Merge pull request #82041 from DougGregor/sendable-metatype-docs-6.2

Author: DougGregor

stdlib/public/core/Sendable.swift

@@ -10,7 +10,55 @@
 //
 //===----------------------------------------------------------------------===//
 
-/// A type `T` whose metatype `T.Type` is `Sendable`.
+/// A type whose metatype can be shared across arbitrary concurrent contexts
+/// without introducing a risk of data races. When a generic type `T` conforms
+/// to `SendableMetatype`, its metatype `T.Type` conforms to `Sendable`.  All
+/// concrete types implicitly conform to the `SendableMetatype` protocol, so its
+/// primary purpose is in generic code to prohibit the use of isolated
+/// conformances along with the generic type.
+///
+/// A generic type `T` will need a `SendableMetatype` conformance when its
+/// metatype is shared across concurrency boundaries. For example,
+///
+///     protocol P {
+///       static func f()
+///     }
+///
+///     func useFromAnotherTask<T: P>(_: T.Type) {
+///       Task { @concurrent in
+///         T.f()   // error: capturing non-Sendable type `T.Type` in a concurrently-executing task
+///       }
+///     }
+///
+/// The potential data race above would occur when `useFromAnotherTask` is
+/// provided with an isolated conformance to `P`. For example:
+///
+///     @MainActor
+///     class MyModel: @MainActor P {
+///       /*implicitly @MainActor/*
+///       static func f() {
+///         /* on the main actor */
+///       }
+///     }
+///
+///     useFromAnotherTask(MyModel.self)
+///
+/// Here, the error within the body of `useFromAnotherTask` is preventing the
+/// isolated conformance from leaving the current task and actor. The signature
+/// of `useFromAnotherTask` can be adjusted to introduce a requirement on
+/// `SendableMetatype`:
+///
+///     func useFromAnotherTask<T: P & SendableMetatype>(_: T.Type) {
+///       Task { @concurrent in
+///         T.f()   // error: okay, T.Type is Sendable
+///       }
+///     }
+///
+///     useFromAnotherTask(MyModel.self) // error: cannot use main-actor-isolated conformance `MyModel: P` for a `SendableMetatype`-conforming type parameter `T`
+///
+/// The `Sendable` protocol inherits from `SendableMetatype`, so any generic
+/// type `T` with a requirement `T: Sendable` will have the implied requirement
+/// `T: SendableMetatype`.
 @_marker public protocol SendableMetatype: ~Copyable, ~Escapable { }
 
 /// A thread-safe type whose values can be shared across arbitrary concurrent
@@ -135,6 +183,9 @@
 /// ### Sendable Metatypes
 ///
 /// Metatypes such as `Int.Type` implicitly conform to the `Sendable` protocol.
+/// For a generic type `T`, its metatype `T.Type` does not necessarily conform
+/// to `Sendable`. Please see the `SendableMetatype` protocol for more
+/// information.
 @_marker public protocol Sendable: SendableMetatype, ~Copyable, ~Escapable { }
 
 ///