Proving that 1 + 1 = 10 in Rust

Tavian Barnes Reddit

"There are 10 types of people: those who understand binary, and those who don't."

I recently read this writeup about using Rust's type system to prove that 1 + 1 = 2, and was inspired to make a version of it with a more efficient representation. To recap (but really, read that post first if you haven't already), they used the Peano representation of the natural numbers, which is based on the successor function SS:

1=S(0)2=S(1)=S(S(0))3=S(2)=S(S(S(0)))\begin{aligned} 1 & = S(0) \\ 2 & = S(1) = S(S(0)) \\ 3 & = S(2) = S(S(S(0))) \\ \vdots \end{aligned}

In this system, every natural number is defined as some finite recursive applications of SS, terminating at zero. This is simple, but also tremendously inefficient. We need a representation of length O(n)O(n) just to represent nn.

Positional systems, like the familiar decimal (base 10) system, have representations of length just O(logn)O(\log n). This is exponentially better; we can write down numbers like 1,000,000 without pages and pages of S(S(S(S(S(S(\ldots This extra efficiency should let us do some bigger calculations with our numbers-as-types.

Single-bit operations

We're going to use binary rather than decimal, to simplify the case work. If we were going to represent binary numbers at runtime, we could do something like this:

#[derive(Clone, Copy, Debug)]
enum Bit {
    Zero,
    One,
}

use Bit::*;

The simplest piece of arithmetic we can implement is a half adder:

#![allow(unused)]
fn main() {
#[derive(Clone, Copy, Debug)]
enum Bit {
    Zero,
    One,
}

use Bit::*;

fn half_adder(a: Bit, b: Bit) -> (Bit, Bit) {
    match (a, b) {
        (Zero, Zero) => (Zero, Zero),
        (Zero, One)  => (One,  Zero),
        (One,  Zero) => (One,  Zero),
        (One,  One)  => (Zero, One),
    }
}

let (s, c) = half_adder(One, One);
println!("One plus One is {:?}, carry the {:?}", s, c);
}

But we want to do all this at compile-time, not runtime, so we have to lift a few things up to the type level. Values become types:

#[derive(Debug, Default)]
struct Zero;
#[derive(Debug, Default)]
struct One;

The type-level version of functions like half_adder are traits with associated types:

trait HalfAdder {
    type Sum;
    type Carry;
}

The "parameters" to the function are passed through the Self type. The "return values" are the associated types Sum and Carry. We can "evaluate" the function by writing something like <(One, One) as HalfAdder>::Sum. Note that (One, One) is a type here, not a value.

Finally, the type-level version of a match block is just different impls:

impl HalfAdder for (Zero, Zero) {
    type Sum = Zero;
    type Carry = Zero;
}

impl HalfAdder for (Zero, One) {
    type Sum = One;
    type Carry = Zero;
}

impl HalfAdder for (One, Zero) {
    type Sum = One;
    type Carry = Zero;
}

impl HalfAdder for (One, One) {
    type Sum = Zero;
    type Carry = One;
}

Let's test this implementation with some type annotations:

#![allow(unused)]
fn main() {
struct Zero;
struct One;

trait HalfAdder {
    type Sum;
    type Carry;
}

impl HalfAdder for (Zero, Zero) {
    type Sum = Zero;
    type Carry = Zero;
}

impl HalfAdder for (Zero, One) {
    type Sum = One;
    type Carry = Zero;
}

impl HalfAdder for (One, Zero) {
    type Sum = One;
    type Carry = Zero;
}

impl HalfAdder for (One, One) {
    type Sum = Zero;
    type Carry = One;
}

// Convenient shorthand
type HalfSum<A, B> = <(A, B) as HalfAdder>::Sum;
type HalfCarry<A, B> = <(A, B) as HalfAdder>::Carry;

// The type before the `=` has to match the value
let _: HalfSum<One, One> = Zero;
let _: HalfCarry<One, One> = One;

println!("It works!");
}

We can implement a full adder on top of the half adder:

#![allow(unused)]
fn main() {
#[derive(Clone, Copy, Debug)]
enum Bit {
    Zero,
    One,
}

use Bit::*;

fn half_adder(a: Bit, b: Bit) -> (Bit, Bit) {
    match (a, b) {
        (Zero, Zero) => (Zero, Zero),
        (Zero, One)  => (One,  Zero),
        (One,  Zero) => (One,  Zero),
        (One,  One)  => (Zero, One),
    }
}

fn full_adder(a: Bit, b: Bit, c: Bit) -> (Bit, Bit) {
    let (d, e) = half_adder(a, b);
    let (f, g) = half_adder(c, d);
    let (h, _) = half_adder(e, g);
    (f, h)
}

let (s, c) = full_adder(One, One, One);
println!("One plus One plus One is {:?}, carry the {:?}", s, c);
}

