sx/issues/0167-comptime-regtovalue-array-in-aggregate.md

0167 — comptime #run returning an aggregate that contains an array fails the reg→value bridge (+ unclean recovery)

RESOLVED. (C) Added an .array arm to regToValue in src/ir/comptime_vm.zig: reads N elements at stride typeSizeBytes(elem) from the array's address and recursively bridges each via regToValue(elem_ty) → an .aggregate Value (serializeAggregateValue already handles arrays). Composes with struct-field walks, nested arrays, array-of-structs, and the ?Arr optional payload; unbridgeable element types bail loudly. (E) Added if (self.comptime_failed) return; in emit() (src/ir/emit_llvm.zig) after Pass 0, so a GLOBAL failing #run aborts cleanly (exit 1, the comptime init of 'X' failed: … diagnostic) instead of panicking unresolved type reached LLVM emission — verified across sx run/ir/build. Regression: examples/comptime/0644-comptime-run-array-aggregate.sx. Verified by 3 adversarial reviews; suite 793/0. The issue's (E) repro A?.xs[0] now routes to two SEPARATE pre-existing bugs filed during review: 0181 (optional-chain ?. to an array field then [idx] → unresolved panic, pure-runtime) and 0182 (body-local #run of an unbridged shape silently miscompiles — lowerInlineComptime doesn't set comptime_failed). Both are out of 0167's reg→value-bridge scope.

Symptom

Two related defects:

(C) A #run (comptime const init) whose function returns a struct/aggregate containing an array field fails comptime evaluation with a LOUD bail:

error: comptime init of 'G' failed: reg→value: aggregate shape not bridged yet

This is the general array-in-aggregate gap in the comptime VM's regToValue bridge — it handles scalar/struct/slice/tuple/optional payloads but not an array nested inside the aggregate. (The ?Arr form noted while fixing issue 0162 is the SAME root cause, not optional-specific.) This is a loud limitation, not a silent miscompile.

(E) When such a comptime init has already failed, downstream codegen does not hard-abort: a later use of the now-unresolved-typed const (e.g. A?.xs[0]) panics unresolved type reached LLVM emission (exit 134) instead of the clean exit-1 the compiler should produce after a comptime-init failure.

Reproduction

C (loud bail — the primary feature to implement):

#import "modules/std.sx";
Arr3 :: struct { xs: [3]i64; }
mk :: () -> Arr3 { r : Arr3 = ---; r.xs[0]=1; r.xs[1]=2; r.xs[2]=3; return r; }
G :: #run mk();
main :: () { print("{} {} {}\n", G.xs[0], G.xs[1], G.xs[2]); }

Expected: 1 2 3. Observed: error: ... reg→value: aggregate shape not bridged yet, exit 1.

E (recovery should be clean, not a panic):

#import "modules/std.sx";
Arr3 :: struct { xs: [3]i64; }
mk :: () -> ?Arr3 { r : Arr3 = ---; r.xs[0]=1; r.xs[1]=2; r.xs[2]=3; return r; }
A :: #run mk();
main :: () { print("{}\n", A?.xs[0]); }

Observed: panic: unresolved type reached LLVM emission, exit 134. Expected: once (C) is implemented this evaluates; independently, a failed comptime init must abort cleanly (exit 1) rather than reach LLVM emission.

Investigation prompt

C: src/ir/comptime_vm.zig regToValue (the failMsg("reg→value: aggregate shape not bridged yet") bail, ~line 2270). Add an array arm: read len elements of the element type from the aggregate memory at the array field's offset, bridging each via regToValue(elem_ty) recursively, producing a Value array. This must compose with the struct-field walk so an array nested inside a struct (and the ?Arr optional payload from 0162) both work. Follow the no-silent- fallback rule — any element type you can't bridge bails loudly with a specific message.

E: after a #run/comptime-init failure sets comptime_failed = true (see the #run call sites in src/ir/emit_llvm.zig), the pipeline should stop before LLVM emission rather than proceeding with an unresolved const type. Find where comptime_failed is checked (or should be) before codegen in src/main.zig / the emit driver, and make a failed comptime init a hard, clean abort.

Verify: repro C prints 1 2 3; an array-of-struct and struct-with-array both bridge; repro E either evaluates (after C) or exits 1 cleanly with the comptime error and no panic. Add examples/comptime/06xx-comptime-run-array-aggregate.sx.