Stdlib slice of Phase E4, plus the noreturn codegen fix that enables it.
noreturn codegen (the enabling bug): E1.4c made `noreturn` type-system-only;
this is its first backend consumer and it crashed LLVM verification. Fixed:
- lower.zig: a `-> noreturn` body lowers as statements ending in `unreachable`
(ensureTerminator emits unreachable; the two body-lowering sites no longer
treat the last expr as a `ret`).
- emit_llvm.zig: a `void`/`noreturn` call result stays unnamed (direct +
foreign call sites) — LLVM rejects a named void value.
- finishCatchHandler: a `noreturn` value-carrying catch body (which is not an
IR terminator) closes the handler with `unreachable` instead of feeding a
bad value into the merge phi. Shared by lowerCatch + lowerCatchOverChain.
is_comptime(): new nullary `.is_comptime` IR op (inst/print/interp/emit_llvm) —
interp evaluates true, emit_llvm emits constant false, so `if is_comptime()`
dead-codes out of compiled binaries. Recognized by name in
tryLowerReflectionCall + inferExprType (no std.sx decl, which would emit a
spurious `declare @is_comptime` into every module).
library/modules/log.sx: warn/info/debug/err — interpolate like print, write
`LEVEL: <msg>` to stderr. (`error` is reserved → the level is `log.err`.)
process.exit(code) -> noreturn + assert(cond, msg) in process.sx. `exit` is
POSIX `_exit(2)` (immediate, no cleanup; sx print is unbuffered so nothing is
lost), bound to "_exit" which also avoids a link-level clash with the sx `exit`
function's own name.
examples 248 (exit 0), 249 (exit 42), 250 (exit 1). #caller_location, the
comptime-exit diagnostic flush, and trace.print_interpreter_frames deferred to
E4.1b.
`{}` on an error-set value printed `<?>` (any_to_string had no error_set
category). Now it renders the tag name (`BadDigit`), reusing the existing
any_to_string dispatch.
Pieces:
- New `error_tag_name_get` IR op (UnaryOp): tag id -> name. Lowered from a new
`error_tag_name(e) -> string #builtin` (std.sx). Handled across inst.zig
(op def), print.zig, interp.zig (comptime: tags.getName), and emit_llvm.zig.
- emit_llvm getOrBuildTagNameArray: an always-linked `[N x {ptr,i64}]` global
of tag names indexed by global tag id (the TagRegistry namespace, slot 0 =
""). error_tag_name_get zext's the u32 tag value and GEPs into it. Built once;
not trace-gated, so it works in release too (per the spec's "tag-name table
always shipped").
- resolveTypeCategoryTags gains an `error_set` category so the
`case error_set:` arm in any_to_string matches; that arm coerces the Any to
u32 (`xx val`) and calls error_tag_name. (cast(type) didn't recover the tag
id for error-set values; the u32 coercion does.)
examples/240-error-tag-interpolation.sx: bound tags + a catch-bound tag print
their names. Regenerated ffi-objc-call-06-sret-return.ir — pure block-renumber
drift from adding one if-arm to the shared any_to_string (verified
semantically identical after collapsing block numbers).
Gates: zig build, zig build test, bash tests/run_examples.sh (277 passed; lone
failure is the user's uncommitted 213-canonical-map pack WIP).
First sema/types step. Implemented in the IR layer (ir/types.zig +
type_bridge.zig + lower.zig), NOT src/sema.zig — lowering doesn't consume
sema; the frontend Type is LSP-only. Mirrors how enums are handled.
- ir/types.zig: new `.error_set` TypeInfo kind (ErrorSetInfo {name, tags:
[]u32}; identity = name, like enum) with a u32 runtime layout (size/align
4, LLVM i32) per the locked error-slot ABI. New TagRegistry on TypeTable
(global tag pool: name -> u32, monotonic, id 0 reserved for "no error").
internTag/getTagName/errorSetType helpers; `.error_set` arms in all 7
exhaustive switches + findByName.
