Interop `Dynamic` Data with Rust

Create a `Dynamic` from Rust Type

Rust type `T: Clone`, `K: Into<String>`	Unavailable under	Use API
`INT` (`i64` or `i32`)		`value.into()`
`FLOAT` (`f64` or `f32`)	`no_float`	`value.into()`
`Decimal` (requires `decimal`)		`value.into()`
`bool`		`value.into()`
`()`		`value.into()`
`String`, `&str`, `ImmutableString`		`value.into()`
`char`		`value.into()`
`Array`	`no_index`	`Dynamic::from_array(value)`
`Blob`	`no_index`	`Dynamic::from_blob(value)`
`Vec<T>`, `&[T]`, `Iterator<T>`	`no_index`	`value.into()`
`Map`	`no_object`	`Dynamic::from_map(value)`
`HashMap<K, T>`, `HashSet<K>`, `BTreeMap<K, T>`, `BTreeSet<K>`	`no_object`	`value.into()`
`INT..INT`, `INT..=INT`		`value.into()`
`Rc<RwLock<T>>` or `Arc<Mutex<T>>`	`no_closure`	`value.into()`
`Instant`	`no_time` or `no_std`	`value.into()`
All types (including above)		`Dynamic::from(value)`

Type Checking and Casting

Tip: try_cast

The try_cast method does not panic but returns None upon failure.

A Dynamic value’s actual type can be checked via Dynamic::is.

The cast method then converts the value into a specific, known type.

Use clone_cast to clone a reference to Dynamic.

let list: Array = engine.eval("...")?;      // return type is 'Array'
let item = list[0].clone();                 // an element in an 'Array' is 'Dynamic'

item.is::<i64>() == true;                   // 'is' returns whether a 'Dynamic' value is of a particular type

let value = item.cast::<i64>();             // if the element is 'i64', this succeeds; otherwise it panics
let value: i64 = item.cast();               // type can also be inferred

let value = item.try_cast::<i64>()?;        // 'try_cast' does not panic when the cast fails, but returns 'None'

let value = list[0].clone_cast::<i64>();    // use 'clone_cast' on '&Dynamic'
let value: i64 = list[0].clone_cast();

Type Name and Matching Types

The type_name method gets the name of the actual type as a static string slice, which can be match-ed against.

This is a very simple and direct way to act on a Dynamic value based on the actual type of the data value.

let list: Array = engine.eval("...")?;      // return type is 'Array'
let item = list[0];                         // an element in an 'Array' is 'Dynamic'

match item.type_name() {                    // 'type_name' returns the name of the actual Rust type
    "()" => ...
    "i64" => ...
    "f64" => ...
    "rust_decimal::Decimal" => ...
    "core::ops::range::Range<i64>" => ...
    "core::ops::range::RangeInclusive<i64>" => ...
    "alloc::string::String" => ...
    "bool" => ...
    "char" => ...
    "rhai::FnPtr" => ...
    "std::time::Instant" => ...
    "crate::path::to::module::TestStruct" => ...
        :
}

Always full path name

type_name always returns the full Rust path name of the type, even when the type has been registered with a friendly name via Engine::register_type_with_name.

This behavior is different from that of the type_of function in Rhai.

Getting a Reference to Data

Use Dynamic::read_lock and Dynamic::write_lock to get an immutable/mutable reference to the data inside a Dynamic.

struct TheGreatQuestion {
    answer: i64
}

let question = TheGreatQuestion { answer: 42 };

let mut value: Dynamic = Dynamic::from(question);

let q_ref: &TheGreatQuestion =
        &*value.read_lock::<TheGreatQuestion>().unwrap();
//                       ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ cast to data type

println!("answer = {}", q_ref.answer);          // prints 42

let q_mut: &mut TheGreatQuestion =
        &mut *value.write_lock::<TheGreatQuestion>().unwrap();
//                            ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ cast to data type

q_mut.answer = 0;                               // mutate value

let value = value.cast::<TheGreatQuestion>();

println!("new answer = {}", value.answer);      // prints 0

TL;DR – Why read_lock and write_lock?

As the naming shows, something is locked in order to allow accessing the data within a Dynamic, and that something is a shared value created by capturing variables from closures.

Shared values are implemented as Rc<RefCell<Dynamic>> (Arc<RwLock<Dynamic>> under sync).

If the value is not a shared value, or if running under no_closure where there is no capturing, this API de-sugars to a simple reference cast.

In other words, there is no locking and reference counting overhead for the vast majority of non-shared values.

If the value is a shared value, then it is first locked and the returned lock guard allows access to the underlying value in the specified type.

Methods and Traits

The following methods are available when working with Dynamic:

Method	Not available under	Return type	Description
`type_name`		`&str`	name of the value’s type
`into_shared`	`no_closure`	`Dynamic`	turn the value into a shared value
`flatten_clone`		`Dynamic`	clone the value (a shared value, if any, is cloned into a separate copy)
`flatten`		`Dynamic`	clone the value into a separate copy if it is shared and there are multiple outstanding references, otherwise shared values are turned unshared
`read_lock<T>`	`no_closure` (pass thru’)	`Option<` guard to `T>`	lock the value for reading
`write_lock<T>`	`no_closure` (pass thru’)	`Option<` guard to `T>`	lock the value exclusively for writing
`deep_scan`			recursively scan for `Dynamic` values (e.g. items inside an array or object map, or curried arguments in a function pointer)

Constructor instance methods

Method	Not available under	Value type	Data type
`from_bool`		`bool`	`bool`
`from_int`		`INT`	integer number
`from_float`	`no_float`	`FLOAT`	floating-point number
`from_decimal`	non-`decimal`	`Decimal`	`Decimal`
`from_str`		`&str`	string
`from_char`		`char`	character
`from_array`	`no_index`	`Vec<T>`	array
`from_blob`	`no_index`	`Vec<u8>`	BLOB
`from_map`	`no_object`	`Map`	object map
`from_timestamp`	`no_time` or `no_std`	`std::time::Instant` (`instant::Instant` if WASM build)	timestamp
`from<T>`		`T`	custom type

Detection methods

Method	Not available under	Return type	Description
`is<T>`		`bool`	is the value of type `T`?
`is_variant`		`bool`	is the value a trait object (i.e. not one of Rhai’s standard types)?
`is_read_only`		`bool`	is the value constant? A constant value should not be modified.
`is_shared`	`no_closure`	`bool`	is the value shared via a closure?
`is_locked`	`no_closure`	`bool`	is the value shared and locked (i.e. currently being read)?
`is_unit`		`bool`	is the value `()`?
`is_int`		`bool`	is the value an integer?
`is_float`	`no_float`	`bool`	is the value a floating-point number?
`is_decimal`	non-`decimal`	`bool`	is the value a `Decimal`?
`is_bool`		`bool`	is the value a `bool`?
`is_char`		`bool`	is the value a character?
`is_string`		`bool`	is the value a string?
`is_array`	`no_index`	`bool`	is the value an array?
`is_blob`	`no_index`	`bool`	is the value a BLOB?
`is_map`	`no_object`	`bool`	is the value an object map?
`is_timestamp`	`no_time` or `no_std`	`bool`	is the value a timestamp?

Casting methods

The following methods cast a Dynamic into a specific type:

Method	Not available under	Return type (error is the actual data type)
`cast<T>`		`T` (panics on failure)
`try_cast<T>`		`Option<T>`
`clone_cast<T>`		cloned copy of `T` (panics on failure)
`as_unit`		`Result<(), &str>`
`as_int`		`Result<INT, &str>`
`as_float`	`no_float`	`Result<FLOAT, &str>`
`as_decimal`	non-`decimal`	`Result<Decimal, &str>`
`as_bool`		`Result<bool, &str>`
`as_char`		`Result<char, &str>`
`into_string`		`Result<String, &str>`
`into_immutable_string`		`Result<ImmutableString, &str>`
`into_array`	`no_index`	`Result<Array, &str>`
`into_blob`	`no_index`	`Result<Blob, &str>`
`into_typed_array<T>`	`no_index`	`Result<Vec<T>, &str>`

Constructor traits

The following constructor traits are implemented for Dynamic where T: Clone:

Trait	Not available under	Data type
`From<()>`		`()`
`From<INT>`		integer number
`From<FLOAT>`	`no_float`	floating-point number
`From<Decimal>`	non-`decimal`	`Decimal`
`From<bool>`		`bool`
`From<S: Into<ImmutableString>>` e.g. `From<String>`, `From<&str>`		`ImmutableString`
`From<char>`		character
`From<Vec<T>>`	`no_index`	array
`From<&[T]>`	`no_index`	array
`From<BTreeMap<K: Into<SmartString>, T>>` e.g. `From<BTreeMap<String, T>>`	`no_object`	object map
`From<BTreeSet<K: Into<SmartString>>>` e.g. `From<BTreeSet<String>>`	`no_object`	object map
`From<HashMap<K: Into<SmartString>, T>>` e.g. `From<HashMap<String, T>>`	`no_object` or `no_std`	object map
`From<HashSet<K: Into<SmartString>>>` e.g. `From<HashSet<String>>`	`no_object` or `no_std`	object map
`From<FnPtr>`		function pointer
`From<Instant>`	`no_time` or `no_std`	timestamp
`From<Rc<RefCell<Dynamic>>>`	`sync` or `no_closure`	`Dynamic`
`From<Arc<RwLock<Dynamic>>>` (`sync`)	non-`sync` or `no_closure`	`Dynamic`
`FromIterator<X: IntoIterator<Item=T>>`	`no_index`	array

Rhai - Embedded Scripting for Rust