From 5ae1cbeb54686f8b59f3c151dc7f5f7e3e482c8a Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Tim Hutt <timh@graphcore.ai>
Date: Sun, 16 Dec 2018 11:19:43 +0000
Subject: [PATCH] Add file-open-with RFC

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+- Feature Name: file_open_with
+- Start Date: 2018-11-08
+- RFC PR: 
+- Rust Issue: #55762
+
+# Summary
+[summary]: #summary
+
+This RFC proposes making `File::open()` consistent by deprecating `OpenOptions::new().read(true).write(true).open("existing_file")` and adding `File::open_with("existing_file", OpenOptions::new().read().write())` instead.
+
+# Motivation
+[motivation]: #motivation
+
+The current way to open an existing file in read-only mode is this:
+
+    File::open("foo.txt")
+
+And to create a new file it is:
+
+    File::create("foo.txt")
+
+But if you want to open an existing file in read/write mode it is this:
+
+use std::fs::OpenOptions;
+
+    let mut file = OpenOptions::new()
+        .read(true)
+        .write(true)
+        .open("foo.txt");
+
+This is inconsistent and unexpected. I propose that we deprecate `OpenOptions::open()` and add `File::open_with(path: &str, options: &OpenOptions)`.
+
+    let mut file = File::open_with("foo.txt", OpenOptions::new().read().write());
+
+This matches the normal way of doing "call a method with some options" in Rust, for example `TcpStream::connect(addr)` and `TcpStream::connect_timeout(addr, timeout)`.
+
+# Guide-level explanation
+[guide-level-explanation]: #guide-level-explanation
+
+## Reading and Writing Files
+
+To open a file in read-only mode you can use `File::open()` like this:
+
+    let mut file = File::open("existing_file");
+
+This will open the file in read-only mode. To create a new file and write to it you can use:
+
+    let mut file = File::create("new_file");
+
+This will open the file in read/write mode and create it if it doesn't already exist. If you want to open an existing file, but *not* create it if it already exists, use this code:
+
+    let mut file = File::open_with("existing_file", OpenOptions::new().read().write());
+
+# Reference-level explanation
+[reference-level-explanation]: #reference-level-explanation
+
+Internally this could be implemented exactly like this:
+
+```
+impl File {
+  pub fn open_with(filename: &str, options: &OpenOptions) -> File {
+    options.open(filename)
+  }
+}
+```
+
+# Drawbacks
+[drawbacks]: #drawbacks
+
+There would now be two ways to open a read/write file (though one would be deprecated).
+
+# Rationale and alternatives
+[rationale-and-alternatives]: #rationale-and-alternatives
+
+This is confusing, as evidenced by [these](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/50039341/open-file-in-read-write-mode-in-rust) [two](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/47956653/is-it-possible-to-use-the-same-file-for-reading-and-writing) Stackoverflow questions. Passing an "options" struct as a parameter to a `new_with()` style constructor is the standard idiom in Rust - as seen in `TcpStream::connect_timeout()` and `SipHasher::new_with_keys()`.
+
+# Prior art
+[prior-art]: #prior-art
+
+The C API uses `fopen()` which has a `mode` string for this purpose. It doesn't have a mode structure that contains an `open()` function.
+
+C++ has a similar mechanism - the `fstream` constructor can take `ios::in | ios::out`.
+
+Even Haskell looks normal in comparison:
+
+    handle <- openFile "file.txt" ReadWriteMode
+
+I don't know of another language that has something like Rust's
+
+    file_open("read_only")
+    read_write_options.open("read_write")
+
+# Unresolved questions
+[unresolved-questions]: #unresolved-questions
+
+The name.
+
+* `open_with`
+* `open_with_options`
+* Something else?
+
+# Future possibilities
+[future-possibilities]: #future-possibilities
+
+This is still fairly verbose:
+
+    let mut file = File::open_with("existing_file", OpenOptions::new().read().write());
+
+It may be nice to add shortcuts for common options, or to use a bitfield type thing instead:
+
+    let mut file = File::open_read_write("existing_file");
+    let mut file = File::open_with_mode("existing_file", File::Read | File::Write);
+
+Or
+
+    let mut file = File::open_with_options("existing_file", OpenOptions::read_write());