## Appendix B: Operators and Symbols

This appendix contains a glossary of Rust’s syntax, including operators and
other symbols that appear by themselves or in the context of paths, generics,
trait bounds, macros, attributes, comments, tuples, and brackets.

### Operators

Table B-1 contains the operators in Rust, an example of how the operator would
appear in context, a short explanation, and whether that operator is
overloadable. If an operator is overloadable, the relevant trait to use to
overload that operator is listed.

<span class="caption">Table B-1: Operators</span>

| Operator                  | Example                                                 | Explanation                                                           | Overloadable?  |
| ------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------- |
| `!`                       | `ident!(...)`, `ident!{...}`, `ident![...]`             | Macro expansion                                                       |                |
| `!`                       | `!expr`                                                 | Bitwise or logical complement                                         | `Not`          |
| `!=`                      | `expr != expr`                                          | Nonequality comparison                                                | `PartialEq`    |
| `%`                       | `expr % expr`                                           | Arithmetic remainder                                                  | `Rem`          |
| `%=`                      | `var %= expr`                                           | Arithmetic remainder and assignment                                   | `RemAssign`    |
| `&`                       | `&expr`, `&mut expr`                                    | Borrow                                                                |                |
| `&`                       | `&type`, `&mut type`, `&'a type`, `&'a mut type`        | Borrowed pointer type                                                 |                |
| `&`                       | `expr & expr`                                           | Bitwise AND                                                           | `BitAnd`       |
| `&=`                      | `var &= expr`                                           | Bitwise AND and assignment                                            | `BitAndAssign` |
| `&&`                      | `expr && expr`                                          | Short-circuiting logical AND                                          |                |
| `*`                       | `expr * expr`                                           | Arithmetic multiplication                                             | `Mul`          |
| `*=`                      | `var *= expr`                                           | Arithmetic multiplication and assignment                              | `MulAssign`    |
| `*`                       | `*expr`                                                 | Dereference                                                           | `Deref`        |
| `*`                       | `*const type`, `*mut type`                              | Raw pointer                                                           |                |
| `+`                       | `trait + trait`, `'a + trait`                           | Compound type constraint                                              |                |
| `+`                       | `expr + expr`                                           | Arithmetic addition                                                   | `Add`          |
| `+=`                      | `var += expr`                                           | Arithmetic addition and assignment                                    | `AddAssign`    |
| `,`                       | `expr, expr`                                            | Argument and element separator                                        |                |
| `-`                       | `- expr`                                                | Arithmetic negation                                                   | `Neg`          |
| `-`                       | `expr - expr`                                           | Arithmetic subtraction                                                | `Sub`          |
| `-=`                      | `var -= expr`                                           | Arithmetic subtraction and assignment                                 | `SubAssign`    |
| `->`                      | `fn(...) -> type`, <code>&vert;...&vert; -> type</code> | Function and closure return type                                      |                |
| `.`                       | `expr.ident`                                            | Field access                                                          |                |
| `.`                       | `expr.ident(expr, ...)`                                 | Method call                                                           |                |
| `.`                       | `expr.0`, `expr.1`, etc.                                | Tuple indexing                                                        |                |
| `..`                      | `..`, `expr..`, `..expr`, `expr..expr`                  | Right-exclusive range literal                                         | `PartialOrd`   |
| `..=`                     | `..=expr`, `expr..=expr`                                | Right-inclusive range literal                                         | `PartialOrd`   |
| `..`                      | `..expr`                                                | Struct literal update syntax                                          |                |
| `..`                      | `variant(x, ..)`, `struct_type { x, .. }`               | “And the rest” pattern binding                                        |                |
| `...`                     | `expr...expr`                                           | (Deprecated, use `..=` instead) In a pattern: inclusive range pattern |                |
| `/`                       | `expr / expr`                                           | Arithmetic division                                                   | `Div`          |
| `/=`                      | `var /= expr`                                           | Arithmetic division and assignment                                    | `DivAssign`    |
| `:`                       | `pat: type`, `ident: type`                              | Constraints                                                           |                |
| `:`                       | `ident: expr`                                           | Struct field initializer                                              |                |
| `:`                       | `'a: loop {...}`                                        | Loop label                                                            |                |
| `;`                       | `expr;`                                                 | Statement and item terminator                                         |                |
| `;`                       | `[...; len]`                                            | Part of fixed-size array syntax                                       |                |
| `<<`                      | `expr << expr`                                          | Left-shift                                                            | `Shl`          |
| `<<=`                     | `var <<= expr`                                          | Left-shift and assignment                                             | `ShlAssign`    |
| `<`                       | `expr < expr`                                           | Less than comparison                                                  | `PartialOrd`   |
| `<=`                      | `expr <= expr`                                          | Less than or equal to comparison                                      | `PartialOrd`   |
| `=`                       | `var = expr`, `ident = type`                            | Assignment/equivalence                                                |                |
| `==`                      | `expr == expr`                                          | Equality comparison                                                   | `PartialEq`    |
| `=>`                      | `pat => expr`                                           | Part of match arm syntax                                              |                |
| `>`                       | `expr > expr`                                           | Greater than comparison                                               | `PartialOrd`   |
| `>=`                      | `expr >= expr`                                          | Greater than or equal to comparison                                   | `PartialOrd`   |
| `>>`                      | `expr >> expr`                                          | Right-shift                                                           | `Shr`          |
| `>>=`                     | `var >>= expr`                                          | Right-shift and assignment                                            | `ShrAssign`    |
| `@`                       | `ident @ pat`                                           | Pattern binding                                                       |                |
| `^`                       | `expr ^ expr`                                           | Bitwise exclusive OR                                                  | `BitXor`       |
| `^=`                      | `var ^= expr`                                           | Bitwise exclusive OR and assignment                                   | `BitXorAssign` |
| <code>&vert;</code>       | <code>pat &vert; pat</code>                             | Pattern alternatives                                                  |                |
| <code>&vert;</code>       | <code>expr &vert; expr</code>                           | Bitwise OR                                                            | `BitOr`        |
| <code>&vert;=</code>      | <code>var &vert;= expr</code>                           | Bitwise OR and assignment                                             | `BitOrAssign`  |
| <code>&vert;&vert;</code> | <code>expr &vert;&vert; expr</code>                     | Short-circuiting logical OR                                           |                |
| `?`                       | `expr?`                                                 | Error propagation                                                     |                |

