As input parameters
While Rust chooses how to capture variables on the fly mostly without type
annotation, this ambiguity is not allowed when writing functions. When
taking a closure as an input parameter, the closure's complete type must be
annotated using one of a few traits
, and they're determined by what the
closure does with captured value. In order of decreasing restriction,
they are:
Fn
: the closure uses the captured value by reference (&T
)FnMut
: the closure uses the captured value by mutable reference (&mut T
)FnOnce
: the closure uses the captured value by value (T
)
On a variable-by-variable basis, the compiler will capture variables in the least restrictive manner possible.
For instance, consider a parameter annotated as FnOnce
. This specifies
that the closure may capture by &T
, &mut T
, or T
, but the compiler
will ultimately choose based on how the captured variables are used in the
closure.
This is because if a move is possible, then any type of borrow should also
be possible. Note that the reverse is not true. If the parameter is
annotated as Fn
, then capturing variables by &mut T
or T
are not
allowed. However, &T
is allowed.
In the following example, try swapping the usage of Fn
, FnMut
, and
FnOnce
to see what happens: