> No destructors.
What's the logic behind this? It's nice to have a way to pair resource usage with disposal. Or does the linear type system allows not to forget about the resources which have to be closed.
What's the logic behind this? It's nice to have a way to pair resource usage with disposal. Or does the linear type system allows not to forget about the resources which have to be closed.
The 'no destructor' rule follows the 'no hidden flow' design, similar to Zig. Some doesn't like it, but personally I prefer it.
Linear types enable manual memory management without memory leaks, use-after-free, double free errors, garbage collection, or any runtime overhead in either time or space other than having an allocator available. More generally, it enables us to manage any resource (file handles, socket handles, etc.) that has a lifecycle without letting us forget to dispose of the resource (e.g. leaving a file handle open), dispose of it twice, or use it after disposal (e.g. reading from a closed socket), all without runtime overhead.
The Austral tutorial's chapter on linear types (https://austral-lang.org/tutorial/linear-types) explains how this works in a fairly clear way.