Or, at the type level:

#![allow(unused)]
fn main() {
struct Zero;
struct One;

trait HalfAdder {
    type Sum;
    type Carry;
}

type HalfSum<A, B> = <(A, B) as HalfAdder>::Sum;
type HalfCarry<A, B> = <(A, B) as HalfAdder>::Carry;

impl HalfAdder for (Zero, Zero) {
    type Sum = Zero;
    type Carry = Zero;
}

impl HalfAdder for (Zero, One) {
    type Sum = One;
    type Carry = Zero;
}

impl HalfAdder for (One, Zero) {
    type Sum = One;
    type Carry = Zero;
}

impl HalfAdder for (One, One) {
    type Sum = Zero;
    type Carry = One;
}

trait FullAdder {
    type Sum;
    type Carry;
}

type FullSum<A, B, C> = <(A, B, C) as FullAdder>::Sum;
type FullCarry<A, B, C> = <(A, B, C) as FullAdder>::Carry;

impl<A, B, C> FullAdder for (A, B, C)
where
    (A, B): HalfAdder,
    (HalfSum<A, B>, C): HalfAdder,
    (HalfCarry<A, B>, HalfCarry<HalfSum<A, B>, C>): HalfAdder,
{
    type Sum = HalfSum<HalfSum<A, B>, C>;
    type Carry = HalfSum<HalfCarry<A, B>, HalfCarry<HalfSum<A, B>, C>>;
}

let _: FullSum<One, One, One> = One;
let _: FullCarry<One, One, One> = One;

println!("It works!");
}

Addition

To represent natural numbers at runtime as sequences of bits, we could do this:

type Natural = Vec<Bit>;

But there's not really a nice equivalent of Vec at the type level. Instead, we can think a little more functionally and use a recursive linked list:

#![allow(unused)]
fn main() {
#[derive(Clone, Copy, Debug)]
enum Bit {
    Zero,
    One,
}

use Bit::*;

#[derive(Debug)]
enum Natural {
    Nil,
    Cons(Bit, Box<Natural>),
}

use Natural::*;

fn cons(bit: Bit, tail: Natural) -> Natural {
    Cons(bit, Box::new(tail))
}

let zero  =                                 Nil;
let one   =                       cons(One, Nil);
let two   =            cons(Zero, cons(One, Nil));
let three =            cons(One,  cons(One, Nil));
let four  = cons(Zero, cons(Zero, cons(One, Nil)));

println!("{:?}", four);
}

The bits are ordered from least to most significant. This is backwards from our usual way of writing numbers, but it makes the implementation a bit easier. Here's a ripple-carry adder:

#![allow(unused)]
fn main() {
#[derive(Clone, Copy, Debug)]
enum Bit {
    Zero,
    One,
}

use Bit::*;

fn half_adder(a: Bit, b: Bit) -> (Bit, Bit) {
    match (a, b) {
        (Zero, Zero) => (Zero, Zero),
        (Zero, One)  => (One,  Zero),
        (One,  Zero) => (One,  Zero),
        (One,  One)  => (Zero, One),
    }
}

fn full_adder(a: Bit, b: Bit, c: Bit) -> (Bit, Bit) {
    let (d, e) = half_adder(a, b);
    let (f, g) = half_adder(c, d);
    let (h, _) = half_adder(e, g);
    (f, h)
}

#[derive(Debug)]
enum Natural {
    Nil,
    Cons(Bit, Box<Natural>),
}

use Natural::*;

fn cons(bit: Bit, tail: Natural) -> Natural {
    Cons(bit, Box::new(tail))
}

fn ripple_adder(a: Natural, b: Natural, c: Bit) -> Natural {
    match (a, b, c) {
        // Base case: 0 + 0 + 0 == 0
        (Nil, Nil, Zero) => Nil,

        // Base case: 0 + 0 + 1 == 1
        (Nil, Nil, One) => cons(One, Nil),

        // Recursive base case: a + 0 + c
        (Cons(a1, a2), Nil, c) => {
            let (d, e) = half_adder(a1, c);
            cons(d, ripple_adder(*a2, Nil, e))
        },

        // Recursive base case: 0 + b + c
        (Nil, Cons(b1, b2), c) => {
            let (d, e) = half_adder(b1, c);
            cons(d, ripple_adder(Nil, *b2, e))
        },

