what's the meaning of "Collection where Indices.Iterator.Element == Index"

Question

I could not figure out the purpose/meaning of "Indices.Iterator.Element == Index" in following code

extension Collection where Indices.Iterator.Element == Index {

    /// Returns the element at the specified index iff it is within bounds, otherwise nil.
    subscript (safe index: Index) -> Generator.Element? {
        return indices.contains(index) ? self[index] : nil
    }
}

Note that I have updated [my answer here](http://stackoverflow.com/a/40331858/2976878), which (I hope) better explains the reasoning behind the constraint. — Hamish, Dec 30 '16 at 12:05

score 9 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 30 '16 at 05:59

The generic constraint syntax where T == U says that the type T must be the same type as type U.

Let's do a simpler example first:

protocol GenericProtocol {
    associatedtype T
    associatedtype U
}

extension GenericProtocol where T == U {
    func foo() {}
}

class ConcreteClassA: GenericProtocol {
    typealias T = Int
    typealias U = Float
}

class ConcreteClassB: GenericProtocol {
    typealias T = Int
    typealias U = Int
}

let a = ConcreteClassA()
let b = ConcreteClassB()

Now which of these, a or b has the member foo? The answer is b.

Since the extension's generic constraint says that T and U must be the same type, the extension is only applied to ConcreteClassB because its T and U are both Int.

Back to your code now.

In your code, you're saying that Indices.Iterator.Element must be the same type as Index. Let's figure what these two types are respectively.

Indices is the type of the property indices. So Indices.Iterator.Element is type of each index of the collection. Index on the other hand, is the type of value that you can put into the subscript of of the collection. This constraint seems excessive but it is in fact not. I can't think of an example of a type where the constraint is not true. But you can in theory create such a type. That's why the constraint is there.

If the constraint weren't there, this would not compile:

indices.contains(index)

If you think my answer answers your question, please consider accepting it! @Jacky — Sweeper, Dec 30 '16 at 11:45
Xcode 9 says this is redundant. (with a warning): **Redundant same-type constraint 'Self.Index' == 'Self.Indices.Iterator.Element'** — Jonny, Sep 13 '17 at 00:17
@Jonny My answer is for swift 3. Xcode 9 uses swift 4, so it is possible that something is changed. — Sweeper, Sep 13 '17 at 05:58

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Dec 30 '16 at 06:03

contains(_:) is being called on the indices property (which has type Indices), with the parameter called index (which has type Index). The only way this is possible is if the Indices elements are of the same type as Index.

This constraint is added to assert that this is true, thus allowing the code to compile.

Take Array of example. Its Indices associated type is set to CountableRange<Int> and its Index associated type is set to Int. Array is able to conform to your protocol because it's true that the elements of the iterator of CountableRange<Int> (CountableRange<Int>.Iterator.Element) and the type of Index are both Int.

what's the meaning of "Collection where Indices.Iterator.Element == Index"

2 Answers2