comptime-API: strip the byte-weld; pivot to a flat-memory comptime VM

The byte-weld (sx structs whose layout was validated to mirror the
compiler's Zig records) plus the serialization/marshaling bridge was the
wrong direction: it bolted a parallel layout regime and hand-built
byte-copies onto a comptime value model that fundamentally isn't bytes.

Strip the struct-weld machinery:
- compiler_lib.zig loses the type registry (weldStruct / bound_types /
  BoundType / FieldLayout / findType / SxField / LayoutMismatch /
  validateStructLayout); it is now just the intern/text_of function
  host-call bridge (kept as the Phase-3 compiler-call seed).
- nominal.zig loses validateWeldedStruct / weldedFieldOrderStr + the
  sd.abi == .zig validation call.
- Remove the struct-weld unit tests and examples 0625/0627 (welded
  structs) + 1183/1186 (weld-layout diagnostics).
- The #library / abi / extern syntax stays.

Record the new direction: a bytecode VM over flat, byte-addressable
memory so comptime values are native bytes (no weld/validation/marshal),
target-aware (preserves cross-compilation) and sandboxed. See
current/PLAN-COMPILER-VM.md (Phase 0 strip -> Phase 1 flat-memory value
model -> Phase 2 bytecode -> Phase 3 compiler-API on flat memory).
design/comptime-compiler-api.md gets a SUPERSEDED banner. Also drop the
"~500 lines / split the step" rule from CLAUDE.md.
This commit is contained in:
agra
2026-06-17 19:29:36 +03:00
parent 40d075ca98
commit 18af8eb845
23 changed files with 505 additions and 498 deletions

306
current/PLAN-COMPILER-VM.md Normal file
View File

@@ -0,0 +1,306 @@
# PLAN — Comptime Bytecode VM + flat memory (then re-home the compiler-API on it)
> **Direction change (2026-06-17).** The comptime compiler-API stream pivots off the
> **byte-weld**. The weld (sx structs whose layout is validated to mirror the
> compiler's Zig types) + the **serialization / marshaling** bridge at the call
> boundary is the wrong direction — it bolts a parallel layout regime and hand-built
> byte-copies onto a comptime value model that fundamentally isn't bytes. We strip it
> and build the right foundation: a **bytecode VM over flat, byte-addressable
> memory**, where comptime values ARE native bytes (like runtime). On that base the
> compiler-API needs no weld, no validation, no marshaling — the compiler's own types
> are read/built directly as memory and its functions take/return real pointers.
>
> Supersedes the build order in `design/comptime-compiler-api.md` (kept for history).
> This is the active plan for the stream. Branch: `reify`.
## Why
`src/ir/interp.zig` is a tree-walking interpreter over the SSA IR that represents
every value as a tagged `Value` union (`int`, `float`, `aggregate: []const Value`,
`type_tag`, `heap_ptr`, …). Two consequences:
1. **Slow.** Per-value boxing in a tagged union; per-op `switch` over `Inst`; an
aggregate is a heap `[]const Value`, walked element-by-element.
2. **Not native memory.** A struct value is `[]const Value` (tagged unions), NOT the
struct's bytes. So a comptime `@ptrCast(*StructInfo)` reads the `Value` union's
memory, not a `StructInfo` — which forced the whole weld+marshal detour.
Make comptime values **native bytes in a flat memory** and both problems dissolve:
structs/arrays/slices are their bytes at natural layout (no weld), the compiler's own
records are directly addressable (no marshal), and a bytecode loop over flat memory is
fast.
## End state
- Comptime execution = a **bytecode VM** over a **flat linear memory** (real
host-allocated bytes; layout is **target-aware** via the type table's sizes). Values
are bytes at addresses plus a scalar register file. No tagged `Value` union.
