@@ -20,19 +20,24 @@ use crate::{fmt, hash, intrinsics, mem, ptr};
2020/// as a discriminant -- `Option<NonNull<T>>` has the same size as `*mut T`.
2121/// However the pointer may still dangle if it isn't dereferenced.
2222///
23- /// Unlike `*mut T`, `NonNull<T>` was chosen to be covariant over `T`. This makes it
24- /// possible to use `NonNull<T>` when building covariant types, but introduces the
25- /// risk of unsoundness if used in a type that shouldn't actually be covariant.
26- /// (The opposite choice was made for `*mut T` even though technically the unsoundness
27- /// could only be caused by calling unsafe functions.)
23+ /// Unlike `*mut T`, `NonNull<T>` is covariant over `T`. This is usually the correct
24+ /// choice for most data structures and safe abstractions, such as `Box`, `Rc`, `Arc`, `Vec`,
25+ /// and `LinkedList`.
2826///
29- /// Covariance is correct for most safe abstractions, such as `Box`, `Rc`, `Arc`, `Vec`,
30- /// and `LinkedList`. This is the case because they provide a public API that follows the
31- /// normal shared XOR mutable rules of Rust.
27+ /// In rare cases, if your type exposes a way to mutate the value of `T` through a `NonNull<T>`,
28+ /// and you need to prevent unsoundness from variance (for example, if `T` could be a reference
29+ /// with a shorter lifetime), you should add a field to make your type invariant, such as
30+ /// `PhantomData<Cell<T>>` or `PhantomData<&'a mut T>`.
3231///
33- /// If your type cannot safely be covariant, you must ensure it contains some
34- /// additional field to provide invariance. Often this field will be a [`PhantomData`]
35- /// type like `PhantomData<Cell<T>>` or `PhantomData<&'a mut T>`.
32+ /// Example of a type that must be invariant:
33+ /// ```rust
34+ /// use std::cell::Cell;
35+ /// use std::marker::PhantomData;
36+ /// struct Invariant<T> {
37+ /// ptr: std::ptr::NonNull<T>,
38+ /// _invariant: PhantomData<Cell<T>>,
39+ /// }
40+ /// ```
3641///
3742/// Notice that `NonNull<T>` has a `From` instance for `&T`. However, this does
3843/// not change the fact that mutating through a (pointer derived from a) shared
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