`#jni_env(synth_env) { ... }` should parse as a block-scoped env
intrinsic, today the lexer doesn't know the directive and the parser
errors at the `#` token in expression position. The make-green
follow-up adds the `hash_jni_env` lexer token, parser arm in
parsePrimary, AST node, and sema acceptance — body runs as a normal
block, env captured for later. TL push/pop semantics + optional env
in `#jni_call` land in 2.16b.
Six new lexer tokens (`hash_jni_interface`, `hash_objc_class`,
`hash_objc_protocol`, `hash_swift_class`, `hash_swift_struct`,
`hash_swift_protocol`) join the existing `hash_jni_class`. All seven
share the body grammar from Phases 2.1–2.6.
AST refactored: `JniClassDecl` → `ForeignClassDecl` with a
`runtime: ForeignRuntime` enum discriminator; `JniMethodDecl` →
`ForeignMethodDecl` (with `jni_descriptor_override` renamed for
clarity since it's JNI-only); `JniFieldDecl` → `ForeignFieldDecl`;
`JniClassMember` → `ForeignClassMember`. AST variant renamed
`jni_class_decl` → `foreign_class_decl`.
`parseForeignClassDecl` takes the runtime as a parameter; the
`parseConstBinding` dispatch table now maps each of the seven
directive tokens to its `ForeignRuntime` variant via
`foreignRuntimeForCurrent`. No codegen yet — Phase 3 picks up Obj-C
runtime, Phase 4 picks up Swift. Runtime-specific body items (fields,
descriptor override) are validated at sema time in later steps.
126/126 examples green.
#jni_interface, #objc_class, #objc_protocol, #swift_class,
#swift_struct, #swift_protocol — each with the same body grammar as
#jni_class. Today the lexer doesn't recognise any of these directives
and the parser errors at the first one (`#jni_interface`). The
make-green follow-up adds the six lexer tokens and refactors
`JniClassDecl` into `ForeignClassDecl` with a `runtime` discriminator
so all seven forms share one AST shape and one parser path.
New `hash_jni_method_descriptor` lexer token + LSP keyword
classification. `JniMethodDecl` gains `desc_override: ?[]const u8`.
parseJniClassDecl accepts an optional `#jni_method_descriptor("...")`
clause between the return type and the terminating `;`, stashing the
literal as the override. Auto-derivation in Phase 2.8 will treat
this as the precedence override when present.
The 2.6 xfail commit (0ed4799) used the working name `#desc` in its
test file; this commit renames to `#jni_method_descriptor` for
parallel naming with the rest of the FFI directive set (`#jni_call`,
`#jni_class`, `#jni_env`, ...). Test snapshot flips xfail → green.
125/125 examples green.
`weirdMethod :: (self: *Self) -> s32 #desc("()I");` should parse,
today's 2.5 parser expects `;` immediately after the return type
and errors at the `#desc` token. The make-green follow-up adds a
`hash_desc` lexer token and threads an optional `desc_override`
field through `JniMethodDecl`.
New `JniFieldDecl` AST struct (name + field_type); `JniClassMember`
gains a `field` variant. After consuming a member-name identifier
in the body loop, the parser branches on the next token: `:` →
field path (parse type expr + `;`), `::` → method path (existing).
`static` fields aren't part of the grammar yet and error explicitly
("static fields not yet supported"); only instance fields land here.
Lowering to JNI `Get<Type>Field` / `Set<Type>Field` arrives in 2.13.
124/124 examples green.
`Point :: #jni_class("...") { x: s32; y: s32; }` should parse,
today's 2.4 body loop sees the identifier `x`, expects `::`, hits
`:` and errors. The make-green follow-up adds a `field` variant to
`JniClassMember` and a parser branch that detects `<ident>:` (vs
`<ident>::`) as the field-decl indicator.
Two new lexer tokens `hash_extends` / `hash_implements` (global tokens,
context-meaningful inside #jni_class bodies — same pattern as #using).
`JniClassDecl.methods` refactored into `members: []const JniClassMember`,
a tagged union with `method` / `extends` / `implements` variants.
Body loop dispatches on the leading token: `#extends Alias;` /
`#implements Alias;` consume the alias name and push a non-method
member; everything else falls through to the existing method path.
The alias on the right of `#extends` is the sx-side name (resolved
to the corresponding #jni_class at sema time in a later step), not
the foreign Java path — the path lives only in the alias's own
directive arg.
123/123 examples green.
`Window :: #jni_class("...") { #extends View; ... }` should parse,
today's 2.3 parser doesn't recognise `#extends` as a token and the
body loop reports "expected method name". The make-green follow-up
adds `hash_extends`/`hash_implements` lexer tokens, refactors
`JniClassDecl.methods` into a `members` tagged union, and dispatches
in the body loop on the leading token.
