e.g.: ```cs // -------------------vvvvvvvv-- returns a ref struct if (glfwGetError(error.AsP

e.g.:

    // -------------------vvvvvvvv-- returns a ref struct
    if (glfwGetError(error.AsPtr2D()) == 0 || error == nullptr)
    {
        throw new Exception("failed to create window and failed to get error");
    }

    // -------------------vvvvvvvv-- returns a ref struct
    if (glfwGetError(error.AsPtr2D()) == 0 || error == nullptr)
    {
        throw new Exception("failed to create window and failed to get error");
    }

    // -------------------vvvvvvvv-- returns a ref struct
    if (glfwGetError(error.AsPtr2D()) == 0 || error == nullptr)
    {
        throw new Exception("failed to create window and failed to get error");
    }

    // -------------------vvvvvvvv-- returns a ref struct
    if (glfwGetError(error.AsPtr2D()) == 0 || error == nullptr)
    {
        throw new Exception("failed to create window and failed to get error");
    }

Kai•8/4/23, 8:15 PM

uh I thought that'd be enough. PtrType can then have the "normal" private readonly ref byte InteriorRef;private readonly ref byte InteriorRef; and then that works?
We calculate the inner in InnerInner (or whatever it's called) and return another PtrType<T>PtrType<T>.
All the other methods work the same as Any2D but with generics

Aqua•8/4/23, 8:15 PM

maybe i have come in at the wrong time - but has the prospect of having 2 overloads, a safe and unsafe, been ruled out?
on a personal level, this is what i would prefer to see. it's how i tend to structure my apis as well - if you take a look at pie you'll see that pretty much everything that takes an array also has a pointer overload
but it's one or the other, no combinations

PPerksey e.g.: ```cs // -------------------vvvvvvvv-- returns a ref struct if (gl...

Maxine•8/4/23, 8:15 PM

that should still work with this design

PPerksey e.g.: ```cs // -------------------vvvvvvvv-- returns a ref struct if (gl...

Kai•8/4/23, 8:15 PM

what is error here? SomeT**SomeT**?

AAqua maybe i have come in at the wrong time - but has the prospect of having 2 overlo...

Maxine•8/4/23, 8:16 PM

if you want to do things unsafely there could probably be an implicit cast from pointer to Ptr<T> if that's allowed in c#

PerkseyOP•8/4/23, 8:16 PM

error is ConstPtr<sbyte>ConstPtr<sbyte> in this instance

AAqua maybe i have come in at the wrong time - but has the prospect of having 2 overlo...

Kai•8/4/23, 8:16 PM

unsafe overloads will stay, I'm very confident to say that

PerkseyOP•8/4/23, 8:16 PM

NO OVERLOADS

Kai•8/4/23, 8:16 PM

unsafe ways to call the function

Kai•8/4/23, 8:16 PM

whatever

Maxine•8/4/23, 8:16 PM

a cast that doesn't change the underlying memory of the value is free

PerkseyOP•8/4/23, 8:16 PM

the JIT is smart enough that if for every

Ptr

Ptr

you implicitly cast from a something*something*, it will be equivalent to fully unsafe

PPerksey error is `ConstPtr<sbyte>` in this instance

Kai•8/4/23, 8:17 PM

? So what does AsPtr2D() return? that makes no sense to me

PerkseyOP•8/4/23, 8:17 PM

ConstPtr<sbyte>ConstPtr<sbyte> incorrectly returns ConstPtr2D<sbyte>ConstPtr2D<sbyte> atm

KKai ? So what does AsPtr2D() return? that makes no sense to me

Maxine•8/4/23, 8:17 PM

sbyte* to sbyte**, i presume

PerkseyOP•8/4/23, 8:17 PM

i.e. it converts a ref this ConstPtr<sbyte>ref this ConstPtr<sbyte> to a ConstPtr2D<sbyte>ConstPtr2D<sbyte>

PerkseyOP•8/4/23, 8:17 PM

(or in IL terms, ldarg.0ldarg.0 retret)

Kai•8/4/23, 8:18 PM

Kai•8/4/23, 8:18 PM

ref

Kai•8/4/23, 8:18 PM

I see where the extra comes from now

Kai•8/4/23, 8:18 PM

implicit ref

PerkseyOP•8/4/23, 8:18 PM

lmao

PerkseyOP•8/4/23, 8:18 PM

i'm sorry I just found that hilarious

PerkseyOP•8/4/23, 8:18 PM

PPerksey NO OVERLOADS

Aqua•8/4/23, 8:18 PM

hmm that's where i disagree
one of the big benefits of C# is that it has overloads
sure you can have too many of them
but if you only have a few they can work very well
a pointer overload and an array overload
maybe a span
i just feel like this

