Files
AILang/design/INDEX.md
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Brummel 832375f2ac convention: counter-prefix file naming across docs/specs/, docs/plans/, design/contracts/, design/models/
All 176 files in the four accumulating directories now use a
zero-padded 4-digit counter prefix that reflects creation order
(`NNNN-slug.md`). The counter is assigned per directory in strict
git-log creation order; ties broken alphabetically by original name.
The old `YYYY-MM-DD-` prefix on docs/specs/ and docs/plans/ files is
dropped — the date is recoverable from git log and the counter
carries the ordering.

A file's counter is stable for the life of the file: never reassigned,
never reused, never compacted. Deleted files retire their counter;
subsequent files do not fill the gap. This is the property that lets
cross-references stay literal — refs use the full filename including
the counter (`design/contracts/0007-honesty-rule.md`) so they grep
cleanly and resolve directly without a glob step.

313 cross-references updated across .md/.rs/.toml/.c/.json files
(test pins, include_str! paths, design-INDEX entries, baseline notes,
runtime C comments, inter-contract markdown links incl. bare basename
and `../models/foo.md` forms).

CLAUDE.md gets a new "File-naming convention" section spelling out
the rule and rationale. skills/brainstorm/SKILL.md and
skills/planner/SKILL.md updated so new spec/plan creation produces
counter-prefixed names from the start.

The full test suite (cargo test --workspace) passes.
2026-05-28 13:31:31 +02:00

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7.4 KiB
Markdown

# 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](contracts/0001-authoring-surface.md), 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** (`skills/`): specialised disciplines
(`brainstorm`, `planner`, `implement`, `audit`, `debug`,
`fieldtest`) plus the agent rosters they dispatch
(`skills/<name>/agents/`). They form the project's own
development methodology and are versioned with the codebase.
See `skills/README.md`.
- **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 | skills/brainstorm/SKILL.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-check/src/uniqueness.rs (in-source mod tests) | design/contracts/0015-language-constraints.md |
| memory-model | LLM author / stable | crates/ailang-check/src/uniqueness.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 | codegen / stable | crates/ail/tests/codegen_import_map_fallback_pin.rs | crates/ail/src/main.rs //! |
| 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 | bench/architect_sweeps.sh | design/contracts/0014-verification.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 (design accepted 2026-05-28; impl in progress) | design/models/0007-kernel-extensions.md |