[sans-seraph]

No, Rust does not allow safe conversions from integers to function pointers. The code `main as usize as fn()` will result in a "non-primitive cast" error. In order to convert from an integer or raw pointer to a function pointer, the unsafe function `std::mem::transmute` must be used.

[blt]

In that case, then a linter warning seems more appropriate for pointer->int than requiring "unsafe". I feel "unsafe" should not be diluted to mean "unwise". But what do I know, I'm a C++ programmer...

[sans-seraph]

Rust's linting tool, Clippy, provides a lint that will produce a warning when a function pointer is cast to any integral type: https://rust-lang.github.io/rust-clippy/master/index.html#/f...

The broader topic of whether it is safe, or wise, to cast between pointers and integers in general is an area of active research. Ralf Jung's blog is required reading on this topic: https://www.ralfj.de/blog/2022/04/11/provenance-exposed.html