# iter it.2 — structural-guardedness checker + first real Diverge effect

**Date:** 2026-05-15
**Started from:** bc9f5120034f2552ad7e78454bb198472404d4b1
**Status:** DONE
**Tasks completed:** 6 of 6

## Summary

Second of three iterations in the iteration-discipline milestone.
Adds the structural-recursion guardedness checker
(`CheckError::NonStructuralRecursion`) and the first real
implementation of the Decision-3 `Diverge` effect, both strictly
additive — nothing `tail`-related is removed (that is it.3). A new
whole-body pass `verify_structural_recursion` runs as a sibling of
`verify_tail_positions` in `check_fn`'s post-synth region (DD-1); it
implements the `smaller`-set algorithm with implicit candidate
inference and unconstrained accumulator positions (DD-2: the
foldl-shape accumulator walk classifies as structural), self- and
mutual-recursion identification with ADT-family connected components
via an inline union-find (DD-3), and the it.2-only `tail==false`
grandfather. A new `term_contains_loop` (stopping at `Term::Lam`
boundaries, DD-4) injects `"Diverge"` into the raised effect set so
the existing `UndeclaredEffect` reconciliation enforces it with no
new diagnostic variant; the lam-arrow and `Term::LetRec` cases are
wired at their respective sub-effect reconcile sites. DESIGN.md
Decision 3 + the §Data-model hook are synced to present tense. All
20 tail-app corpus fixtures stay grandfathered-clean;
`cargo test --workspace` green at 622 passed / 0 failed; the it.1
loop fixtures gained `!Diverge` (in scope per the plan).

Two spec/plan boundary defects surfaced and were resolved inside
the task's own stated invariants (corpus stays clean, structural
check not weakened) — see Concerns. Both are recorded so the it.3
planner and a future spec-tightening pass have the signal.

## Per-task notes

- iter it.2.1: `CheckError::NonStructuralRecursion { callee, arg }`
  added beside the it.1 `Recur*` variants (bracket-`[code]`-free
  Display per F2), `code()` → `"non-structural-recursion"`, `ctx()`
  → `{callee, arg}`. New pin file `structural_recursion_pin.rs`
  (loop_recur_pin harness verbatim). `diagnostic.rs` untouched
  (plan-correctly: `code()` is the registry). RED→GREEN clean.

- iter it.2.2: the pass + helpers next to `verify_loop_body`:
  `adt_type_head` / `adt_param_positions` / `ctor_bound_names` /
  `collect_rec_calls_walk` (single `smaller`-threaded walk folding
  collection + guardedness, `tail==false` grandfather in the App
  arm, stops at `Term::Lam`) / `call_guarded_at` /
  `rec_call_arg_display`. `check_fn`/`check_def` gained a
  `module_fns: &[&FnDef]` param (plan-anticipated in Step 3.2 for
  mutual grouping; threaded from the per-module loop; synthetic
  instance-method fns pass `&[]`). Wired
  `verify_structural_recursion(f, &env, module_fns)?;` immediately
  after `verify_tail_positions`. Two over-rejection classes found
  against the corpus and fixed within the task's own acceptance
  constraint (see Concerns §1, §2). Status DONE_WITH_CONCERNS.

- iter it.2.3: ADT-family union-find (`TypeUnionFind`, inline
  `BTreeMap`-backed, path-halving, no dependency) +
  `mutual_structural_group` returning a `MutualGroup { members,
  family_valid }` (a plan-pseudo-vs-real refinement — the plan's
  `Vec<&FnDef>` could not express the cross-family-negative; an
  empty group silently drops the cross-call instead of rejecting
  it). `collect_direct_app_var_callees` for call-graph adjacency
  (same lam boundary). `verify_structural_recursion` reworked to a
  single `guarded` closure: self-calls vs callee-cand, cross-calls
  guarded only if `family_valid`. tree/forest clean, cross-family
  rejected. RED→GREEN.

- iter it.2.4: `term_contains_loop` (exhaustive Term match;
  `Loop=>true`, `Lam=>false`, all else recurse incl. Recur args).
  Injection in `check_fn` before the declared-vs-raised reconcile.
  Lam-arrow coherence wired at BOTH the `Term::Lam` synth
  sub-effect site AND the `Term::LetRec` synth sub-effect site
  (the plan named only the Lam site; recon line drifted and there
  are now two structurally-identical reconcile sites — a
  `Term::LetRec` clause is a fn-equivalent, same as the it.1
  tail-position treatment, so a loop in a deferred LetRec body must
  also carry Diverge; injecting at both is the sound completion,
  not an extra). Four it.1 loop fixtures + two HOF signatures
  updated to declare `!Diverge` (see Concerns §3). Status
  DONE_WITH_CONCERNS.

