JuliaLang/julia

Improve reinterpret docstring

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#47,706 opened on Nov 25, 2022

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 (2 comments) (0 reactions) (0 assignees)Julia (48,709 stars) (5,773 forks)batch import
docshelp wanted

Description

reinterpret(type, A) The docstring does not mention what types are allowed in type. I believe it is any type that isbitstype or eltype(A) itself, regardless of whether or not it is a bits type, but I'm not sure.

Additionally, in Julia 1.8.3 and 1.6.3, this works: reinterpret(Real, Real[1,2,3]). In Julia 1.0.5, it throws. Perhaps this warrants a compat entry? Or perhaps 1.0 is too far gone for that.

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Tech stack
None
Domain
documentation
Issue type
documentation
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-3 hours
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
stale
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
clear
Prerequisites
basic understanding of Julia types
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
75
Research direction
The docstring for `reinterpret` in Julia's base library (likely in `base/abstractarray.jl`) needs to specify which types are allowed for the `type` argument. The issue author suggests it accepts any type that `isbitstype` or `eltype(A)` itself. Verify this behavior by reading the implementation and testing with various types. Also, consider adding a compat note for the behavior change across Julia versions (works in 1.6/1.8 but not 1.0). The existing comments should be reviewed for additional context.
Improve reinterpret docstring · JuliaLang/julia#47706 | Good First Issue