        // General case: a + b + c
        (Cons(a1, a2), Cons(b1, b2), c) => {
            let (d, e) = full_adder(a1, b1, c);
            cons(d, ripple_adder(*a2, *b2, e))
        },
    }
}

let two = cons(Zero, cons(One, Nil));
let three = cons(One,  cons(One, Nil));
let five = ripple_adder(two, three, Zero);
println!("{:?}", five);
}

Cons cells are just pairs, so we can use tuple types to represent type-level lists. This is the only part that's easier to read at the type level :)

#[derive(Debug, Default)]
struct Nil;

type NatZero =                     Nil;
type NatOne  =               (One, Nil);
type Two     =        (Zero, (One, Nil));
type Three   =        (One,  (One, Nil));
type Four    = (Zero, (Zero, (One, Nil)));

Like before, let's make a trait for our ripple adder function:

/// Given natural numbers A, B, and a carry bit C, computes A + B + C.
trait RippleAdder {
    type Sum;
}

type RippleSum<A, B, C> = <(A, B, C) as RippleAdder>::Sum;

And translate the match arms into impls:

#![allow(unused)]
fn main() {
#[derive(Debug, Default)]
struct Zero;
#[derive(Debug, Default)]
struct One;

trait HalfAdder {
    type Sum;
    type Carry;
}

type HalfSum<A, B> = <(A, B) as HalfAdder>::Sum;
type HalfCarry<A, B> = <(A, B) as HalfAdder>::Carry;

impl HalfAdder for (Zero, Zero) {
    type Sum = Zero;
    type Carry = Zero;
}

impl HalfAdder for (Zero, One) {
    type Sum = One;
    type Carry = Zero;
}

impl HalfAdder for (One, Zero) {
    type Sum = One;
    type Carry = Zero;
}

impl HalfAdder for (One, One) {
    type Sum = Zero;
    type Carry = One;
}

trait FullAdder {
    type Sum;
    type Carry;
}

type FullSum<A, B, C> = <(A, B, C) as FullAdder>::Sum;
type FullCarry<A, B, C> = <(A, B, C) as FullAdder>::Carry;

impl<A, B, C> FullAdder for (A, B, C)
where
    (A, B): HalfAdder,
    (HalfSum<A, B>, C): HalfAdder,
    (HalfCarry<A, B>, HalfCarry<HalfSum<A, B>, C>): HalfAdder,
{
    type Sum = HalfSum<HalfSum<A, B>, C>;
    type Carry = HalfSum<HalfCarry<A, B>, HalfCarry<HalfSum<A, B>, C>>;
}

#[derive(Debug, Default)]
struct Nil;

trait RippleAdder {
    type Sum;
}

type RippleSum<A, B, C> = <(A, B, C) as RippleAdder>::Sum;

/// Base case: 0 + 0 + 0 == 0
impl RippleAdder for (Nil, Nil, Zero) {
    type Sum = Nil;
}

/// Base case: 0 + 0 + 1 == 1
impl RippleAdder for (Nil, Nil, One) {
    type Sum = (One, Nil);
}

/// Recursive base case: a + 0 + c
impl<A1, A2, C> RippleAdder for ((A1, A2), Nil, C)
where
    (A1, C): HalfAdder,
    (A2, Nil, HalfCarry<A1, C>): RippleAdder,
{
    type Sum = (HalfSum<A1, C>, RippleSum<A2, Nil, HalfCarry<A1, C>>);
}

/// Recursive base case: 0 + b + c
impl<B1, B2, C> RippleAdder for (Nil, (B1, B2), C)
where
    (B1, C): HalfAdder,
    (Nil, B2, HalfCarry<B1, C>): RippleAdder,
{
    type Sum = (HalfSum<B1, C>, RippleSum<Nil, B2, HalfCarry<B1, C>>);
}

/// General case: a + b + c
impl<A1, A2, B1, B2, C> RippleAdder for ((A1, A2), (B1, B2), C)
where
    (A1, B1, C): FullAdder,
    (A2, B2, FullCarry<A1, B1, C>): RippleAdder,
{
    type Sum = (FullSum<A1, B1, C>, RippleSum<A2, B2, FullCarry<A1, B1, C>>);
}

type Two = (Zero, (One, Nil));
type Three = (One, (One, Nil));
type Five = RippleSum<Two, Three, Zero>;
let _: Five = (One, (Zero, (One, Nil)));
println!("It works!");
}

Multiplication

Multiplication has a nice recursive definition too:

#![allow(unused)]
fn main() {
#[derive(Clone, Copy, Debug)]
enum Bit {
    Zero,
    One,
}

use Bit::*;

fn half_adder(a: Bit, b: Bit) -> (Bit, Bit) {
    match (a, b) {
        (Zero, Zero) => (Zero, Zero),
        (Zero, One)  => (One,  Zero),
        (One,  Zero) => (One,  Zero),
        (One,  One)  => (Zero, One),
    }
}

fn full_adder(a: Bit, b: Bit, c: Bit) -> (Bit, Bit) {
    let (d, e) = half_adder(a, b);
    let (f, g) = half_adder(c, d);
    let (h, _) = half_adder(e, g);
    (f, h)
}

#[derive(Clone, Debug)]
enum Natural {
    Nil,
    Cons(Bit, Box<Natural>),
}

use Natural::*;

fn cons(bit: Bit, tail: Natural) -> Natural {
    Cons(bit, Box::new(tail))
}

fn ripple_adder(a: Natural, b: Natural, c: Bit) -> Natural {
    match (a, b, c) {
        // Base case: 0 + 0 + 0 == 0
        (Nil, Nil, Zero) => Nil,

        // Base case: 0 + 0 + 1 == 1
        (Nil, Nil, One) => cons(One, Nil),

        // Recursive base case: a + 0 + c
        (Cons(a1, a2), Nil, c) => {
            let (d, e) = half_adder(a1, c);
            cons(d, ripple_adder(*a2, Nil, e))
        },

        // Recursive base case: 0 + b + c
        (Nil, Cons(b1, b2), c) => {
            let (d, e) = half_adder(b1, c);
            cons(d, ripple_adder(Nil, *b2, e))
        },

        // General case: a + b + c
        (Cons(a1, a2), Cons(b1, b2), c) => {
            let (d, e) = full_adder(a1, b1, c);
            cons(d, ripple_adder(*a2, *b2, e))
        },
    }
}

fn multiply(a: Natural, b: Natural) -> Natural {
    match (a, b) {
        // Base case: 0 * b == 0
        (Nil, _) => Nil,

        // Base case: a * 0 == 0
        (_, Nil) => Nil,

        // Recursive case: (2 * a) * b == 2 * (a * b)
        (Cons(Zero, a2), b) => cons(Zero, multiply(*a2, b)),

        // Recursive case: (2 * a + 1) * b == 2 * a * b + b
        (Cons(One, a2), b) => {
            let rec = cons(Zero, multiply(*a2, b.clone()));
            ripple_adder(rec, b, Zero)
        },
    }
}

let one = cons(One, Nil);
let three = cons(One, cons(One, Nil));
let four = cons(Zero, cons(Zero, cons(One, Nil)));
let five = cons(One, cons(Zero, cons(One, Nil)));
let six = ripple_adder(five, one, Zero);
let seven = ripple_adder(four, three, Zero);
let forty_two = multiply(six, seven);
println!("{:?}", forty_two);

let forty_two_in_binary_backwards: String = format!("{:b}", 42).chars().rev().collect();
println!("{}", forty_two_in_binary_backwards);
}

I hoped this would translate directly to the type level too:

#![allow(unused)]
fn main() {
#[derive(Debug, Default)]
struct Zero;
#[derive(Debug, Default)]
struct One;

trait HalfAdder {
    type Sum;
    type Carry;
}

type HalfSum<A, B> = <(A, B) as HalfAdder>::Sum;
type HalfCarry<A, B> = <(A, B) as HalfAdder>::Carry;

impl HalfAdder for (Zero, Zero) {
    type Sum = Zero;
    type Carry = Zero;
}

impl HalfAdder for (Zero, One) {
    type Sum = One;
    type Carry = Zero;
}

impl HalfAdder for (One, Zero) {
    type Sum = One;
    type Carry = Zero;
}

impl HalfAdder for (One, One) {
    type Sum = Zero;
    type Carry = One;
}

trait FullAdder {
    type Sum;
    type Carry;
}

type FullSum<A, B, C> = <(A, B, C) as FullAdder>::Sum;
type FullCarry<A, B, C> = <(A, B, C) as FullAdder>::Carry;

impl<A, B, C> FullAdder for (A, B, C)
where
    (A, B): HalfAdder,
    (HalfSum<A, B>, C): HalfAdder,
    (HalfCarry<A, B>, HalfCarry<HalfSum<A, B>, C>): HalfAdder,
{
    type Sum = HalfSum<HalfSum<A, B>, C>;
    type Carry = HalfSum<HalfCarry<A, B>, HalfCarry<HalfSum<A, B>, C>>;
}

