Files
AILang/design/INDEX.md
T
Brummel 73fbb240be docs(model): reconcile 0007 Series with the shipped step-1 reality
The `series` library extension shipped (35a9bc6); model 0007's
Series section was an aspirational sketch with systematic defects
that no longer match the live tool. Bring it to present-state per
the honesty-rule:

- STATUS: the library-extension milestone now reads step-1 shipped
  (primitive Series over {Int, Float}, Bool deferred), with SoA
  step-2 (#62) still pending. INDEX.md row updated to match.
- The `series` code listing is replaced with the shipped source
  (crates/ailang-kernel/src/series/source.ail, doc-strings elided),
  cited as the source of truth. Every defect the sketch carried is
  corrected in the shipped form it now shows: param-in (a Int Float)
  not (... Bool); `(new RawBuf lookback)` with no type-arg; bare `a`
  for the element type variable (not `(con a)`); forall-bound op
  signatures; `lt` not `<`; and the at-index formula with the
  correct sign on i — which already matched the section's own prose
  (`head - 1 - i + 2*lookback`), so the sketch was internally
  inconsistent and the prose was right.
- The SMA worked example uses `ge` (not the non-existent `>=`) and
  emits each average followed by a newline, matching the committed
  pin fixture so the doc and the test agree.
- The "four constructs not in today's AILang" framing is now
  present-state: the mechanisms shipped via raw_buf, Series itself
  via the step-1 library extension.

Both edited module blocks parse against the live tool.

refs #61
2026-06-02 13:12:01 +02:00

7.9 KiB

AILang Design — Index

The sole addressable entry point. Every contract and model is reached from here. A contract is a prescriptive, test-linked invariant; a model is a whitepaper narrative. ratifying-test names the green test that proves a contract still holds. link is polymorphic: a design/ file, or the authoritative source //! header when the code is the single source of truth.

Project framing

Goal

AILang is a programming language for LLM authors. It compiles to LLVM IR. Performance: native, no GC for the MVP.

Optimised for:

  • Machine readability over human ergonomics. The source is structured.
  • Local reasoning. Every definition carries its full type and effects.
  • Provability. Pure core language, explicit effects, optional refinements.
  • Robustness against hallucinations. Symbols are hashable; tools can verify existence without spending context window.

Project ecosystem

AILang is not just a language but an ecosystem. The language on its own is only valuable when its surroundings make it usable, checkable, and extensible for its target user (LLM authors). The repo therefore contains several equally important components — none of them optional, all of them evolving in lockstep with the language:

  • Language core (crates/ailang-core, crates/ailang-check, crates/ailang-codegen): AST, type system, codegen.
  • Surface forms (crates/ailang-surface, crates/ailang-prose): the LLM-facing renderings of a module. ailang-surface is the lossless Form-A printer/parser — the canonical authoring surface, with a round-trip property parse ∘ print = id gating every release. ailang-prose is the lossy Form-B projection — human-readable prose for review and edit, with no parser; re-integration goes through the LLM-mediator round-trip documented in docs/PROSE_ROUNDTRIP.md.
  • CLI (crates/ail): toolchain for tooling consumers — manifest, describe, deps, check, build, parse, render, prose, merge-prose, etc., preferably with --json for machine consumption.
  • Examples (examples/): canonical .ail.json programs. They are specification anchors, not demos — the E2E suite hangs off them.
  • Skills (~/dev/skills/ plugin, wired in via .claude/dev-cycle-profile.yml): specialised disciplines (brainstorm, planner, implement, audit, debug, fieldtest, docwriter, boss) plus the agent rosters they dispatch. They form the project's development methodology; the plugin is versioned separately, the per-project profile is in-tree.
  • Design ledger (design/): design/INDEX.md (this file — the sole addressable spine for canonical state), design/contracts/ (test-linked invariants), design/models/ (onboarding whitepapers).
  • Docs (docs/): specs/ (per-milestone design specs), plans/ (per-iteration implementation plans). Project history lives in git log; the forward queue lives in the Gitea issue backlog (http://192.168.178.103:3000/Brummel/AILang/issues).
  • Tests: unit tests per crate plus E2E in crates/ail/tests/e2e.rs. Every new compiler path needs a test, otherwise the feature does not count as done.