- The comptime compiler-API: the compiler **exposes its real types + functions** to
comptime sx. sx reads/builds them as native memory and calls compiler functions by
pointer. No `abi(.zig)` weld, no `validateStructLayout`, no `register_struct`
field-by-field marshaling — gone.
- `declare`/`define`/`type_info` and `#compiler`/`BuildOptions` ride this one
mechanism; the bespoke interp arms are deleted.
## Principles (hold at every step)
- **Green at every step.** `zig build && zig build test` pass after each sub-step. The
existing tagged-`Value` interpreter stays the live evaluator until the VM reaches
corpus parity; swap behind a build flag, then delete the old path.
- **Target-aware, not host-baked.** Flat-memory layout uses the type table's target
sizes (`pointer_size`, `typeSizeBytes`/offsets), NEVER host `@sizeOf`. This is what
keeps cross-compilation correct (the JIT-comptime alternative could not).
- **Sandboxed.** Flat-memory accesses are bounds-checked; step/call-depth budgets
remain; an OOB / bad access traps to a build-gating diagnostic with a source span —
never a compiler-process crash.
- **No silent fallbacks** (per CLAUDE.md): an unhandled op / shape bails loudly with a
named reason, never a zero/default that looks like success.
## Phases
### Phase 0 — Strip the weld / serialize / marshal machinery
Delete the wrong-direction code so the VM builds on a clean base. Pure removal +
corpus rebaseline; suite green.
- `src/ir/compiler_lib.zig`: the reflection (`weldStruct` / `bound_types` /
`FieldLayout` / `BoundType`), the layout validation (`validateStructLayout` /
`LayoutMismatch` / `SxField`). Decide the fate of the `bound_fns` host-call registry
(`intern`/`text_of` handlers) — it is likely subsumed by the VM's compiler-call path
in Phase 3, but `intern`/`text_of` may survive as the first such calls.
- `src/ir/lower/nominal.zig`: `validateWeldedStruct` + `weldedFieldOrderStr` + the
`sd.abi == .zig` validation call in `registerStructDecl`.
- `src/ir/interp.zig`: the `compiler_welded` dispatch branch.
- `src/backend/llvm/ops.zig`: the `emitCall` comptime-only gate keyed on
`compiler_welded` (re-derive the comptime-only guard from a non-weld signal if still
needed).
- Corpus: retire / convert the weld examples + diagnostics — `0625`, `0627` (welded
struct), `1183`, `1186` (weld-layout diagnostics), `1184`/`1185` (welded-fn). Keep
`0626` (`intern`/`text_of` round-trip) only if it survives the new call path.
- **Keep (re-evaluate in Phase 3), independent of the weld semantics:** the
`#library "compiler"` decl, the `abi(.x)` annotation + `extern <lib>` syntax, and the
`callconv → abi` unification. These are surface syntax that may still serve the
compiler-API; only the *weld semantics* are stripped here.
**Verification:** `zig build test` green with the weld machinery gone; the surviving
syntax still parses (parser unit tests).
### Phase 1 — Flat-memory value model (still IR-walking, no bytecode yet)
Introduce flat memory and move comptime values onto it, **decoupled from bytecode** so
the value-model change is isolated. Each sub-step ports one op group and keeps the
corpus green; the OLD tagged path stays behind a build flag (`-Dcomptime-flat`) until
all groups land, then the shim is deleted.
1. **Machine + scalars.** A flat memory region (host `[]u8`) with a stack (frames) +
bump-allocated heap, and a scalar register file. Port `int`/`float`/`bool`/`undef`
and arithmetic/compare/branch. Aggregates still go through a compat shim to the old
representation.
2. **Aggregates.** Structs/arrays/tuples laid out in flat memory at **target** layout;
port `struct_init` / `struct_get` / `array` / `index_gep` to read/write bytes at
computed offsets.
3. **Slices / strings.** `{ptr, len}` fat pointers in flat memory.
4. **Optionals / enums / tagged unions.** Tag + payload bytes.
