The Problem

A trait that is generic over its container type has type specification requirements:

users of the trait must specify all of its generic types.

In the example below:

  1. the Contains trait allows the use of the generic types A and B.
  2. The trait is then implemented for the Container type, specifying i32 for A and B so that it can be used with fn difference().
  3. Because Contains is generic, we are forced to explicitly state all of the generic types for fn difference().
  4. In practice, we want a way to express that A and B are determined by the input C.
  1. As you will see in the next section, associated types provide exactly that capability.

struct Container(i32, i32);

// A trait which checks if 2 items are stored inside of container.
// Also retrieves first or last value.
trait Contains<A, B> {
    fn contains(&self, _: &A, _: &B) -> bool; // Explicitly requires `A` and `B`.
    fn first(&self) -> i32; // Doesn't explicitly require `A` or `B`.
    fn last(&self) -> i32;  // Doesn't explicitly require `A` or `B`.
}

impl Contains<i32, i32> for Container {
    // True if the numbers stored are equal.
    fn contains(&self, number_1: &i32, number_2: &i32) -> bool {
        (&self.0 == number_1) && (&self.1 == number_2)
    }

    // Grab the first number.
    fn first(&self) -> i32 { self.0 }

    // Grab the last number.
    fn last(&self) -> i32 { self.1 }
}

// `C` contains `A` and `B`. In light of that, having to express `A` and
// `B` again is a nuisance.
fn difference<A, B, C>(container: &C) -> i32 where
    C: Contains<A, B> {
    container.last() - container.first()
}

fn main() {
    let number_1 = 3;
    let number_2 = 10;

    let container = Container(number_1, number_2);

    println!("Does container contain {} and {}: {}",
        &number_1, &number_2,
        container.contains(&number_1, &number_2));
    println!("First number: {}", container.first());
    println!("Last number: {}", container.last());

    println!("The difference is: {}", difference(&container));
}

Expand

The Executive Crate of Substrate

link

pub type CheckedOf<E, C> = <E as Checkable<C>>::Checked;
pub type CallOf<E, C> = <CheckedOf<E, C> as Applyable>::Call;
pub type OriginOf<E, C> = <CallOf<E, C> as Dispatchable>::RuntimeOrigin;
...

See also:

structs, and traits