[PATCH 02/20] rust: pin-init: internal: pin_data: infer self-referential struct

From: Gary Guo

Date: Thu Oct 08 2026 - 08:28:10 EST


As a first step towards adding self-referential data structures in
pin-init, add parsing support.

Scan all field types for unbounded lifetimes, and if the names that of
fields, it is inferred as a self-referential field lifetime. No explicit
annotations are supported yet.

Signed-off-by: Gary Guo <gary@xxxxxxxxxxx>
---
rust/pin-init/internal/src/pin_data.rs | 162 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-
rust/pin-init/internal/src/util.rs | 94 ++++++++++++++++++-
2 files changed, 253 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

diff --git a/rust/pin-init/internal/src/pin_data.rs b/rust/pin-init/internal/src/pin_data.rs
index 03e893cf5475..cf6142cd656d 100644
--- a/rust/pin-init/internal/src/pin_data.rs
+++ b/rust/pin-init/internal/src/pin_data.rs
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0 OR MIT

+use std::collections::{BTreeMap, BTreeSet};
+
use proc_macro2::TokenStream;
use quote::{format_ident, quote, ToTokens};
use syn::{
@@ -7,8 +9,10 @@
parse_quote, parse_quote_spanned,
punctuated::Punctuated,
spanned::Spanned,
+ visit::Visit,
visit_mut::VisitMut,
- Field, Fields, Generics, Index, Item, ItemStruct, Member, PathSegment, Type, TypePath,
+ Field, Fields, Generics, Ident, Index, Item, ItemStruct, Lifetime, Member, PathSegment, Type,
+ TypePath,
};

use crate::{
@@ -48,10 +52,69 @@ fn to_tokens(&self, tokens: &mut TokenStream) {
}
}

+/// Description of how a field is borrowed.
+#[derive(Clone, Copy, Default, PartialEq, Eq)]
+enum BorrowedKind {
+ /// Implicitly inferreed.
+ #[default]
+ Shared,
+}
+
+/// Information about a borrowed field.
+#[expect(unused)]
+struct BorrowedInfo {
+ kind: BorrowedKind,
+ /// Field lifetime for this field.
+ lifetime: Lifetime,
+}
+
+#[derive(Clone, Copy, Default, PartialEq, Eq)]
+enum Variance {
+ /// Implicitly inferred variance.
+ #[default]
+ Covariant,
+}
+
+/// Information about field lifetimes captured in a type.
+#[expect(unused)]
+struct Capture {
+ variance: Variance,
+ /// Lifetime to be captured.
+ lifetime: Lifetime,
+}
+
+impl std::borrow::Borrow<Lifetime> for Capture {
+ fn borrow(&self) -> &Lifetime {
+ &self.lifetime
+ }
+}
+
+impl PartialEq for Capture {
+ fn eq(&self, other: &Self) -> bool {
+ self.lifetime == other.lifetime
+ }
+}
+
+impl Eq for Capture {}
+
+impl PartialOrd for Capture {
+ fn partial_cmp(&self, other: &Self) -> Option<std::cmp::Ordering> {
+ Some(self.cmp(other))
+ }
+}
+
+impl Ord for Capture {
+ fn cmp(&self, other: &Self) -> std::cmp::Ordering {
+ self.lifetime.cmp(&other.lifetime)
+ }
+}
+
struct FieldInfo {
field: Field,
member: Member,
pinned: bool,
+ borrowed: Option<BorrowedInfo>,
+ captures: BTreeSet<Capture>,
}

struct StructInfo {
@@ -59,6 +122,7 @@ struct StructInfo {
struct_: ItemStruct,
fields: Vec<FieldInfo>,
is_tuple_struct: bool,
+ self_referential: bool,
}

pub(crate) fn expand_with_cfg(
@@ -147,7 +211,22 @@ fn expand(
replacer.visit_fields_mut(&mut struct_.fields);

let is_tuple_struct = matches!(struct_.fields, Fields::Unnamed(_));
- let fields: Vec<FieldInfo> = struct_
+
+ // Collect all bound lifetimes from generics.
+ let bound_lifetimes: BTreeSet<&Lifetime> =
+ struct_.generics.lifetimes().map(|x| &x.lifetime).collect();
+ // Collect all fields.
+ let field_idx_map: BTreeMap<Ident, usize> = struct_
+ .fields
+ .iter()
+ .enumerate()
+ .filter_map(|(index, field)| Some((field.ident.clone()?, index)))
+ .collect();
+
+ // Keep track on fields being implicitly borrowed by being mentioned.
+ let mut implicitly_borrowed = BTreeSet::new();
+
+ let mut fields: Vec<FieldInfo> = struct_
.fields
.into_iter()
.enumerate()
@@ -166,16 +245,88 @@ fn expand(
}),
};

+ let mut captures = BTreeSet::new();
+ let wildcard_variance = Variance::default();
+
+ // Infer lifetime based on the field referenced.
+ // Bound lifetimes from struct generics take priority.
+ //
+ // For example,
+ // ```
+ // struct Foo<'a> {
+ // bar: &'a (),
+ // a: u32,
+ // }
+ // ```
+ // would not be inferred as self-referential because `'a` is already bound by the
+ // struct generics.
+ Lifetime::visitor(|lt| {
+ if bound_lifetimes.contains(lt) || captures.contains(lt) {
+ return;
+ }
+
+ if !field_idx_map.contains_key(&lt.ident) {
+ dcx.error(
+ lt,
+ format!("`{lt}` is neither a lifetime in generics nor a field name"),
+ );
+ return;
+ }
+
+ captures.insert(Capture {
+ variance: wildcard_variance,
+ lifetime: lt.clone(),
+ });
+ })
+ .visit_type(&field.ty);
+
+ for capture in captures.iter() {
+ implicitly_borrowed.insert(capture.lifetime.ident.clone());
+ }
+
FieldInfo {
field,
member,
pinned,
+ borrowed: None,
+ captures,
}
})
.collect();