### Non-operator Symbols

The following list contains all symbols that don’t function as operators; that
is, they don’t behave like a function or method call.

Table B-2 shows symbols that appear on their own and are valid in a variety of
locations.

<span class="caption">Table B-2: Stand-Alone Syntax</span>

| Symbol                                        | Explanation                                                            |
| --------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `'ident`                                      | Named lifetime or loop label                                           |
| `...u8`, `...i32`, `...f64`, `...usize`, etc. | Numeric literal of specific type                                       |
| `"..."`                                       | String literal                                                         |
| `r"..."`, `r#"..."#`, `r##"..."##`, etc.      | Raw string literal, escape characters not processed                    |
| `b"..."`                                      | Byte string literal; constructs an array of bytes instead of a string  |
| `br"..."`, `br#"..."#`, `br##"..."##`, etc.   | Raw byte string literal, combination of raw and byte string literal    |
| `'...'`                                       | Character literal                                                      |
| `b'...'`                                      | ASCII byte literal                                                     |
| <code>&vert;...&vert; expr</code>             | Closure                                                                |
| `!`                                           | Always empty bottom type for diverging functions                       |
| `_`                                           | “Ignored” pattern binding; also used to make integer literals readable |

Table B-3 shows symbols that appear in the context of a path through the module
hierarchy to an item.

<span class="caption">Table B-3: Path-Related Syntax</span>

| Symbol                                  | Explanation                                                                                                                     |
| --------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `ident::ident`                          | Namespace path                                                                                                                  |
| `::path`                                | Path relative to the extern prelude, where all other crates are rooted (i.e., an explicitly absolute path including crate name) |
| `self::path`                            | Path relative to the current module (i.e., an explicitly relative path).                                                        |
| `super::path`                           | Path relative to the parent of the current module                                                                               |
| `type::ident`, `<type as trait>::ident` | Associated constants, functions, and types                                                                                      |
| `<type>::...`                           | Associated item for a type that cannot be directly named (e.g., `<&T>::...`, `<[T]>::...`, etc.)                                |
| `trait::method(...)`                    | Disambiguating a method call by naming the trait that defines it                                                                |
| `type::method(...)`                     | Disambiguating a method call by naming the type for which it’s defined                                                          |
| `<type as trait>::method(...)`          | Disambiguating a method call by naming the trait and type                                                                       |

Table B-4 shows symbols that appear in the context of using generic type
parameters.

<span class="caption">Table B-4: Generics</span>

| Symbol                         | Explanation                                                                                                                              |
| ------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `path<...>`                    | Specifies parameters to generic type in a type (e.g., `Vec<u8>`)                                                                         |
| `path::<...>`, `method::<...>` | Specifies parameters to generic type, function, or method in an expression; often referred to as turbofish (e.g., `"42".parse::<i32>()`) |
| `fn ident<...> ...`            | Define generic function                                                                                                                  |
| `struct ident<...> ...`        | Define generic structure                                                                                                                 |
| `enum ident<...> ...`          | Define generic enumeration                                                                                                               |
| `impl<...> ...`                | Define generic implementation                                                                                                            |
| `for<...> type`                | Higher-ranked lifetime bounds                                                                                                            |
| `type<ident=type>`             | A generic type where one or more associated types have specific assignments (e.g., `Iterator<Item=T>`)                                   |

Table B-5 shows symbols that appear in the context of constraining generic type
parameters with trait bounds.

<span class="caption">Table B-5: Trait Bound Constraints</span>

| Symbol                        | Explanation                                                                                                                                |
| ----------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| `T: U`                        | Generic parameter `T` constrained to types that implement `U`                                                                              |
| `T: 'a`                       | Generic type `T` must outlive lifetime `'a` (meaning the type cannot transitively contain any references with lifetimes shorter than `'a`) |
| `T: 'static`                  | Generic type `T` contains no borrowed references other than `'static` ones                                                                 |
| `'b: 'a`                      | Generic lifetime `'b` must outlive lifetime `'a`                                                                                           |
| `T: ?Sized`                   | Allow generic type parameter to be a dynamically sized type                                                                                |
| `'a + trait`, `trait + trait` | Compound type constraint                                                                                                                   |

Table B-6 shows symbols that appear in the context of calling or defining
macros and specifying attributes on an item.

<span class="caption">Table B-6: Macros and Attributes</span>

| Symbol                                      | Explanation        |
| ------------------------------------------- | ------------------ |
| `#[meta]`                                   | Outer attribute    |
| `#![meta]`                                  | Inner attribute    |
| `$ident`                                    | Macro substitution |
| `$ident:kind`                               | Macro capture      |
| `$(…)…`                                     | Macro repetition   |
| `ident!(...)`, `ident!{...}`, `ident![...]` | Macro invocation   |

Table B-7 shows symbols that create comments.

<span class="caption">Table B-7: Comments</span>

| Symbol     | Explanation             |
| ---------- | ----------------------- |
| `//`       | Line comment            |
| `//!`      | Inner line doc comment  |
| `///`      | Outer line doc comment  |
| `/*...*/`  | Block comment           |
| `/*!...*/` | Inner block doc comment |
| `/**...*/` | Outer block doc comment |

Table B-8 shows the contexts in which parentheses are used.

<span class="caption">Table B-8: Parentheses</span>

| Symbol                   | Explanation                                                                                 |
| ------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `()`                     | Empty tuple (aka unit), both literal and type                                               |
| `(expr)`                 | Parenthesized expression                                                                    |
| `(expr,)`                | Single-element tuple expression                                                             |
| `(type,)`                | Single-element tuple type                                                                   |
| `(expr, ...)`            | Tuple expression                                                                            |
| `(type, ...)`            | Tuple type                                                                                  |
| `expr(expr, ...)`        | Function call expression; also used to initialize tuple `struct`s and tuple `enum` variants |

Table B-9 shows the contexts in which curly braces are used.

<span class="caption">Table B-9: Curly Brackets</span>

| Context      | Explanation      |
| ------------ | ---------------- |
| `{...}`      | Block expression |
| `Type {...}` | `struct` literal |

Table B-10 shows the contexts in which square brackets are used.

<span class="caption">Table B-10: Square Brackets</span>

| Context                                            | Explanation                                                                                                                   |
| -------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `[...]`                                            | Array literal                                                                                                                 |
| `[expr; len]`                                      | Array literal containing `len` copies of `expr`                                                                               |
| `[type; len]`                                      | Array type containing `len` instances of `type`                                                                               |
| `expr[expr]`                                       | Collection indexing. Overloadable (`Index`, `IndexMut`)                                                                       |
| `expr[..]`, `expr[a..]`, `expr[..b]`, `expr[a..b]` | Collection indexing pretending to be collection slicing, using `Range`, `RangeFrom`, `RangeTo`, or `RangeFull` as the “index” |