- iter it.2.5: DESIGN.md Decision 3 rewritten (`Diverge` no longer
  nominal; carried by loop-bearing / Diverge-calling fns; structural
  recursion pure+total; `IO` description kept + sharpened) +
  §Data-model hook sentence → present tense, it.3 retirement
  retained. Drift anchors (`"t":"loop"`/`"t":"recur"`) untouched —
  `design_schema_drift`/`schema_coverage`/`spec_drift` green.

- iter it.2.6: acceptance gate. Full workspace green; all 7 named
  spec-acceptance pins green; `mut_counter.ail` still runs `55`
  (grandfathered, unmigrated); all 20 tail-app corpus fixtures
  grandfathered-clean (zero `non-structural-recursion`).

- Phase 3 (E2E): `examples/struct_rec_sum_e2e.ail` +
  `struct_rec_sum_runs_and_prints_15` — an it.2-clean structural
  recursion (plain non-tail, no `!Diverge`, no `tail-app`) that
  runs to 15, proving the "total" verdict is behaviourally sound,
  not just a typecheck assertion. Plus
  `loop_needs_diverge_runs_and_prints_55` — the Diverge-path twin,
  proving the Diverge injection is a typecheck-only obligation with
  zero codegen impact (the loop lowers/runs identically to it.1).

## Concerns

- **§1 — Spec/it.2-boundary defect: no-ADT-candidate recursion.**
  The plan's load-bearing invariant ("the 21 tail-app corpus
  fixtures stay clean through it.2 because `collect_rec_calls` only
  collects `tail==false` calls") is insufficient: corpus fixtures
  like `bench_latency_explicit.ail`'s `build_tree(depth: Int)`
  recurse **non-tail** (inside a `term-ctor`) on a **primitive**
  arg — the `tail==false` grandfather does not exempt them, and
  they have no ADT candidate position. Strict DD-2 would reject
  ~18 corpus fixtures in it.2, contradicting the additive mandate.
  Resolution (does NOT weaken the ADT check): a def with no ADT
  candidate position AND no mutual cycle has no *structural*
  position to verify — it is integer-counter / other-shaped
  recursion whose migration to `(loop …)` is the destructive it.3
  corpus pass, not it.2's job. it.2 only rejects *misuse of an ADT
  structural position*; the spec's load-bearing negative
  (`f(xs: IntList) = … f(xs) …`, HAS an ADT candidate) still fires.
  This is the honest reading of DD-2's "for each candidate
  structural position" (vacuous when there are none); the plan's
  pseudo-code only handled `calls.is_empty()`, not
  `cand.is_empty()`. Recorded as a resolved it.2/it.3 boundary
  clarification — the it.3 planner should expect these to be the
  corpus-migration set, and a spec-tightening pass may want to
  state the no-candidate boundary explicitly.

- **§2 — Two RC-regression fixtures needed the spec's transitional
  grandfather applied.** `rc_pin_recurse_implicit.ail` and
  `rc_let_alias_implicit_param.ail` (NOT in the 20-fixture tail-app
  set) contain `loop(n: Int, t: Tree) = … (app loop (- n 1) t)` —
  an ADT param (`t: Tree`) held constant while decrementing an Int,
  recursing **non-tail**. This is structurally identical to the
  required negative (`f(xs)=…f(xs)…`): both pass the ADT param
  unchanged at its candidate position. It therefore correctly fires
  `NonStructuralRecursion` and CANNOT be exempted by broadening the
  grandfather without also letting the required negative through
  (which would weaken the check — explicitly forbidden by the
  carrier). The recursive call is in tail position, so the
  spec-prescribed transitional treatment applies: mark it
  `tail-app` (the it.2 "Transitional grandfather" — identical to
  the idiom 20 other corpus fixtures use; it.3 migrates to
  `(loop …)`). The 18d.4 / 18g regressions these fixtures guard
  live in `pin`/`pin_aliased`'s match arm-close, unaffected by the
  `loop` recursion's lowering — so this is NOT adapting-a-test-to-
  dodge-a-bug (the check is correct; the fixture joins the
  transitional grandfather, with an in-fixture comment recording
  why). Both fixtures' RC==GC e2e regression guards still pass.

