diff --git a/DISCUSS.org b/DISCUSS.org new file mode 100644 index 0000000..402c35a --- /dev/null +++ b/DISCUSS.org @@ -0,0 +1,231 @@ +* Additional things + +** flan dev blocks 4-5s before first eval when the program doesn't call agent/start +"ready on sock" prints in [merged_setup] before [accept_loop] ever runs. +[merged_serve] (lib/dev.ml:4417) waits up to 10s (await ~ms:10000, line 4427) +for agent.sock to exist before starting accept_loop. The listen socket is +already up, so Emacs connects fine, but nothing answers until that wait +finishes/times out. So a program with no (agent/start ...) looks "ready" but +actually stalls the first request for up to 10s. + +Maybe accept_loop should start immediately and the agent-socket wait should +happen concurrently / only gate agent-specific requests? + +Update: happening a lot with sand.flan, not just once. sand.flan calls +agent/start (sand.flan:125) but only after rl/init-window (line 122) +returns, so if window setup is slow the 10s wait in merged_serve lapses +before agent/start ever runs — and since accept_loop is gated behind that +wait, this isn't just a noisy log line, it's a real Emacs stall every time. +Reinforces: fix should be starting accept_loop unconditionally rather than +tuning the timeout. + +Update: likely explains C-M-i (completion-at-point) and eldoc both breaking +at once. Both read flan--defs (emacs/flan.el:1511), refreshed only on +connect and after an accepted eval, always through `ignore-errors` +(flan.el:592, 1743, 1841, 2333). If a refresh lands during the accept_loop +stall it just silently fails, leaving flan--defs empty/stale with nothing +retrying it — killing both features with no visible error. Same underlying +fix (start accept_loop unconditionally) should resolve this too. + +Update: also probably explains "redefined game-draw via C-c C-c but raylib +never updates" — deliver (lib/dev.ml:159, called at line 764) pushes the new +module over the same agent connection. A stale/half-set-up connection from +the accept_loop race could report "ok" on install without the game thread's +agent/poll ever actually picking it up at the next frame boundary. Quick +workaround: M-x flan-restart-program for a fresh connection, then redefine +again. Real fix is still the accept_loop one. + +** add // for forced truncating division? +Lexically free (comments are `;`, not `/`). But nothing is actually missing: +`/` on two ints already truncates toward zero (sdiv/udiv, lib/emit.ml:2529), +and casting a float division truncates toward zero too ((i32 (/ 7.0 2.0)) -> +fptosi -> 3, lib/emit.ml:2909). So `//` as sugar for that is trivial. + +Catch: Python's `//` is not toward-zero truncation, it's *floor* division — +rounds toward -infinity. (-7 // 2) is -4 in Python, but sdiv/fptosi give -3. +So "Python-like //" and "forced truncation" are two different asks. + +Resolved: Joe wants the toward-zero-truncation one, for when a float +division needs an int result. (int (/ a b)) already does this — no new +operator needed. Not adding //. + +** "generic code over type variable X" is a bad error for a plain typo +Hit with `int` before defining the defalias for it. resolve_name +(lib/check.ml:776-778) treats any unrecognized lowercase name as a type +variable by default; near_miss (lib/check.ml:670-698, single-edit-distance +only) is what rescues real typos into "unknown type X — did you mean Y?" +(line 770-772). `int` -> `i32` is 2 substitutions, outside that net, so it +falls into "generic code over the type variable int is not implemented yet — +milestone 5" instead of a plain "unknown type int". + +Common near-misses (int, float, double, str, ...) all get this confusing +message rather than "unknown type". Maybe near_miss should also check a +short hardcoded list of common non-flan spellings (int/float/double/bool/str +etc. from other languages) regardless of edit distance. + +** eval result ghost text position/minibuffer, both deliberate +Both things I want changed are documented decisions, not bugs: +- Position is "end of the form sent" (flan.el:1822-1825), not end of line — + deliberately different from flan-watch's end-of-line ghost text so the two + don't get confused (flan.el:1381-1389). +- Overlay and minibuffer echo are mutually exclusive on purpose + (flan-inline-result docstring, flan.el:91-101): "saying the same number + twice is how a reader learns to stop reading both." + +I want it at end of line + always also in the minibuffer. Revisit — +would mean changing flan--report's `at` computation and the shown/echo +either-or in flan.el:1847-1848. + +** "unknown name u8" from (defconst grid [rows [cols u8]]) — not a real i8/u8 bug +i8/u8 etc. all exist fine (Types.ikind_of_name, lib/types.ml:72). Real issue: +defconst's 2-arg form (defconst name value) has no type slot — the second +form is always parsed as a VALUE via expr, never as a type (lib/parse.ml: +1341-1345). So [rows [cols u8]] became an array *literal*, and `u8` inside +it read as a bare variable reference, which is genuinely unbound as