Callbacks, closures and forward declarations [language.proctypes]
Annotate proc type definitions and forward declarations with {.raises [], gcsafe.} or specific exception types.
# By default, Nim assumes closures may raise any exception and are not gcsafe
# By annotating the callback with raises and gcsafe, the compiler ensures that
# any functions assigned to the closure fit the given constraints
type Callback = proc(...) {.raises: [], gcsafe.}
Practical notes
- Without annotations,
{.raises [Exception].}and no GC-safety is assumed by the compiler, infecting deduction in the whole call stack - Annotations constrain the functions being assigned to the callback to follow its declaration, simplifying calling the callback safely
- In particular, callbacks are difficult to reason about when they raise exceptions - what should the caller of the callback do?