[mercurial]

> As for lifetimes, that syntax is from OCaml, though they use it for something else.

I hadn't noticed the similarity but it makes sense. This is the OCaml syntax for generics, eg:

    type 'a list_with_generic = 'a list;

[steveklabnik]

Yeah, it's also not as different as it sounds, as lifetimes are fundamentally generics, just of a different kind than types.