# JOURNAL Chronological notes for myself. Not every change; only decisions, obstacles, and observations that future iterations will need. ## 2026-05-07 — Day 0 - Repo initialised. Assignment in `CLAUDE.md`: LLM-native language, LLVM backend. - Design decisions captured in `docs/DESIGN.md`. - Toolchain: `rustc 1.94`, `llvm-config 22.1.3`, `clang` available. - Decided against `inkwell` in favour of LLVM IR text emit. Rationale in DESIGN.md. - Workspace layout: - `crates/ailang-core` — AST, type, hash, JSON schema - `crates/ailang-check` — typechecker (comes later) - `crates/ailang-codegen` — lowering + LLVM IR emit - `crates/ail` — CLI - MVP goal: `examples/sum.ail.json` → binary that prints 55. **Achieved.** ## 2026-05-07 — architecture review after the MVP Still on track? Broadly yes. Concrete observations: **What holds:** - JSON AST + canonical form + content hash are all lego bricks that later tools can build on without a refactor (`ail deps`, `ail diff`). - The LLVM IR text pipeline works as planned. No libllvm version pain. - The effect set is wired into the type system from the start. Extensible to row-poly without touching the core. **Debt that accrues interest:** 1. **`current_block_label_for_phi` is a heuristic** (see codegen). On nested `if` terms it will return the wrong block label, because it scans the body backwards. Ticking, because no test cases trigger it yet. Must be fixed next, before new language features arrive. 2. **No typed AST.** Codegen reads the source AST directly and relies on the typechecker having run before. Fine for the MVP; once ADTs or closures arrive, I will need a separate typed IR stage (TIR). 3. **The `hash` field is not in the AST.** Right now we hash the def object directly. Once I serialise hashes as fields (caching), the hash will need to exclude that field before computation. **Plan iteration 2 (now):** 1. Clean up block-label tracking, with a nested-if test. 2. Strings as a literal + `io/print_str`. 3. Hello-world example as a second E2E test. 4. CLI: `--json` output for machine consumers wherever it fits. **Plan iteration 3:** ADTs + pattern matching. That is the next big jump. Requires a typed IR stage (TIR), because pattern matching lowers into decision trees, which have a different shape from the AST. ## 2026-05-07 — iteration 2 done - Block-label tracking is now robust (nested `if`s work). Test `max3_picks_largest` protects it. - Strings as `Lit::Str { value }`, type `Str` -> LLVM `ptr`, with `io/print_str` effect op. `examples/hello.ail.json` prints a string. - CLI: `manifest --json`, `builtins --json` for tool consumers. - `ail deps [--of NAME] [--json]` lists call edges. Effect ops are tagged `effect:NAME` so a consumer can filter them. **Architecture check:** no structural deviations. Codegen still reads the source AST directly (a TIR stage will become necessary with ADTs in iteration 3). ## 2026-05-07 — iteration 3 done: ADTs - TypeDef in the AST with ctors. A ctor has `name` and `fields: [Type...]`. - Term::Ctor (construction) and Term::Match (pattern matching). - Patterns: `Wild`, `Var`, `Lit`, `Ctor { ctor, fields }`. In the MVP, nested ctor patterns are NOT allowed — sub-patterns must be `Var` or `Wild`. - Typechecker with a type registry and `ctor_index` (ctor name → ADT). In Match, exhaustiveness is checked against the full constructor set. A negative test protects this. - Codegen: boxed heap layout. Per ctor application, `malloc(8 + 8*n)` bytes; tag at offset 0, fields from offset 8 (8-byte slots, native typed load/store). Match: load tag + switch + arm blocks + phi at the join. - `examples/list.ail.json` (Cons/Nil list, sum_list via match) returns 42. **Surprisingly painless.** The architecture decisions from day 0 paid off: opaque ptr in LLVM 22 makes the boxed layout almost glue-free; effect tracking was untouched by ADTs; the JSON AST takes new node types cleanly. **Debt accrued:** 1. **Codegen still reads the source AST directly.** The temptation to push on without TIR was strong — and worked, because my Match restrictions are flat (no nested patterns). Once nested patterns arrive, decision- tree lowering will not stay clean without TIR. Debt acknowledged; not due now. 2. **No GC.