# Objective
As work on the editor starts to ramp up, it might be nice to start
allowing types to specify custom attributes. These can be used to
provide certain functionality to fields, such as ranges or controlling
how data is displayed.
A good example of this can be seen in
[`bevy-inspector-egui`](https://github.com/jakobhellermann/bevy-inspector-egui)
with its
[`InspectorOptions`](https://docs.rs/bevy-inspector-egui/0.22.1/bevy_inspector_egui/struct.InspectorOptions.html):
```rust
#[derive(Reflect, Default, InspectorOptions)]
#[reflect(InspectorOptions)]
struct Slider {
#[inspector(min = 0.0, max = 1.0)]
value: f32,
}
```
Normally, as demonstrated in the example above, these attributes are
handled by a derive macro and stored in a corresponding `TypeData`
struct (i.e. `ReflectInspectorOptions`).
Ideally, we would have a good way of defining this directly via
reflection so that users don't need to create and manage a whole proc
macro just to allow these sorts of attributes.
And note that this doesn't have to just be for inspectors and editors.
It can be used for things done purely on the code side of things.
## Solution
Create a new method for storing attributes on fields via the `Reflect`
derive.
These custom attributes are stored in type info (e.g. `NamedField`,
`StructInfo`, etc.).
```rust
#[derive(Reflect)]
struct Slider {
#[reflect(@0.0..=1.0)]
value: f64,
}
let TypeInfo::Struct(info) = Slider::type_info() else {
panic!("expected struct info");
};
let field = info.field("value").unwrap();
let range = field.get_attribute::<RangeInclusive<f64>>().unwrap();
assert_eq!(*range, 0.0..=1.0);
```
## TODO
- [x] ~~Bikeshed syntax~~ Went with a type-based approach, prefixed by
`@` for ease of parsing and flexibility
- [x] Add support for custom struct/tuple struct field attributes
- [x] Add support for custom enum variant field attributes
- [x] ~~Add support for custom enum variant attributes (maybe?)~~ ~~Will
require a larger refactor. Can be saved for a future PR if we really
want it.~~ Actually, we apparently still have support for variant
attributes despite not using them, so it was pretty easy to add lol.
- [x] Add support for custom container attributes
- [x] Allow custom attributes to store any reflectable value (not just
`Lit`)
- [x] ~~Store attributes in registry~~ This PR used to store these in
attributes in the registry, however, it has since switched over to
storing them in type info
- [x] Add example
## Bikeshedding
> [!note]
> This section was made for the old method of handling custom
attributes, which stored them by name (i.e. `some_attribute = 123`). The
PR has shifted away from that, to a more type-safe approach.
>
> This section has been left for reference.
There are a number of ways we can syntactically handle custom
attributes. Feel free to leave a comment on your preferred one! Ideally
we want one that is clear, readable, and concise since these will
potentially see _a lot_ of use.
Below is a small, non-exhaustive list of them. Note that the
`skip_serializing` reflection attribute is added to demonstrate how each
case plays with existing reflection attributes.
<details>
<summary>List</summary>
##### 1. `@(name = value)`
> The `@` was chosen to make them stand out from other attributes and
because the "at" symbol is a subtle pneumonic for "attribute". Of
course, other symbols could be used (e.g. `$`, `#`, etc.).
```rust
#[derive(Reflect)]
struct Slider {
#[reflect(@(min = 0.0, max = 1.0), skip_serializing)]
#[[reflect(@(bevy_editor::hint = "Range: 0.0 to 1.0"))]
value: f32,
}
```
##### 2. `@name = value`
> This is my personal favorite.
```rust
#[derive(Reflect)]
struct Slider {
#[reflect(@min = 0.0, @max = 1.0, skip_serializing)]
#[[reflect(@bevy_editor::hint = "Range: 0.0 to 1.0")]
value: f32,
}
```
##### 3. `custom_attr(name = value)`
> `custom_attr` can be anything. Other possibilities include `with` or
`tag`.
```rust
#[derive(Reflect)]
struct Slider {
#[reflect(custom_attr(min = 0.0, max = 1.0), skip_serializing)]
#[[reflect(custom_attr(bevy_editor::hint = "Range: 0.0 to 1.0"))]
value: f32,
}
```
##### 4. `reflect_attr(name = value)`
```rust
#[derive(Reflect)]
struct Slider {
#[reflect(skip_serializing)]
#[reflect_attr(min = 0.0, max = 1.0)]
#[[reflect_attr(bevy_editor::hint = "Range: 0.0 to 1.0")]
value: f32,
}
```
</details>
---
## Changelog
- Added support for custom attributes on reflected types (i.e.
`#[reflect(@Foo::new("bar")]`)
5db52663b3