`JniMethodDecl` gains `is_static: bool = false`. parseJniClassDecl's
body loop now recognises a `static` identifier prefix (context-sensitive
— `static` stays a plain identifier elsewhere) and consumes it before
the method name, setting `is_static` on the resulting decl. Dispatch
to `GetStaticMethodID` / `CallStatic*Method` arrives in Phase 2.12.
122/122 examples green.
`Math :: #jni_class("java/lang/Math") { static abs :: (n: s32) -> s32; }`
should parse, today's 2.2 parser treats `static` as a plain
identifier and errors at the following `abs`. The make-green
follow-up adds a `static` keyword recognition step in the body
loop and an `is_static` flag on `JniMethodDecl`.
New `JniMethodDecl` AST struct (name, params, param_names,
return_type — no body, foreign declaration). `JniClassDecl.body`
becomes `methods: []const JniMethodDecl`. parseJniClassDecl loops
over body items, parsing each `name :: (self: *Self, args...) -> Ret;`
similarly to parseProtocolDecl but requiring `;` (no body brace).
`static`, fields, `#extends`, `#implements`, and the other six
directive forms land in 2.3–2.7. Sema/lower still treat the decl
as an opaque type alias — descriptor derivation arrives in 2.8+.
121/121 examples green.
New `hash_jni_class` token + lexer entry, `JniClassDecl` AST node
(alias + java path; body deferred to 2.2+), `parseJniClassDecl`
consuming `("...") { }` and rejecting non-empty bodies for now.
Sema registers the alias as a type_alias symbol; LSP classifies
the directive as a keyword. The 2.0 xfail snapshot flips to
`parse-only ok`, exit 0.
120/120 examples green; zig test clean.
Today's parser doesn't recognize #jni_class as a hash directive
after `::`, so it falls through to expression parsing and errors
at the `#` token. Step 2.1 extends parseConstBinding to accept
the directive (opaque on empty body) and re-snapshots this file
to green.
Static dispatch wired in. The early `is_static` bail in
`.jni_msg_send` is gone; both paths now share the same lazy-cache +
phi structure with two static-specific differences:
1. `GetObjectClass` is skipped — for static calls, `target` IS the
`jclass`. The cached `cls` slot just stores `NewGlobalRef(target)`
directly.
2. The method-ID lookup uses `GetStaticMethodID` (slot 113), and the
dispatch uses `CallStatic<Type>Method` (Object 114 / Boolean 117
/ Int 129 / Long 132 / Float 135 / Double 138 / Void 141).
Slot interning still applies: the `@SX_JNI_{CLS,MID}_<key>` pair is
shared between instance and static literal call sites with the same
`(name, sig)` — though in practice the JNI runtime treats instance
and static method-IDs as distinct, so two sites with the same name
but different dispatch kinds would collide in the cache. This isn't
a problem the chess Android backend hits (each method is uniquely
either static or instance in the API), so the simpler single-key
intern stays.
IR snapshot updated: `ret i32 undef` replaced by the full
NewGlobalRef → GetStaticMethodID → CallStaticIntMethod sequence
through vtable slots 21, 113, 129. Args `i32 3, i32 7` thread through
the existing arg-coercion loop.
Test-add for static dispatch — `#jni_static_call(s32)(env, cls,
"max", "(II)I", 3, 7)` exercises GetStaticMethodID + CallStaticIntMethod
plus two integer args. Today the lowering bails on `is_static = true`
with `LLVMGetUndef`. IR snapshot captures the placeholder.
The next commit:
- Adds `Jni.GetStaticMethodID` (113), `Jni.CallStaticVoidMethod` (141),
`Jni.CallStaticIntMethod` (129), etc. to the constants struct.
- Wires the static path: skip `GetObjectClass` (`target` IS the
jclass), `NewGlobalRef(target)` to cache it, `GetStaticMethodID`
for the method, then `CallStatic<Type>Method` per return type.
Closes the return-type matrix. Pointer-return types aren't a simple
`TypeId` enum case (they're user-defined types interned into the
table), so the dispatch checks `TypeInfo.pointer | .many_pointer`
ahead of the primitive switch:
const is_pointer_ret = switch (types.get(ret_ty_id)) {
.pointer, .many_pointer => true,
else => false,
};
const offset = if (is_pointer_ret)
Jni.CallObjectMethod
else switch (ret_ty_id) { .void => ..., .s32 => ..., ... };
LocalRef cleanup deferred: returned jobjects are JNI LocalRefs
bounded by the native frame. Chains of calls within one frame
consume them inline; cross-frame use must promote via `NewGlobalRef`
(already wired in the slot-interning path from 1.17). The chess
Android backend will consume objects inline, matching the manual
pattern in `sx_android_jni.c`.
Return-type matrix done: void, s32, s64, f64, bool, *void all
dispatch through their respective vtable slots. Static dispatch
(1.23) is next.
Last return-type variant in the matrix. JNI's jobject is a pointer
(LocalRef) — sx's `*void` maps to LLVM `ptr` directly. CallObjectMethod
is at vtable slot 34. IR snapshot captures today's `ret ptr undef`.
