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<ol class="chapter"><li class="affix"><a href="introduction.html">Introduction</a></li><li><a href="notation.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">1.</strong> Notation</a></li><li><a href="lexical-structure.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">2.</strong> Lexical structure</a></li><li><ol class="section"><li><a href="input-format.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">2.1.</strong> Input format</a></li><li><a href="keywords.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">2.2.</strong> Keywords</a></li><li><a href="identifiers.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">2.3.</strong> Identifiers</a></li><li><a href="comments.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">2.4.</strong> Comments</a></li><li><a href="whitespace.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">2.5.</strong> Whitespace</a></li><li><a href="tokens.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">2.6.</strong> Tokens</a></li><li><a href="paths.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">2.7.</strong> Paths</a></li></ol></li><li><a href="macros.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">3.</strong> Macros</a></li><li><ol class="section"><li><a href="macros-by-example.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">3.1.</strong> Macros By Example</a></li><li><a href="procedural-macros.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">3.2.</strong> Procedural Macros</a></li></ol></li><li><a href="crates-and-source-files.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">4.</strong> Crates and source files</a></li><li><a href="items-and-attributes.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">5.</strong> Items and attributes</a></li><li><ol class="section"><li><a href="items.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">5.1.</strong> Items</a></li><li><ol class="section"><li><a href="items/modules.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">5.1.1.</strong> Modules</a></li><li><a href="items/extern-crates.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">5.1.2.</strong> Extern crates</a></li><li><a href="items/use-declarations.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">5.1.3.</strong> Use declarations</a></li><li><a href="items/functions.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">5.1.4.</strong> Functions</a></li><li><a href="items/type-aliases.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">5.1.5.</strong> Type aliases</a></li><li><a href="items/structs.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">5.1.6.</strong> Structs</a></li><li><a href="items/enumerations.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">5.1.7.</strong> Enumerations</a></li><li><a href="items/unions.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">5.1.8.</strong> Unions</a></li><li><a href="items/constant-items.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">5.1.9.</strong> Constant items</a></li><li><a href="items/static-items.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">5.1.10.</strong> Static items</a></li><li><a href="items/traits.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">5.1.11.</strong> Traits</a></li><li><a href="items/implementations.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">5.1.12.</strong> Implementations</a></li><li><a href="items/external-blocks.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">5.1.13.</strong> External blocks</a></li></ol></li><li><a href="items/generics.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">5.2.</strong> Type and lifetime parameters</a></li><li><a href="items/associated-items.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">5.3.</strong> Associated Items</a></li><li><a href="visibility-and-privacy.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">5.4.</strong> Visibility and Privacy</a></li><li><a href="attributes.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">5.5.</strong> Attributes</a></li></ol></li><li><a href="statements-and-expressions.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">6.</strong> Statements and expressions</a></li><li><ol class="section"><li><a href="statements.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">6.1.</strong> Statements</a></li><li><a href="expressions.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">6.2.</strong> Expressions</a></li><li><ol class="section"><li><a href="expressions/literal-expr.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">6.2.1.</strong> Literal expressions</a></li><li><a href="expressions/path-expr.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">6.2.2.</strong> Path expressions</a></li><li><a href="expressions/block-expr.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">6.2.3.</strong> Block expressions</a></li><li><a href="expressions/operator-expr.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">6.2.4.</strong> Operator expressions</a></li><li><a href="expressions/grouped-expr.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">6.2.5.</strong> Grouped expressions</a></li><li><a href="expressions/array-expr.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">6.2.6.</strong> Array and index expressions</a></li><li><a href="expressions/tuple-expr.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">6.2.7.</strong> Tuple and index expressions</a></li><li><a href="expressions/struct-expr.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">6.2.8.</strong> Struct expressions</a></li><li><a href="expressions/enum-variant-expr.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">6.2.9.</strong> Enum variant expressions</a></li><li><a href="expressions/call-expr.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">6.2.10.</strong> Call expressions</a></li><li><a href="expressions/method-call-expr.