#[derive(Debug, Default)]
struct Nil;

trait RippleAdder {
    type Sum;
}

type RippleSum<A, B, C> = <(A, B, C) as RippleAdder>::Sum;

impl RippleAdder for (Nil, Nil, Zero) {
    type Sum = Nil;
}

impl RippleAdder for (Nil, Nil, One) {
    type Sum = (One, Nil);
}

impl<A1, A2, C> RippleAdder for ((A1, A2), Nil, C)
where
    (A1, C): HalfAdder,
    (A2, Nil, HalfCarry<A1, C>): RippleAdder,
{
    type Sum = (HalfSum<A1, C>, RippleSum<A2, Nil, HalfCarry<A1, C>>);
}

impl<B1, B2, C> RippleAdder for (Nil, (B1, B2), C)
where
    (B1, C): HalfAdder,
    (Nil, B2, HalfCarry<B1, C>): RippleAdder,
{
    type Sum = (HalfSum<B1, C>, RippleSum<Nil, B2, HalfCarry<B1, C>>);
}

impl<A1, A2, B1, B2, C> RippleAdder for ((A1, A2), (B1, B2), C)
where
    (A1, B1, C): FullAdder,
    (A2, B2, FullCarry<A1, B1, C>): RippleAdder,
{
    type Sum = (FullSum<A1, B1, C>, RippleSum<A2, B2, FullCarry<A1, B1, C>>);
}

/// Given natural numbers (A, B), computes A * B.
trait Multiply {
    type Product;
}

type Product<A, B> = <(A, B) as Multiply>::Product;

/// Base case: 0 * b == 0
impl<B> Multiply for (Nil, B) {
    type Product = Nil;
}

/// Base case: a * 0 == 0
impl<A1, A2> Multiply for ((A1, A2), Nil) {
    type Product = Nil;
}

/// Recursive case: (2 * a) * b == 2 * (a * b)
impl<A, B1, B2> Multiply for ((Zero, A), (B1, B2))
where
    (A, (B1, B2)): Multiply,
{
    type Product = (Zero, Product<A, (B1, B2)>);
}

/// Recursive case: (2 * a + 1) * b == 2 * a * b + b
impl<A, B1, B2> Multiply for ((One, A), (B1, B2))
where
    (A, (B1, B2)): Multiply,
    ((Zero, Product<A, (B1, B2)>), Nil, Zero): RippleAdder,
{
    type Product = RippleSum<(Zero, Product<A, (B1, B2)>), Nil, Zero>;
}
}

But it doesn't work (try it). The original post also ran into a similar error. I don't exactly understand why, but it seems like Rust's trait solver likes it when recursive where clauses involve obviously "smaller" structures than Self, so the recursion terminates more easily. It's the ((Zero, Product<A, (B1, B2)>), Nil, Zero): RippleAdder bound that's giving us trouble, since (Zero, Product<A, (B1, B2)>) can be bigger than the inputs.

So I had to think up a different multiplication algorithm with a simpler recursive structure that would pass the type checker. The trick I used is to do all the shifting (B -> (Zero, B)) ahead of time so I don't have to put it in a where clause. It's kind of a map-reduce style algorithm.

/// Given (A, B), produces (B, (B, (B, (..., Nil)))) with the same length as A.
trait MulRepeat {
    type Result;
}

type MulRepeated<A, B> = <(A, B) as MulRepeat>::Result;

/// Base case.
impl<B> MulRepeat for (Nil, B) {
    type Result = Nil;
}

/// Recursive case.
impl<A1, A2, B> MulRepeat for ((A1, A2), B)
where
    (A2, B): MulRepeat,
{
    type Result = (B, MulRepeated<A2, B>);
}

/// Bit-shifts every number in a list:
///
///        (B, (B, (B, (..., Nil))))
///     -> ((Zero, B), ((Zero, B), ((Zero, B), (..., Nil))))
///
/// Used as a subroutine for MulShift.
trait ShiftAll {
    type Result;
}

type AllShifted<A> = <A as ShiftAll>::Result;

/// Base case.
impl ShiftAll for Nil {
    type Result = Nil;
}

/// Recursive case.
impl<A, B> ShiftAll for (A, B)
where
    B: ShiftAll,
{
    type Result = ((Zero, A), AllShifted<B>);
}

/// For each i, shifts the ith number i times.
///
///        (B, (B, (B, (..., Nil))))
///     -> (B, ((Zero, B), ((Zero, (Zero, B)), (..., Nil))))
trait MulShift {
    type Result;
}

type MulShifted<A> = <A as MulShift>::Result;