Next commit adds the `.ptr => Jni.CallObjectMethod` arm.
LocalRef lifetime: the returned jobject is a JNI LocalRef bounded by
the native frame. Chains of calls within one frame consume LocalRefs
inline; calls that need to escape the frame should be promoted via
`NewGlobalRef` (already wired in the slot-interning path). Step 1.22
doesn't introduce automatic cleanup — chess use consumes objects
inline, matching the pattern in sx_android_jni.c.
One-line addition: `.bool => Jni.CallBooleanMethod`. The lazy-cache
+ dispatch from 1.17 handles the rest. JNI's `jboolean` is i8 in the
C ABI but always carries 0 or 1; LLVM's call boundary truncates the
return byte to i1 and the sx-level bool reads the low bit
canonically.
IR snapshot updated: `ret i1 undef` replaced by the full sequence
through vtable slot 37 keyed on `("isShown", "()Z")`.
Test-add for the jboolean return. JNI `jboolean` is a single byte (0
or 1); sx's `bool` lowers to LLVM `i1` with byte-coercion at the ABI
boundary. CallBooleanMethod is at vtable slot 37.
IR snapshot captures today's `ret i1 undef`. Next commit adds the
`.bool => Jni.CallBooleanMethod` arm.
One-line addition to the switch: `.f64 => Jni.CallDoubleMethod`.
First non-integer JNI return type; same lazy-cache + dispatch
infrastructure from 1.17 handles the rest.
IR snapshot updated: `ret double undef` replaced by the full
sequence through vtable slot 58 keyed on `("getValue", "()D")`.
Test-add for the jdouble return-type variant — `#jni_call(f64)(env,
target, "getValue", "()D")`. First non-integer return type for JNI.
IR snapshot captures today's `ret double undef` placeholder. The
next commit adds the `.f64 => Jni.CallDoubleMethod` arm.
One-line addition to the `call_method_offset` switch: `.s64 =>
Jni.CallLongMethod`. The 1.17 caching infrastructure and the named-
constants struct from c1877fc handle the rest.
IR snapshot at `tests/expected/ffi-jni-call-05-jlong-return.ir`
updated: `ret i64 undef` replaced by the full lazy-cache +
CallLongMethod (vtable slot 52) sequence keyed on
`("currentTimeMillis", "()J")`.
Test-add for the jlong return-type variant — same shape as 1.18's
jint test but exercising `#jni_call(s64)(env, target,
"currentTimeMillis", "()J")`. Today the non-void switch falls
through to `LLVMGetUndef`; the IR snapshot captures the placeholder.
The next commit adds the `.s64 => Jni.CallLongMethod` arm. The
snapshot will update to show the full dispatch through vtable slot
52, reusing the 1.17 slot interning machinery.
One-line addition to the `call_method_offset` switch in
`emit_llvm.zig` — `.s32 => 49` (CallIntMethod). The 1.17 caching
infrastructure handles the rest: GetObjectClass → NewGlobalRef →
GetMethodID populate the shared `@SX_JNI_{CLS,MID}_<key>` pair on
miss; per-call lowering loads the cached jmethodID and dispatches
through vtable slot 49 with an `i32` return.
IR snapshot at `tests/expected/ffi-jni-call-04-jint-return.ir`
updated: the `ret i32 undef` placeholder is replaced by the full
lazy-cache + CallIntMethod sequence keyed on
`("getCount", "()I")`. Pre-1.18 snapshot was 1d7ea72.
Adds `examples/ffi-jni-call-04-jint-return.sx` exercising
`#jni_call(s32)(env, target, "getCount", "()I")` inside a runtime-
reachable but never-invoked helper (`g_should_call` stays false, so
the dereferences don't fire). Today the emit_llvm switch falls
through to `LLVMGetUndef` for any non-void return — the IR snapshot
captures that placeholder.
The next commit adds the `.s32 => 49` (CallIntMethod) arm. The
snapshot will update to show the full GetObjectClass → GetMethodID →
CallIntMethod sequence (reusing the slot interning landed in 1.17,
since `("getCount", "()I")` is a fresh literal pair).
Two `#jni_call` sites with the same string-literal `(name, sig)` pair
now share a single `jclass` GlobalRef slot and a single `jmethodID`
slot, populated lazily on the first call to any matching site.
Non-literal sites keep the per-call `GetObjectClass` + `GetMethodID`
sequence from step 1.15.
Per-call-site lowering for literal sites:
%cached_mid = load ptr, @SX_JNI_MID_<key>
%is_cached = icmp ne ptr %cached_mid, null
br i1 %is_cached, cont, miss
miss:
%local_cls = GetObjectClass(env, target)
%global_cls = NewGlobalRef(env, local_cls) ; vtable slot 21
store ptr %global_cls, @SX_JNI_CLS_<key>
%fresh_mid = GetMethodID(env, global_cls, name, sig)
store ptr %fresh_mid, @SX_JNI_MID_<key>
br cont
cont:
%mid = phi ptr [%cached_mid, before], [%fresh_mid, miss]
call <Type>Method(env, target, %mid, args...)
