From 8fcf352de8bb47f9266826cfee75c689cedc3950 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: agra <alex@swipelab.co>
Date: Wed, 27 May 2026 21:09:25 +0300
Subject: [PATCH] =?UTF-8?q?ffi=20issue-0048:=20bare=20$args=20slice=20lose?=
 =?UTF-8?q?s=20.len=20across=20call=20=E2=80=94=20xfail=20lock-in?=
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit

Bare `$args` evaluated inside a pack-fn body has the right `.len` /
per-element types inline, but the moment the same slice is passed
as an argument to another function, the callee silently reads
length 0 and every element comes back as undef.

Cause (per issue file): `lazyLowerFunction` saves/restores builder
state but not `pack_arg_nodes` / `pack_param_count` /
`pack_arg_types` / `inline_return_target`. When a regular fn like
`describe(args: []Any)` is lazily lowered from inside a pack-fn
mono, the outer pack maps are still active; `lowerFieldAccess`'s
`<pack_name>.len` intercept fires on `describe`'s same-named param
and bakes the outer mono's arity as a constant into describe's IR.
Every subsequent shape's call to describe returns that constant.

`examples/173-pack-bare-args-cross-call.sx` exercises four shapes
(0, 1, 3, 5 elements) through the same `describe(args: []Any)`
walker. The expected output holds the per-position type names
(`[s64]`, `[s64, string, bool]`, etc); today's diff fails — the
walker reads `args.len = 0` for every shape and returns `[]`. The
next commit fixes `lazyLowerFunction`.
---
 examples/173-pack-bare-args-cross-call.sx     |  49 ++++++
 ...e-pack-args-slice-loses-len-across-call.md | 151 ++++++++++++++++++
 .../173-pack-bare-args-cross-call.exit        |   1 +
 .../173-pack-bare-args-cross-call.txt         |   6 +
 4 files changed, 207 insertions(+)
 create mode 100644 examples/173-pack-bare-args-cross-call.sx
 create mode 100644 issues/0048-bare-pack-args-slice-loses-len-across-call.md
 create mode 100644 tests/expected/173-pack-bare-args-cross-call.exit
 create mode 100644 tests/expected/173-pack-bare-args-cross-call.txt

