![]() Bug: https://github.com/dart-lang/sdk/issues/53042 Change-Id: Ib332a7ab005a432d98066d79c2e48a5f06e88716 Reviewed-on: https://dart-review.googlesource.com/c/sdk/+/318000 Reviewed-by: Phil Quitslund <pquitslund@google.com> Commit-Queue: Konstantin Shcheglov <scheglov@google.com> |
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TRIAGE.md |
Null safety migration tooling
Note:
- This migration tool is now available through the SDK, using the
dart migrate
command. Support for running it viapub activate
is deprecated. - The null safety migration tooling is in an early state and may have bugs and other issues.
- As null safety is still in preview, we recommend only doing trial migrations. The final migration of apps and packages should not be done until the feature is more complete.
- For best results, use SDK version 2.9.0-10.0.dev or higher.
How migration works
The migration uses a new interactive algorithm designed specifically for Dart null safety.
Typical code migration tools are designed to be run once, handle most cases, and let the developer do manual cleanup on the result. This does not work well for null safety and attempting this workflow will result in a lot more manual work. Similarly, after your migration has been applied, the migration cannot be rerun without first reverting it.
Why does the interactive approach save so much time?
Remember that Dart already has nullable types. Every type in old Dart code is nullable! What old Dart lacks is non-null types.
And like most migrations, our tool tries to preserve your code's current behavior. In the case of null safety, we may mark a lot of your types as nullable -- because they really were nullable before.
Nulls are traced through your program as far as they can go, and types are marked nullable in this process. If the tool makes a single mistake or choice you disagree with, it can lead to many excess nullable types.
Interactive feedback to the tool
Unintentional null is the top cause of crashes in Dart programs. By marking your
intention with comments like /*?*/
and /*!*/
, we can stop these
unintentional nulls from spreading through your program in your migrated code.
Adding a small number of these hints will have a huge impact on migration
quality.
The high level workflow of the tool is therefore driven through an interactive
web UI. After starting the tool with dart migrate
, open the presented URL in a
browser. Scan through the changes, use the "nullability trace" feature to find
the best place to add a nullability hint (adding a hint in the best place can
prevent dozens of types from being made nullable). Rerun the migration and
repeat, committing the hints as you go. When the output is correct and
acceptable, apply the migration.
For example,
List<int> ints = const [0, null];
int zero = ints[0];
int one = zero + 1;
List<int> zeroOne = [zero, one];
The default migration will be backwards compatible, but not ideal.
List<int?> ints = const [0, null];
int? zero = ints[0];
int one = zero! + 1;
List<int?> zeroOne = <int?>[zero, one];
zero
should not be marked nullable, but it is. We then have cascading quality
issues, such as null-checking a value that shouldn't have been marked null, and
marking other variables as null due to deep null tracing. We can fix this all by
adding a single /*!*/
hint.
List<int?> ints = const [0, null];
int/*!*/ zero = ints[0]!; // Just add /*!*/ here, the migration tool does the rest!
int one = zero + 1;
List<int> zeroOne = <int>[zero, one];
If you add one hint before migrating, you have done the equivalent of making five manual edits after migrating. To find the best place to put your hints, use the preview tool's nullability trace feature. This lets you trace back up to the root cause of any type's inferred nullability. Add hints as close to the original source of null as possible to have the biggest impact to the migration.
Note: The migration tool cannot be rerun on a migrated codebase. At that point in time, every nullable and non-nullable type is indistinguishable from an intentionally nullable or non-nullable type. The opportunity to change large numbers of types for you at once without also accidentally changing your intent has been lost. A long migration effort (such as one on a large project) can be done incrementally, by committing these hints over time.
Migrating a package
-
Select a package to work on, and open a command terminal in the top-level of the package directory.
-
Run
pub get
in order to make available all dependencies of the package. -
It is best to migrate a package to null safety after the package's dependencies have migrated to null safety. Run
pub outdated --mode=null-safety
to learn the migration status of the package's dependencies. See the pub outdated documentation for more information. -
It is best to migrate a package starting from a clean code repository state (
git status
, for example), in case you must revert the migration. Ensure there are no pending changes in the package's code repository. -
Run the migration tool from the top-level of the package directory:
dart migrate
The migration tool will display a URL for the web interface. Open that URL in a browser to view, analyze, and improve the proposed null-safe migration.
Using the tool
- Run the tool (see above).
- Once analysis and migration is complete, open the indicated URL in a browser.
- Start with an important or interesting file in your package on the left side by clicking on it.
- Look at the proposed edits in the upper right, and click on them in turn.
- If you see an edit that looks wrong:
- Use the "trace view" in the bottom right to find the root cause
- Either click on an "add hint" button to correct it at the root, or open
your editor and make the change manually.
- Some changes are as simple as adding a
/*!*/
hint on a type. The tool has buttons to do this for you. - Others may require larger refactors. These changes can be made in your editor.
- Changes may even be committed to source code management before finally applying the migration. In this way, a migration of a large package can be carried out over multiple sessions, or between multiple engineers. Committing hints and other adjustments along the way helps to separate the concerns of describing user intent vs committing to the migration result.
- Some changes are as simple as adding a
- Periodically rerun the migration and repeat.
- Once you are satisfied with the proposed migration:
- Save your work using git or other means. Applying the migration will
overwrite the existing files on disk.
- Note: In addition to making edits to the Dart source code in
the package, applying the migration edits the package's
pubspec.yaml
file, in order to change the Dart SDK version constraints, under theenvironment
field, and the "Package Config" file, located in the package's.dart_tool
directory, namedpackage_config.json
.
- Note: In addition to making edits to the Dart source code in
the package, applying the migration edits the package's
- Apply the migration by clicking the
Apply Migration
button in the interface. - Tip: leaving the web UI open may help you if you later have test failures or analysis errors.
- Save your work using git or other means. Applying the migration will
overwrite the existing files on disk.
- Rerun
pub get
, then analyze and test your package.- If there are new static analysis issues, or if a test fails, you may still use the preview to help you figure out what went wrong.
- If large changes are required, revert the migration, and go back to step
one. The tool does not provide any revert capability; this must be done
via source code management (for example,
git checkout
).
- Commit and/or publish your migrated null-safe code.
Providing feedback
Please file issues at https://github.com/dart-lang/sdk/issues, and reference the
area-migration
label (you may not be able to apply the label yourself).