Wiring:
- `JniMsgSend.cache_key: ?CacheKey` (new) carries `(name_str,
sig_str)` when both `name` and `sig` are string-literal AST nodes;
empty for non-literal call sites.
- `lower.zig` populates `cache_key` from the AST.
- `emit_llvm.zig` `getOrCreateJniSlots(name, sig)` returns the
`{cls_slot, mid_slot}` pair, creating and caching them on first
lookup. Key is `name\x00sig` so the separator can't collide with
any JNI identifier byte.
- `mangleJniKey` builds an LLVM-identifier suffix from the pair, used
in the `@SX_JNI_{CLS,MID}_<suffix>` global names.
IR snapshot at `tests/expected/ffi-jni-call-03-methodid-sharing.ir`
updated: two call sites against literal `("noop", "()V")` now share
`@SX_JNI_CLS_noop____V` and `@SX_JNI_MID_noop____V`. Pre-1.17 snapshot
had two independent `GetMethodID` calls; post-1.17 has one global
slot pair plus per-call lazy-init branches.
Note: an unrelated regression in `examples/ffi-objc-call-12-rect-u64-returns.sx`
exists in the working tree (parse error from an in-progress C-import
block) and is left untouched.
Adds `examples/ffi-jni-call-03-methodid-sharing.sx` with two
`#jni_call` sites against the same (class, method, sig). Today each
site emits its own `GetObjectClass` + `GetMethodID` + `Call<Type>Method`
sequence (8 vtable indirections total for the two-call test); 1.17
will collapse the two `GetMethodID` calls into a single cached
`jmethodID` static slot populated at module init, mirroring the
`OBJC_SELECTOR_REFERENCES_*` shape that 1.5 introduced for `#objc_call`.
Runtime is a no-op — `unused_jni` is reachable through a
runtime-readable `g_should_call` global that stays false, so the JNI
dereferences never execute. A plain `if false` would get
constant-folded, taking the function definition out of the IR
entirely; the global keeps both the function and its body present
for the IR-snapshot harness.
IR snapshot at `tests/expected/ffi-jni-call-03-methodid-sharing.ir`
locks the pre-caching shape. The next commit (1.17) updates it to the
collapsed shape.
113/113 host tests pass.
Adds `examples/ffi-jni-call-02-void.sx` exercising `#jni_call(void)
(env, target, "name", "sig")` inside an `inline if OS == .android`
arm, plus a new tuple in `tests/cross_compile.sh`. Host run_examples
passes (the inline-if strips the JNI body, leaving "skipped"); the
Android cross-compile FAILs because `lowerFfiIntrinsicCall` still
emits the placeholder diagnostic for any `fic.kind != .objc_call`.
Per the FFI cadence rule this is a test-add (xfail); the next
commit makes the Android cross-compile green by adding the
`.jni_msg_send` opcode and its emit_llvm expansion.
Closes the runtime-verification gap from cluster 1.32. The migrated
`uikit_keyboard_will_change_frame` body uses both shapes but isn't
reached by chess startup (the soft keyboard doesn't open without user
input), so runtime verification was transitive only: `#objc_call(CGRect)`
via the structurally-identical `#objc_call(UIEdgeInsets)` (4×f64 HFA)
in ffi-objc-call-07, and `#objc_call(u64)` via the LLVM-equivalent
`#objc_call(s64)` `hash` test in ffi-objc-call-04.
This example installs two IMPs via `class_addMethod`:
- `rect_imp` returns a CGRect of {10.5, 20.5, 30.5, 40.5} through the
32-byte HFA path (v0..v3 on AAPCS64).
- `u64_imp` returns `0x7FEDCBA987654321` through the i64 path.
`#objc_call(CGRect)` and `#objc_call(u64)` dispatch through them and
the values are printed for snapshot lockdown.
Reused the parser quirk noted in the checkpoint and in 0.1 — integer
literals ≥ 2^63 are rejected even when the receiving type is u64, so
the test value keeps the high bit clear.
111/111 host tests pass.
`collectCaptures` in `src/ir/lower.zig` was the closure free-variable
analyzer that decides which names from a closure body need to be
boxed into the env struct at lambda-build time. Its switch on AST
node kind enumerated every other shape (`.call`, `.if_expr`,
`.match_expr`, `.for_expr`, etc.) but no arm for `.ffi_intrinsic_call`,
so the trailing `else => {}` quietly dropped its `args[]` and
`return_type` walks. Names referenced inside `#objc_call(T)(recv,
"sel:", ...)` from a closure body never made it into the captures
list, so when lowering bound the closure scope from env, those names
came back as "unresolved".
The fix adds the missing arm — walk `return_type` and every `args[i]`
the same way `.call` walks `callee` + `args`.
Companion changes:
- `examples/issue-0038.sx` → `examples/103-ffi-closure-capture.sx`
(out of the open-issue namespace; comment header tightened to
describe the feature, not the historical bug).