- emit_llvm: toLLVMTypeInfo -> i32. print: writeType -> set name.
- type_bridge: resolveInlineErrorSet (mirrors resolveInlineUnion) +
.error_set_decl arm.
- lower.zig: registerErrorSetDecl (rejects empty `error { }` with a
diagnostic) wired into both top-level decl switches + the block-local one.
- tests: ir/types.test (TagRegistry 0-reserved + identity; errorSetType u32
layout + named display + dedup; sorted storage) and ir/type_bridge.test
(decl -> type + tag interning + re-resolve dedup).
End-to-end: `Foo :: error { A, B }` + main compiles + runs (exit 0) — first
ERR syntax to survive the full pipeline; empty set rejects with a diagnostic.
Inferred bare `!`, error.X value, and == typing deferred to slice 2 / E1.2.
zig build, zig build test, and 254/254 examples green.
Wires the dormant `Value.type_tag(TypeId)` variant in interp.zig
so Type values flow through the comptime interpreter as
first-class kind-distinguished entities. No source-language
construction path yet — that's a follow-up. This commit is the
infrastructure foundation.
Audit findings (from interp.zig switch-walk):
- Every `else =>` arm over Value is either already loud
(`bailDetail` / `error.TypeError`) or a pass-through helper
(`materializeCtxArg`, `materializeForCall`, `resolveSlotChain`)
where transit-unchanged is semantically correct for type_tag.
No new silent paths introduced by activating the variant.
- The three pre-existing `.type_tag => return bailDetail(...)`
arms (store-at-raw-ptr, deref-non-pointer, unbox-non-aggregate)
already cover the disallowed paths cleanly.
New plumbing:
- `Op.const_type: TypeId` — dedicated opcode. Never piggybacks
on `const_int`. Result IR-type is `.any` to signal "untyped
at runtime" so downstream coercions fail loudly.
- `Builder.constType(tid)` constructor.
- Interp arm emits `Value{ .type_tag = tid }` for the op.
- emit_llvm arm bails loudly + emits an undef-i64 placeholder
(Type is comptime-only — if a Type ever reached LLVM emit,
some upstream builder leaked through; the diagnostic + LLVM
verifier downstream surface the offending site).
- `print.zig` arm prints `const type(<typeName>)`.
- `Value.asTypeId() ?TypeId` helper — the kind-honest accessor
for Type values. asInt/asFloat/asBool/asString continue to
return null for `.type_tag` (no silent coercion).
- `evalCmp` arm for `.type_tag, .type_tag` — TypeId equality.
Mixed `.type_tag` vs `.int` deliberately falls through to
the typeErrorDetail bail (a Type is not an int).
Tests (src/ir/interp.test.zig):
- `const_type yields type_tag` — confirms the variant is
produced and that asTypeId/asInt distinguish correctly.
- `type_tag comparison` — exercises cmp_eq on equal and
unequal pairs, asserts the right bool comes back.
208/208 example tests + `zig build test` green. No user-visible
behaviour change yet — `.type_tag` is constructible from Zig-
side IR builders but no sx-level syntax produces it. Next slice
wires `$args` lowering (or `$args[i]` in expression position)
to emit `const_type` per pack element.
allocViaContext used to fall back to a direct `.heap_alloc` (libc
malloc) when `Context` wasn't registered — i.e. when the program
didn't import std.sx. That was a silent escape hatch: a program could
appear to allocate fine without a `Context`, sidestepping protocol
dispatch entirely. Same shape as the matchContextAllocCall trap we
removed, just in a different code path.
Now: every site that needs `Context` emits a clear diagnostic when
the type isn't in scope, pointing the user at the required import.
- `allocViaContext`: the three fallback branches (no implicit_ctx, no
Context type, malformed Context struct) all call the new
`diagnoseMissingContext("heap allocation")` and return a
placeholder. Codegen no longer emits libc malloc as the silent
no-import path.
