use case purportedly to motivate closed protocols, and I am saying that it is insufficient to justify closed protocols because the core team has already stated that enums are intended to enable that use case. So it is up to you, if you wish to promote this idea, to come up with one or more compelling use cases and not for me or others to enumerate every use case for them.