- `examples/ffi-objc-call-09-in-construct.sx` drops the
`g_hasher_recv` module-global workaround that was added for this
bug — the closure now captures `recv` from `make_hasher`'s arg
list normally.
Uncomments the second passthrough case in `examples/issue-0038.sx`
that captures `recv` from the enclosing function into a closure body
that uses it inside `#objc_call(s64)(recv, "hash")`. Current behavior
is a hard error from the name-resolution pass:
examples/issue-0038.sx:28:48: error: unresolved: 'recv'
Snapshot locks the failure in (exit 1 + that error message) so the
next commit can flip it to passing without ambiguity. Per the FFI
cadence rule this is a test-add (xfail); the make-green follow-up
adds the missing recursion arm in `lower.zig`'s `collectCaptures` for
`.ffi_intrinsic_call` nodes.
Closes the runtime-verification gap from cluster 1.28: chess startup
doesn't reach the keyboard `becomeFirstResponder` / `resignFirstResponder`
path, so `#objc_call(bool)` was only compile-verified. This example
installs two BOOL-returning IMPs via `class_addMethod` (type encoding
"B@:") and dispatches both through `#objc_call(bool)`. Also exercises
the nil-receiver guarantee (libobjc returns a zero slot, which decodes
as false).
This is a test-add commit (per the FFI cadence rule): it locks in
current behavior without changing any lowering. Lowering shape is
identical to `#objc_call(u8)` at the ABI layer; this test makes the
source-level type explicit and gives `git bisect` a target if a
future emit_llvm change inadvertently breaks single-byte returns.
110/110 host tests pass.
109/109 regression tests pass; chess Android + iOS-sim still
build clean.
Root cause: sx's `xx <ptr>` cast targeting an integer type
(common pattern: `xx u64 = xx @some_global`) lowered to a no-op
because `coerceToType` had branches for int↔float and same-kind
widen/narrow, but nothing for pointer↔integer. The cast left the
value as a pointer Ref, and `emitInst`'s `.ret` arm tried to
coerce a `ptr` value to an `i64` slot — coerceArg had no
ptr↔int branch either, fell through to undef.
Why it worked in main but failed in helpers: an
`alloca u64`+`store ptr @g, alloca`+`load i64, alloca` sequence
preserves the address bits as raw memory, so the
"store-then-load through an alloca" workaround happened to do
the right thing without a real cast. A `ret i64 <ptr>` has no
such intermediate slot and triggers an LLVM type mismatch.
Fix layered into two existing IR opcodes:
lower.zig (coerceToType):
new branch — when src and dst types are ptr↔int, emit a
`bitcast` IR opcode with the right from/to. Mirrors how
int↔float emits `.int_to_float` / `.float_to_int`.
emit_llvm.zig (.bitcast arm):
dispatch ptr→int to `LLVMBuildPtrToInt` (+ trunc/zext if the
target int width != 64), int→ptr to `LLVMBuildIntToPtr`. The
"real bitcast" path stays for same-kind type punning.
Modern LLVM's BuildBitCast rejects ptr↔int directly, hence
the dispatch.
The fix also closes a quiet behavior gap that affected non-`#foreign`
globals (any `xx @<global>` from a helper fn). Surfaced while
investigating issue-0037; verified independently with a
non-`#foreign` sx-side global of type `s64`.
File mechanics: issue-0037 promoted to a focused feature example
per CLAUDE.md's resolution flow:
examples/issue-0037.sx -> examples/102-foreign-global-from-helper.sx
tests/expected/issue-0037.{txt,exit} -> tests/expected/102-foreign-global-from-helper.{txt,exit}
ffi-objc-call-03 + ffi-objc-call-06 IR snapshots updated to
reflect the ptr→int store-via-ptrtoint shape that's now correct
at the LLVM-IR level (same bits in memory, but properly typed).
109/109 host tests pass; tests/cross_compile.sh's first real tuple
(`android | examples/ffi-objc-call-10-os-gate.sx`) compiles
through `sx build --target android` without finding any
`@objc_msgSend` / `@sel_registerName` symbols in the output —
the `inline if OS == .ios { #objc_call(...) }` arm is stripped
at sx compile time before emit_llvm runs, so the Android
toolchain (Bionic + libGLESv3 / NDK linker) doesn't see the
Obj-C runtime references that would otherwise be undefined.
Host (macOS): the example prints "host stripped both" — the iOS
arm is stripped (we're not iOS) AND the Android arm is stripped
(we're not Android), confirming `inline if OS == { case }`
symmetric strip-and-render works around `#objc_call` sites.
The example carries a 3-line `android_main` trampoline so the
NDK linker's `-u ANativeActivity_onCreate` / entry-point
discovery is satisfied — pattern shared with chess + the other
android examples.
108/108 regression tests pass (+ffi-objc-call-09-in-construct,
+issue-0038 from the prior commit).
