[RFC] Explicit ABI in extern

text/3722-explicit-extern-abis.md

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+- Feature Name: `explicit_extern_abis`
+- Start Date: 2024-10-30
+- RFC PR: [rust-lang/rfcs#3722](https://github.com/rust-lang/rfcs/pull/3722)
+- Tracking Issue: [rust-lang/rust#134986](https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/issues/134986)
+
+# Summary
+
+Disallow `extern` without an explicit ABI in a new edition. Write `extern "C"` (or another ABI) instead of just `extern`.
+
+```diff
+- extern { … }
++ extern "C" { … }
+
+- extern fn foo() { … }
++ extern "C" fn foo() { … }
+```
+
+# Motivation
+
+Originally, `"C"` was a very reasable default for `extern`.
+However, with work ongoing to add other ABIs to Rust, it is no longer obvious that `"C"` should forever stay the default.
+
+By making the ABI explicit, it becomes much clearer that `"C"` is just one of the possible choices, rather than the "standard" way for external functions.
+Removing the default makes it easier to add a new ABI on equal footing as `"C"`.
+
+Right now, "extern", "FFI" and "C" are somewhat used interchangeably in Rust. For example, this is the diagnostic when using a `String` in an `extern` function:
+
+```
+warning: `extern` fn uses type `String`, which is not FFI-safe
+ --> src/main.rs:1:16
+  |
+1 | extern fn a(s: String) {}
+  |                ^^^^^^ not FFI-safe
+  |
+  = help: consider adding a `#[repr(C)]` or `#[repr(transparent)]` attribute to this struct
+  = note: this struct has unspecified layout
+  = note: `#[warn(improper_ctypes_definitions)]` on by default
+```
+
+If another future ABI will support `String`, this error should make it clearer that the problem is not that `String` doesn't support FFI, but rather that the `"C"` ABI doesn't support `String`.
+This would be easier if there was actually a `"C"` token to point at in the source code. E.g.:
+
+```
+warning: `extern` fn uses type `String`, which is not supported by the "C" ABI
+ --> src/main.rs:1:16
+  |
+1 | extern "C" fn a(s: String) {}
+  |        ---         ^^^^^^ String type not supported by this ABI
+  |         |
+  |         the "C" ABI does not support this type
+```
+
+It would also make it clearer that swapping `"C"` for another ABI might be an option.
+
+# Guilde-level explanation
+
+Up to the previous edition, `extern` without an explicit ABI was equivalent to `extern "C"`.
+In the new edition, writing `extern` without an ABI is an error.
+Instead, you must write `extern "C"` explicitly.
+
+# Automatic migration
+
+Automatic migration (for `cargo fix --edition`) is trivial: Insert `"C"` after `extern` if there is no ABI.
+
+# Drawbacks
+
+- This is a breaking change and needs to be done in a new edition.
+
+# Prior art
+
+This was proposed before Rust 1.0 in 2015 in [RFC 697](https://github.com/rust-lang/rfcs/pull/697).
+It was not accepted at the time, because "C" seemed like the only resonable default.
+It was later closed because it'd be a backwards incompatible change, and editions were not yet invented.
+
+# Unresolved questions
+
+- ~~In which edition do we make this change?~~
+  - It's too late for the 2024 edition: https://github.com/rust-lang/rfcs/pull/3722#issuecomment-2447333966
+- ~~Do we warn about `extern` without an explicit ABI in previous editions?~~
+   - Yes, with separate FCP: https://github.com/rust-lang/rfcs/pull/3722#issuecomment-2447719047
+
+# Future possibilities
+
+In the future, we might want to add a new default ABI.
+For example, if `extern "stable-rust-abi"` becomes a thing and e.g. dynamically linking Rust from Rust becomes very popular, it might make sense to make that the default when writing `extern fn` without an ABI.
+That is, however, a separate discussion; it might also be reasonable to never have a default ABI again.