- `lowerPush`: the no-Context branches used to silently drop the
push and just lower the body. Now diagnose first, then lower
(keeping the body's other diagnostics flowing).
- `lowerIdentifier` for "context": used to silently fall through to
`global_names.get("context")` (which would emit an unresolved
identifier with no actionable hint). Now diagnose with the
required-import message.
With every consumer gone, the `.heap_alloc` and `.heap_free` IR ops
are deleted entirely:
- `inst.zig`: drop the Op variants.
- `interp.zig`: drop the execInst arms.
- `emit_llvm.zig`: drop the arms (the `getOrDeclareMalloc/Free`
helpers stay — they're still used by the foreign-decl path for
user-level `malloc`/`free` foreign bindings).
- `print.zig`: drop the printers + the isVoidOp arm.
- `emit_llvm.test.zig`: drop the unit test (op no longer exists).
155/155 example tests pass. Unit tests green. Chess green on macOS /
iOS sim / Android. A program that doesn't import std.sx and tries to
use `context.allocator.alloc` or `push Context.{}` or the `context`
identifier now gets a real error:
error: heap allocation requires the Context type — add
`#import "modules/std.sx";` (or a module that imports it)
Closes the last silent allocation-protocol escape.
The session-long set of changes that lay the groundwork for the
Jai-literal implicit-Context-parameter refactor. Lots of accumulated
work; the new arrival is the implicit-ctx foundation (steps 1+2 of
the plan in current/CHECKPOINT-MEM.md):
Step 1 — `CAllocator :: struct {}` stateless allocator in
library/modules/allocators.sx, delegating directly to
libc_malloc/libc_free. `ConstantValue` in src/ir/inst.zig gains a
`func_ref: FuncId` leaf so nested aggregates can carry function
pointers (the inline Allocator value's fn-ptr fields). Switch
sites updated in emit_llvm.zig, print.zig, interp.zig.
Step 2 — `emitDefaultContextGlobal` in src/ir/lower.zig synthesises
a static `__sx_default_context` global with a nested-aggregate
init_val pointing at the CAllocator → Allocator thunks. The
second-pass `initVtableGlobals` in emit_llvm.zig is generalised
to handle `.aggregate` init_vals (re-emits after func_map is
populated so func_ref leaves resolve to real symbols).
Also folded in from earlier work this session:
- Phase 1.1: `xx value` heap-copy in `buildProtocolValue` routes
through `context.allocator` via the new `allocViaContext` helper.
- interp.zig: `marshalForeignArg` double-offset bug fixed —
`heapSlice` already adds `hp.offset` to the slice ptr, so the
extra `+ hp.offset` was scribbling memcpy/memset into adjacent
heap state, corrupting `heap.items[0]`. Symptom: `build_format`
at comptime produced zero bytes, all `print` calls failed.
- Lazy lowering: `lazyLowerFunction` now declares foreign-body
functions as extern stubs in the local (comptime) module so
cross-module foreign calls resolve.
- Allocator API: all stdlib allocators on one-line `init() -> *T`
(CAllocator/GPA: libc-backed; Arena/TrackingAllocator: parent-
backed; BufAlloc: embeds state at head of user buffer).
- issues 0038 (transitive #import), 0039 (chess + stdlib migration
fallout), 0040 (generic struct method dot-dispatch), 0041
(pointer types as type-arg), 0042 (alias name resolution) — all
fixed; regression tests in examples/.
- Diagnostic: `emitError` now embeds the lowering's
`current_source_file` and enclosing function in the literal
message; SX_TRACE_UNRESOLVED=1 dumps a Zig stack trace at the
emit site so misattributed spans can't hide where the failure
is.
- tools/verify-step.sh (all-platforms gate) and tools/scratch.sh
(interp/codegen parity tester) added.
Test suite: 152 example tests pass; chess builds + screenshots on
macOS / iOS sim / Android.
