document type bound operators (#17063)

* document type bound rountines
* address comments
* Update doc/manual.rst

Co-authored-by: Andreas Rumpf <rumpf_a@web.de>
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Timothee Cour 2021-02-23 04:52:20 -08:00 • committed by GitHub
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@ -3678,6 +3678,48 @@ Is short for:
Routines
--------
A routine is a symbol of kind: `proc`, `func`, `method`, `iterator`, `macro`, `template`, `converter`.
Type bound operators
--------------------
A type bound operator is a `proc` or `func` whose name starts with `=` but isn't an operator
(i.e. containing only symbols, such as `==`). These are unrelated to setters
(see `properties <manual.html#procedures-properties>`_), which instead end in `=`.
A type bound operator declared for a type applies to the type regardless of whether
the operator is in scope (including if it is private).
.. code-block:: nim
# foo.nim:
var witness* = 0
type Foo[T] = object
proc initFoo*(T: typedesc): Foo[T] = discard
proc `=destroy`[T](x: var Foo[T]) = witness.inc # type bound operator
# main.nim:
import foo
block:
var a = initFoo(int)
doAssert witness == 0
doAssert witness == 1
block:
var a = initFoo(int)
doAssert witness == 1
`=destroy`(a) # can be called explicitly, even without being in scope
doAssert witness == 2
# will still be called upon exiting scope
doAssert witness == 3
Type bound operators currently include:
``=destroy``, ``=copy``, ``=sink``, ``=trace``, ``=dispose``, ``=deepcopy``
(some of which are still implementation defined and not yet documented).
For more details on some of those procs, see
`lifetimeminustracking-hooks <destructors.html#lifetimeminustracking-hooks>`_.
Nonoverloadable builtins
------------------------