jolt/test/conformance/SPEC.md
Yogthos 11318ee386 Collection fns: JVM-faithful return types + laziness
A type-aware audit (~190 collection expressions vs reference Clojure) found four
divergences the corpus missed — value-equality (= [0 1] '(0 1)) hides type and
laziness differences. Fixed, with type-predicate + over-infinite corpus rows that
pin them.

- partition-all [n coll] built vector chunks; JVM chunks are seqs. (The [n step
  coll] arity was already correct, as is the partition-all transducer, whose
  chunks are vectors in JVM too.) Now builds seq chunks.
- replace always returned a vector (mapv) and was eager; JVM is type-preserving —
  a vector maps to a vector, any other seqable to a lazy seq.
- sequence eagerly realized its source (into-xform), so (first (sequence (map inc)
  (range))) hung. Rewrote as a transformer iterator: pull one input at a time,
  buffer the step outputs, emit lazily, run the completion to flush a stateful
  xform. eduction builds on it (lazy, no longer an eager vector).
- mapcat and (apply concat coll-of-colls) hung over an infinite source because
  jolt-apply seq->lists the trailing arg and mapcat seq->lists the map result.
  Added lazy-concat-seq (lazily flatten a seq of colls); mapcat uses it directly,
  and apply special-cases concat (its result is lazy) to route through it.

Docs: a cross-cutting return-type + laziness contract in docs/spec/09-core-library;
SPEC.md notes that = masks type/laziness so they need predicate / over-infinite
rows. EBNF is reader syntax only — unaffected.

Seed change (partition-all/replace/eduction are clojure.core overlay) -> re-mint;
selfhost holds. make test + shakesmoke + buildsmoke green, 0 new divergences.
2026-06-25 22:58:50 -04:00