/// Base case.
impl MulShift for Nil {
    type Result = Nil;
}

/// Recursive case.
impl<A, B> MulShift for (A, B)
where
    B: MulShift,
    MulShifted<B>: ShiftAll,
{
    type Result = (A, AllShifted<MulShifted<B>>);
}

/// Given a number A and a list of numbers B with the same length, replaces each
/// B with Nil when A has a zero bit in that position.
///
///     A: (One, (Zero, (One, (..., Nil))))
///     B: (B1, (B2, (B3, (..., Nil))))
///     -> (B1, (Nil, (B3, (..., Nil))))
trait MulMask {
    type Result;
}

type MulMasked<A, B> = <(A, B) as MulMask>::Result;

/// Base case.
impl MulMask for (Nil, Nil) {
    type Result = Nil;
}

/// Recursive case.
impl<A, B1, B2> MulMask for ((Zero, A), (B1, B2))
where
    (A, B2): MulMask,
{
    type Result = (Nil, MulMasked<A, B2>);
}

/// Recursive case.
impl<A, B1, B2> MulMask for ((One, A), (B1, B2))
where
    (A, B2): MulMask,
{
    type Result = (B1, MulMasked<A, B2>);
}

/// Sums up all the numbers in a list.
trait MulReduce {
    type Result;
}

type MulReduced<A> = <A as MulReduce>::Result;

/// Base case.
impl MulReduce for Nil {
    type Result = Nil;
}

/// Recursive case.
impl<A, B> MulReduce for (A, B)
where
    B: MulReduce,
    (A, MulReduced<B>, Zero): RippleAdder,
{
    type Result = RippleSum<A, MulReduced<B>, Zero>;
}

/// Calculates A times B.
///
/// For example:
///
///     A: 101, B: 111
///     MulRepeated<A, B>:  [111, 111, 111]
///     MulShifted<...>:    [111, 1110, 11100]
///     MulMasked<A, ...>:  [111, 0, 11100]
///     MulReduced<...>:    111 + 0 + 11100
///                      == 100011
type Product<A, B> = MulReduced<MulMasked<A, MulShifted<MulRepeated<A, B>>>>;

This time, it works!

#![allow(unused)]
fn main() {
#[derive(Debug, Default)]
struct Zero;
#[derive(Debug, Default)]
struct One;

trait HalfAdder {
    type Sum;
    type Carry;
}

type HalfSum<A, B> = <(A, B) as HalfAdder>::Sum;
type HalfCarry<A, B> = <(A, B) as HalfAdder>::Carry;

impl HalfAdder for (Zero, Zero) {
    type Sum = Zero;
    type Carry = Zero;
}

impl HalfAdder for (Zero, One) {
    type Sum = One;
    type Carry = Zero;
}

impl HalfAdder for (One, Zero) {
    type Sum = One;
    type Carry = Zero;
}

impl HalfAdder for (One, One) {
    type Sum = Zero;
    type Carry = One;
}

trait FullAdder {
    type Sum;
    type Carry;
}

type FullSum<A, B, C> = <(A, B, C) as FullAdder>::Sum;
type FullCarry<A, B, C> = <(A, B, C) as FullAdder>::Carry;

impl<A, B, C> FullAdder for (A, B, C)
where
    (A, B): HalfAdder,
    (HalfSum<A, B>, C): HalfAdder,
    (HalfCarry<A, B>, HalfCarry<HalfSum<A, B>, C>): HalfAdder,
{
    type Sum = HalfSum<HalfSum<A, B>, C>;
    type Carry = HalfSum<HalfCarry<A, B>, HalfCarry<HalfSum<A, B>, C>>;
}

#[derive(Debug, Default)]
struct Nil;

trait RippleAdder {
    type Sum;
}

type RippleSum<A, B, C> = <(A, B, C) as RippleAdder>::Sum;

impl RippleAdder for (Nil, Nil, Zero) {
    type Sum = Nil;
}

impl RippleAdder for (Nil, Nil, One) {
    type Sum = (One, Nil);
}

impl<A1, A2, C> RippleAdder for ((A1, A2), Nil, C)
where
    (A1, C): HalfAdder,
    (A2, Nil, HalfCarry<A1, C>): RippleAdder,
{
    type Sum = (HalfSum<A1, C>, RippleSum<A2, Nil, HalfCarry<A1, C>>);
}