- **§3 — it.1 loop fixtures gained `!Diverge` (plan-in-scope, full
  enumeration vs plan's two examples).** Plan Step 4.4 named
  `loop_counter.ail` + `loop_in_lambda_e2e.ail` explicitly; the
  same in-scope action applies to all it.1 loop fixtures.
  `loop_counter.ail` (loop in `main` body) → `(effects IO Diverge)`.
  `loop_smoke.ail` `count_to` (loop in fn body) → `(effects
  Diverge)`. `loop_nested_in_lambda.ail` / `loop_in_lambda_e2e.ail`
  (loop in a *lam* body) → `(effects Diverge)` on the **lam**, with
  the enclosing fn / HOF param-and-return fn-types threaded to
  carry `!Diverge` (effects are part of the function type — forced,
  not optional). The lam-boundary rule held: `main` in
  `loop_in_lambda_e2e` does NOT carry Diverge from its own body
  (the loop is behind the lam edge) but DOES via callee-effect
  propagation through `apply` (free per DD-4, identical to `!IO`).
  The injection was not weakened. Both it.1 loop e2e tests
  (55 / 49) still pass; round-trip green on every modified `.ail`.

- **§4 — `MutualGroup` is a plan-pseudo-vs-real-API refinement.**
  The plan's `mutual_structural_group -> Vec<&FnDef>` could not
  express "cross-family mutual recursion must be rejected" — an
  empty return drops the cross-call from collection instead of
  flagging it. Split into `{ members: HashSet<String>,
  family_valid: bool }`: membership drives collection (cross-calls
  always collected), validity drives the verdict (a cross-call into
  a family-invalid cycle is unconditionally unguarded). Minimal
  shape satisfying both plan requirements; same documented
  substitution class as it.1's repeated plan-pseudo-vs-real notes.

## Known debt

- The structural check's `rec_call_arg_display` has no real
  term-pretty-printer (only `type_to_string` exists in
  `ailang_core::pretty`); non-`Var` offending args render as terse
  tags (`Ctor(…)`, `fn(…)`, `<expr>`). The canonical non-structural
  case is always a bare `Var` (the param passed unchanged), so this
  is cosmetic on the diagnostic only; a future term-pretty-printer
  would improve the `arg` field. Not drift — recorded for
  visibility.
- Three exhaustive Term-walks now exist in the it.2 region
  (`collect_rec_calls_walk`, `collect_direct_app_var_callees`,
  `term_contains_loop`). Each collects a genuinely different thing
  with different threading; a shared generic walker would be
  speculative abstraction per the AILang quality bar. Recorded so a
  future reader does not mistake the triplication for an oversight.
- `mutual_structural_group`'s reaches/component BFS is O(n²)-ish
  over a module's fns, run once per fn-check. Corpus modules are
  <40 defs; not a hot path. No action; recorded for visibility.

## Blocked detail

None — all 6 tasks completed; the two spec/plan boundary defects
(Concerns §1, §2) were resolved inside the task's own stated
acceptance constraints (corpus stays clean, structural check not
weakened), not escalated, because the carrier explicitly anticipated
corpus-breakage handling and the resolutions are the spec's own
transitional model rather than judgement substitutions.

## Files touched

Check core: `crates/ailang-check/src/lib.rs` (CheckError variant +
code/ctx; `module_fns` thread through check_def/check_fn;
`verify_structural_recursion` + helpers + `TypeUnionFind` +
`MutualGroup` + `term_contains_loop`; Diverge injection at
check_fn / Term::Lam / Term::LetRec sites).
Tests (new): `crates/ailang-check/tests/structural_recursion_pin.rs`
(9 pins). Carve-out: `crates/ailang-core/tests/carve_out_inventory.rs`
(EXPECTED 17→20 + header comment rewritten accurate).
E2E: `crates/ail/tests/e2e.rs` (2 new Phase-3 tests).
Spec: `docs/DESIGN.md` (Decision 3 + §Data-model hook).
Fixtures (new): `examples/struct_rec_list_len.ail`,
`examples/struct_rec_foldl_sum.ail`,
`examples/struct_rec_tree_forest.ail`,
`examples/struct_rec_sum_e2e.ail`,
`examples/loop_needs_diverge.ail`,
`examples/test_non_structural_recursion.ail.json`,
`examples/test_mutual_cross_family.ail.json`,
`examples/test_loop_missing_diverge.ail.json`.
Fixtures (modified): `examples/loop_counter.ail`,
`examples/loop_smoke.ail`, `examples/loop_nested_in_lambda.ail`,
`examples/loop_in_lambda_e2e.ail` (all four: it.1 loop fixtures →
`!Diverge`); `examples/rc_pin_recurse_implicit.ail`,
`examples/rc_let_alias_implicit_param.ail` (transitional `tail-app`
grandfather on the `loop` fn — Concerns §2).

## Stats

bench/orchestrator-stats/2026-05-15-iter-it.2.json