One trivial Obj-C call (`[obj hash]` returning NSUInteger) routed
through four sx surface constructs:
1. struct method body Probe.fetch
2. protocol impl method body impl Hashable for Probe
3. closure value body make_hasher
4. generic function body hash_through(recv: $T)
No new ABI shapes touched — pins that the `objc_msg_send` lowering
emits identical call shapes regardless of enclosing scope. Each
case validates the result `h_N == h_1` after threading `recv`
appropriately for each context.
The closure path reaches `recv` via a module-level global rather
than capturing the surrounding parameter — issue-0038 (prior
commit) documents the closure free-variable analyzer missing the
`FfiIntrinsicCall` node, with a clean workaround pinned.
Surfaced while writing the Phase 1.11 in-construct test. The
closure free-variable analyzer doesn't recursively visit the
`ffi_intrinsic_call` AST node introduced in Phase 1.1, so any
identifier used inside `#objc_call` / `#jni_call` /
`#jni_static_call` from a closure body trips:
error: unresolved: '<name>'
The same identifier captured from the same scope into a plain
expression resolves fine — so the bug is localized to whatever
recursive arm-walk powers the capture analysis.
Likely fix: add an `ffi_intrinsic_call => { ... }` arm wherever
the `.call =>` arm visits `callee` + `args`. Candidate files:
- src/sema.zig (capture / scope tracking)
- src/ir/lower.zig (closure body lowering / `lowerLambda`)
Both should be checked.
Workaround in the meantime: reach the captured value via a
module-level global from inside the closure body. See the
`g_hasher_recv` pattern in
examples/ffi-objc-call-09-in-construct.sx for an applied
instance.
106/106 regression tests pass (+ffi-objc-call-08-multi-keyword).
`#objc_call(s32)(instance, "combine:and:", 7, 42)` round-trips
end-to-end via class_addMethod-registered IMP that does
`a * 100 + b` → 742. Pins three things:
1. The two-keyword selector "combine:and:" parses, mangles, and
interns under the symbol `@OBJC_SELECTOR_REFERENCES_combine_and_`
(every `:` → `_` — matches clang).
2. Multi-arg call lowering correctly puts arg0 / arg1 in the right
slots after recv / sel.
3. The IMP-side sx fn signature `(self, _cmd, a: s32, b: s32)`
with `callconv(.c)` interops with the Obj-C runtime's typical
IMP shape, and the runtime forwards the keyword args to the
right physical positions.
No codegen change — Phase 1.6's variadic-args branch in the
`objc_msg_send` lowering already handled this; this test just
locks in the surface.
105/105 regression tests pass (+ffi-objc-call-07-fp-hfa-return).
Same round-trip pattern as 1.8 — register an Obj-C class at
runtime with class_addMethod, IMP returns specific non-zero values,
#objc_call reads them back — but for an all-double 32 B HFA
instead of a 24 B int aggregate.
Locks in the f32-vs-f64 landmine that bit us when we first
wrote safeAreaInsets in uikit.sx: the homogeneous-float-aggregate
ABI routes 1..4 f32 or f64 fields through v0..v3 (AAPCS64) /
xmm0..xmm3 (SysV AMD64) WITHOUT integer coercion. As long as the
LLVM call-site function type carries the precise struct (which
our `objc_msg_send` arm does), the backend lowers it correctly.
This is the smaller cousin of 1.8 — 1.8 needed an emit_llvm code
change to make the sret transform work; 1.9 needs no codegen
change because HFAs of any size up to v0..v3 stay register-resident.
The test just pins that path with a real, value-bearing IMP so a
future ABI-rule shake-up has a regression net.
104/104 regression tests pass. The Triple round-trip
(triple_imp writes {11, 22, 33} on the IMP side → #objc_call(Triple)
reads them back) is the test of record.
emit_llvm.zig changes:
1. `objc_msg_send` arm — when `needsByval(ret_ty)` (same predicate
the plain-foreign-call path uses), apply the sret transform:
- ret type collapses to void
- prepend a `ptr` param at index 0 (call site provides an
alloca slot)
- mirror `sret(<RetType>)` on the call site so the AArch64 x8
/ SysV-AMD64 hidden-ptr ABI lowers correctly
- load the result from the slot post-call
The IR shape now matches clang exactly:
call void @objc_msgSend(ptr sret({...}) %slot, ptr %recv, ptr %sel)
2. `.ret` arm — the body-side counterpart for sx fns whose declared
return type is sret-shaped (sx-defined IMPs registered via
`class_addMethod` produce these). When the current function's
`needsByval(func.ret)` predicate holds, store the IR ret value
through the prepended sret slot (param 0) and emit `ret void`.
Previously the unconditional coerceArg path turned the struct
value into `undef` and emitted `ret void undef` — illegal LLVM.
