borrowing & consuming — Parameter Ownership

Explicit ownership modifiers for performance optimization and noncopyable type support.

When to Use

✅ Use when:

• Large value types being passed read-only (avoid copies)
• Working with noncopyable types (

  ~Copyable

  )
• Reducing ARC retain/release traffic
• Factory methods that consume builder objects
• Performance-critical code where copies show in profiling

❌ Don't use when:

• Simple types (Int, Bool, small structs)
• Compiler optimization is sufficient (most cases)
• Readability matters more than micro-optimization
• You're not certain about the performance impact

Quick Reference

borrowing

copy

consuming

inout

Default Behavior by Context

borrowing

consuming

consuming

self

borrowing

Patterns

Pattern 1: Read-Only Large Struct

struct LargeBuffer {
    var data: [UInt8]  // Could be megabytes
}

// ❌ Default may copy
func process(_ buffer: LargeBuffer) -> Int {
    buffer.data.count
}

// ✅ Explicit borrow — no copy
func process(_ buffer: borrowing LargeBuffer) -> Int {
    buffer.data.count
}

Pattern 2: Consuming Factory

struct Builder {
    var config: Configuration

    // Consumes self — builder invalid after call
    consuming func build() -> Product {
        Product(config: config)
    }
}

let builder = Builder(config: .default)
let product = builder.build()
// builder is now invalid — compiler error if used

Pattern 3: Explicit Copy in Borrowing

With

borrowing

func store(_ value: borrowing LargeValue) {
    // ❌ Error: Cannot implicitly copy borrowing parameter
    self.cached = value

    // ✅ Explicit copy
    self.cached = copy value
}

Pattern 4: Consume Operator

Transfer ownership explicitly:

let data = loadLargeData()
process(consume data)
// data is now invalid — compiler prevents use

Pattern 5: Noncopyable Type

For

~Copyable

struct FileHandle: ~Copyable {
    private let fd: Int32

    init(path: String) throws {
        fd = open(path, O_RDONLY)
        guard fd >= 0 else { throw POSIXError.errno }
    }

    borrowing func read(count: Int) -> Data {
        // Read without consuming handle
        var buffer = [UInt8](repeating: 0, count: count)
        _ = Darwin.read(fd, &buffer, count)
        return Data(buffer)
    }

    consuming func close() {
        Darwin.close(fd)
        // Handle consumed — can't use after close()
    }

    deinit {
        Darwin.close(fd)
    }
}

// Usage
let file = try FileHandle(path: "/tmp/data.txt")
let data = file.read(count: 1024)  // borrowing
file.close()  // consuming — file invalidated

Pattern 6: Reducing ARC Traffic

class ExpensiveObject { /* ... */ }

// ❌ Default: May retain/release
func inspect(_ obj: ExpensiveObject) -> String {
    obj.description
}

// ✅ Borrowing: No ARC traffic
func inspect(_ obj: borrowing ExpensiveObject) -> String {
    obj.description
}

Pattern 7: Consuming Method on Self

struct Transaction {
    var amount: Decimal
    var recipient: String

    // After commit, transaction is consumed
    consuming func commit() async throws {
        try await sendToServer(self)
        // self consumed — can't modify or reuse
    }
}

Common Mistakes

Mistake 1: Over-Optimizing Small Types

// ❌ Unnecessary — Int is trivially copyable
func add(_ a: borrowing Int, _ b: borrowing Int) -> Int {
    a + b
}

// ✅ Let compiler optimize
func add(_ a: Int, _ b: Int) -> Int {
    a + b
}

Mistake 2: Forgetting Explicit Copy

func cache(_ value: borrowing LargeValue) {
    // ❌ Compile error
    self.values.append(value)

    // ✅ Explicit copy required
    self.values.append(copy value)
}

Mistake 3: Consuming When Borrowing Suffices

// ❌ Consumes unnecessarily — caller loses access
func validate(_ data: consuming Data) -> Bool {
    data.count > 0
}

// ✅ Borrow for read-only
func validate(_ data: borrowing Data) -> Bool {
    data.count > 0
}

~Copyable Limitations

Know the constraints before adopting ~Copyable:

Array

Dictionary

Set

Copyable

Optional<T>

<T>

<T: Copyable>

<T: ~Copyable>

Copyable

~Copyable

borrowing

any ~Copyable

Common compiler errors when adopting ownership modifiers:

// Error: "Cannot implicitly copy a borrowing parameter"
// Fix: Add explicit `copy` or change to consuming
func store(_ v: borrowing LargeValue) {
    self.cached = copy v  // ✅ Explicit copy
}

// Error: "Noncopyable type cannot be used with generic"
// Fix: Constrain generic to ~Copyable
func use<T: ~Copyable>(_ value: borrowing T) { }  // ✅

// Error: "Cannot consume a borrowing parameter"
// Fix: Change to consuming if you need ownership transfer
func takeOwnership(_ v: consuming FileHandle) { }  // ✅

// Error: "Missing 'consuming' or 'borrowing' modifier"
// Fix: ~Copyable types require explicit ownership on all methods
struct Token: ~Copyable {
    borrowing func peek() -> String { ... }   // ✅ Explicit
    consuming func redeem() { ... }           // ✅ Explicit
}

When NOT to use ~Copyable:

• If you need collection storage (arrays, dictionaries)
• If you need to work with existing generic APIs
• If the type needs broad protocol conformance
• Prefer

  consuming func

  on regular types as a lighter alternative for "use once" semantics

Performance Considerations

When Ownership Modifiers Help

• Large structs (arrays, dictionaries, custom value types)
• High-frequency function calls in tight loops
• Reference types where ARC traffic is measurable
• Noncopyable types (required, not optional)

When to Skip

• Default behavior is almost always optimal
• Small value types (primitives, small structs)
• Code where profiling shows no benefit
• API stability concerns (modifiers affect ABI)

InlineArray

Fixed-size, stack-allocated array using value generics. No heap allocation, no reference counting, no copy-on-write.