impl<B1, B2, C> RippleAdder for (Nil, (B1, B2), C)
where
    (B1, C): HalfAdder,
    (Nil, B2, HalfCarry<B1, C>): RippleAdder,
{
    type Sum = (HalfSum<B1, C>, RippleSum<Nil, B2, HalfCarry<B1, C>>);
}

impl<A1, A2, B1, B2, C> RippleAdder for ((A1, A2), (B1, B2), C)
where
    (A1, B1, C): FullAdder,
    (A2, B2, FullCarry<A1, B1, C>): RippleAdder,
{
    type Sum = (FullSum<A1, B1, C>, RippleSum<A2, B2, FullCarry<A1, B1, C>>);
}

trait MulRepeat {
    type Result;
}

type MulRepeated<A, B> = <(A, B) as MulRepeat>::Result;

impl<B> MulRepeat for (Nil, B) {
    type Result = Nil;
}

impl<A1, A2, B> MulRepeat for ((A1, A2), B)
where
    (A2, B): MulRepeat,
{
    type Result = (B, MulRepeated<A2, B>);
}

trait ShiftAll {
    type Result;
}

type AllShifted<A> = <A as ShiftAll>::Result;

impl ShiftAll for Nil {
    type Result = Nil;
}

impl<A, B> ShiftAll for (A, B)
where
    B: ShiftAll,
{
    type Result = ((Zero, A), AllShifted<B>);
}

trait MulShift {
    type Result;
}

type MulShifted<A> = <A as MulShift>::Result;

impl MulShift for Nil {
    type Result = Nil;
}

impl<A, B> MulShift for (A, B)
where
    B: MulShift,
    MulShifted<B>: ShiftAll,
{
    type Result = (A, AllShifted<MulShifted<B>>);
}

trait MulMask {
    type Result;
}

type MulMasked<A, B> = <(A, B) as MulMask>::Result;

impl MulMask for (Nil, Nil) {
    type Result = Nil;
}

impl<A, B1, B2> MulMask for ((Zero, A), (B1, B2))
where
    (A, B2): MulMask,
{
    type Result = (Nil, MulMasked<A, B2>);
}

impl<A, B1, B2> MulMask for ((One, A), (B1, B2))
where
    (A, B2): MulMask,
{
    type Result = (B1, MulMasked<A, B2>);
}

trait MulReduce {
    type Result;
}

type MulReduced<A> = <A as MulReduce>::Result;

impl MulReduce for Nil {
    type Result = Nil;
}

impl<A, B> MulReduce for (A, B)
where
    B: MulReduce,
    (A, MulReduced<B>, Zero): RippleAdder,
{
    type Result = RippleSum<A, MulReduced<B>, Zero>;
}

type Product<A, B> = MulReduced<MulMasked<A, MulShifted<MulRepeated<A, B>>>>;

type NatZero = Nil;
type NatOne = (One, Nil);
type Two = (Zero, (One, Nil));
type Three = (One, (One, Nil));
type Four = (Zero, (Zero, (One, Nil)));

type Five = RippleSum<Two, Three, Zero>;
type Six = RippleSum<Five, NatOne, Zero>;
type Seven = RippleSum<Four, Three, Zero>;

type FortyTwo = Product<Six, Seven>;
let _: FortyTwo = (Zero, (One, (Zero, (One, (Zero, (One, Nil))))));
println!("It works!");
}

We can compute some pretty big numbers:

#![allow(unused)]
fn main() {
#[derive(Debug, Default)]
struct Zero;
#[derive(Debug, Default)]
struct One;

trait HalfAdder {
    type Sum;
    type Carry;
}

type HalfSum<A, B> = <(A, B) as HalfAdder>::Sum;
type HalfCarry<A, B> = <(A, B) as HalfAdder>::Carry;

impl HalfAdder for (Zero, Zero) {
    type Sum = Zero;
    type Carry = Zero;
}

impl HalfAdder for (Zero, One) {
    type Sum = One;
    type Carry = Zero;
}

impl HalfAdder for (One, Zero) {
    type Sum = One;
    type Carry = Zero;
}

impl HalfAdder for (One, One) {
    type Sum = Zero;
    type Carry = One;
}

trait FullAdder {
    type Sum;
    type Carry;
}

type FullSum<A, B, C> = <(A, B, C) as FullAdder>::Sum;
type FullCarry<A, B, C> = <(A, B, C) as FullAdder>::Carry;

impl<A, B, C> FullAdder for (A, B, C)
where
    (A, B): HalfAdder,
    (HalfSum<A, B>, C): HalfAdder,
    (HalfCarry<A, B>, HalfCarry<HalfSum<A, B>, C>): HalfAdder,
{
    type Sum = HalfSum<HalfSum<A, B>, C>;
    type Carry = HalfSum<HalfCarry<A, B>, HalfCarry<HalfSum<A, B>, C>>;
}

