honey/TODO.md

self-hosting

• milestone: Honey compiles its production compiler, then that compiler compiles itself again and builds/runs the example programs.

current boundary

directory packages support file-local import namespaces and postfix declaration selection through the interpreter and native backend. concrete 8/16/32/64-bit integers, checked numeric conversions, records/tuples, construction/defaults, enums, distinct/alias types, overlapping untagged/tagged unions, field reads/writes and exhaustive statement/value matching work through both execution paths. source data pointers/references support aliasing, mutation, calls and aggregate storage; explicit callback signatures, many-pointer addition, mutable/sentinel slices, optionals and layout/cast/memory builtins work through both execution paths. native scalar/pointer c_func declarations support allocator-required libc calls; executed foreign calls remain diagnostic traps in the interpreter. explicit fallible channels, composed error sets, try/catch and scoped LIFO defer/errdefer run through both paths; source errors are values, not diagnostic traps or compiler infrastructure failures. cached generic specialization and type-producing procedures support explicit/inferred compile-time arguments and generated record/array storage through both paths. ordinary procedures can compute scalar, nested record/array, tagged-union and fallible compile-time values using mutable locals, loops and recursive calls; explicit $() expressions use the same constant evaluation path. compile-time if/match selection and type comparisons specialize only the selected body, including owned by-value tagged payload captures in ordinary generic procedures. type-producing procedures also accept ordinary constant inputs, cached and erased like explicit compile-time arguments. mutable type/value locals, direct and aggregate field/index assignments, branches, scalar/enum/tagged-union matching and bounded integer-range/collection/while loops now generate types and storage. optional if/while captures and tagged payload matches select nested constructors, lengths, signatures and defaults; array/slice/string/pointer-to-array collection loops support exact copy/pointer captures and usize indices through both paths; type-producing bodies iterate materializable arrays/strings by value without retaining interpreter addresses. type-valued fixed arrays support nested copies, indexed/whole updates, checked projections and by-value collection captures in type-producing bodies; undefined type/value arrays track initialization per leaf while loops fill generated types/defaults. type-array and type-record parameters/results cross compile-time procedure boundaries with owned snapshots, cached nominal identity and erased arguments. initialized type-valued records/tuples support schemas/defaults, nested field/index updates and owned copies/captures inside compile-time producers. field! selects record/tuple/enum and sequence members using compile-time names, including runtime places and type-control updates without runtime reflection. struct_type! generates ordinary/C-layout records from constant name/type/default arrays or tuples, including loop-filled producer storage and owned defaults. inline for expands constant ranges, fixed value/type arrays, heterogeneous value/type tuples and strings with immutable exact captures and compile-time-selected exits. final inline match arms expand nominal enums, tagged unions and composed error sets with static tags and exact by-value payloads, preserving runtime dispatch and scoped control flow. typeinfo! exposes owned compile-time array/distinct/record/enum metadata, including readonly field collections, exact nominal types and reflected generated storage/defaults. the existing meta.EnumFieldStruct and enummap.EnumMap, init and get work; general type-valued execution, broader materialization and full library acceptance remain open. some! preserves nested optional presence; ordinary procedures initialize concrete runtime undefined locals and compute fully initialized materializable constants. the driver retains frontend storage and source provenance through @source/compilation, with compilation-wide AST node identities. file commands retain single-file behavior; directory commands compile the package's production files and load its dependencies in separate scopes.

completed milestone: scalar-function packages

verified: compile and run a small multi-file directory package importing a second package of scalar functions, through both the interpreter and native backend. using the existing standard library is a later acceptance gate: even std/mem needs records, pointers, generics and C calls.

• retain source/package identity and source ownership across the compilation; keep one identifier pool and unambiguous declaration IDs.
• load directory packages once per canonical path, with deterministic file discovery, package scopes and root-only entry selection. follow Bro's existing relative and project-root @ import rules; diagnose cycles rather than recurse indefinitely.
• finish postfix namespace selection and resolve file-local import aliases without injecting dependency names into the importing package; bare and aliased import declarations are already parsed for dependency discovery.
• reuse ordinary scalar signature checking, function values and IR calls for selected declarations; namespaces have no runtime representation.
• preserve originating filenames and spans in dependency diagnostics and native runtime traps; retain demand-driven diagnostic recovery.
• verify sibling source files, transitive/shared imports, same-spelled declarations in different packages, alias conflicts, missing packages/members, argument errors and dependency-file diagnostics. preserve existing single-file commands.

visibility follows Bro's public-by-default contract; unsupported visibility attributes must be diagnosed, never ignored. the scalar-function milestone did not include record fields or imported types; those now work for the record/tuple slice. test discovery and FFI remain outside these completed slices.

