iter hs.1: static-Str layout migration — packed-struct globals + sentinel rc-header + len

First iter of the heap-Str ABI milestone. Pure codegen refactor; every existing program produces byte-identical stdout.

Static-Str LLVM globals migrate from `[N x i8] c"…\00"` to `<{ i64, i64, [N x i8] }> <{ i64 -1, i64 N-1, [N x i8] c"…\00" }>`, carrying the UINT64_MAX sentinel rc-header (slot exploited in hs.2 via runtime short-circuit) and an explicit byte length. Two parallel intern paths (`intern_string` for raw format scaffolding, new `intern_str_literal` for language Str values) keep format strings untouched in `[N x i8]` shape.

IR-Str pointers now uniformly land on the len-field (offset +8 from rc-header, -8 from bytes). Four codegen sites that hand a Str pointer to a NUL-terminated-bytes C-API consumer now emit a +8 GEP first: `@puts` (io/print_str), `@ail_str_eq` (eq__Str intercept), `@ail_str_compare` (compare__Str intercept), and `@strcmp` (lower_eq Str arm — the 4th site was not in the plan; surfaced by Task-5 e2e regression and fixed inline).

6 new IR-shape pinning tests; `hello.ll` snapshot regenerated; cross_lang.py + compile_check.py + full `cargo test --workspace` green.
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# iter hs.1 — Heap-Str ABI: Static-Str layout migration
**Date:** 2026-05-12
**Started from:** 69bb5f9952fb51af7cdf4e36f77cff1b6cd73c40
**Status:** DONE
**Tasks completed:** 5 of 5
## Summary
First iter of the heap-Str ABI milestone. Pure codegen-side refactor:
language `Str` literals now emit as packed-struct LLVM globals
`<{ i64, i64, [N+1 x i8] }> <{ i64 -1, i64 N, [N+1 x i8] c"...\00" }>`
carrying a `UINT64_MAX` sentinel rc-header in the first slot, an
explicit byte length in the second, and the bytes plus trailing NUL
in the array tail. The IR-Str-pointer convention is now uniform: a
language `Str` value flowing through the IR is a `ptr` landing on the
`len`-field (offset +8 from the header, -8 from the bytes). Every
codegen site that hands a `Str` pointer to a `NUL`-terminated-bytes
C-API consumer emits a `getelementptr inbounds i8, ptr <v>, i64 8`
immediately before the call. The sentinel slot is hardcoded in the
global initialiser and not yet observed by any caller — `hs.2` will
add the `UINT64_MAX` short-circuit to `ailang_rc_inc` /
`ailang_rc_dec` in `runtime/rc.c` to exploit it. Format strings
(`%lld\n`, `%g\n`, `true\n`, `false\n`) are unchanged — they are
runtime-internal scaffolding, never flow as language `Str` values,
and remain in the raw `[N x i8]` shape via the original
`intern_string` / `all_strings` path. Acceptance verified
end-to-end: full `cargo test --workspace` green (no regressions
across 74 e2e fixtures), `bench/compile_check.py` exit 0,
`bench/cross_lang.py` exit 0 (byte-identical stdout across all
ail/c benchmark pairs).
## Per-task notes
- iter hs.1.1: introduced parallel `str_literals` interning table on
`Emitter`, `intern_str_literal` fn, workspace-level
`all_str_literals` aggregation, and a parallel global-emission
loop emitting the packed-struct shape. Switched both
`Literal::Str` arms (`emit_const_def`, `lower_term`) to call
`intern_str_literal` and materialise a constexpr
`getelementptr inbounds (<{ i64, i64, [N x i8] }>, ptr @g, i32 0, i32 1)`
landing on the `len`-field. Two pinning tests added.
- iter hs.1.2: `io/print_str` arm now emits a `+8 GEP` to land on
the bytes pointer before calling `@puts`. One pinning test added.
- iter hs.1.3: `eq__Str` arm of `try_emit_primitive_instance_body`
now emits `+8 GEP`s on both operands before calling
`@ail_str_eq`. One pinning test added.
- iter hs.1.4: `compare__Str` arm of `try_emit_primitive_instance_body`
now emits `+8 GEP`s on both operands before calling
`@ail_str_compare`. One pinning test added.
- iter hs.1.5: regenerated `crates/ail/tests/snapshots/hello.ll`
via `UPDATE_SNAPSHOTS=1`. Full `cargo test --workspace` revealed
a regression in `eq_demo` traced to a fourth codegen site not
enumerated in the plan: `lower_eq`'s `"Str"` arm calls `@strcmp`
inline (separate from the `eq__Str` instance-method intercept)
to lower `==` on `Str` literals and Str-pattern desugaring in
`classify_str`. Fixed inline with the same `+8 GEP` shape; one
additional pinning test added.
## Concerns
- The plan claimed three codegen sites pass a `Str` pointer to a
`NUL`-terminated-bytes C-API consumer (`@puts`, `@ail_str_eq`,
`@ail_str_compare`); in fact a fourth site exists in
