// Comptime type metaprogramming — `declare` / `define` (construct a NEW nominal // type from data), plus `type_info` / `field_type` (reflect a type → data) and // the data model they reflect INTO and construct FROM. // // This is a SEPARATE on-demand module rather than part of the prelude: its data // types would otherwise intern into every module's type table and shift every // `.ir` snapshot. Import it explicitly: #import "modules/std/meta.sx"; // // `declare` is ordinary sx (over the `abi(.compiler)` primitive `declare_type`); // `define` / `type_info` / `field_type` are comptime-only compiler builtins — // reaching one at runtime is a hard error (the type must be minted / reflected // at compile time). // One variant of a constructed enum: a name plus an optional payload type. // `payload = void` means a tagless variant (e.g. `closed`). EnumVariant :: struct { name: string; payload: Type; } // The shape of an enum/tagged-union being reflected or constructed. The type's // NAME is supplied to `declare(name)`, not here — `declare` needs it at compile // time to register the forward type so the body can reference itself (`*Name`). EnumInfo :: struct { variants: []EnumVariant; } // One field of a constructed struct: a name plus its type. StructField :: struct { name: string; type: Type; } // The shape of a struct being reflected or constructed. As with `EnumInfo`, the // type's NAME travels in `declare(name)`, not here. StructInfo :: struct { fields: []StructField; } // The element types of a tuple being reflected or constructed. Tuples are // POSITIONAL (no field names), so this is just an ordered list of types. TupleInfo :: struct { elements: []Type; } // The reflected/constructed type shape. A tagged union over the kinds of type // that can be minted — `` .`enum ``, `` .`struct `` and `` .`tuple `` all ship. // The variants use the backtick raw-identifier escape so they read as the // keywords (`` .`enum(...) `` / `` .`struct(...) `` / `` .`tuple(...) ``) rather // than mangled `enum_` / `struct_` / `tuple_`. TypeInfo :: enum { `enum: EnumInfo; `struct: StructInfo; `tuple: TupleInfo; } // ── The low-level compiler-API type-construction primitive ─────────────────── // // `declare_type` is an `abi(.compiler)` function — the compiler's primitive for // minting a forward nominal slot, serviced by `comptime_vm.callCompilerFn`. It // runs at LOWERING time (when a `-> Type` builder's result is first referenced), // where the compiler still resolves references to the new type. The DSL's // `declare` below is ordinary sx written over it. (Declared here, not imported // from `modules/compiler.sx`, so `meta.sx` stays self-contained and doesn't // intern `compiler.sx`'s `List(string)` types into every importer's table.) declare_type :: (name: string) -> Type abi(.compiler); // ── The metatype DSL: `declare` (sx), `define`/`type_info`/`field_type` (builtins) // // declare(name) — mint a NEW empty (undefined) nominal type NAMED // `name`, returned as a `Type` handle. The compiler // registers the forward type at compile time (it scans // for the literal `declare("Name")` spelling), so the // body of `define` can reference it BY NAME — that's how // self-reference works (`payload = *List` resolves to the // forward `List`). Using the type before its `define` is // a loud error; a pointer to it is fine. A trivial alias // for `declare_type` (both mint the same forward slot). // define(handle, info) — fill a declared handle's body from a `TypeInfo`, and // RETURN the handle so the one-shot form chains: // List :: define(declare("List"), .enum(.{ variants = .[ // EnumVariant.{ name = "cons", payload = *List }, // EnumVariant.{ name = "nil", payload = void } ] })); // Still a compiler builtin: decoding the `TypeInfo` // tagged-union VALUE needs comptime-VM tagged-union // matching (`enum_tag` on a tagged union), which the VM // doesn't model yet — so `define` can't be plain sx until // that lands (it would `match` the union). // type_info($T) — reflect a type INTO a `TypeInfo` value (the inverse of // `define`). Still a compiler builtin: building the // tagged-union value byte-compatibly is a compiler job. // field_type($T, idx) — the i-th field / variant-payload / element type. A // compiler builtin that folds at LOWER time, so it // composes inside `type_eq` / `type_name` / any type-arg // slot — a property `type_field_type` (a runtime value) // can't provide. define :: (handle: Type, info: TypeInfo) -> Type #builtin; type_info :: ($T: Type) -> TypeInfo #builtin; field_type :: ($T: Type, idx: i64) -> Type #builtin; // `declare(name)` is plain sx over the `declare_type` primitive: both mint (or // find) the same forward nominal slot — `declare` adds nothing but a name the // compiler scans for to forward-register self-references (`*Name`). declare :: (name: string) -> Type { return declare_type(name); } // --- Type constructors built in sx library code (no compiler machinery) --- // // The channel result types, expressed as type-fns over declare/define. They // demonstrate that a programmatically-built enum carries a full enum through // codegen: `RecvResult(i64)` constructs and matches like any hand-written enum, // and is one nominal type across sites (the type-fn identity path). The channel // library (N3) consumes these once it lands. // The GENERAL enum constructor: mint a nominal enum NAMED `name` from a variant // list passed as a VALUE (a `[]EnumVariant`), rather than a hardcoded literal. // Because `variants` is an ordinary comptime value, a caller can ASSEMBLE it in // a local (conditionally, in a loop, from type args) before minting — see // `examples/0620`. `define` decodes the slice via `decodeVariantElements`. The // channel constructors above are the special-cased shapes; `make_enum` is the // open-ended one every other constructor could be written over. // // Call it from a non-generic `() -> Type` builder (whose whole body is // comptime-evaluated, so locals are in scope) or inline with a literal arg // (`E :: make_enum("E", .[ … ])`). A *generic* type-fn comptime-evaluates only // its return EXPRESSION, so build the list inline in the return there, not in a // preceding local. make_enum :: (name: string, variants: []EnumVariant) -> Type { return define(declare(name), .enum(.{ variants = variants })); } // A blocking recv: a value, or the channel was closed (drained). RecvResult :: ($T: Type) -> Type { return define(declare("RecvResult"), .enum(.{ variants = .[ EnumVariant.{ name = "value", payload = T }, EnumVariant.{ name = "closed", payload = void }, ] })); } // A non-blocking try-recv: a value, currently empty, or closed — three states // a bool can't express. TryResult :: ($T: Type) -> Type { return define(declare("TryResult"), .enum(.{ variants = .[ EnumVariant.{ name = "value", payload = T }, EnumVariant.{ name = "empty", payload = void }, EnumVariant.{ name = "closed", payload = void }, ] })); }