5. **Pointers.** `alloca` / `store` / `load` / GEP unified onto flat addresses; retire
`slot_ptr` / `heap_ptr` / `byte_ptr` in favor of flat-memory addresses.
6. **Closures.** Fn id + captured env materialized in flat memory.
7. **Extern / host calls.** A struct arg is already bytes → pass its address; this
removes most of `marshalExternArg`.
8. **Reflection / minting.** `declare` / `define` / `type_info` read flat-memory
values; type-table mutation copies escaping data into compiler-owned memory at the
boundary (lifetime), as today.
**Verification:** with `-Dcomptime-flat` the full corpus (currently 692) is byte-for-
byte identical to the tagged path; then make flat the default and delete the shim.
### Phase 2 — Bytecode
Compile a comptime function's IR → a compact bytecode and execute the bytecode instead
of walking `Inst`. Pure encoding/speed; semantics identical to Phase 1. Land at least a
minimal register-bytecode loop (the stream's stated goal is a *bytecode* VM); a
fragment cache is optional follow-up.
**Verification:** corpus identical to Phase 1; comptime throughput measurably improved
on a heavy-comptime micro-benchmark.
### Phase 1.final — host wiring (the remaining integration)
The wiring ENTRY POINT exists: `comptime_vm.tryEval(gpa, module, func_id) ?Value` runs a
comptime function entirely on the VM and returns a legacy `Value`, or `null` to fall
back. Unit-tested (pure `6*7` → 42; unsupported → null). Remaining to actually route the
host through it:
1. **Panic→error hardening (prerequisite).** `Machine.readWord`/`writeWord`/`bytes`
currently `assert` (debug panic) on null/OOB. For arbitrary host functions to be
safe, make them return `error.OutOfBounds` so a malformed run BAILS (→ null → legacy)
instead of crashing the compiler. Ripples through `readField`/`writeField`/slice
helpers (add `try`).
2. **Implicit context.** Host comptime functions may have `has_implicit_ctx` (param 0 =
`*Context`); the legacy `run` materializes a default ctx. The VM `run` does not — so
either materialize it too, or only route `tryEval` at funcs without implicit ctx.
3. **Wire one site** behind a flag/env (`SX_COMPTIME_FLAT`, → `-Dcomptime-flat` later):
the const-init fold in `emit_llvm.zig` `emitGlobals` (`result = tryEval(...) orelse
interp.call(...)`). Default off → corpus unaffected.
4. **Parity + coverage.** Run the corpus with the flag ON; results must be byte-identical
to legacy. Measure how many comptime evals the VM already handles; the bail `detail`s
name what to port next (tagged-union payload / any / closures / builtins).
5. Grow coverage (port the deferred ops + `call_builtin`/`compiler_call` via the bridge)
until the VM is the default and the legacy path is deleted.
### Phase 3 — Compiler-API on flat memory (resume the stream — no weld)
With native-byte comptime values, re-home the compiler-API:
- **Expose the compiler's real types.** Register the actual `types.zig` records
(`StructInfo`, `EnumInfo`, `Field`, …) into the comptime type table under sx-visible
names, with their **real (host) layout** — the type IS the compiler's, so there is
nothing to validate or keep in sync. (This is the projection that *replaces* the
weld's reflection — owned by the compiler, not declared in sx.)
- **Expose the compiler's functions.** `register_struct`, `find_type`, `intern`,
`text_of`, and the reflection readers operate on flat-memory pointers / handles
directly (no marshaling — the bytes already ARE the record).
- **Re-express** `declare` / `define` / `type_info` as sx over these; delete the
bespoke interp arms (`defineStruct` / `defineEnum` / `defineTuple` / `reflectTypeInfo`);
migrate `examples/0622` (struct), `0619`/`0620`/`0623` (enum/tuple).
- **Migrate `BuildOptions`** off `#compiler` onto this mechanism; **delete `#compiler`**.
