jolt/.dirge/skills/jolt-compiler/SKILL.md
Yogthos a1bfd55b38 Phase 5: Multimethods + Hierarchy system
- types.janet: make-hierarchy, derive*, ancestors, descendants, isa?, underive
- evaluator.janet: defmulti extended with :default and :hierarchy options
  + keyword dispatch-fns wrapped as (fn [x] (get x kw)) for Janet compat
  + hierarchy-based dispatch walks isa? chain when no direct match
- core.janet: real derive, isa?, ancestors, descendants implementations
  replacing stubs; core-remove-method, core-remove-all-methods,
  core-prefer-method added; new core-bindings entries
- 5 test sections (22-26): hierarchy ops, basic dispatch, :default,
  hierarchy dispatch, remove-method — all pass
- 317 tests, 0 failures
2026-06-02 21:30:38 -04:00

137 lines
No EOL
5.5 KiB
Markdown

# jolt-compiler
# Jolt Compiler
Source-to-source Clojure→Janet compiler. Two-phase: analyze-form (classify + macro expand) → emit-ast (generate).
## Architecture
```
Clojure form → analyze-form [form bindings ctx] → AST {:op ...}
↓ (if head = macro var)
expand → re-analyze expanded form
emit-ast (source string) or emit-expr (data structure)
```
Three public entry points:
- `(compile-form form &opt ctx)` → Janet source string (debug/display)
- `(compile-ast form &opt ctx)` → Janet data structure (for eval)
- `(compile-and-eval form ctx)` → compile-ast + eval
## Why data structures, not source strings
Janet's `eval` does NOT have access to `use`-imported symbols from the calling file. `(eval "(core-inc 1)")` fails with "unknown symbol core-inc". The fix: emit Janet tuples where function VALUES are embedded: `[core-inc 1]`.
```
core-fn-values table: "core-inc" → core-inc (the actual function)
emit-core-symbol-expr → (get core-fn-values janet-name)
```
Source-to-source (`compile-form` + `emit-ast`) still exists for debugging but is NOT used by `compile-and-eval`.
## Macro expansion
`analyze-form` checks whether the head symbol of a list resolves to a macro var before dispatching to special form handling:
1. Look up symbol in current ns → core ns via `resolve-macro`
2. If `var-macro?` is true, call `(var-get macro-var)` to get the fn
3. `(apply macro-fn (tuple/slice form 1))` to expand
4. `(analyze-form expanded ...)` to re-analyze the result
Macros expand at analyze time, before emission. `defn` expands to `(def name (fn* ...))`, `when` to `(if test (do ...) nil)`, etc.
## Symbol classification (in analyze-form)
Order: qualified ns → local binding → core-symbol → bare symbol
```
(if (form :ns) → :qualified-symbol
(get bindings name) → :local
(get core-renames name) → :core-symbol
→ :symbol)
```
core-renames MUST match actual fn names: `"-"``"core-sub"` (not `"core--"`), `"not"``"core-not"`. Verify against `core.janet` bindings.
## core-fn-values
Maps Janet string names to actual function values. Must be kept in sync with core-renames. When adding a new core fn, update BOTH tables.
Functions that need special mapping (name differs):
- `"apply"``apply` (Janet built-in)
- `"-"``"core-sub"` (not `core--`)
- `"some"``core-some?` (shared with `core-some?`)
- `"pr-str"``core-str` (alias)
- `"nth"``core-nth` (separate function, added in Phase 6)
- `"list"``core-list`, `"name"``core-name`, `"subs"``core-subs`
## Loop/recur compilation
`loop*` emits a self-referential closure:
```janet
(do (var _loop_N nil)
(set _loop_N (fn [params] body))
(_loop_N init-vals...))
```
`recur` saves `:loop-name` in the AST (looked up from bindings `:jolt/current-loop`), then `emit-recur-expr` rewrites to `(loop-name arg1 arg2...)`.
In the string emitter, recur similarly emits `(loop-name arg ...)`.
## Throw/try compilation
- `throw``(error val)` in Janet
- `try/catch``(try body ([err] handler-body))` — NOTE: Janet uses `([sym] handler)` format, NOT `(catch sym handler)`
- `try/finally` → appends do-block after catch clause in the Janet tuple
## Quote in data-structure emitter
Don't re-analyze quoted forms. Use `raw-form->janet` to pass Jolt reader forms through verbatim to Janet's `quote`:
```
(emit-quote-expr expr) → ['quote (raw-form->janet expr)]
```
raw-form->janet converts symbols to Janet symbols, arrays/tuples recursively.
## Remaining ops (interpreter only)
`syntax-quote`, `set!`, `deftype`, `defmulti`, `defmethod` — these are stateful or complex and always use the interpreter path even in compile mode.
## deftype in interpreter (eval-list arm)
deftype creates a constructor function returning a Janet table with `:jolt/deftype` key (`"ns.TypeName"`). Evaluator `set!` handles `(.-field obj)` field mutation (reader creates `(. -field obj)` array form). `instance?` checks `:jolt/deftype` tag. defrecord macro in core.janet emits `(do (deftype Name [fields]) (def ->Name ...) (def map->Name ...))`.
## Stateful forms (must use interpreter, NOT compiler)
These forms modify context state and cannot be compiled:
- `defmacro`, `ns`, `deftype`, `defmulti`, `defmethod`, `require`, `in-ns`
- `syntax-quote`, `set!`, `var`, `.`, `new`
Note: `def` IS handled by the compiler (compiles to Janet `def`, since macros are expanded at analyze time).
## eval-string dispatch (compile mode)
```janet
(if (or (= head-name "defmacro") (= head-name "ns")
(= head-name "deftype") (= head-name "defmulti") (= head-name "defmethod")
(= head-name "require") (= head-name "in-ns")
(= head-name "syntax-quote") (= head-name "set!")
(= head-name "var") (= head-name ".") (= head-name "new"))
(eval-form ctx @{} form) ; interpret
(compile-and-eval form ctx)) ; compile
```
## Adding a new op
1. Add `analyze-form` match arm for the special form
2. Add `emit-ast` match arm (source string path)
3. Add `emit-expr` match arm (data structure path)
4. Add `core-renames` entry if it's a core fn (name → Janet string name)
5. Add `core-fn-values` entry (Janet string name → actual fn value)
6. Add tests in `test/compiler-test.janet`
## Test files
- `test/compiler-test.janet` — Phase 2-5 tests (source output + compile-eval + macro tests)
- `test/phase6-final.janet` — Phase 6 comprehensive compile-mode tests (47 assertions)
Run: `janet test/compiler-test.janet` or `janet test/phase6-final.janet` or `jpm test`