From 2102dadb3dcf8ddc8a3c016bf0a8ef90cbfb2fa0 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Brummel <mould@mycelium.de>
Date: Sat, 9 May 2026 22:34:30 +0200
Subject: [PATCH] =?UTF-8?q?spec:=2022=20=E2=80=94=20drop=20Prelude-for-pri?=
 =?UTF-8?q?mitives,=20tighten=2022c=20to=20existing=20vocabulary?=
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---
 docs/specs/2026-05-09-22-typeclasses.md | 74 +++++++++++++++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 74 insertions(+)

diff --git a/docs/specs/2026-05-09-22-typeclasses.md b/docs/specs/2026-05-09-22-typeclasses.md
index c91c41d..fac6987 100644
--- a/docs/specs/2026-05-09-22-typeclasses.md
+++ b/docs/specs/2026-05-09-22-typeclasses.md
@@ -318,3 +318,77 @@ all `examples/*.ail.json` pass round-trip") is satisfied by 22b.4a.
 The `test_22b2_*` and `test_22b3_*` filters added subsequently are
 also retired here. No further round-trip gate work is required for
 22 milestone close.
+
+### 2026-05-09 — 22b.4b dropped: Prelude-for-primitives deferred to post-22
+
+The 22b.4 → 22b.4a + 22b.4b split (recorded above) further reduces:
+22b.4b is removed from milestone-22 scope entirely. Acceptance
+criterion 1 amends to read "22b.1 + 22b.2 + 22b.3 + 22b.4a + 22c
+JOURNAL entries committed".
+
+Substantive rationale, per the project's feature-acceptance
+criterion (LLM utility):
+
+1. **No runtime primitive for `int_to_str` yet.** Show#Int's body
+   needs to convert an `i64` to a heap-allocated `Str`. AILang
+   currently only has constant interned strings (`@.str_*` LLVM
+   globals). A heap-string ABI — runtime alloc, RC-count, drop —
+   is independently new infrastructure. Wiring it through a class
+   method first stacks risk: typeclass cascade + heap-string ABI
+   + new C-runtime function + new codegen arm in one iter.
+
+2. **Low LLM-utility for primitive Show.** An LLM that needs to
+   render an `Int` writes `int_to_str x` (a direct primitive call)
+   more naturally than `show x` (which routes through a Prelude
+   class with one instance). Class dispatch shines when the LLM
+   defines a user type and wants polymorphism; for primitives, the
+   Prelude class is a thin wrapper with negative entropy (extra
+   indirection, no new property).
+
+3. **22c covers the user-class e2e independently.** The milestone's
+   typeclass-machinery property is exercised end-to-end by 22c's
+   user-class fixture (class Foo a + data Bar + instance Foo Bar
+   + main calling foo). The Prelude path adds no semantic capability
+   beyond what 22c demonstrates.
+
+When does Prelude-for-primitives return? When concrete LLM-author
+code surfaces a case that genuinely benefits from `Show a` /
+`Eq a` / `Ord a` over per-type primitive functions — that case
+becomes the brainstorm trigger for a post-22 Prelude milestone.
+Until then, `int_to_str` ships as a plain primitive (or not at
+all) the day a fixture needs it.
+
+### 2026-05-09 — 22c scope tightened to vocabulary AILang already has
+
+The original 22c spec (§"Components" row) sketched the e2e fixture
+as `class Greet a where greet : a borrow -> String` + `data Person
+{ name : String }` + `instance Greet Person where greet p = "Hello,
+" ++ p.name`. That sketch references three constructs AILang does
+not currently support:
+
+- **`++` for `Str`** — no concat operator in `crates/ailang-check/src/builtins.rs::list()`.
+- **Named-field record syntax `Person { name = "world" }`** — AILang's `data`/`ctor` form is positional (`(ctor MkPerson Str)`), not record-with-named-fields.
+- **`print` polymorphic on `Show`** — see preceding amendment.
+
+22c's acceptance property is "user-defined class + user-defined data
+type + instance + call site, monomorphised, runs, prints right value".
+That property holds with any vocabulary AILang has. The fixture is
+re-scoped to:
+
+```
+class Foo a where
+  foo : (a borrow) -> Int
+
+data IntBox = MkIntBox Int
+
+instance Foo IntBox where
+  foo = λb. (match b { MkIntBox v => v })
+
+fn main : () -> Unit !IO
+  body: do io/print_int (foo (MkIntBox 42))
+```
+
+Stdout: `42\n`. No new primitives, no new surface syntax, no new
+codegen paths beyond what 22b.3 shipped. The property the original
+sketch was reaching for (typeclass dispatch over a user-defined ADT,
+end-to-end, with a hand-readable expected output) holds identically.