** The heap leaks. Acceptable for demo programs; must be addressed before any longer-running program. Options for Phase 4: refcount, Boehm-GC linkage, region inference. 3. **No runtime pretty-printer for ADT values.** `io/print_int` is enough for demos, but a generic `show :: a -> Str` for ADTs would be valuable. Requires dispatch over the tag — feasible, but not now. **Plan iteration 4:** The next steps are less obvious. Three candidates in priority order: 1. **Module system (imports).** Right now everything is in a single module. With multiple modules + cross-module hashing the language only becomes practical for several defs. 2. **Structured error output (`ail check --json`).** So tools can react to type errors without parsing text. 3. **Closures / higher-order functions.** Requires closure conversion and is a bigger step. Iteration 4 will be (1) + (2) — both strengthen the LLM tooling and have moderate risk. ## 2026-05-07 — workflow change: orchestrator + agent repo At the user's suggestion, switching to **orchestrator mode**: I delegate clearly bounded implementation chunks to sub-agents and keep only architecture decisions, reviews, and commit discipline. Four specialised agents drafted: implementer, architect, tester, debugger. **Important correction:** the user required the agents not to be hidden in `.claude/agents/`, but versioned as a visible part of the project under `agents/`. DESIGN.md gained a new section "Project ecosystem", which records this: AILang is not just a language, but language core + CLI + examples + agents + docs + tests, all of equal weight. Invocation scheme: the system-prompt body from `agents/.md` as a prefix before the concrete task + sent to the `general-purpose` agent. Functionally identical to subagent loading from `.claude/agents/`, but visible in the repo. **Plan iteration 4 (revised):** The module system is more involved than expected (cross-module hashing, import resolution). First the smaller tooling wins, then the module system as iteration 5: 1. **Structured error output** (`ail check --json` with a Diagnostic struct, stable codes like `unbound-var`, `type-mismatch`). 2. **`ail diff `** — semantic module diff via per-def hash comparison. 3. **IR snapshot tests** — regression protection for the codegen pipeline. ## 2026-05-07 — iteration 4 done: LLM tooling consolidation Three sub-commits, each produced by an `ailang-implementer` invocation and spot-checked by the orchestrator: - `93fe723` Iter 4a: `ail check --json` with a `Diagnostic` struct (`severity`, `code`, `message`, `def`, `ctx`). Stable codes: `unbound-var`, `type-mismatch`, `arity-mismatch`, `non-exhaustive-match`, `unknown-ctor`, `unknown-ctor-in-pattern`, `nested-ctor-pattern-not-allowed`, `duplicate-def`, `unknown-effect-op`, `unknown-type`, `schema-mismatch`. API: `check_module(&Module) -> Vec`. - `c652b12` Iter 4b: `ail diff [--json]` as a structural top-level def diff via BLAKE3 hash. Four categories (added/removed/changed/ unchanged), sorted alphabetically, exit code 1 on diff. - `74a2005` Iter 4c: IR snapshot tests in `crates/ail/tests/snapshots/{sum,max3,hello,list}.ll`. Normalisation of `target triple`. Update via `UPDATE_SNAPSHOTS=1 cargo test ir_snapshot_`. Mismatch produces an `.actual` file. Test count: 28 (previously 19). 7 E2E + 4 IR snapshot + 9 ailang-check + 1 ailang-codegen + 7 ailang-core. **Closed from the debt register:** - Block tracking in codegen has not been a heuristic risk since Iter 2; the explicit `current_block: String` track is now additionally protected against regression by Iter 4c snapshot tests. Debt closed. **New / sharpened debt:** 1. `check_module` is **single-shot** — the first error aborts, no multi-diagnostic gathering. The spec was that way, but the format suggests Vec semantics. A real multi-diagnostic refactor will be cheaper once TIR exists (a central error accumulator via a separate stage). Not due now. 2. `source_filename` in the IR is hard-coded to `".ail"`. As long as there is only one top-level module, that is platform-stable. With Iter 5 (module system + imports) the path becomes relevant — keep it path-independent at construction time, otherwise the snapshots will tip over. **Plan iteration 5:** module system with imports. Cross-module hashing, import resolution, multiple `.ail.json` files in one build. The multi- diagnostic refactor only after that. Sub-steps: - **5a — workspace loader.