**Verification:** the metatype + `#compiler` surfaces are gone, re-expressed as sx over
the exposed compiler-API; full corpus green.
## Open questions (resolve as reached, record decisions here)
- **Host-ABI vs target-ABI split.** The compiler runs on the host, so its OWN exposed
records are host-laid-out; user comptime types are target-laid-out. The flat-memory
model must carry both regimes (a per-type ABI tag on layout queries). Confirm the
boundary where a flat-memory pointer to a compiler record is handed to host Zig code
uses host layout.
- **Exposing compiler types to sx.** Mechanism for projecting `types.zig` records into
the comptime type table with real offsets (the non-weld replacement) — a registry the
compiler owns, keyed by sx-visible name → real Zig type's layout + a host-call ABI.
- **Bytecode shape.** IR-derived vs a fresh ISA; register vs stack; fragment caching.
- **Pointer escape / lifetime.** Flat-memory pointers stored into the persistent type
table must be copied into compiler-owned memory at the boundary (as today).
- **Old-path retirement.** Keep the tagged interpreter until Phase 1 parity, then
delete — confirm no non-comptime consumer depends on `Value`.
## File map (current → touched)
| Area | File | Phase |
|------|------|-------|
| Comptime evaluator | `src/ir/interp.zig` | 0 (strip weld dispatch), 12 (rebuild) |
| Weld registry | `src/ir/compiler_lib.zig` | 0 (strip), 3 (replace with type/fn exposure) |
| Weld validation | `src/ir/lower/nominal.zig` | 0 (strip `validateWeldedStruct`) |
| Comptime-only gate | `src/backend/llvm/ops.zig` | 0 (re-derive without weld signal) |
| Host-FFI marshalling | `src/ir/host_ffi.zig` | 1 (struct-by-pointer trims it) |
| Metatype arms | `src/ir/interp.zig` (`defineStruct`/…/`reflectTypeInfo`) | 3 (delete, re-express in sx) |
| `#compiler` / BuildOptions | `library/modules/build.sx`, `src/ir/compiler_hooks.zig` | 3 (migrate, delete `#compiler`) |
| Surface syntax | `src/parser.zig`, `src/ast.zig` (`abi`/`extern`/`#library`) | kept; revisited Phase 3 |
## Status
- **Phase 0 — DONE (2026-06-17).** The struct-weld machinery is stripped:
`compiler_lib.zig` lost the type registry (`weldStruct`/`bound_types`/`BoundType`/
`FieldLayout`/`findType`/`SxField`/`LayoutMismatch`/`validateStructLayout`);
`nominal.zig` lost `validateWeldedStruct`/`weldedFieldOrderStr` + the
`sd.abi == .zig` call; the struct-weld unit tests + examples `0625`/`0627`/`1183`/
`1186` are removed. **Decision (recorded):** the `intern`/`text_of` function
host-call bridge is KEPT — it is a clean scalar dispatch (string→handle), not
weld/serialize/marshal, and is the seed Phase 3 grows the compiler-call path from.
So the `compiler_welded` dispatch (`interp.callExtern` is unchanged at HEAD — the
pre-branch in `call()`), `weldedCompilerFn` (decl.zig), the `emitCall` comptime-only
gate (ops.zig), and examples `0626`/`1184`/`1185` stay. The `#library`/`abi`/`extern`
SYNTAX stays. `zig build test` green (688 corpus, 0 failed; unit tests pass).
- **Phase 1 — in progress.**
- **Sub-step 1 — DONE.** `src/ir/comptime_vm.zig`: the flat-memory `Machine`
(linear byte memory + bump/stack allocator with `mark`/`reset` reclamation +
scalar `readWord`/`writeWord` (1/2/4/8, little-endian) + `bytes` views; addr 0
reserved as `null_addr`) and `Frame` (register file indexed by Ref + stack
reclamation on `deinit`). A register `Reg` is a raw u64 — immediate scalar OR
`Addr`. Standalone + unit-tested (`comptime_vm.test.zig`, in the barrel); does
NOT touch the live interpreter, so the corpus stays green (688). No op execution
yet.