Declaration

@frozen struct InlineArray<let count: Int, Element> where Element: ~Copyable

The

let count: Int

InlineArray<3, Int>

InlineArray<4, Int>

When to Use InlineArray

Canonical Example

// Fixed-size, inline storage — no heap allocation
var matrix: InlineArray<9, Float> = [1, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 1]
matrix[4] = 2.0

// Type inference works for count, element, or both
let rgb: InlineArray = [0.2, 0.4, 0.8]  // InlineArray<3, Double>

// Eager copy on assignment (no COW)
var copy = matrix
copy[0] = 99  // matrix[0] still 1

Memory Layout

Elements are stored contiguously with no overhead:

MemoryLayout<InlineArray<3, UInt16>>.size       // 6 (2 bytes × 3)
MemoryLayout<InlineArray<3, UInt16>>.alignment  // 2 (same as UInt16)

~Copyable Integration

InlineArray supports noncopyable elements — enables fixed-size collections of unique resources:

struct Sensor: ~Copyable { var id: Int }
var sensors: InlineArray<4, Sensor> = ...  // Valid: ~Copyable elements allowed

Span — Safe Contiguous Memory Access

Span

The Span Family

Span<Element>

MutableSpan<Element>

RawSpan

MutableRawSpan

OutputSpan

UTF8Span

Accessing Spans

Containers with contiguous storage expose

.span

.mutableSpan

let array = [1, 2, 3, 4]
let span = array.span  // Span<Int>

var mutable = [10, 20, 30]
var ms = mutable.mutableSpan  // MutableSpan<Int>
ms[0] = 99

Lifetime Safety — Compile-Time Enforcement

Spans are non-escapable — the compiler guarantees they cannot outlive the container they borrow from:

// ❌ Cannot return span that depends on local variable
func getSpan() -> Span<UInt8> {
    let array: [UInt8] = Array(repeating: 0, count: 128)
    return array.span  // Compile error
}

// ❌ Cannot capture span in closure
let span = array.span
let closure = { span.count }  // Compile error

// ❌ Cannot access span after mutating original
var array = [1, 2, 3]
let span = array.span
array.append(4)
// span[0]  // Compile error: container was modified

These constraints prevent use-after-free, dangling pointers, and overlapping mutation at compile time with zero runtime cost.

Span vs Unsafe Pointers

Canonical Example — Binary Parsing

func parseHeader(_ data: borrowing [UInt8]) -> Header {
    var raw = data.span.rawSpan  // RawSpan over the array's bytes
    let magic = raw.unsafeLoadUnaligned(as: UInt32.self)
    raw = raw.extracting(droppingFirst: 4)
    let version = raw.unsafeLoadUnaligned(as: UInt16.self)
    return Header(magic: magic, version: version)
}

When to Use Span

• Replace

  UnsafeBufferPointer

  — same performance, compile-time safety
• Performance-critical algorithms — direct memory access without copying
• Binary parsing/serialization —

  RawSpan

  for byte-level access
• Passing data between functions — borrow the container, pass the span
• UTF-8 processing —

  UTF8Span

  for safe string byte access

Value Generics

Value generics allow integer values as generic parameters, making sizes part of the type system:

// `let count: Int` is a value generic parameter
struct InlineArray<let count: Int, Element> { ... }

// Different counts = different types
let a: InlineArray<3, Int> = [1, 2, 3]
let b: InlineArray<4, Int> = [1, 2, 3, 4]
// a = b  // Compile error: different types

Currently limited to

Int

Decision Tree

Need explicit ownership?
├─ Working with ~Copyable type?
│  └─ Yes → Required (borrowing/consuming)
├─ Fixed-size collection, no heap allocation?
│  └─ Yes → InlineArray<let count, Element>
├─ Need safe pointer-like access to contiguous memory?
│  ├─ Read-only? → Span<Element>
│  ├─ Mutable? → MutableSpan<Element>
│  └─ Raw bytes? → RawSpan / MutableRawSpan
├─ Large value type passed frequently?
│  ├─ Read-only? → borrowing
│  └─ Final use? → consuming
├─ ARC traffic visible in profiler?
│  ├─ Read-only? → borrowing
│  └─ Transferring ownership? → consuming
└─ Otherwise → Let compiler choose

Resources

Swift Evolution: SE-0377, SE-0453 (Span), SE-0451 (InlineArray), SE-0452 (value generics)

WWDC: 2024-10170, 2025-245, 2025-312

Docs: /swift/inlinearray, /swift/span

Skills: axiom-swift-performance, axiom-swift-concurrency