** `ailang_core::Workspace { modules: BTreeMap }` plus `load_workspace(entry: &Path)`, which follows `imports` recursively from the entry module. Convention: `import { module: "foo" }` resolves to `/foo.ail.json` next to the entry. Cycle detection. CLI: existing subcommands keep working on a single module; a new `ail workspace ` lists all reachable modules with hash. Tests: two small example modules with an import relation; cycle test. - **5b — cross-module typecheck.** The typechecker takes `&Workspace` instead of `&Module`. Imports are mounted in the env as a namespace (`alias.def` or, with no alias, `module.def`). New diagnostic codes: `unknown-module`, `unknown-import`, `import-cycle`, `ambiguous-name`. Tests per code. - **5c — cross-module codegen.** The emitter produces IR for all modules in the workspace, prefix-mangled with `@ail__`. E2E test: a program that uses a function from module B in module A returns the correct result in the binary. - **5d — tooling adjustments.** `manifest`, `describe`, `deps`, `diff` gain a `--workspace` mode (recursive). The single mode stays the default for backwards compatibility. During Iter 5, at construction time **keep `source_filename` path-independent** (module name only, no directory prefix), otherwise the IR snapshots will tip over. ## 2026-05-07 — Iter 5b done: cross-module typecheck - `check_workspace(&Workspace) -> Vec` as the top-level API. `check_module` is preserved and internally lifts the module into a trivial workspace. - Convention for qualified references (recorded in DESIGN.md): `Term::Var { name }` with exactly one dot = `.`. Prefix is an import alias or module name. No new AST node, no renamed fields ⇒ hashes stay stable; all `ir_snapshot_*` still green. - Three new diagnostic codes: `unknown-module`, `unknown-import`, `invalid-def-name` (with `ctx.reason: "contains-dot"`). - CLI: `ail check ` now **always** loads via `load_workspace`. Workspace load failures become structured diagnostics in JSON mode with codes `module-not-found`, `module-cycle`, `module-name-mismatch`, `module-hash-mismatch`, `schema-mismatch`. `ail build` and `ail emit-ir` stay per single module (cross-module codegen is 5c). - Examples: `ws_main.ail.json` now calls `ws_lib.add` (observable). New: `ws_broken.ail.json` (`unknown-import`), `ws_unknown_module.ail.json` (`unknown-module`). - Tests: 37 green (previously 32). 4 new workspace integration tests in `crates/ailang-check/tests/workspace.rs`, one new e2e test `check_workspace_resolves_import`. - Debt: single-shot diagnostics still in place (multi-diagnostic after 5c). The dot convention covers exactly one dot — nested module paths (`a.b.c`) do not exist; that would only be a topic with hierarchical modules and currently falls through as `unbound-var`. ## 2026-05-07 — Iter 5c done: cross-module codegen - **Mangling break (deliberate).** All AILang functions are now called `@ail__`, even in single-module programs. The old form `@ail_` is gone. Strings/const globals analogously (`@.str___`, `@ail__`). The entry point stays `main` as C ABI: a `define i32 @main()` trampoline calls `@ail__main()`. If the entry module has no `main : () -> Unit !IO`, the build fails with `MissingEntryMain`. - **Workspace lowering.** New top-level API `ailang_codegen::lower_workspace(ws: &Workspace) -> Result` produces a single `.ll` for the whole workspace. Modules in alphabetical order (BTreeMap order); defs in AST order. Cross-module calls are resolved in codegen via the import map of the calling module — same logic as in the typechecker, locally duplicated with a cross-reference (no shared helper module, because the type worlds differ: the typechecker handles `Type`, codegen handles `FnSig` from llvm types). - **CLI.