a value +-> "unknown name u8". + +defconst has no "type only, no value" form; that's defvar's job. Fix: use +defvar instead — (defvar grid [rows [cols u8]]) is defvar's 2-arg +(name Type) form (lib/parse.ml:1333-1335), zero-initialized, and parses the +bracket correctly as a type via texpr. Fits anyway since grid is mutable. + +** (when test) with no body should work like (when test (do)) +lib/parse.ml:305-309: `when` is a hardcoded special form (not a macro yet — +"until macros land at milestone 5") and requires `body <> []`, else fails +"when is (when test body ...)". No real reason for the restriction — empty +body could just become Ast.Do [], same as (do) already means. One-line fix +(drop the `body <> []` guard) whenever this file gets touched. + +** bare struct literal {.field v} can't infer its type from context (e.g. defn return type) +`(defn get-mouse-cell [] Cell ... {.row r .col c})` fails to parse — "a bare +map is not an expression; write (Type {.field v})". Root cause: this refusal +is in `expr` at PARSE time (lib/parse.ml:274-276), before type-checking ever +runs, so it can't see that the enclosing defn's return type is Cell. check.ml +does support expected-type-driven checking elsewhere (`check ~want:ty`), but +a bare struct literal never reaches it — parse rejects it first. + +To make this work, the refusal would need to move from parse into check, so +it can consult a `want` type (return type, let annotation, etc.) and only +fail when there truly isn't one available. Real feature, not a small change. + +** struct destructuring shorthand: {.row .col} binding same-named locals +Only two struct-pattern forms exist: {:keys [x y]} (lib/parse.ml:729-753) and +{name .field} pairs (line 759-762) — both spell the field name twice ({:keys +[x y]}) or need name+dot per field. :keys makes sense for dyn maps (keys +aren't statically known field names), but a struct's fields are typed and +known, so a bare {.row .col} that just binds `row`/`col` locals directly +would read better and is the common case. + +Would be a new match arm in `dmap` (lib/parse.ml:724-778) for a lone .field +symbol with no name before it. No obvious grammar collision — nothing +currently matches a bare .field symbol on its own. Not implemented. + +** C-c C-i should auto-inspect at point, C-u C-c C-i for the minibuffer +Feature request. Today flan-inspect (emacs/flan-inspect.el:681-696) always +prompts via read-string, pre-filled with the sexp before point — no +current-prefix-arg handling anywhere in the file, and emacs/MANUAL.md:369 +documents no C-u variant either. Not sure if I'm misremembering discussing +this for flan-inspect specifically or some other command — check that too +if it comes up again. Wanted: plain C-c C-i inspects the expression at point +with no prompt; C-u C-c C-i opens the minibuffer to type a different one. + +** inc/dec (pure) and ++/-- (mutating) — doable as user macros, no compiler change +No inc/dec/1+/++/-- exist anywhere (prelude or special forms) — (+ x 1) is +the only spelling today. + +Unlike most items above, this needs no compiler change: defmacro already +exists at user level (vendor/raylib's with-drawing etc.), and `place` (what +`set` parses — lib/parse.ml:961-983: vars, .field, at, deref) is already +general enough. Can write today: + + (defmacro inc [args] `(+ ~(at args 0) 1)) + (defmacro dec [args] `(- ~(at args 0) 1)) + (defmacro ++ [args] `(set ~(at args 0) (+ ~(at args 0) 1))) + (defmacro -- [args] `(set ~(at args 0) (- ~(at args 0) 1))) + +inc/dec are generic for free since +/- already are. ++/-- reuse the place +twice (read then write) — fine for a plain var, double-evaluates a place +like (at arr (compute-index)) if the index has side effects. Same +non-hygienic-macro tradeoff with-drawing/with-mode-2d already accept. +Maybe worth putting these in the prelude itself rather than per-project. + +** (Cell 1 2) as a positional struct constructor +Designated initializers (C/Odin-style) already exist: {.field v ...} + ZII +zero-fill for omitted fields (zii_fill, lib/check.ml:3814), any order, {} +fully zeroed. Not missing — just spelled with braces/dots. + +Positional (Cell 1 2) genuinely doesn't exist, and can't be added as a +parser special case the way {.field ...} was: struct-literal recognition +happens at PARSE time purely by syntax shape (Sym name applied to a +{.field...