- **Sub-step 2 — DONE.** The executor (`Vm` in `comptime_vm.zig`): walks the SAME
IR `Inst` over flat-memory frames, mirroring the legacy interp's scalar semantics
(i64 wrapping/signed + f64 register words, keyed off the result/operand `TypeId`).
Ported: constants (`const_int`/`float`/`bool`/`null`/`undef`), arithmetic
(`add`/`sub`/`mul`/`div`/`mod`/`neg`), comparison (`cmp_*`), logical
(`bool_and`/`or`/`not`), conversions (`widen`/`narrow`/`bitcast` passthrough,
`int_to_float`/`float_to_int`), terminators (`br`/`cond_br`/`ret`/`ret_void`) and
`block_param` (branch args passed as Refs — the same frame persists, SSA-safe).
Any other op bails loudly (`error.Unsupported` + `detail = @tagName(op)`).
Unit-tested on hand-built IR (`Fb` builder): integer add, f64 arithmetic, cond_br
branch selection, a block-param loop summing i..1, div-by-zero + unsupported-op
bails. Corpus untouched (688 green) — the executor is exercised by unit tests only,
not yet wired to real comptime eval.
- **Sub-step 3 — DONE.** Memory + structs on flat memory. `Vm` gained an optional
`table: *const TypeTable` (target-aware layout). Ported `alloca`/`load`/`store`
(over flat addresses, `Store.val_ty` drives width) and `struct_init`/`struct_get`/
`struct_gep` (structs laid out at the table's natural offsets). The value model: a
`Kind.word` (scalar/pointer ≤8B) sits in a register; a `Kind.aggregate` (struct)
lives in flat memory and its "value" IS its address (read returns the address,
write memcpys), so nested structs compose and `struct_gep` is just base+offset (no
field-pointer dance). `kindOf` bails loudly on the not-yet-ported types
(slice/string/any/optional/enum/array/tuple/…). The Addr-based value model survives
allocator realloc (offsets are stable; slices are only materialized transiently).
Unit-tested: struct_init+get round-trip, alloca+gep+store+load, nested-struct
aggregate copy + nested read. Corpus untouched (688 green).
- **Sub-step 4a — DONE.** Tuples + arrays. `kindOf` widened (`tuple`/`array`
aggregate). Ported `tuple_init`/`tuple_get` (positional, `tupleFieldOffset`),
`index_get`/`index_gep` (`elemAddr` = base + idx*elem_size over array/pointer/
many_pointer bases; slice/string bases bail), and `length` on an array value
(static `ArrayInfo.length`). Unit-tested: mixed tuple round-trip, `[3]i64`
gep/store + index_get sum (42), array `length` (3). 688 corpus green.
- **Sub-step 4b — DONE.** Slices + strings as `{ptr@0 (pointer_size), len@8 (i64)}`
fat pointers (`kindOf`: string/slice → aggregate). Ported `const_string` (materializes
text+NUL in flat memory + a fat pointer), `length`/`data_ptr` (read len/ptr fields),
`array_to_slice`, `subslice`, indexing *through* a slice/string (`elemAddr` loads
`.ptr` first), and `str_eq`/`str_ne` (len+memcmp). Helpers `makeSlice`/`sliceLen`/
`sliceData`. Unit-tested: string length + str_eq/ne, array→slice + slice index +
slice length (23), array subslice (43). 688 corpus green.
- **Sub-step 4c — DONE (optionals + payloadless enums).** `kindOf`: `enum` → word;
`?T` → word if pointer-child (null==0) else `{T@0, i1@sizeof(T)}` aggregate. Ported
`optional_wrap`/`unwrap`/`has_value`/`coalesce` (with `optChildIsPtr`/`optHas`
helpers; `const_null``null_addr` reads as none), `enum_init` (payloadless: tag is
the value), `enum_tag` (payloadless/word). Unit-tested: non-pointer `?i64`
wrap/unwrap/coalesce (91), pointer `?*i64` null==0 (99), payloadless enum tag (11).
