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+# Rename `me` -> `self`
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+
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+<!--
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+Part of the Carbon Language project, under the Apache License v2.0 with LLVM
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+Exceptions. See /LICENSE for license information.
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+SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0 WITH LLVM-exception
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+-->
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+
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+[Pull request](https://github.com/carbon-language/carbon-lang/pull/1382)
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+
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+<!-- toc -->
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+
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+## Table of contents
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+
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+- [Problem](#problem)
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+- [Background](#background)
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+- [Proposal](#proposal)
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+- [Rationale](#rationale)
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+- [Alternatives considered](#alternatives-considered)
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+ - [Don't change anything](#dont-change-anything)
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+ - [`this`](#this)
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+
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+<!-- tocstop -->
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+
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+## Problem
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+
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+We've tried the `fn MethodName[me: Self]()` syntax for a while, and from our
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+experience the brevity of `me` is not worth doing something novel in this space.
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+We have found that `me` doesn't read well in practice.
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+
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+## Background
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+
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+The current method syntax, including these choices, was decided in
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+questions-for-leads issue
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+[#494: Method syntax](https://github.com/carbon-language/carbon-lang/issues/494)
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+and implemented in proposal
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+[#722: Nominal classes and methods](https://github.com/carbon-language/carbon-lang/pull/722).
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+
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+Looking at other languages that use reserved word for the receiver value:
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+
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+| When | Language | Receiver when<br />accessing members | Receiver value | Receiver type |
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+| ---------- | ---------- | ------------------------------------ | -------------- | ------------- |
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+| 1983 | C++ | implicit | `this` | --- |
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+| 1991 | Python | explicit | `self` | --- |
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+| 1995 | Java | implicit | `this` | --- |
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+| 1995 | JavaScript | explicit | `this` | --- |
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+| 2000 | C# | implicit | `this` | --- |
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+| 2009 | Go | explicit | (see below) | --- |
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+| 2010 | Rust | explicit | `self` | `Self` |
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+| 2011 | Kotlin | implicit | `this` | --- |
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+| 2012 | TypeScript | explicit | `this` | `this` |
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+| 2014 | Swift | implicit | `self` | `Self` |
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+| previously | Carbon | explicit | `me` | `Self` |
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+| proposed | Carbon | explicit | `self` | `Self` |
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+
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+In detail:
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+
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+- C++ uses
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+ [`this` for address of the receiver value](https://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/language/this).
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+ C++23 includes
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+ [an explicit `this` facility](https://www.open-std.org/jtc1/sc22/wg21/docs/papers/2021/p0847r7.html).
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+ Examples in the proposal frequently use `self` as the name of the parameter,
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+ and `Self` as its type.
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+- Swift uses
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+ [`self` for the receiver value](https://docs.swift.org/swift-book/LanguageGuide/Methods.html#ID238).
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+ and
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+ [`Self` for its type](https://docs.swift.org/swift-book/ReferenceManual/Types.html#ID610).
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+- Rust uses
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+ [`self` for the receiver value](https://doc.rust-lang.org/std/keyword.self.html)
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+ and
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+ [`Self` for its type](https://doc.rust-lang.org/rust-by-example/fn/methods.html).
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+- C# uses
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+ [`this` for a reference to the receiver value](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/csharp/language-reference/keywords/this).
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+- Python as a convention uses `self` for the receiver value, but it's almost
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+ universally followed.
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+- Go conventionally uses an abbreviation of the type name.
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+
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+Some history about the use of `self` in programming languages is documented in
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+[this StackOverflow answer](https://stackoverflow.com/a/1080192/624900),
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+including that `self` is also used in Smalltalk, Modula-3, Delphi/Object Pascal,
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+and Objective-C.
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+
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+## Proposal
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+
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+Use `self` instead of `me` to be consistent with Swift and Rust.
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+
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+## Rationale
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+
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+This is consistent with Carbon's goal to make
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+[Code that is easy to read, understand, and write](/docs/project/goals.md#code-that-is-easy-to-read-understand-and-write)
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+by choosing a keyword for this role that is less surprising to users.
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+
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+## Alternatives considered
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+
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+### Don't change anything
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+
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+We could stay with the status quo, which has the benefit that `me` is shorter
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+than `self`. There are two considerations:
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+
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+- For accessing members of the current object, the chart in
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+ [the background section](#background) shows plenty of precedent for
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+ requiring a 4 character explicit keyword.
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+- We would also like to reduce ceremony when declaring the signature of a
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+ method. For this concern, both `me: Self` and `addr me: Self*` are already
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+ longer than what other languages use in practice. It would probably be
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+ better to solve this problem with a shortcut approach like Rust
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+ ([1](https://doc.rust-lang.org/book/ch05-03-method-syntax.html),
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+ [2](https://doc.rust-lang.org/rust-by-example/fn/methods.html)), where
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+ `&self` is short for `self: &Self` and `&mut self` is short for
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+ `self: &mut Self`.
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+
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+### `this`
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+
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+We could also switch to `this`, primarily to benefit
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+[C++ users](https://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/language/this). This had a few
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+disadvantages:
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+
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+- We are worried that it frequently not being a pointer would be surprising to
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+ those C++ users.
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+- As noted in [the background section](#background), C++23 code using explicit
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+ this frequently uses the name `self`.
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+- We view it as an advantage to use the same spelling for the variable `self`
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+ as for the type `Self`, and while `this` might make an acceptable name for
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+ the object parameter, `Self` is much more strongly established as the name
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+ for the current class, for example in PL research, and there is no precedent
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+ for a type named `This`.
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josh11b