`lower_eq`'s `"Str"` arm, calling `@strcmp` directly. This is
the dispatch path for the surface-level `==` operator on
`Str` and for `(pat-lit "...")` desugar against a `Str`
scrutinee. The fourth site is required to meet the iter's
stated acceptance criterion (byte-identical stdout); fixing it
was discovered via the e2e regression in `eq_demo` rather than
via the per-task IR-shape checks. The fix has the same shape
as Tasks 2-4 and the corresponding pinning test
(`lower_eq_str_calls_strcmp_with_bytes_pointer`) is added. The
plan's "Files this plan creates or modifies" enumeration
should list `crates/ailang-codegen/src/lib.rs:2520-2529` as a
fifth modify site for any future re-execution.
- The plan's two test fixtures in Task 1 contained schema-syntax
errors that prevented compilation: `ConstDef.body` (actual:
`value`), `Term::App { f, args }` (actual: `callee, args, tail`),
and `Term::App { Term::Var "io/print_str", ... }` for what is
actually a `Term::Do` effect op. Tests were adapted to compile
while preserving the substantive assertions verbatim. Same
applies to the test in Task 2 (`Term::App``Term::Do` for the
`io/print_str` invocation and added `effects: ["IO"]` on the
main fn so the typecheck-side dispatch finds the effect).
These were small per-test fixture adaptations, not changes to
the asserted IR shape.
## Known debt
- The sentinel value `-1` (`UINT64_MAX`) is hardcoded in the
global initialiser. `hs.2` adds the matching short-circuit
check in `ailang_rc_inc` / `ailang_rc_dec` so static-Str
pointers can flow through generic RC paths without
ref-count traffic. Until `hs.2` lands, no caller actually
observes the sentinel — static `Str` slabs are still
invisible to the RC runtime by construction (the call sites
for `inc` / `dec` against `Str` values are still gated by
the same uniqueness-inference pass that elided them
pre-iter).
## Files touched
- `crates/ailang-codegen/src/lib.rs` — Emitter field, intern fn,
workspace aggregation, global emission, two `Literal::Str` arm
switches, four C-API-callsite `+8 GEP` adjustments
(`io/print_str`, `eq__Str`, `compare__Str`, `lower_eq` Str arm),
six new IR-shape pinning tests in the test module.
- `crates/ail/tests/snapshots/hello.ll` — regenerated snapshot
showing the new packed-struct global and the `+8 GEP` before
`@puts`. No other snapshot under
`crates/ail/tests/snapshots/` changed (other snapshots contain
only format-string globals which kept the raw `[N x i8]`
shape).
## Stats
`bench/orchestrator-stats/2026-05-12-iter-hs.1.json`
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- 2026-05-12 — audit-ms: milestone close (Multi-subject Authoring-Form Test — CodeLlama Replication) — architect clean, bench all-green (same 5-metric latency.explicit_at_rc improvement cluster as audit-cma earlier today, baseline left pristine for second consecutive audit) → 2026-05-12-audit-ms.md
- 2026-05-12 — iter ext-rename: `.ailx``.ail` extension rename across the live toolchain (61 example renames + 35 content edits + experiment-crate cohort rename `ailx → ail`); historical docs (journals, archive, specs, plans, frozen experiment runs) deliberately untouched; cargo+bench all-green; opens follow-up `.ail`-CLI-acceptance iter → 2026-05-12-iter-ext-rename.md
- 2026-05-12 — iter ext-cli.1: `ail check`/build/run/...all 12 path-taking subcommands now accept `.ail` (Form A) inputs via `ailang_surface::{load_module, load_workspace}` (extension-dispatching loaders + injection point `core::load_workspace_with<F>`); workspace imports prefer `.ail` sibling over `.ail.json`; new `WorkspaceLoadError::SurfaceParse` variant routes surface parse errors as `surface-parse-error` structured diagnostics through `ail check --json`; DESIGN.md §Decision 6 CLI addendum; +7 new tests; closes the loop opened by iter ext-rename → 2026-05-12-iter-ext-cli.1.md
- 2026-05-12 — iter hs.1: heap-Str ABI iter 1 — static-Str LLVM globals migrate from `[N x i8]` to packed-struct `<{ i64, i64, [N x i8] }>` carrying a `UINT64_MAX` sentinel rc-header + explicit `len`; IR-Str pointers now land on the `len`-field; `@puts` / `@ail_str_eq` / `@ail_str_compare` / `@strcmp` callsites GEP +8 to recover the bytes pointer (4 sites; plan listed 3, Task-5 e2e regression surfaced the 4th); 6 IR-shape pins; format strings stay raw `[N x i8]`; cross_lang.py + compile_check.py + full cargo test --workspace all green; byte-identical stdout across every example → 2026-05-12-iter-hs.1.md