Project language: English

All in-tree content is written in English: source code (identifiers, comments, string literals, CLI help), design documents, agent prompts, READMEs, commit messages, examples, and CLAUDE.md. The live conversation between user and me stays German for ergonomic reasons; everything that lands in git is English. This keeps diffs and tooling output uniform and matches the audience for AILang (LLM authors), for whom English is the default.

Contracts

id consumer / lifetime ratifying-test link
feature-acceptance brainstorm-gate / stable CLAUDE.md design/contracts/0004-feature-acceptance.md
authoring-surface LLM author / stable crates/ailang-surface/tests/round_trip.rs design/contracts/0001-authoring-surface.md
roundtrip-invariant every release / stable crates/ailang-surface/tests/round_trip.rs design/contracts/0009-roundtrip-invariant.md
language-constraints LLM author / stable crates/ailang-core/src/ast.rs (no thunk/ref/IORef node — by construction) design/contracts/0015-language-constraints.md
memory-model LLM author / stable crates/ailang-check/src/uniqueness.rs + linearity.rs (in-source mod tests) design/contracts/0008-memory-model.md
data-model LLM author / stable crates/ailang-core/tests/design_schema_drift.rs design/contracts/0002-data-model.md
mangling codegen / stable crates/ail/tests/eq_ord_e2e.rs crates/ailang-codegen/src/lib.rs //!
env-construction codegen / stable crates/ailang-check/tests/duplicate_ctor_pin.rs crates/ailang-codegen/src/lib.rs //!
qualified-xref check→codegen / stable crates/ail/tests/codegen_import_map_fallback_pin.rs crates/ailang-check/src/lower_to_mir.rs (classify_callee) + design/contracts/0018-check-codegen-boundary.md
frozen-value-layout embedding ABI / one-way-frozen crates/ailang-codegen/tests/embed_record_layout_pin.rs design/contracts/0006-frozen-value-layout.md + runtime/rc.c §layout
float-semantics LLM author / stable crates/ail/tests/eq_float_noinstance.rs design/contracts/0005-float-semantics.md
typeclasses LLM author / stable crates/ail/tests/show_no_instance_e2e.rs design/contracts/0013-typeclasses.md
method-dispatch LLM author / stable crates/ail/tests/show_no_instance_e2e.rs design/contracts/0016-method-dispatch.md
prelude-classes LLM author / stable crates/ail/tests/show_no_instance_e2e.rs design/contracts/0017-prelude-classes.md
str-abi runtime ABI / stable crates/ail/tests/e2e.rs (Str path) design/contracts/0011-str-abi.md + runtime/str.c §heap-Str
tail-calls codegen / stable crates/ailang-check/src/lib.rs (in-source tail_call_in_non_tail_position_is_rejected) design/contracts/0012-tail-calls.md
honesty-rule architect+grounding / stable crates/ailang-core/tests/docs_honesty_pin.rs design/contracts/0007-honesty-rule.md
embedding-abi embedding host / stable crates/ailang-codegen/tests/embed_record_layout_pin.rs design/contracts/0003-embedding-abi.md
scope-boundaries architect+author / stable crates/ailang-core/tests/effect_doc_honesty_pin.rs design/contracts/0010-scope-boundaries.md
verification architect / stable crates/ail/tests/ir_snapshot.rs (+ round_trip, hash_pin, e2e) design/contracts/0014-verification.md
check-codegen-boundary architect / stable crates/ailang-check/tests/lower_to_mir_ty.rs (callee_classification_builtin_and_static) design/contracts/0018-check-codegen-boundary.md

Models

id consumer / lifetime link
rc-uniqueness onboarding / evolves design/models/0004-rc-uniqueness.md
typeclasses onboarding / evolves design/models/0005-typeclasses.md
effects onboarding / evolves design/models/0002-effects.md
authoring-surface onboarding / evolves design/models/0001-authoring-surface.md
prose-projection onboarding / evolves design/models/0006-prose-projection.md
pipeline onboarding / evolves design/models/0003-pipeline.md
kernel-extensions onboarding / evolves (mechanisms milestone closed 2026-05-28; ratified end-to-end by the ailang-kernel/src/raw_buf base extension; series library extension step-1 shipped via ailang-kernel/src/series, SoA step-2 #62 pending) design/models/0007-kernel-extensions.md