Explain fully qualified syntax for Rc and Arc

Author: camelid

library/alloc/src/rc.rs

@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
 //! is no exception: you cannot generally obtain a mutable reference to
 //! something inside an [`Rc`]. If you need mutability, put a [`Cell`]
 //! or [`RefCell`] inside the [`Rc`]; see [an example of mutability
-//! inside an Rc][mutability].
+//! inside an `Rc`][mutability].
 //!
 //! [`Rc`] uses non-atomic reference counting. This means that overhead is very
 //! low, but an [`Rc`] cannot be sent between threads, and consequently [`Rc`]
@@ -35,15 +35,26 @@
 //! `Rc<T>` automatically dereferences to `T` (via the [`Deref`] trait),
 //! so you can call `T`'s methods on a value of type [`Rc<T>`][`Rc`]. To avoid name
 //! clashes with `T`'s methods, the methods of [`Rc<T>`][`Rc`] itself are associated
-//! functions, called using function-like syntax:
+//! functions, called using [fully qualified syntax]:
 //!
 //! ```
 //! use std::rc::Rc;
-//! let my_rc = Rc::new(());
 //!
+//! let my_rc = Rc::new(());
 //! Rc::downgrade(&my_rc);
 //! ```
 //!
+//! `Rc<T>`'s implementations of traits like `Clone` should also be called using
+//! fully qualified syntax to avoid confusion as to whether the *reference* is being
+//! cloned or the *backing data* (`T`) is being cloned:
+//!
+//! ```
+//! use std::rc::Rc;
+//!
+//! let my_rc = Rc::new(());
+//! let your_rc = Rc::clone(&my_rc);
+//! ```
+//!
 //! [`Weak<T>`][`Weak`] does not auto-dereference to `T`, because the inner value may have
 //! already been dropped.
 //!
@@ -54,6 +65,7 @@
 //!
 //! ```
 //! use std::rc::Rc;
+//!
 //! let foo = Rc::new(vec![1.0, 2.0, 3.0]);
 //! // The two syntaxes below are equivalent.
 //! let a = foo.clone();
@@ -218,7 +230,7 @@
 //! [`Cell`]: core::cell::Cell
 //! [`RefCell`]: core::cell::RefCell
 //! [send]: core::marker::Send
-//! [arc]: ../../std/sync/struct.Arc.html
+//! [arc]: alloc::sync::Arc
 //! [`Deref`]: core::ops::Deref
 //! [downgrade]: Rc::downgrade
 //! [upgrade]: Weak::upgrade
@@ -272,10 +284,9 @@ struct RcBox<T: ?Sized> {
 ///
 /// The inherent methods of `Rc` are all associated functions, which means
 /// that you have to call them as e.g., [`Rc::get_mut(&mut value)`][get_mut] instead of
-/// `value.get_mut()`. This avoids conflicts with methods of the inner
-/// type `T`.
+/// `value.get_mut()`. This avoids conflicts with methods of the inner type `T`.
 ///
-/// [get_mut]: #method.get_mut
+/// [get_mut]: Rc::get_mut
 #[cfg_attr(not(test), rustc_diagnostic_item = "Rc")]
 #[stable(feature = "rust1", since = "1.0.0")]
 pub struct Rc<T: ?Sized> {

library/alloc/src/sync.rs

@@ -129,15 +129,26 @@ macro_rules! acquire {
 /// `Arc<T>` automatically dereferences to `T` (via the [`Deref`][deref] trait),
 /// so you can call `T`'s methods on a value of type `Arc<T>`. To avoid name
 /// clashes with `T`'s methods, the methods of `Arc<T>` itself are associated
-/// functions, called using function-like syntax:
+/// functions, called using [fully qualified syntax]:
 ///
 /// ```
 /// use std::sync::Arc;
-/// let my_arc = Arc::new(());
 ///
+/// let my_arc = Arc::new(());
 /// Arc::downgrade(&my_arc);
 /// ```
 ///
+/// `Arc<T>`'s implementations of traits like `Clone` should also be called using
+/// fully qualified syntax to avoid confusion as to whether the *reference* is being
+/// cloned or the *backing data* (`T`) is being cloned:
+///
+/// ```
+/// use std::sync::Arc;
+///
+/// let my_arc = Arc::new(());
+/// let your_arc = Arc::clone(&my_arc);
+/// ```
+///
 /// [`Weak<T>`][Weak] does not auto-dereference to `T`, because the inner value may have
 /// already been dropped.
 ///
@@ -154,6 +165,7 @@ macro_rules! acquire {
 /// [`RefCell<T>`]: core::cell::RefCell
 /// [`std::sync`]: ../../std/sync/index.html
 /// [`Arc::clone(&from)`]: Arc::clone
+/// [fully qualified syntax]: https://doc.rust-lang.org/book/ch19-03-advanced-traits.html#fully-qualified-syntax-for-disambiguation-calling-methods-with-the-same-name
 ///
 /// # Examples
 ///