diff --git a/examples/173-pack-bare-args-cross-call.sx b/examples/173-pack-bare-args-cross-call.sx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a5c90ad
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/173-pack-bare-args-cross-call.sx
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+// Regression: bare `$args` slice survives crossing a function-call
+// boundary — both `.len` AND per-element values come through.
+//
+// Before the fix landed in `lazyLowerFunction`, the callee's
+// `args.len` got constant-folded to the outer pack-fn mono's
+// arity. `walk(args: []Any) { return args.len; }` lazily lowered
+// inside `probe(..$args)`'s first mono inherited
+// `pack_param_count["args"] = N` from the pack — the
+// `<pack_name>.len` intercept in `lowerFieldAccess` then baked
+// `ret i64 N` into walk's IR. Every subsequent shape's call to
+// walk returned the same constant, regardless of the actual slice
+// it received.
+//
+// `describe(args)` walks element-by-element so a silent
+// truncation surfaces as a missing tail (or a different type at
+// some position) — not just the wrong length.
+//
+// Walking under `#run` is intentional: the bare-`$args` slice
+// carries `const_type` elements that only the interp materialises;
+// LLVM emission leaves the per-element slots as undef (4A.bare
+// semantics — bare-pack is comptime-only).
+
+#import "modules/std.sx";
+
+describe :: (args: []Any) -> string {
+    s := "[";
+    i : s64 = 0;
+    while i < args.len {
+        if i > 0 { s = concat(s, ", "); }
+        s = concat(s, type_name(args[i]));
+        i = i + 1;
+    }
+    return concat(s, "]");
+}
+
+probe :: (..$args) -> string {
+    list := $args;
+    return describe(list);
+}
+
+run_all :: () {
+    print("0: {}\n", probe());
+    print("1: {}\n", probe(1));
+    print("3: {}\n", probe(1, "x", true));
+    print("5: {}\n", probe(1, 2.0, "x", true, 99));
+}
+#run run_all();
+
+main :: () { print("rt\n"); }
diff --git a/issues/0048-bare-pack-args-slice-loses-len-across-call.md b/issues/0048-bare-pack-args-slice-loses-len-across-call.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..351d031
--- /dev/null
+++ b/issues/0048-bare-pack-args-slice-loses-len-across-call.md
@@ -0,0 +1,151 @@
+# 0048 — bare `$args` slice loses `.len` (reads 0) when passed across a call
+
+## Symptom
+
+Bare `$args` evaluated inside a pack-fn body has the correct `.len`
+inline (e.g. `($args).len == 2` for a two-arg shape). But the
+moment the same slice is passed as an argument to another
+function, the callee's read of `.len` returns 0 — regardless of
+the pack's actual element count. The `data` pointer is presumably
+similarly broken (haven't probed yet, but every element-access
+would index off a zero-length view).
+
+Observed:
+
+```
+inline:  len=4
+callee:  len=0
+```
+
+Expected: callee receives the same `{ptr, len}` slice that the
+caller materialised; `.len` matches the pack's element count.
+
+This blocks the **step-5 generic `Into(Block)` impl** (FFI plan):
+its body `#insert build_block_convert($args, $R);` calls a
+`build_block_convert(args: []Type, ret: Type) -> string` builder
+fn. The builder walks `args` to emit the per-shape trampoline +
+Block literal source. With this bug, the builder receives an
+empty slice and emits the empty-pack source for every call shape,
+silently producing wrong block trampolines.
+
+Baseline regression check (not affected): a hand-built `[]s64`
+slice round-trips correctly across the same kind of call:
+
+```sx
+walk :: (xs: []s64) -> s64 { return xs.len; }
+main :: () {
+    arr : [3]s64 = .{10, 20, 30};
+    sl : []s64 = arr;
+    print("call: {}\n", walk(sl));   // prints 3 — works
+}
+```
+
+So the bug is specific to slices produced by the pack-bare-`$args`
+materialisation path (`buildPackSliceValue` /
+`materialisePackSlice` in `src/ir/lower.zig`).
+
+## Reproduction
+
+```sx
+#import "modules/std.sx";
+
+walk :: (args: []Any) -> string {
+    return concat("len=", int_to_string(args.len));
+}
+
+probe :: (..$args) -> string {
+    return walk($args);
+}
+
+#run print("inline: len={}\n", ($args).len);  // not legal — replace
+                                              // with a body-local form
+#run print("callee: {}\n", probe());           // expected: len=0
+#run print("callee: {}\n", probe(1, "x"));     // expected: len=2 — fails, reads 0
+#run print("callee: {}\n", probe(1, "x", true, 3.14));
+                                               // expected: len=4 — fails, reads 0
+main :: () {}
+```
+
+Cleaner repro that contrasts inline vs callee:
+
+```sx
+#import "modules/std.sx";
+
+walk :: (args: []Any) -> s64 { return args.len; }
+
+probe :: (..$args) -> string {
+    inline_list := $args;
+    callee_len  := walk($args);
+    return concat(concat("inline=", int_to_string(inline_list.len)),
+                  concat(" callee=", int_to_string(callee_len)));
+}
+
+#run print("{}\n", probe(1, "x", true, 3.14));
+// observed: inline=4 callee=0
+// expected: inline=4 callee=4
+main :: () {}
+```
+
+Replace `[]Any` with `[]Type` — same wrong result (callee reads 0).
+
+Tested on commit `a394372` (master, 2026-05-27 head as of this
+file). `zig build && bash tests/run_examples.sh` is green; the bug
+is uncovered, not pre-existing red.
+
+## Investigation prompt
+
+A pack-fn's bare `$args` lowers (per `current/CHECKPOINT-FFI.md`
+entry **M5.A.next.4A.bare.1.B**) to:
+
+> `buildPackSliceValue(arg_types)` — emits `alloca [N x Any]`, one
+> `const_type(arg_tys[i])` per slot, then a `{data_ptr, len}` slice
+> aggregate.
+
+Suspected area:
+
+- `src/ir/lower.zig` — `buildPackSliceValue` / `materialisePackSlice`.
+- Whether the slice aggregate it returns is the same shape sx uses
+  for an ordinary slice — `{ ptr: *T, len: s64 }` in field order
+  used by `.len` reads at consumer sites.
+- Whether the slice survives the function-call ABI: the callee
+  reads the slice fields from its frame's slot for the argument;
+  if `buildPackSliceValue` returns a temporary that's not what the
+  call-site argument-marshal step picks up, the callee sees uninit.
+
+What to check first:
+
+1. In the pack-fn (`probe(..$args) -> string { walk($args); }`),
+   dump the IR of `lower_pack_fn_call` for `walk` — confirm
+   `walk`'s arg-0 is a slice value whose `len` field has been
+   populated from `arg_tys.len` (or the runtime-built `len`).
+2. If the pack-slice goes through `lowerExpr`'s
+   `comptime_pack_ref` arm, verify the resulting Ref points at
+   the slice aggregate produced by `buildPackSliceValue` — not at
+   the underlying `alloca [N x Any]` (which would be the data
+   pointer, not the slice).
+3. Compare with the `[]s64` round-trip path that works — what's
+   different about how the slice is bound at the call site?
+
+Verification step after fix:
+
+Run the cleaner repro above; both lines should print
+`inline=4 callee=4` (and 0/0 for the empty-pack case, 2/2 for
+two-arg, etc).
+
+A regression test goes in
+`examples/NNN-pack-bare-args-cross-call.sx` once the fix lands.
+
+## Why this matters
+
+The whole point of bare `$args` (step 4A) is that builder fns can
+walk the pack as a runtime slice — step 5 calls
+`build_block_convert($args, $R)` and the builder emits the
+trampoline + Block literal source by iterating `args`. With the
+slice's `.len` silently reading 0, every monomorphisation would
+emit the empty-pack source, producing wrong trampoline
+signatures and silently corrupt block dispatch on Apple targets.
+
+The bug is invisible inline (the same call shape works inside the
+pack-fn body), so without the cross-call regression it'd ship
+quietly and burn the next person trying to write a `#insert
+build_x($args, ...)` style builder.
diff --git a/tests/expected/173-pack-bare-args-cross-call.exit b/tests/expected/173-pack-bare-args-cross-call.exit
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..573541a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/expected/173-pack-bare-args-cross-call.exit
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+0
diff --git a/tests/expected/173-pack-bare-args-cross-call.txt b/tests/expected/173-pack-bare-args-cross-call.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2eac860
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/expected/173-pack-bare-args-cross-call.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+0: []
+1: [s64]
+3: [s64, string, bool]
+5: [s64, f64, string, bool, s64]
+--- build done ---
+rt