E0392 - Error codes index
Description: Book listing all Rust error codes

# Error code E0392

A type or lifetime parameter has been declared but is not actually used.

Erroneous code example:

    #![allow(unused)]
    fn main() {
    enum Foo<T> {
        Bar,
    }
    }

If the type parameter was included by mistake, this error can be fixed by simply removing the type parameter, as shown below:

    #![allow(unused)]
    fn main() {
    enum Foo {
        Bar,
    }
    }

Alternatively, if the type parameter was intentionally inserted, it must be used. A simple fix is shown below:

    #![allow(unused)]
    fn main() {
    enum Foo<T> {
        Bar(T),
    }
    }

This error may also commonly be found when working with unsafe code. For example, when using raw pointers one may wish to specify the lifetime for which the pointed-at data is valid. An initial attempt (below) causes this error:

    #![allow(unused)]
    fn main() {
    struct Foo<'a, T> {
        x: *const T,
    }
    }

We want to express the constraint that Foo should not outlive `'a`, because the data pointed to by `T` is only valid for that lifetime. The problem is that there are no actual uses of `'a`. It's possible to work around this by adding a PhantomData type to the struct, using it to tell the compiler to act as if the struct contained a borrowed reference `&'a T`:

    #![allow(unused)]
    fn main() {
    use std::marker::PhantomData;

    struct Foo<'a, T: 'a> {
        x: *const T,
        phantom: PhantomData<&'a T>
    }
    }

PhantomData can also be used to express information about unused type parameters.