** `ail build` and `ail emit-ir` now always load the workspace and check/lower it fully. Single-module programs keep working (trivial workspace with one module). `emit_ir(m)` stays in the codegen crate as a convenience API and internally wraps into a trivial workspace. - **Snapshots regenerated.** `sum.ll`, `max3.ll`, `hello.ll`, `list.ll` show the new mangling. New `ws_main.ll` snapshot documents the cross-module build: `@ail_ws_main_main` calls `@ail_ws_lib_add`. - **Tests.** 40 green (previously 37). New: `workspace_build_runs_imported_fn` (e2e: prints 5), `ir_snapshot_ws_main`, `missing_entry_main_is_error` (codegen unit). Existing behaviour tests (`sum_1_to_10_is_55`, `max3_picks_largest`, `hello_world_str_lit`, `list_sum_via_match`) stay green — behaviour unchanged, only the mangling is new. **Debt closed:** - **#19 (`source_filename` hardening).** In the workspace world, `source_filename` is now uniformly `.ail`, once per workspace. The previous hard-coded path dot is gone with it. **State:** the module system is closed end to end — loader + typecheck + codegen + build see the workspace as a coherent unit. The multi- diagnostic refactor and possibly cross-module ADTs remain for later. ## 2026-05-07 — Iter 5d done: tooling extended to the workspace - `ail manifest|describe|deps|diff --workspace` now operate across all modules of the workspace. The default without the flag stays single-module for backwards compatibility. Manifest sorts by `(module, name)`, describe accepts dotted notation `ws_lib.add`, deps emits `{from_module, from_def, to_module, to_def}` edges, diff compares workspace-wide with added/removed/changed/unchanged_modules and a nested sub-diff per changed_module. - Refactor: `diff_def_lists` is the single source of the four-category logic; single and workspace diff share it. - Tests: 44 green (previously 40). New: `manifest_workspace_lists_all_defs`, `describe_workspace_resolves_qualified_name`, `deps_workspace_includes_cross_module`, `diff_workspace_added_module`. **Observation (debt):** `deps` does not filter builtins/locals/function parameters. In workspace mode that becomes more visible than in single mode — `ws_lib.add` lists edges to `ws_lib.+` (builtin) and `ws_lib.a`/`ws_lib.b` (function parameters). A known pre-existing issue from Iter 2; Task #22 in the backlog. ## 2026-05-07 — architecture review after Iter 5 Architect agent invoked. Findings: 1. **Mangling consistency holds.** `@ail__` is consistent across functions, constants, string globals, and cross-module calls. The trampoline is correct. ADT constructors are deliberately symbol-free (inline malloc). 2. **Module hashes bit-identical since Iter 4.** The Iter 5c snapshot regeneration was a codegen-output change, not a hash break. 3. **Drift, due now:** - DESIGN.md says `define i64 @main()`, codegen emits `define i32 @main()` (see `sum.ll:35`). - String-schema notation in DESIGN.md was shortened (`@.str__` instead of `@.str___`). 4. **Debt that accrues interest:** the `deps` builtin leak (Task #22) has become a falsehood in workspace mode — close it before the next big jump. **Plan iteration 6 — clean-up:** 1. **Fix DESIGN.md drift.** Update the mangling-scheme block, correct the `@main` signature, and note the string globals precisely. 2. **`deps` hardening (#22).** Build a top-level def table per workspace; filter edges whose target is not a top-level symbol, or emit them as separate `builtin:`/`local:` categories. Function parameters via lexical scope tracking from walk_term. 3. **Multi-diagnostic refactor (#20).** `check_workspace` accumulates `Vec` across all defs instead of short-circuiting on the first error. Intra-def may still short-circuit — the value is "see all broken defs at once", not "see all broken sub-terms of one def". Order: 1 first (doc triviality), then 2 before 3 (deps is a tooling- truth fix, multi-diag is a structural extension). ## 2026-05-07 — Iter 6 done: deps hardening + multi-diagnose + DESIGN audit Three things landed together. All small, all KISS — no architecture move, just paying off recorded debt. **1. `ail deps` filters builtins, params, and let/match bindings (#22).