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">6.2.11.</strong> Method call expressions</a></li><li><a href="expressions/field-expr.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">6.2.12.</strong> Field access expressions</a></li><li><a href="expressions/closure-expr.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">6.2.13.</strong> Closure expressions</a></li><li><a href="expressions/loop-expr.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">6.2.14.</strong> Loop expressions</a></li><li><a href="expressions/range-expr.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">6.2.15.</strong> Range expressions</a></li><li><a href="expressions/if-expr.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">6.2.16.</strong> If and if let expressions</a></li><li><a href="expressions/match-expr.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">6.2.17.</strong> Match expressions</a></li><li><a href="expressions/return-expr.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">6.2.18.</strong> Return expressions</a></li></ol></li></ol></li><li><a href="type-system.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">7.</strong> Type system</a></li><li><ol class="section"><li><a href="types.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">7.1.</strong> Types</a></li><li><a href="dynamically-sized-types.html" class="active"><strong aria-hidden="true">7.2.</strong> Dynamically Sized Types</a></li><li><a href="type-layout.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">7.3.</strong> Type layout</a></li><li><a href="interior-mutability.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">7.4.</strong> Interior mutability</a></li><li><a href="subtyping.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">7.5.</strong> Subtyping and Variance</a></li><li><a href="trait-bounds.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">7.6.</strong> Trait and lifetime bounds</a></li><li><a href="type-coercions.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">7.7.</strong> Type coercions</a></li><li><a href="destructors.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">7.8.</strong> Destructors</a></li><li><a href="lifetime-elision.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">7.9.</strong> Lifetime elision</a></li></ol></li><li><a href="special-types-and-traits.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">8.</strong> Special types and traits</a></li><li><a href="memory-model.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">9.</strong> Memory model</a></li><li><ol class="section"><li><a href="memory-allocation-and-lifetime.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">9.1.</strong> Memory allocation and lifetime</a></li><li><a href="memory-ownership.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">9.2.</strong> Memory ownership</a></li><li><a href="variables.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">9.3.</strong> Variables</a></li></ol></li><li><a href="linkage.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">10.</strong> Linkage</a></li><li><a href="unsafety.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">11.</strong> Unsafety</a></li><li><ol class="section"><li><a href="unsafe-functions.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">11.1.</strong> Unsafe functions</a></li><li><a href="unsafe-blocks.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">11.2.</strong> Unsafe blocks</a></li><li><a href="behavior-considered-undefined.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">11.3.</strong> Behavior considered undefined</a></li><li><a href="behavior-not-considered-unsafe.html"><strong aria-hidden="true">11.4.</strong> Behavior not considered unsafe</a></li></ol></li><li><a href="influences.html">Appendix: Influences</a></li><li class="affix"><a href="undocumented.html">Appendix: As-yet-undocumented Features</a></li><li class="affix"><a href="glossary.html">Appendix: Glossary</a></li></ol>
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<a class="header" href="dynamically-sized-types.html#dynamically-sized-types" id="dynamically-sized-types"><h1>Dynamically Sized Types</h1></a>
<p>Most types have a fixed size that is known at compile time and implement the
trait <a href="special-types-and-traits.html#sized"><code>Sized</code></a>. A type with a size that is known only at run-time is
called a <em>dynamically sized type</em> (<em>DST</em>) or, informally, an unsized type.
<a href="types.html#array-and-slice-types">Slices</a> and <a href="types.html#trait-objects">trait objects</a> are two examples of <abbr title="dynamically sized
types">DSTs</abbr>. Such types can only be used in certain cases:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="types.html#pointer-types">Pointer types</a> to <abbr title="dynamically sized types">DSTs</abbr> are
sized but have twice the size of pointers to sized types
<ul>
<li>Pointers to slices also store the number of elements of the slice.</li>
<li>Pointers to trait objects also store a pointer to a vtable.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><abbr title="dynamically sized types">DSTs</abbr> can be provided as
type arguments when a bound of <code>?Sized</code>. By default any type parameter
has a <code>Sized</code> bound.</li>
<li>Traits may be implemented for <abbr title="dynamically sized
types">DSTs</abbr>. Unlike type parameters <code>Self: ?Sized</code> by default in trait
definitions.</li>
<li>Structs may contain a <abbr title="dynamically sized type">DST</abbr> as the
last field, this makes the struct itself a
<abbr title="dynamically sized type">DST</abbr>.</li>
</ul>
<p>Notably: <a href="variables.html">variables</a>, function parameters, <a href="items/constant-items.html">const</a> and <a href="items/static-items.html">static</a> items must be
<code>Sized</code>.</p>
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