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Markdown

# The jolt conformance spec
This directory defines jolt's behavior as a **host-neutral, executable language
specification**: a data file of cases, certified against reference Clojure, with a
feature profile that lets any runtime declare a conformance *level*. The goal is to
make hosting jolt on a new runtime (and proving it correct) a mechanical exercise:
read one data file, run each case, compare, report.
## The artifacts
| File | Role | Generated by |
|------|------|--------------|
| `test/chez/corpus.edn` | **The spec.** ~2900 cases of `{:suite :label :expected :actual}`, `:expected` **sourced from reference JVM Clojure**. | `test/conformance/regen-corpus.clj` |
| `test/conformance/profile.edn` | Per-case **feature classification** — which non-portable cases need which host capability. | `certify.clj --profile` |
| `test/conformance/known-divergences.edn` | The few rows whose JVM value is an opaque host object that can't round-trip to readable source (Java arrays/transients/atoms/beans/proxies print as `#object[..@addr]`), so the corpus keeps jolt's value. | `regen-corpus.clj` leftovers, hand-checked |
| `test/conformance/regen-corpus.clj` | Sources every `:expected` from reference **JVM Clojure** in one process. | — |
| `test/conformance/certify.clj` | Certifies `:expected` against reference **JVM Clojure**; gates on new/stale divergences; emits the profile. | — |
`corpus.edn` is **JVM-sourced**: `regen-corpus.clj` evaluates each case's `:actual`
on reference JVM Clojure and writes the JVM value as `:expected`. **`corpus.edn` is
the canonical, frozen contract**: it is what every runtime consumes, what
`certify.clj` certifies, and where new cases are authored directly.
## Row schema
```edn
{:suite "numbers / arithmetic" ; grouping; "<suite> :: <label>" is the case id
:label "integer add" ; unique within a suite
:actual "(+ 1 2)" ; Clojure source to evaluate
:expected "3"} ; Clojure source whose value it must equal,
; or the keyword :throws
```
- `[:suite :label]` is the **canonical, unique case id** (the generator
disambiguates duplicate labels with ` (N)`).
- Comparison is **value-equality** (`=`), never string/printed-form — so map/set
iteration order never matters.
- Because comparison is `=`, a **type** or **laziness** difference is invisible to a
plain value row: `(= [0 1] '(0 1))` is true, so a fn returning a vector where
Clojure returns a seq still passes. Pin those explicitly — container/element type
with a predicate row (`(seq? …)`, `(vector? …)`, `(every? seq? …)`), and laziness
with a `(take n (… (range)))` row over an infinite source (it hangs, not just
diverges, if the fn isn't lazy). The `seq / lazy over infinite` suite does both.
- `:expected :throws` asserts evaluating `:actual` raises.
## The oracle: reference JVM Clojure
Historically every `:expected` was hand-written. `certify.clj` removes that
weakness: it evaluates every `:actual` (and `:expected`) on **JVM Clojure** in a
fresh `user` namespace and checks jolt's `:expected` against what real Clojure
produces. Of ~2740 vanilla-certifiable rows, **>2730 match reference Clojure
exactly**. The rest are classified (see below) — none are silently wrong.
```sh
clojure -M test/conformance/certify.clj # gate
clojure -M test/conformance/certify.clj test/chez/corpus.edn --edn r.edn # + report
clojure -M test/conformance/certify.clj test/chez/corpus.edn --profile test/conformance/profile.edn
```
The gate fails only on a **new** (unclassified) divergence or a **stale**
allowlist entry; flaky timing-dependent cases (`future-cancel`) are tolerated.
## Conformance levels & the feature profile
Not every case is portable: some assume a host capability jolt has on one runtime
but not another (Java interop, real threads, BigDecimal). `profile.edn` classifies
each **non-portable** case by the feature it requires. Cases *not* in the profile
are **portable** — they must pass on any faithful Clojure.
A runtime's **conformance level** = portable cases + the feature families it
implements. Current profile (≈2735 portable, ≈167 non-portable):
| Feature | Meaning |
|---------|---------|
| `:numerics/double-only` | all-double numeric model — no Ratio/BigDecimal/float; `(/ 1 2)``0.5` |
| `:concurrency/snapshot` | isolated-heap futures/agents/pmap — captured atoms are snapshotted, not shared |
| `:host/jvm-interop` | Java classes / `instance?` on host classes / proxy / bean / definterface |
| `:host/arrays` | Java arrays (`into-array`, `int-array`, …) |
| `:async/core-async` | `clojure.core.async` channels/`go` |
| `:runtime/eval` | runtime `eval` / `load-string` |
| `:reader/jolt` | jolt reader features (`#?(:jolt …)`) + syntax-quote literal collapse |
| `:printer/jolt` | jolt's rendering of transients/atoms/`print-method` overrides |
| `:strictness/jolt` | intentionally stricter (throws on odd `assoc!` args, etc.) |
| `:impl/representation` | representation detail (e.g. syntax-quote yields a `list?`, not a `Cons`) |
| `:bug` | a *known defect* (tracked bead) — not a host difference |
## Hosting jolt on a new runtime
1. Implement the reader + analyzer + a backend for your runtime (see the Chez port
under `host/chez/` for a worked example).
2. Write a ~30-line harness that, for each corpus row, evaluates `:actual` and
`:expected` and compares by value-equality (skip `:throws` rows to an
expect-raises check). Pseudocode:
```
(doseq [{:keys [suite label actual expected]} (read-edn "test/chez/corpus.edn")]
(let [feats (profile-features [suite label])] ; from profile.edn
(when (subset? feats my-implemented-features) ; only cases I claim to support
(record! [suite label]
(if (= :throws expected)
(raises? actual)
(value= (eval actual) (eval expected)))))))
```
3. Run it. Your **conformance level** is the set of feature families with no
failures. Portable-only is the floor; each feature you implement raises it.
The reference harness does exactly this on Chez: `host/chez/run-corpus.ss` (the
analyzer runs on Chez → Chez runtime), with a regression floor. Run it via `make
corpus`.
## Maintaining the spec
- **Add/change cases**: edit `test/chez/corpus.edn` directly, then re-source the
answers with `regen-corpus.clj`.
- **Re-certify**: `clojure -M test/conformance/certify.clj`. A new divergence is
either a real bug (file it, mark the allowlist entry `:bug` + `:bead`) or a
deliberate delta (classify it in `known-divergences.edn`).
- **Refresh the profile**: re-run with `--profile test/conformance/profile.edn`.
- **Re-floor the runtime gate** when parity rises (`host/chez/run-corpus.ss`).