** Before: `sum -> +, -, ==, n, sum` and `ws_lib.add -> ws_lib.+`, `ws_lib.a`, `ws_lib.b`. After: `sum -> sum`, `ws_lib.add -> ws_lib.add` gone (no real deps; only the cross-module call from `ws_main` remains). Implementation: - New helper `ailang_check::builtins::value_names()`: derives the Var-level builtin names (`+ - * / % == != < <= > >= not`) from `list()`, so the install-list and the deps-filter share one source of truth. - `walk_term` in `crates/ail/src/main.rs` now threads a `scope` set: fn-params seed it; `Let` adds the bound name for the body only; `Match` arms add their pattern variables (`bind_pattern` helper, MVP rule "ctor sub-patterns are Var/Wild") and roll them back after. Var refs that hit `scope` or `builtins` are dropped; qualified names (`prefix.def`) are passed through unconditionally — the typechecker forbids dots in def names, so no shadowing risk. - Tests added: `deps_filters_builtins_params_locals`, `deps_workspace_filters_builtins_and_params`. The Iter 5d test (`deps_workspace_includes_cross_module`) keeps passing — the only edge it asserted is the legitimate one. **2. `check_module` / `check_workspace` are multi-diagnose (#20).** `check_in_workspace` returns `Vec` instead of `Result<()>`. Pass-1 (top-level symbol table) stays fail-fast — corrupt globals would taint every later diagnostic. Type-def installation is fail-fast within a module (env corruption) but the outer module loop continues. The body-check loop is the multi-diagnose layer: each def is checked against the assembled env, errors accumulate, the next def is attempted. Test: `body_errors_accumulate_across_defs` — one module with two independent body errors (arity mismatch + unknown var) yields two diagnostics with the right `def` field. The legacy single-error `check` keeps working by `.into_iter().next()`-ing the Vec, so internal snapshot tests in `crates/ailang-check/src/lib.rs` are unchanged. Out of scope: intra-def collection. A single fn body with three type errors still reports one. The "see all broken defs at once" goal is met; intra-def will require unification deferral and isn't due now. **3. DESIGN.md `What the MVP is NOT` audit (#24).** The section was lying: it claimed "No ADTs / pattern matching" (delivered Iter 3) and "Only ints + bools + unit" (strings landed Iter 2). Renamed to `What is not (yet) supported`, restructured into "not yet" + "what is supported (smoke-tested)". New invariant: this section is meant to be the truth at the **end of the latest iteration**, not a 2026-05-07-day-0 scope statement. **Architecture check (the user-asked self-questioning):** - *Would I use this language now?* For non-recursive arithmetic + ADT programs over int/bool/str: yes, comfortably. For anything that needs mapping, folding, generic data structures: no, closures are the blocker. That's the next big sprint, not Iter 7. - *Consistency:* DESIGN.md, JOURNAL.md, code, and CLI output now agree on what the language can do. The "What is not (yet) supported" block is the canonical truth surface. - *Visualisation:* `ail deps --workspace --json` is now a clean cross-module call graph (no builtin noise). Good enough for an external graph renderer to consume; a built-in DOT/ASCII renderer is *possible future tooling*, not "we need it now". KISS. - *Documentation:* the agents/ directory is the sub-prompt layer, the JOURNAL is the iteration log, DESIGN.md is the contract. No new doc axes needed at this scale. **Tests:** 47 green (previously 44). +2 deps tests in `e2e.rs`, +1 multi-diag test in `crates/ailang-check/tests/workspace.rs`. **Plan iteration 7:** Closures + higher-order functions. This is the big jump that DESIGN.md / Day 0 has been pointing at: it requires a typed IR (TIR) stage, closure conversion in lowering, and a heap-aware ABI. The multi-diag refactor in Iter 6 was scoped intentionally minimal — when TIR lands, intra-def diagnostics become structurally cheap and Task #20 gets revisited. ## 2026-05-07 — Iter 7 done: first-class function references (no capture) Iter 6 outlined Iter 7 as "closures + HOFs + TIR". KISS course-correct on inspection: that bundle had three independent things in it, and the HOF use-cases (passing functions around, calling through fn-typed parameters) need none of TIR or capture. Splitting paid off — what landed here is ~120 LOC of codegen, no TIR, no heap, no ABI churn. Closures with capture stay queued for Iter 8 (where TIR is the correct precondition). **What works now:** - Top-level fn name (or qualified `prefix.def`) used as a value yields an LLVM fn-pointer (`@ail__`, type `ptr`). - Fn-typed parameters can be called as `f(args)` — the body emits an indirect `call () %f(...)