Allow $env and mutable records to be mutated by = (closes #7110) (#7318)

# Description

Closes #7110. ~~Note that unlike "real" `mut` vars, $env can be deeply
mutated via stuff like `$env.PYTHON_IO_ENCODING = utf8` or
`$env.config.history.max_size = 2000`. So, it's a slightly awkward
special case, arguably justifiable because of what $env represents (the
environment variables of your system, which is essentially "outside"
normal Nushell regulations).~~
EDIT: Now allows all `mut` vars to be deeply mutated using `=`, on
request.

# User-Facing Changes

See above.

# Tests + Formatting

Don't forget to add tests that cover your changes.

Make sure you've run and fixed any issues with these commands:

- `cargo fmt --all -- --check` to check standard code formatting (`cargo
fmt --all` applies these changes)
- `cargo clippy --workspace -- -D warnings -D clippy::unwrap_used -A
clippy::needless_collect` to check that you're using the standard code
style
- `cargo test --workspace` to check that all tests pass

# After Submitting

If your PR had any user-facing changes, update [the
documentation](https://github.com/nushell/nushell.github.io) after the
PR is merged, if necessary. This will help us keep the docs up to date.

crates/nu-command/src/core_commands/mut_.rs

@@ -83,6 +83,11 @@ impl Command for Mut {
                 example: "mut x = 10; $x = 12",
                 result: None,
             },
+            Example {
+                description: "Upsert a value inside a mutable data structure",
+                example: "mut a = {b:{c:1}}; $a.b.c = 2",
+                result: None,
+            },
             Example {
                 description: "Set a mutable variable to the result of an expression",
                 example: "mut x = 10 + 100",

crates/nu-command/tests/commands/mut_.rs

@@ -36,18 +36,6 @@ fn capture_of_mutable_var() {
     assert!(actual.err.contains("capture of mutable variable"));
 }
 
-#[test]
-fn mut_a_field() {
-    let actual = nu!(
-        cwd: ".", pipeline(
-        r#"
-        mut y = {abc: 123}; $y.abc = 456; $y.abc
-        "#
-    ));
-
-    assert_eq!(actual.out, "456");
-}
-
 #[test]
 fn mut_add_assign() {
     let actual = nu!(
@@ -95,3 +83,63 @@ fn mut_divide_assign() {
 
     assert_eq!(actual.out, "4");
 }
+
+#[test]
+fn mut_path_insert() {
+    let actual = nu!(
+        cwd: ".", pipeline(
+        r#"
+        mut y = {abc: 123}; $y.abc = 456; $y.abc
+        "#
+    ));
+
+    assert_eq!(actual.out, "456");
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn mut_path_insert_list() {
+    let actual = nu!(
+        cwd: ".", pipeline(
+        r#"
+        mut a = [0 1 2]; $a.3 = 3; $a | to nuon
+        "#
+    ));
+
+    assert_eq!(actual.out, "[0, 1, 2, 3]");
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn mut_path_upsert() {
+    let actual = nu!(
+        cwd: ".", pipeline(
+        r#"
+        mut a = {b:[{c:1}]}; $a.b.0.d = 11; $a.b.0.d
+        "#
+    ));
+
+    assert_eq!(actual.out, "11");
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn mut_path_upsert_list() {
+    let actual = nu!(
+        cwd: ".", pipeline(
+        r#"
+        mut a = [[[3] 2] 1]; $a.0.0.1 = 0; $a.0.2 = 0; $a.2 = 0; $a | to nuon
+        "#
+    ));
+
+    assert_eq!(actual.out, "[[[3, 0], 2, 0], 1, 0]");
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn mut_path_operator_assign() {
+    let actual = nu!(
+        cwd: ".", pipeline(
+        r#"
+        mut a = {b:1}; $a.b += 3; $a.b -= 2; $a.b *= 10; $a.b /= 4; $a.b
+        "#
+    ));
+
+    assert_eq!(actual.out, "5");
+}

