//@ we wanted! Can't we somehow give `vec_min` access to the vector, while retaining ownership of it?
//@
//@ Rust calls this *a reference* the vector, and it considers references as *borrowing* ownership. This
-//@ works a bit like borrowing does in the real world: If you borrow a book to your friend, your friend
+//@ works a bit like borrowing does in the real world: If your friend borrows a book from you, your friend
//@ can have it and work on it (and you can't!) as long as the book is still borrowed. Your friend could
-//@ even borrow the book to someone else. Eventually however, your friend has to give the book back to you,
+//@ even lend the book to someone else. Eventually however, your friend has to give the book back to you,
//@ at which point you again have full control.
//@
//@ Rust distinguishes between two kinds of references. First of all, there's the *shared* reference.
vec_min(&v);
println!("The first element is: {}", *first);
}
-//@ What's going on here? First, `&` is how you borrow ownership to someone - this operator creates a shared reference.
+//@ What's going on here? First, `&` is how you lend ownership to someone - this operator creates a shared reference.
//@ `shared_ref_demo` creates three shared references to `v`:
//@ The reference `first` begins in the 2nd line of the function and lasts all the way to the end. The other two
//@ references, created for calling `vec_min`, only last for the duration of that respective call.
//@ that was created before calling `vec_min` remains valid.
// ## Unique, mutable references
-//@ There is a second way to borrow something, a second kind of reference: The *unique reference*. This is a reference that comes with the promise that
-//@ nobody else has *any kind of access* to the referee - there is no aliasing. As a consequence, it is always safe to mutate data through
-//@ an unique reference, which is why they are usually called *mutable references*.
+//@ There is a second way to borrow something, a second kind of reference: The *mutable reference*. This is a reference that comes with the promise
+//@ that nobody else has *any kind of access* to the referee - in contrast to shared references, there is no aliasing with mutable references. It is thus always safe to perform mutation through such a reference.
+//@ Because there cannot be another reference to the same data, we could also call it a *unique* reference, but that is not their official name.
//@ As an example, consider a function which increments every element of a vector by 1.
//@ The type `&mut Vec<i32>` is the type of mutable references to `vec<i32>`. Because the reference is
-//@ mutable, we can use a mutable iterator, providing mutable (unique) references to the elements.
+//@ mutable, we can use a mutable iterator, providing mutable references to the elements.
fn vec_inc(v: &mut Vec<i32>) {
for e in v.iter_mut() {
*e += 1;
//@ than one mutable reference - we only ever borrow `v` once at a time. However, we can *not* create a shared reference that spans a call to `vec_inc`. Just try
//@ enabling the commented-out lines, and watch Rust complain. This is because `vec_inc` could mutate
//@ the vector structurally (i.e., it could add or remove elements), and hence the reference `first`
-//@ could become invalid. In other words, Rust keeps us safe from bugs like the one in the C++ snipped above.
+//@ could become invalid. In other words, Rust keeps us safe from bugs like the one in the C++ snippet above.
//@
//@ Above, I said that having a mutable reference excludes aliasing. But if you look at the code above carefully,
//@ you may say: "Wait! Don't the `v` in `mutable_ref_demo` and the `v` in `vec_inc` alias?" And you are right,