Test mechanics: registers `SxTripleProbe : NSObject` at runtime via
`objc_allocateClassPair` + `class_addMethod`, IMP returns
Triple{11, 22, 33}. `#objc_call(Triple)(instance, "tripleValue")`
gets them back, round-trip pinned in the .txt snapshot and the
IR-shape snapshot.
103/103 regression tests pass (+ffi-objc-call-06-sret-return).
The runtime output is misleadingly clean — `[nil tripleValue]`
zeros all three fields because libobjc's nil-stub clears the
return registers. But the IR snapshot reveals the actual ABI
mismatch:
%objc.msg = call { i64, i64, i64 } @objc_msgSend(ptr null, ptr %load)
A live receiver returning a non-zero `Triple` would surface
garbage in the third field — the AArch64 backend lowers
{ i64, i64, i64 } returns to x0/x1 pair + a third register that
the runtime's sret-shaped stub doesn't populate.
Next commit (1.8b): emit_llvm's `objc_msg_send` arm gains the
same sret transform we did for plain `#foreign` calls in Phase
0.3 — ret type collapses to void, prepend a ptr sret param,
alloca the result slot at the call site, mirror the
`sret(<T>)` attribute on the call, load result from the slot
post-call. IR snapshot will flip to:
%slot = alloca <Triple>
call void @objc_msgSend(ptr sret(<Triple>) %slot, ptr null, ptr %load)
%objc.msg = load <Triple>, ptr %slot
103/103 regression tests pass (+ffi-objc-call-05-struct-returns).
Three return shapes all round-trip cleanly with the existing Phase
1.6 `objc_msg_send` lowering — no codegen change needed because
emit_llvm.zig hands the IR struct type straight to LLVMBuildCall2
and the AArch64 / SysV AMD64 backends already know how to lower:
NSPoint — 16 B HFA (2×f64) → v0, v1 (AAPCS64) / xmm0, xmm1 (SysV)
NSRange — 16 B 2×u64 → x0, x1 register pair via [2 x i64]
NSRect — 32 B HFA (4×f64) → v0..v3 (AAPCS64) / xmm0..xmm3 (SysV)
Verified against the Obj-C runtime's `[nil structMethod]`-returns-
zero contract — no real-object setup needed, but the wider ABI
path runs exactly as it would for live receivers (the registers
the runtime stub uses come back through the same lowering).
>16 B non-HFA aggregates (e.g. {3×s64}) trip a sret cliff and
land in Phase 1.8. Verified locally that they return garbage in
the trailing field today — register pair / quad won't carry the
extra storage, and emit_llvm's `objc_msg_send` arm doesn't apply
the sret transform yet.
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).
102/102 regression tests pass (+ffi-objc-call-04-primitive-returns
with xfail snapshot capturing today's diagnostic).
Pinned scenario: `[NSObject class]` — `#objc_call(*void)(null, "class")`.
Should return a non-null Class pointer once the lowering supports
non-void returns. Today the Phase 1.3 restriction trips with:
#objc_call: only `void` return + (recv, selector) is lowered today;
non-void / arg-bearing arities land in later phase-1 steps
The next commit (1.6b) introduces an `objc_msg_send` IR opcode that
bundles (recv, sel, args, ret_ty) and emit_llvm builds a per-call-
site LLVM function type, sharing one declared `@objc_msgSend`
symbol across return-type variants. Five primitive returns
(*void / bool / s32 / s64 / f64) get folded in across 1.6b–c.
101/101 regression tests pass; the IR snapshot for the selector-
sharing test diff flips from four per-call `sel_registerName` calls
to two (one per unique selector) routed through a module-init
constructor — matching what clang emits for `@selector(...)`.
Hot-path cost collapses from a libobjc hashtable lookup per call to
a single load of a static `SEL*` slot:
Before (Phase 1.3):
%sel = call ptr @sel_registerName(<"init">)
call ptr @objc_msgSend(<recv>, %sel)
After (Phase 1.5):
%sel = load ptr, ptr @OBJC_SELECTOR_REFERENCES_init
call ptr @objc_msgSend(<recv>, %sel)
+ @OBJC_SELECTOR_REFERENCES_init = internal global ptr null
+ @OBJC_SELECTOR_REFERENCES_release = internal global ptr null
+ define internal void @__sx_objc_selector_init() {
+ %sel = call ptr @sel_registerName(ptr @OBJC_METH_VAR_NAME_)
+ store ptr %sel, ptr @OBJC_SELECTOR_REFERENCES_init
+ %sel1 = call ptr @sel_registerName(ptr @OBJC_METH_VAR_NAME_.2)
+ store ptr %sel1, ptr @OBJC_SELECTOR_REFERENCES_release
+ ret void
+ }
+ @llvm.global_ctors = appending global [1 x { i32, ptr, ptr }]
+ [{ ..., ptr @__sx_objc_selector_init, ptr null }]
Implementation:
module.zig | new `objc_selector_cache: ArrayList(ObjcSelectorEntry)`
with `lookupObjcSelector` / `appendObjcSelector`. List
(not hashmap) keeps emit order stable across builds so
the IR snapshot doesn't flicker on rehash.
lower.zig | `internObjcSelector(sel)` creates the slot on first
use, returns the same `GlobalId` on every subsequent
call to the same selector. lowerFfiIntrinsicCall now
emits `global_addr + load` for literal selectors.
