jolt/.dirge/skills/jolt-dev/SKILL.md
Yogthos ab7ff85816 Phase 3: Compile-aware loader, :compile? flag, compile-and-eval
- loader.janet: load-ns with compile? dispatch, compiled-cache, compiled?, clear-compiled-cache
- compiler.janet: compile-ast (Janet data structures for direct eval), compile-and-eval
- api.janet: compile-string, compile-file, eval-string dispatches to compile-and-eval when :compile? is true
- types.janet: :compile? flag and :compiled-cache table in context env
- Stateful forms (def, defmacro, ns, deftype, defmulti, defmethod) fall back to interpreter
- All 317 tests pass + 16 new Phase 3 tests
2026-06-02 15:24:28 -04:00

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---
name: jolt-dev
description: Jolt development workflow — build, test, special form patterns, Janet gotchas
---
# Jolt Development
## Build & Test
```bash
cd /Users/yogthos/src/jolt
jpm build # produces build/jolt
jpm test # runs all tests
janet test/foo.janet # run a single test file from project root
```
## Compiler Development
See `jolt-compiler` skill for the Clojure→Janet source-to-source compiler workflow.
## Janet Eval Pipeline (critical)
Janet's `(parse s)` does NOT return a parsed form — it returns `[symbol, error-position]`.
For evaluating Janet source strings, use the parser pipeline:
```janet
(def p (parser/new))
(parser/consume p source)
(parser/eof p) # REQUIRED — otherwise produce returns nil
(def form (parser/produce p))
(eval form)
```
**Never** try `(eval [if true 1 2])` — Janet's `eval` doesn't recognize special forms in tuple data structures.
## `var` vs `def`
When you need to mutate a local with `set`, use `(var x nil)` not `(def x nil)`. `def` creates constants.
## Special Form Checklist
To add a new special form to the evaluator:
1. Add the name to `special-symbol?` in `src/jolt/evaluator.janet`
2. Add a match arm in `eval-list` (the match on `name`)
3. Add tests in `test/evaluator-test.janet`
The match arm receives `ctx`, `bindings`, and `form` (the full list). Use `(in form 1)` for first arg, etc.
**Non-symbol heads** (keywords, etc.): `eval-list` first checks `(and (struct? first-form) (= :symbol (...)))` before extracting `name`. If not a symbol, falls through to default function application.
### Current special forms (22):
`quote`, `syntax-quote`, `unquote`, `unquote-splicing`, `do`, `if`, `def`, `defmacro`, `fn*`, `let*`, `loop*`, `recur`, `throw`, `try`, `set!`, `var`, `locking`, `instance?`, `defmulti`, `defmethod`, `deftype`, `new`, `.`
## Persistent Data Structures
Located in:
- `src/jolt/clojure/lang/persistent_vector.clj`
- `src/jolt/clojure/lang/persistent_hash_map.clj`
Loaded at init time by `load-persistent-structures` in `api.janet`. Use `{:mutable? true}` to skip and use Janet-native types.
### Implementation detail
Simple array-based implementation (node-assoc/node-find/find-key-index), NOT HAMT bit-trie.
HAMT failed because Janet uses 64-bit doubles and bit operations require 32-bit signed ints.
## Janet Gotchas
- Bit operations (brshift, brushift, band) use 32-bit signed integers. Hash values can exceed 32-bit range. Use `(band x 0xFFFFFFFF)` before shifting.
- `deftype` creates tables, not structs. `struct?` returns false.
- `(get child :key)` DOES follow table prototype chain — resolved and confirmed working.
- Janet LSP produces many false positives on `.janet` files — safe to ignore.
## Symbol representation
Jolt symbols are `{:jolt/type :symbol :ns <string-or-nil> :name <string>}` as produced by the reader.