}-shaped map, lib/parse.ml:593-600) — the parser has no symbol +table, so (Cell 1 2) is syntactically identical to any function call +(parse.ml:602-603 Ast.Call). Would need check.ml to notice an Ast.Call's +head resolves to a struct type rather than a function, and reinterpret the +positional args in field-declaration order there instead. Same parse/check +boundary issue as the bare-struct-literal-return-type item above — recurring +pattern worth keeping in mind for future struct/type ergonomics asks. + +** a DEADBEEF-style sentinel-fill builtin, instead of zero +Idea: a debug memset that writes a real byte pattern instead of the zero +llvm.memset already uses (lib/emit.ml:934), for catching reads of +uninitialized memory. Distinct from Tast.Uninit, which compiles to LLVM +`poison` (lib/emit.ml:1613) — a semantic "don't care" marker, not an actual +inspectable byte pattern. + +Technical snag: llvm.memset only takes a single repeated i8, so a real 4-byte +0xDEADBEEF pattern needs a fill loop, not memset — more expensive. This is +why MSVC/glibc-style debug allocators use a single repeated byte instead +(0xCC/0xCD/0xDD/0xFD). Need to decide: cheap single-byte sentinel, or a real +4-byte pattern via a loop. Name candidates: +- single-byte (memset-cheap): 0xCC (MSVC uninit stack), 0xCD (MSVC "Clean" + unwritten heap), 0xDD (MSVC "Dead" freed heap), 0xFD (MSVC fence/guard) +- 4-byte (loop, reads great in a hex dump): 0xDEADBEEF, 0xBAADF00D (Windows + LocalAlloc uninit), 0xFEEEFEEE (Windows HeapFree'd), 0xDEADC0DE, 0xC0FFEE, + 0x8BADF00D (Apple watchdog-timeout crash code) + +Not designed or implemented, just an idea. + +** println output goes to *flan-output*, not inline in the repl +Deliberate per emacs/flan-repl.el:40-44: "a value and the program's output +are different things and arrive by different routes... showing them in one +place would be convenient and wrong." Same split in flan-mode's C-x C-e. + +Not sure I like it — printed output feels disconnected from the eval that +produced it when it's in a separate buffer/window. Revisit. + +** main cannot actually be redefined +Confirmed. emit_main (lib/emit.ml:3858-3861) calls the flan-level `main` via +`fname "main"` — a direct symbol call. Every other call site goes through +`body_of` (lib/emit.ml:1980-1994) instead, which loads from the dev-build +indirection cell so a C-c C-c redefinition takes effect. emit_main skips +that, so flan_program_main (what M-x flan-rerun re-enters) always runs the +body main had at the initial build, no matter what's redefined into main's +cell afterward. Not documented as a known limitation anywhere. Should +probably route through body_of too, or say plainly that main is special. + +** the "queued; the program is parked..." note is annoying +lib/dev.ml:778-790. Fires on every C-c C-c redefine while parked — and a +finished program is always parked, so re-evaling main after each run always +shows this long note. Message is correct, just too verbose/frequent for the +common case. Maybe shorten, or only show once per park / make it toggleable? + +** (rl/with-drawing ()) fails with a confusing error +`()` is never a valid expression (lib/parse.ml:278). with-drawing splices its +arg verbatim (vendor/raylib/modes.flan:79-84), so `(rl/with-drawing ())` +expands to `(do (begin-drawing) () (end-drawing))` and the bare `()` blows up +deep in the expansion. Workaround: use `(rl/with-drawing (do))` — `(do)` +with zero forms is a valid no-op (used elsewhere, e.g. +examples/core-input-gamepad.flan:268). + +The macro does have an empty-body guard ((< (len args) 1) -> +with-drawing-takes-a-body) but it only catches zero arguments +((rl/with-drawing)), not one argument that is itself (). Guard should +probably also treat a single bare-() arg as "no body". + +`()` is reserved as the type-position spelling of Unit (Types.to_string +Unit = "()", lib/types.ml:125) and has no value-position meaning today — the +unit value only comes from `(do)`, a form with no body, etc. Position +already disambiguates Vec/Map literals from their type spellings (parse.ml +comments near line 266-273); worth checking whether () could get the same +treatment — type in type position, unit value in expression position — +instead of being refused outright everywhere. diff --git a/FIX.org b/FIX.org index 58df760..b1fbe41 100644 --- a/FIX.org +++ b/FIX.org @@ -1225,6 +1225,19 @@ symbol has to resolve against flan_dyn.o, so a rename, a removal or a changed argument list is a compile or link error in =dune test=. A function nothing here calls gets neither. Both comments now say that instead. +* Typed structs do not version; a shape that evolves is a defclass, decided 2026-09-20 +The struct-version-word design (plan.org's dev/release table, candidate B in +docs/SBCL-REDEFINITION-NOTES.md) is dropped, not deferred. A typed struct +redefinition that changes layout keeps today's refusal; the author's call — +"let's just ignore it then, we should be using defclass instead." The +division of labour is the two-model one: a shape still being discovered +lives on the dyn side as a defclass, where CLOS-style lazy migration handles +redefinition (its own lane); a typed defstruct is a commitment to a layout, +and changing a commitment restarts the process. SBCL context that settled +it: SBCL also refuses by default (a continuable error), and its +push-through-and-invalidate behaviour is cheap only because its instances +carry headers, which Flan's flat structs deliberately do not. + * A defconst is a compiler const, decided 2026-09-20 The author's words: "defconst should not be computed, it's the equivalent to a compiler const." So a defconst's initialiser has to be a compile-time constant,