Non-literal selectors keep the `sel_registerName`
fallback. Declaring `sel_registerName` lazily on
first intern so emit_llvm finds it for the
constructor body.
emit_llvm.zig | new `emitObjcSelectorInit` pass synthesizes a void
constructor that loops over the cache, calls
`sel_registerName` for each unique selector string,
stores the result in the slot. Constructor is
registered in `@llvm.global_ctors` with default
priority (65535) so dyld runs it before main.
The `@OBJC_METH_VAR_NAME_` private string globals and unnamed-addr
flag match clang's exact emission shape — picked up by the system
linker into the right Mach-O sections on macOS / iOS. Chess
Android + iOS-sim still build clean (no `#objc_call` in chess yet —
phase-3 migration will start exercising this).
run_examples.sh now supports an optional `tests/expected/<name>.ir`
sibling to `.txt`/`.exit`. When present, the runner also captures
`sx ir <file>` output, normalizes target-/host-specific noise
(module ID, target triple/datalayout, attribute groups, LLVM's
auto-suffixed %temp numbering), and diffs against the snapshot.
`--update` regenerates it alongside the runtime output.
Catches lowering changes that don't affect what the program prints
— exactly the shape Phase 1.5's selector interning will produce
(same runtime output, very different IR).
First snapshot: `ffi-objc-call-03-selector-sharing.ir`. Today the
test emits four `call ptr @sel_registerName(ptr @str.N)` lines for
its four call sites; after 1.5 we expect two static
`@OBJC_SELECTOR_REFERENCES_<sel>` globals + loads at each call
site. The diff between the two snapshots will be the visible
artifact of the optimization.
101/101 regression tests pass (+ffi-objc-call-03-selector-sharing).
Test exercises four call sites — three sharing "init" and one
"release" — to pin the multi-site / multi-selector lowering before
1.5 changes how SEL lookups are cached.
Runtime behavior: identical before and after 1.5 (all call sites
hit nil receivers; libobjc returns 0 for void). The improvement is
visible only in the emitted IR — today:
$ ./zig-out/bin/sx ir examples/ffi-objc-call-03-selector-sharing.sx \\
| grep -c "call ptr @sel_registerName"
4
After 1.5 (planned): 2 — one `sel_registerName` per unique selector
string, materialized into a static `OBJC_SELECTOR_REFERENCES_<sel>`
global at module init, then loaded at each call site. Matches the
shape clang produces for `@selector(...)`. Worth re-running the
above grep after 1.5 lands as a manual sanity check.
The IR-shape snapshot harness (auto-diff of `sx ir` output) is
deferred; for now we verify by eye.
100/100 regression tests pass; ffi-objc-call-02-void-return flips
from xfail (codegen rejection) to passing ("ok").
Lowering for `#objc_call(void)(recv, "selector:")` lands in
lower.zig as `lowerFfiIntrinsicCall`:
%sel = call ptr @sel_registerName(<"selector:">)
%call = call ptr @objc_msgSend(<recv>, %sel)
Two extern decls (`sel_registerName(*u8) -> *void` and
`objc_msgSend(*void, *void) -> *void`) are declared lazily and
cached on the Lowering instance via `objc_msg_send_fid` /
`sel_register_name_fid`, so multiple call sites share one
declaration each.
Phase 1.3 deliberately keeps scope tight: only `void` return + just
(recv, selector) arity is wired. Non-void returns + variadic arity
fall through with a diagnostic and are owned by subsequent phase-1
steps (1.6 primitive returns; 1.7..1.9 struct shapes; 1.10 multi-
keyword selectors).
Selector resolution is still per-call-site `sel_registerName` —
the planned 1.5 interning turns the per-call hashtable lookup into
a single static-global load. Chess Android + iOS-sim builds clean
— no regression on the existing typed-`objc_msgSend`-cast pattern.
100/100 regression tests pass (+ffi-objc-call-02-void-return xfail
snapshot).
The intrinsic with no `inline if false` guard reaches sema/codegen
and trips an "unresolved: 'unknown_expr'" — the FfiIntrinsicCall
AST node from Phase 1.1 has no lowering rules in lower.zig /
emit_llvm.zig yet.
nil receiver was chosen so the test doesn't need a real Obj-C
object graph: the runtime guarantees `[nil msg]` is a no-op with
zero result for void returns. macOS-gated via `inline if OS == .macos`
so the runner stays portable.
Next commit: emit_llvm.zig produces the per-call-site
%sel = call ptr @sel_registerName(ptr "init.0")
call void @objc_msgSend(ptr null, ptr %sel)
lowering. Snapshot flips to "ok". Selector interning (one shared
global per unique selector string) lands as a separate step (1.5).