`. - Pass through `let`: `let g = inc in g(x)` works (the local just aliases the global SSA, the sidetable lookup still hits). - Pass to another fn: `apply(inc, 41) == 42` — see `examples/hof.ail.json`, exercised end-to-end. **What does not (yet) work — by design:** - No anonymous lambdas. The only fn-value source is a top-level def reference. - No capture. A fn-value is always a constant pointer to a top-level def; there is no environment to allocate. - Both deferred to Iter 8 where they share the TIR + closure-conversion preconditions. **Implementation, in order of where the rubber meets the road:** 1. `llvm_type` learned `Type::Fn { .. } -> "ptr"`. The actual signature travels separately. New helper `fn_sig_from_type` lifts an AILang fn-type into an `FnSig` (LLVM types only). 2. `Emitter` got a sidetable: `ssa_fn_sigs: BTreeMap`, keyed by SSA value (or `@global`). It's reset per function body. 3. At `emit_fn` entry, every fn-typed parameter registers `(%arg_, sig)` in the sidetable. 4. `lower_term(Term::Var)` now falls through to a top-level fn lookup (`resolve_top_level_fn`) when the name isn't a local. The returned SSA is the global symbol; the sidetable gets the sig. 5. `lower_term(Term::App)` dispatches: - if callee is a `Var` AND not shadowed AND statically known (`is_static_callee` covers builtin operators, qualified `prefix.def`, current-module fns), keep the existing direct `lower_app` path — no extra indirection in the IR; - otherwise lower the callee, expect type `ptr`, look up the sig in the sidetable, emit `emit_indirect_call`. 6. `Term::If` propagates the sig to its phi SSA when both branches are fn-pointers with matching sigs (cheap two-line copy; no separate test, falls out of the `apply`-on-conditional pattern). **Why no typechecker change?** The typechecker already accepted fn-typed locals (`Term::Var` against `env.globals`, App via `synth(callee)` unifying with `Type::Fn`). The only blocker was `MVP: callee must be a variable` in codegen. **Tests:** 48 green (previously 47). - `crates/ail/tests/e2e.rs::higher_order_apply_inc` builds and runs `examples/hof.ail.json`, asserts the binary prints `42`. - Existing tests unchanged (incl. snapshot tests around the IR emission for `sum`, `list`, `max3`). **Architecture self-check:** - *Would I use this language now?* Yes for `apply`-style and "pass a predicate" patterns. Still no for capturing closures (`let n = 3 in map(\x -> x + n, xs)`-equivalent), but the ergonomic gap shrank. - *Consistency:* DESIGN.md "What is not (yet) supported" rewritten in the same edit; first-class fn-refs now have a positive bullet, the closures bullet is precise about what it means (no capture, no lambdas). - *Visualisation:* `ail describe`/`manifest` already render fn-typed params correctly via the existing `pretty::type_to_string` (`((Int) -> Int, Int) -> Int`). No tooling change required. - *KISS:* every alternative I considered (full `LocalType` enum, swapping `(String, String)` returns to a typed wrapper, lifting lambdas to defs as syntactic sugar) was strictly more code than the sidetable approach, with no expressivity gain. **Plan iteration 8:** Closures with capture, anonymous lambdas, the typed IR (TIR) layer, closure conversion in lowering. Now that we have indirect calls working, the main delta is: a fn-value also needs an environment pointer, the sidetable becomes per-value (heap-allocated), and the calling convention shifts to `(env_ptr, args...)`. Touches every existing call path — that's why it gets its own iteration.