New `.jni_msg_send` IR opcode carrying `{env, target, name, sig,
args[], is_static}`. `lowerFfiIntrinsicCall` now dispatches on
`fic.kind`: `.objc_call` keeps the existing path; `.jni_call` and
`.jni_static_call` route through `lowerJniCall`, which emits the new
opcode.
emit_llvm.zig expands `.jni_msg_send` into the JNI vtable
indirection:
%ifs = load ptr, %env ; vtable
%get_obj_class = load ptr, gep(%ifs, i32 31)
%cls = call ptr %get_obj_class(%env, %target)
%get_method_id = load ptr, gep(%ifs, i32 33)
%mid = call ptr %get_method_id(%env, %cls, %name, %sig)
%call_void_method = load ptr, gep(%ifs, i32 61)
call void %call_void_method(%env, %target, %mid, args...)
Per step 1.15's scope: only `.jni_call` (instance) + `void` return
are wired through the switch. `.jni_static_call` (1.23) and the
non-void returns (1.18–1.22) drop to a placeholder `LLVMGetUndef` so
the build doesn't fault — the next-step commits flip those arms one
shape at a time. Method-ID caching is step 1.17.
Two small helpers landed alongside:
- `loadJniFn(ifs, offset, name)` — GEP into the vtable + load.
- `extractSlicePtr(val)` — string literals lower as `{ptr, i64}`
slices in sx IR; JNI's `GetMethodID` expects raw C strings, so
this extracts field 0 when the source is a slice.
Android cross-compile now passes for `examples/ffi-jni-call-02-void.sx`
(2/2 cross targets green). Host run_examples still passes 112/112.
Chess iOS-sim + Android both compile clean.
102/102 regression tests pass; chess Android + iOS-sim still build
clean. `ffi-objc-call-04-primitive-returns` flips from xfail to
passing with both nil-recv and real-recv flavors of *void / s64
returns exercised.
Key change: a new `objc_msg_send` IR opcode bundles (recv, sel,
extra args) and carries the return type via the `Inst.ty` field.
emit_llvm.zig builds a per-call-site LLVM function type from the
argument Refs' IR types (recv/sel as ptr; extra args through
abiCoerceParamType) and dispatches with LLVMBuildCall2. One
declared `@objc_msgSend` symbol is reused across every return
type — opaque pointers make the function value type-erased, so
each call site picks its own ABI.
before: one (recv, sel) -> ptr LLVM declaration, hard-coded
per call site; only void return wired in 1.3.
after: same declaration, each call site provides a fresh
LLVMBuildCall2 fn-type → s64 / *void / bool / f64
returns all dispatch correctly without separate FuncIds.
Selector init mechanism: stayed with the @llvm.global_ctors
constructor. Investigated clang's
`__DATA,__objc_selrefs` + `externally_initialized` shape — works
for fully-linked binaries (dyld substitutes the SEL at load
time) but **LLVM ORC JIT** (the engine behind `sx run`) doesn't
process Mach-O Obj-C metadata sections, so the slot keeps its
initial value (the method-name string pointer) and dispatch
crashes with "<null selector>". The portable choice: keep the
constructor AND inject a direct call to it at `main`'s entry —
idempotent under dyld (sel_registerName returns the same SEL on
re-registration), required for ORC JIT.
Files touched:
src/ir/inst.zig | new ObjcMsgSend struct + opcode
src/ir/lower.zig | drop the void-only restriction; emit the
new opcode; remove the orphaned
getObjcMsgSendFid path (objc_msgSend
declaration moved to emit_llvm)
src/ir/emit_llvm.zig | objc_msg_send arm (per-call-site
LLVMBuildCall2); lazy `@objc_msgSend`
declaration via getObjcMsgSendValue;
emitObjcSelectorInit refactored to inject
the ctor call at main's entry
src/ir/{print,interp}.zig | switch arms for the new opcode
`ffi-objc-call-03-selector-sharing.ir` snapshot updates to
reflect the new shape (the `call ... @objc_msgSend` call sites
no longer mention a typed wrapper).