crates/nu-engine/src/eval.rs

@@ -491,32 +491,39 @@ pub fn eval_expression(
                         }
                         Expr::FullCellPath(cell_path) => match &cell_path.head.expr {
                             Expr::Var(var_id) | Expr::VarDecl(var_id) => {
-                                if var_id == &ENV_VARIABLE_ID {
-                                    // let mut lhs =
-                                    //     eval_expression(engine_state, stack, &cell_path.head)?;
-                                    //lhs.update_data_at_cell_path(&cell_path.tail, rhs)?;
-                                    match &cell_path.tail[0] {
-                                        PathMember::String { val, .. } => {
-                                            stack.add_env_var(val.to_string(), rhs);
-                                        }
-                                        PathMember::Int { val, .. } => {
-                                            stack.add_env_var(val.to_string(), rhs);
-                                        }
-                                    }
-                                    Ok(Value::nothing(cell_path.head.span))
-                                } else {
-                                    let var_info = engine_state.get_var(*var_id);
-                                    if var_info.mutable {
+                                // The $env variable is considered "mutable" in Nushell.
+                                // As such, give it special treatment here.
+                                let is_env = var_id == &ENV_VARIABLE_ID;
+                                if is_env || engine_state.get_var(*var_id).mutable {
                                     let mut lhs =
                                         eval_expression(engine_state, stack, &cell_path.head)?;
-                                        lhs.update_data_at_cell_path(&cell_path.tail, rhs)?;
+
+                                    lhs.upsert_data_at_cell_path(&cell_path.tail, rhs)?;
+                                    if is_env {
+                                        // The special $env treatment: for something like $env.config.history.max_size = 2000,
+                                        // get $env.config (or whichever one it is) AFTER the above mutation, and set it
+                                        // as the "config" environment variable.
+                                        let vardata = lhs.follow_cell_path(
+                                            &[cell_path.tail[0].clone()],
+                                            false,
+                                        )?;
+                                        match &cell_path.tail[0] {
+                                            PathMember::String { val, .. } => {
+                                                stack.add_env_var(val.to_string(), vardata);
+                                            }
+                                            // In case someone really wants an integer env-var
+                                            PathMember::Int { val, .. } => {
+                                                stack.add_env_var(val.to_string(), vardata);
+                                            }
+                                        }
+                                    } else {
                                         stack.vars.insert(*var_id, lhs);
+                                    }
                                     Ok(Value::nothing(cell_path.head.span))
                                 } else {
                                     Err(ShellError::AssignmentRequiresMutableVar(lhs.span))
                                 }
                             }
-                            }
                             _ => Err(ShellError::AssignmentRequiresVar(lhs.span)),
                         },
                         _ => Err(ShellError::AssignmentRequiresVar(lhs.span)),

crates/nu-parser/src/parser.rs

@@ -1997,28 +1997,22 @@ pub fn parse_full_cell_path(
         );
         error = error.or(err);
 
-        if !tail.is_empty() {
         (
             Expression {
-                    ty: head.ty.clone(), // FIXME. How to access the last type of tail?
-                    expr: Expr::FullCellPath(Box::new(FullCellPath { head, tail })),
-                    span: full_cell_span,
-                    custom_completion: None,
-                },
-                error,
-            )
+                // FIXME: Get the type of the data at the tail using follow_cell_path() (or something)
+                ty: if !tail.is_empty() {
+                    // Until the aforementioned fix is implemented, this is necessary to allow mutable list upserts
+                    // such as $a.1 = 2 to work correctly.
+                    Type::Any
                 } else {
-            let ty = head.ty.clone();
-            (
-                Expression {
+                    head.ty.clone()
+                },
                 expr: Expr::FullCellPath(Box::new(FullCellPath { head, tail })),
-                    ty,
                 span: full_cell_span,
                 custom_completion: None,
             },
             error,
         )
-        }
     } else {
         (garbage(span), error)
     }

crates/nu-protocol/src/shell_error.rs

@@ -376,6 +376,18 @@ Either make sure {0} is a string, or add a 'to_string' entry for it in ENV_CONVE
     #[diagnostic(code(nu::shell::access_beyond_end), url(docsrs))]
     AccessBeyondEnd(usize, #[label = "index too large (max: {0})"] Span),
 
+    /// You attempted to insert data at a list position higher than the end.
+    ///
+    /// ## Resolution
+    ///
+    /// To insert data into a list, assign to the last used index + 1.
+    #[error("Inserted at wrong row number (should be {0}).")]
+    #[diagnostic(code(nu::shell::access_beyond_end), url(docsrs))]
+    InsertAfterNextFreeIndex(
+        usize,
+        #[label = "can't insert at index (the next available index is {0})"] Span,
+    ),
+
     /// You attempted to access an index when it's empty.
     ///
     /// ## Resolution

crates/nu-protocol/src/value/mod.rs

@@ -878,10 +878,12 @@ impl Value {
                     Value::List { vals, .. } => {
                         if let Some(v) = vals.get_mut(*row_num) {
                             v.upsert_data_at_cell_path(&cell_path[1..], new_val)?
-                        } else if vals.is_empty() {
-                            return Err(ShellError::AccessEmptyContent(*span));
+                        } else if vals.len() == *row_num && cell_path.len() == 1 {
+                            // If the upsert is at 1 + the end of the list, it's OK.
+                            // Otherwise, it's prohibited.
+                            vals.push(new_val);
                         } else {
-                            return Err(ShellError::AccessBeyondEnd(vals.len() - 1, *span));
+                            return Err(ShellError::InsertAfterNextFreeIndex(vals.len(), *span));
                         }
                     }
                     v => return Err(ShellError::NotAList(*span, v.span()?)),
@@ -1266,10 +1268,12 @@ impl Value {
                     Value::List { vals, .. } => {
                         if let Some(v) = vals.get_mut(*row_num) {
                             v.insert_data_at_cell_path(&cell_path[1..], new_val)?
-                        } else if vals.is_empty() {
-                            return Err(ShellError::AccessEmptyContent(*span));
+                        } else if vals.len() == *row_num && cell_path.len() == 1 {
+                            // If the insert is at 1 + the end of the list, it's OK.
+                            // Otherwise, it's prohibited.
+                            vals.push(new_val);
                         } else {
-                            return Err(ShellError::AccessBeyondEnd(vals.len() - 1, *span));
+                            return Err(ShellError::InsertAfterNextFreeIndex(vals.len(), *span));
                         }
                     }
                     v => return Err(ShellError::NotAList(*span, v.span()?)),