#[derive(Debug, Default)]
struct Nil;

trait RippleAdder {
    type Sum;
}

type RippleSum<A, B, C> = <(A, B, C) as RippleAdder>::Sum;

impl RippleAdder for (Nil, Nil, Zero) {
    type Sum = Nil;
}

impl RippleAdder for (Nil, Nil, One) {
    type Sum = (One, Nil);
}

impl<A1, A2, C> RippleAdder for ((A1, A2), Nil, C)
where
    (A1, C): HalfAdder,
    (A2, Nil, HalfCarry<A1, C>): RippleAdder,
{
    type Sum = (HalfSum<A1, C>, RippleSum<A2, Nil, HalfCarry<A1, C>>);
}

impl<B1, B2, C> RippleAdder for (Nil, (B1, B2), C)
where
    (B1, C): HalfAdder,
    (Nil, B2, HalfCarry<B1, C>): RippleAdder,
{
    type Sum = (HalfSum<B1, C>, RippleSum<Nil, B2, HalfCarry<B1, C>>);
}

impl<A1, A2, B1, B2, C> RippleAdder for ((A1, A2), (B1, B2), C)
where
    (A1, B1, C): FullAdder,
    (A2, B2, FullCarry<A1, B1, C>): RippleAdder,
{
    type Sum = (FullSum<A1, B1, C>, RippleSum<A2, B2, FullCarry<A1, B1, C>>);
}

trait MulRepeat {
    type Result;
}

type MulRepeated<A, B> = <(A, B) as MulRepeat>::Result;

impl<B> MulRepeat for (Nil, B) {
    type Result = Nil;
}

impl<A1, A2, B> MulRepeat for ((A1, A2), B)
where
    (A2, B): MulRepeat,
{
    type Result = (B, MulRepeated<A2, B>);
}

trait ShiftAll {
    type Result;
}

type AllShifted<A> = <A as ShiftAll>::Result;

impl ShiftAll for Nil {
    type Result = Nil;
}

impl<A, B> ShiftAll for (A, B)
where
    B: ShiftAll,
{
    type Result = ((Zero, A), AllShifted<B>);
}

trait MulShift {
    type Result;
}

type MulShifted<A> = <A as MulShift>::Result;

impl MulShift for Nil {
    type Result = Nil;
}

impl<A, B> MulShift for (A, B)
where
    B: MulShift,
    MulShifted<B>: ShiftAll,
{
    type Result = (A, AllShifted<MulShifted<B>>);
}

trait MulMask {
    type Result;
}

type MulMasked<A, B> = <(A, B) as MulMask>::Result;

impl MulMask for (Nil, Nil) {
    type Result = Nil;
}

impl<A, B1, B2> MulMask for ((Zero, A), (B1, B2))
where
    (A, B2): MulMask,
{
    type Result = (Nil, MulMasked<A, B2>);
}

impl<A, B1, B2> MulMask for ((One, A), (B1, B2))
where
    (A, B2): MulMask,
{
    type Result = (B1, MulMasked<A, B2>);
}

trait MulReduce {
    type Result;
}

type MulReduced<A> = <A as MulReduce>::Result;

impl MulReduce for Nil {
    type Result = Nil;
}

impl<A, B> MulReduce for (A, B)
where
    B: MulReduce,
    (A, MulReduced<B>, Zero): RippleAdder,
{
    type Result = RippleSum<A, MulReduced<B>, Zero>;
}

type Product<A, B> = MulReduced<MulMasked<A, MulShifted<MulRepeated<A, B>>>>;

type NatZero = Nil;
type NatOne = (One, Nil);
type Two = (Zero, (One, Nil));
type Three = (One, (One, Nil));
type Four = (Zero, (Zero, (One, Nil)));
type Five = RippleSum<Two, Three, Zero>;
type Six = RippleSum<Five, NatOne, Zero>;
type Seven = RippleSum<Four, Three, Zero>;
type FortyTwo = Product<Six, Seven>;

type SeventeenSixtyFour = Product<FortyTwo, FortyTwo>;
type SeventeenSixtyFourSquared = Product<SeventeenSixtyFour, SeventeenSixtyFour>;

let x = SeventeenSixtyFourSquared::default();
println!("{:?}", x);

let expected: String = format!("{:b}", 1764 * 1764).chars().rev().collect();
println!("{}", expected);
}

Who needs const generics anyway?