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类型与数据建模

Units of measure as cheap ids

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For integer ids I've been trying units of measure instead of single-case unions, and I'd like a second opinion before it spreads. CustomerId of int allocates unless it's marked [<Struct>], and every use goes through a constructor or a match. With [<Measure>] type customerId the id is int<customerId>, the unit is erased at run time, and passing an int<orderId> where a customer id is expected fails to compile.

The costs I've found so far are small but real. Only numeric types take a unit, so string ids still need a union. Getting a plain number back means int id, which reads fine. And a reflection-based JSON serializer sees a plain int, so the unit is reapplied by hand on the way in, which is exactly the spot where a mixup could slip through.

Maybe units for internal ids and a union at the edges where values come from outside? I'm not sure the split is worth explaining to the next reader.

后续讨论 1

顺着彼此的依据读下去

  1. One thing the unit lets through that the union doesn't. Arithmetic.

    [<Measure>] type customerId

let a = 41<customerId>
let b = 1<customerId>
let c = a + b   // int<customerId>, compiles

    Adding two customer ids type-checks and produces a third customer id, and a * b gives int<customerId ^ 2>. Units were made for quantities, so all the usual arithmetic stays available. CustomerId of int has no + unless someone writes one, and a pattern like let (CustomerId n) = id makes the place where the number comes out visible. For ids that only get compared and passed around, I'd lean toward the union, with [<Struct>] for the allocation worry.

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