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Direct-link + whole-program by default for program runs; open for the REPL

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Running a program is a closed world — every namespace is required, then it runs
to completion — so make it direct-link by default (inlining, record shapes, the
inference's specialization), and for a -m/-M entry auto-enable the whole-program
cross-namespace inference pass. A decomposed multi-namespace program was ~3.7x
slower than the same code in one namespace purely because per-namespace
inference can't see a caller in a not-yet-loaded namespace; this closes that for
the common case with no flags and no hints.

Interactive modes (repl, -e, nrepl-server) stay indirect/open — they have to let
you redefine vars, which direct-linking seals against. Opt-outs:
JOLT_NO_DIRECT_LINK forces the open path even for a program run (hot-reload,
runtime redefinition); JOLT_NO_WHOLE_PROGRAM keeps direct-linking but per-ns;
JOLT_DIRECT_LINK / JOLT_WHOLE_PROGRAM still force-on. Namespaces required inside
-main (after the batch pass) fall back to per-ns inference.

The success checker (RFC 0006) rides on the inference for free, but a casual
program run shouldn't spam type warnings just because it now direct-links, so its
default-on is suppressed when direct-linking was auto-enabled (:direct-link-auto?);
an explicit JOLT_DIRECT_LINK or JOLT_TYPE_CHECK still turns it on. whole-program-
test and devirt-test opt their per-ns baseline out of the new auto-default.

Docs: RFC 0005 gains 'Compilation modes and defaults' + 'Cross-namespace
inference'; RFC 0004 documents cross-ns/param hints; self-hosting-compiler and
--help updated. Full gate green.
This commit is contained in:
Yogthos 2026-06-14 15:44:01 -04:00
parent 230a0c2160
commit 6abfd660ce
8 changed files with 159 additions and 26 deletions
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5
docs/self-hosting-compiler.md
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@ -141,7 +141,10 @@ coverage incrementally, and de-risks the self-hosting bootstrap.
**Live flexibility.** Vars stay first-class cells; compiled code derefs them;
`def` updates the root; protocol/multimethod dispatch stays dynamic. Direct
linking is opt-in, never the default, so the REPL is always live.
linking seals a call against redefinition, so the interactive modes — the REPL,
`-e`, the nREPL server — always stay live (indirect). Running a *program* (a
file, `-m`/`-M`) direct-links by default, since it's a closed world; opt back out
with `JOLT_NO_DIRECT_LINK`. (See RFC 0005, "Compilation modes and defaults".)
## A staged path