Ptr<T>

Ptr<T>

stuff may be a bit hard to understand, certainly i'm looking at this and wondering what exactly this is supposed to mean
i feel like for most users, they will only ever want safe overloads that take an array/whatever else, instead of a

Ptr<T>

Ptr<T>

struct that may leave (especially to beginners) some users scratching their heads
and for those that want pointer overloads, they are available as well

Kai•8/4/23, 8:18 PM

yeah so that way around I see no problem with my design? It would work fine, the same way it works now. Use some IL magic to load the arg ptr and then store it into the outer PtrType ref struct

Kai•8/4/23, 8:19 PM

(but also do generic magic so the compiler knows what indirection level we are at now, but this isn't a runtime thing)

Kai•8/4/23, 8:19 PM

(unfortunately the JIT won't see it that way and produce many re-compilations of the same IL but that's not on me)

Kai•8/4/23, 8:19 PM

(and also also the case with The RefMutRef design)

PerkseyOP•8/4/23, 8:19 PM

can you define an E2E of how it'll work with a dummy glfwGetError signature, sorry just being stupid and can't quite visualise it

Kai•8/4/23, 8:19 PM

eeeh

Kai•8/4/23, 8:20 PM

can you give me the E2E I'm supposed to translate? I don't know what it looks like right now

PerkseyOP•8/4/23, 8:21 PM

what would int glfwGetError(const char**)int glfwGetError(const char**) (i.e. sbyte**sbyte**) look like, how would the user use it, and what does the AsPtr2D (or whatever) have to do to make it work

Maxine•8/4/23, 8:22 PM

PtrType<sbyte> a = ???;

PtrType<Ptr<sbyte>> b = a.PtrTo();

glfwGetError(b);

PtrType<sbyte> a = ???;

PtrType<Ptr<sbyte>> b = a.PtrTo();

glfwGetError(b);

Kai•8/4/23, 8:22 PM

int glfwError(ConstPtrType<Ptr<sbyte>>)

int glfwError(ConstPtrType<Ptr<sbyte>>)

MMaxine ```cs PtrType<sbyte> a = ???; PtrType<Ptr<sbyte>> b = a.PtrTo(); glfwGetError(...

Kai•8/4/23, 8:22 PM

and that

Kai•8/4/23, 8:22 PM

just ConstPtrType on the outside I think

Maxine•8/4/23, 8:23 PM

i foind a problem

PerkseyOP•8/4/23, 8:23 PM

and presumably if I did

PtrType<sbyte> a = nullptr;
PtrType<Ptr<sbyte> b = a.PtrTo();
glfwGetError(b);
Debug.Assert(a != nullptr);

PtrType<sbyte> a = nullptr;
PtrType<Ptr<sbyte> b = a.PtrTo();
glfwGetError(b);
Debug.Assert(a != nullptr);

it'd pass?

Maxine•8/4/23, 8:23 PM

PtrType<T> = contains a ref T
PtrType<Ptr<T>> = contains a ref Ptr<T> which contains a ref T, this is not allowed because Ptr is not a ref struct

Maxine•8/4/23, 8:23 PM

how would PtrType work in this scenario

PerkseyOP•8/4/23, 8:23 PM

yeah I'm worried if we go this route we will accidentally make a GC hole

AAqua hmm that's where i disagree one of the big benefits of C# is that it *has* overl...

PerkseyOP•8/4/23, 8:24 PM

sorry i do have a response to this I just keep getitng distracted

Maxine•8/4/23, 8:24 PM

we're having like 15 discussions at the same time

Kai•8/4/23, 8:24 PM

AsPtr2D I think turns

ref PtrType<sbyte>

ref PtrType<sbyte>

into

PtrType<Ptr<sbyte>>

PtrType<Ptr<sbyte>>

(so I guess it should be AsConstPtr2D()) and the given

ref

ref

is just stored as-is and the "the inner is also a ptr" is just tracked by the compiler via generics

MMaxine PtrType<T> = contains a ref T PtrType<Ptr<T>> = contains a ref Ptr<T> which cont...

Kai•8/4/23, 8:24 PM

No PtrType<Ptr<T>> just contaisn a ref byte, and so does PtrType<T>

Maxine•8/4/23, 8:24 PM

oh so the char** isn't a pointer to a variable?

Kai•8/4/23, 8:24 PM

when calling functions it just then re-calculates the inner ref

PPerksey yeah I'm worried if we go this route we will accidentally make a GC hole

Kai•8/4/23, 8:25 PM

I don't see how this is different from the

RefMut<sbyte>

RefMut<sbyte>

type at runtime? It's just a

ref byte

ref byte

on the inside (or a readonly ref byte in this case, but same same)

Kai•8/4/23, 8:25 PM

In neither case do we GC track the inner ref the outer one points to

e.g.: ```cs // -------------------vvvvvvvv-- returns a ref struct if (glfwGetError(error.AsP

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