+ for field_name in implicitly_borrowed.into_iter() {
+ let field = &mut fields[field_idx_map[&field_name]];
+
+ // If field is not explicit marked as borrowed, infer a shared borrow.
+ if field.borrowed.is_none() {
+ field.borrowed = Some(BorrowedInfo {
+ kind: BorrowedKind::Shared,
+ // Obtaining from `field` instead of `field_name` for the correct span.
+ lifetime: Lifetime::from_ident(&field.member.as_ident()),
+ });
+ }
+ }
+
+ // Check that field lifetimes do not appear in the bounds.
+ Lifetime::visitor(|lt| {
+ if bound_lifetimes.contains(&lt) {
+ return;
+ }
+
+ if field_idx_map.contains_key(&lt.ident) {
+ // Forbid the use of field lifetimes within bounds.
+ dcx.error(lt, "field lifetimes cannot be used in bounds");
+ }
+
+ // Otherwise this is completely unbound. Let Rust compiler produce that error instead.
+ })
+ .visit_generics(&struct_.generics);
+
struct_.fields = Fields::Unit;
let info = StructInfo {
+ self_referential: fields
+ .iter()
+ .any(|f| !f.captures.is_empty() || f.borrowed.is_some()),
args,
struct_,
fields,
@@ -195,6 +346,13 @@ fn expand(
}
}

+ if info.self_referential {
+ dcx.error(
+ &info.struct_.ident,
+ "self-referential support is not fully implemented",
+ );
+ }
+
let struct_def = generate_struct_def(&info);
let unpin_impl = generate_unpin_impl(&info);
let drop_impl = generate_drop_impl(&info);
diff --git a/rust/pin-init/internal/src/util.rs b/rust/pin-init/internal/src/util.rs
index 3ce498cea754..67ebb333710f 100644
--- a/rust/pin-init/internal/src/util.rs
+++ b/rust/pin-init/internal/src/util.rs
@@ -1,8 +1,12 @@
// SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0 OR MIT

+use std::collections::BTreeSet;
+
use proc_macro2::{Ident, TokenStream};
use quote::{format_ident, ToTokens};
-use syn::{Attribute, GenericParam, Generics, Index, Member, Token};
+use syn::{
+ visit::Visit, Attribute, BoundLifetimes, GenericParam, Generics, Index, Lifetime, Member, Token,
+};

use crate::DiagCtxt;

@@ -237,3 +241,91 @@ fn to_tokens(&self, tokens: &mut TokenStream) {
.to_tokens(tokens);
}
}
+
+pub(crate) trait LifetimeExt {
+ /// Get a visitor that call the provided function for all unbound lifetimes.
+ fn visitor<'a>(f: impl FnMut(&'a Lifetime)) -> impl Visit<'a>;
+
+ /// Obtain a lifetime from a identifier.
+ ///
+ /// The created lifetime has the same span.
+ fn from_ident(ident: &Ident) -> Self;
+}
+
+impl LifetimeExt for Lifetime {
+ fn visitor<'a>(f: impl FnMut(&'a Lifetime)) -> impl Visit<'a> {
+ LifetimeVisitor {
+ bound: BTreeSet::new(),
+ visit: f,
+ }
+ }
+
+ fn from_ident(ident: &Ident) -> Self {
+ Lifetime {
+ apostrophe: ident.span(),
+ ident: ident.clone(),
+ }
+ }
+}
+
+struct LifetimeVisitor<'a, F> {
+ bound: BTreeSet<&'a Lifetime>,
+ visit: F,
+}
+
+impl<'a, F> LifetimeVisitor<'a, F> {
+ fn with_bound_lifetimes(
+ &mut self,
+ bound: Option<&'a BoundLifetimes>,
+ f: impl FnOnce(&mut Self),
+ ) {
+ // In case the type includes a lifetime binder, e.g. `dyn for<'a> Foo`,
+ // the lifetimes in the binder are bound and should not be visited.
+
+ let mut to_remove = Vec::new();
+ if let Some(bound) = bound {
+ for lt in &bound.lifetimes {
+ let GenericParam::Lifetime(lt) = lt else {
+ continue;
+ };
+ if !self.bound.contains(&&lt.lifetime) {
+ self.bound.insert(&lt.lifetime);
+ to_remove.push(&lt.lifetime);
+ }
+ }
+ }
+
+ f(self);
+
+ for lt in to_remove {
+ self.bound.remove(lt);
+ }
+ }
+}
+
+impl<'a, F: FnMut(&'a Lifetime)> Visit<'a> for LifetimeVisitor<'a, F> {
+ fn visit_lifetime(&mut self, lt: &'a Lifetime) {
+ if lt.ident == "static" {
+ return;
+ }
+
+ if !self.bound.contains(lt) {
+ (self.visit)(lt);
+ }
+ }
+
+ fn visit_trait_bound(&mut self, bound: &'a syn::TraitBound) {
+ self.with_bound_lifetimes(bound.lifetimes.as_ref(), |this| {
+ this.visit_path(&bound.path)
+ });
+ }
+
+ fn visit_type_bare_fn(&mut self, bare_fn: &'a syn::TypeBareFn) {
+ self.with_bound_lifetimes(bare_fn.lifetimes.as_ref(), |this| {
+ for input in bare_fn.inputs.iter() {
+ this.visit_bare_fn_arg(input);
+ }
+ this.visit_return_type(&bare_fn.output);
+ });
+ }
+}

--
2.54.0