688 corpus green.
- **Sub-step 4d — partial (`addr_of`/`deref` DONE).** `addr_of` passes through (an
aggregate value already IS its address; a pointer is already an address — mirrors
the legacy); `deref` = `readField` through the pointer (`ins.ty` is the pointee).
Unit-tested (deref a `*i64` → 77; addr_of a struct value + field read → 80).
**Deferred to the wiring phase (intentionally, not ported blind):** tagged-union
payload (`enum_init` w/ payload, `enum_payload` — the legacy stores *untyped* Values
and `field_index` indexes payload sub-fields, not variants, so a byte model's
payload type is ambiguous without a real call site), `any` boxing, closures, and the
bitwise ops. These have subtleties best resolved against actual corpus cases — the
VM's loud `error.Unsupported` + `detail` will name exactly what each real eval needs.
- **Sub-step 1.5 — direct `call` DONE.** `Vm` gained `module: *const Module`
(resolves a callee `FuncId`) + a `depth`/`max_depth` recursion guard. `call`
marshals arg Refs → Reg words and recursively `run`s the callee; aggregate args/
results pass as their `Addr` over the SHARED flat memory (no copy). **Stack-lifetime
change:** `Frame` no longer reclaims the machine on exit (a returned aggregate's
Addr would dangle) — a comptime eval's allocations live to `Vm.deinit`;
`Machine.mark`/`reset` stay for explicit use. Extern/builtin callees (no blocks)
bail loudly (1.5b). Unit-tested: direct call (`add(20,22)+100` → 142) and recursion
(`sum(0..n)` → 15/55). 688 corpus green.
- **Sub-step 1.5b — `Reg``Value` boundary bridge DONE.** The builtin/`compiler_call`/
extern handlers are all coupled to the legacy `Interpreter` (e.g. `compiler_lib`
handlers take `*Interpreter`), so the VM can't call them directly — the wiring uses
WHOLE-FUNCTION fallback instead (VM runs pure functions; a bail re-runs the whole
eval in the legacy). That needs the boundary bridge: `valueToReg` (host `Value` arg →
VM `Reg`, materializing aggregates into flat memory) + `regToValue` (VM result →
`Value`, deep-copied out). Covers scalars + strings + structs (other aggregate shapes
bail loudly; added as wiring surfaces them). Transitional — deleted once the VM owns
comptime end-to-end. Unit-tested with round-trips. 688 corpus green.
- **Then the wiring step** (below) — now unblocked.
### Decision (2026-06-17): pivot from blind op-porting to CALLS + hybrid wiring
The common leaf ops are ported (scalars, control flow, structs, tuples, arrays, slices,
strings, optionals, payloadless enums, deref/addr_of) and unit-tested. Continuing to
port the rarer ops (tagged-union payload, any, closures) in isolation risks subtle
bugs and has low signal. The higher-value path:
1. **Calls (sub-step 1.5)**`call` (direct), then `call_builtin`/`compiler_call`. The
shared flat memory makes aggregate args/results pass naturally (they're Addrs). The
one design point: **aggregate-return lifetime** — a callee's stack-reclaim would
dangle a returned struct Addr, so for comptime (bounded) the VM should stop
reclaiming per-frame and let the whole eval's allocations live until `Vm.deinit`
(keep `Machine.mark/reset` for explicit use; drop it from `Frame.deinit`).
2. **Hybrid wiring**`-Dcomptime-flat` routes a comptime eval through the VM, falling
back to the legacy interp on `error.Unsupported`. This makes the VM run the REAL
corpus, proving parity incrementally and surfacing exactly which ops each real eval
needs — far better signal than more isolated unit tests.