subsequent dependency gates

• concrete data models: required integer widths/conversions, records/tuples and construction, fields, enums, distinct/alias types, unions and matching. examples: source/lexer/token.hon, source/sema/resolve.hon, std/mem/mem.hon.
  • native integer widths (i8–i64, u8–u64, isize/usize) and checked explicit numeric conversions, including float truncation/range checks and integer-to-float rounding. preserve exact types through arrays, calls and range captures; retain strict implicit conversion rules.
  • records/tuples, typed/contextual/anonymous construction, field defaults and reads/writes, nested aggregate value copies, imported record types and constructors through interpreter/native execution.
  • nominal enums and distinct types, transparent declaration/type aliases, overlapping untagged/tagged unions, contextual payload construction, active-field checks and exhaustive scalar/enum/tagged-union matching through interpreter/native execution. pointer captures, inline specialization and yielding value blocks remain with their respective later gates; error-set composition is covered below.
• memory representation: source pointers/references, mutable and sentinel slices, optionals, layout/cast builtins and allocator-required libc calls. internal IR array addresses are not source pointers. examples: std/mem/mem.hon, std/arraylist/arraylist.hon.
  • source data pointers/references: @T/*T, mut, address-taking and dereference, pointer-aware fields/indexing, array .len/.ptr, readonly weakening, location equality, recursive pointer-linked records and shared pointees across interpreter/native calls and aggregate copies.
  • function-pointer signatures: explicit @proc(...) Result, structural signature checking, callbacks in parameters/results/records/arrays, vtable calls and imported signature aliases; many-pointer + usize arithmetic preserves pointee type, mutability, stride and location identity through interpreter/native execution.
  • mutable/sentinel slices with checked bounds, borrowed aliases and string views; optional values/pointers/callbacks, null checks, unwrap and conditional/loop captures; target layout, pointer/const casts and typed memory copy/set through interpreter/native execution. scalar/pointer C ABI declarations build/run allocator callbacks using malloc, realloc, free and posix_memalign; arbitrary interpreter FFI, generic standard-library compilation and native startup/IO remain with later gates.
• fallible results and cleanup: explicit T ! E, error-set composition, try/catch, defer/errdefer, error captures and matched error residuals through interpreter/native execution; infrastructure errors remain distinct from diagnostic traps. fallible void may complete on fallthrough; unhandled entry errors exit with status 1. inferred T! signatures and yielding catch blocks remain with inference/value-control-flow work. examples: source/main.hon, source/sema/check/check.hon.
• generic specialization and compile-time execution/reflection sufficient for existing ArrayList, hash maps, enummap, meta and io.print; include type/value parameters and compile-time generated storage.
  • specialization checkpoint: explicit/inferred type and integer/boolean/string/callback/null value parameters, cached concrete runtime calls, nominal type-producing procedures, generated record/array storage and recursive data pointers through interpreter/native execution. preserve declared value types, source diagnostics and repeatable compilation; runtime values cannot supply compile-time arguments.
  • compile-time execution checkpoint: ordinary procedure calls with constant inputs and integer/boolean/string results reuse checking, typed IR and bounded interpreter execution. mutable scalar locals, range/while loops, break/continue, nested/generic/recursive calls, exact numeric types, runtime traps and dependency-file provenance survive argument erasure through interpreter/native execution. runtime parameters and mutable global dependencies are rejected; recompilation retains no prior execution state.
  • aggregate/explicit-expression checkpoint: computed nested records/tuples and fixed arrays, contextual/dependent aggregate value parameters, normalized specialization caching and explicit $() expressions through interpreter/native execution. preserve by-value isolation, zero-cell shapes, integer widths, string ownership, enum/optional fields and exact IEEE float bits; reject runtime dependencies and values that would retain temporary interpreter storage. repeatable compilation restores erased expressions.
  • conditional specialization checkpoint: explicit compile-time if guards and side-effect-free constant guards in concrete generic procedures select a body before specialization/checking. type equality retains aliases, nominal identity and structural signatures; composed error-set identity/cache keys ignore ordering, grouping and repetition. guard checking, selected-body diagnostics, scoped cleanup, runtime guards and repeatable compilation work through interpreter/native execution; both arms remain parsed and name-resolved.
  • constant-input type-procedure checkpoint: type-producing procedures accept ordinary parameters alongside $ parameters, require every argument explicitly and evaluate/cache/erase all inputs. generated record/array storage, nominal cache identity, nested calls, dependent contextual aggregate inputs, exact erased-argument checking, source diagnostics, imported producers and repeatable compilation work through interpreter/native execution.
  • mutable type-execution checkpoint: type-producing bodies execute mutable type/value locals, direct binding assignments, scoped blocks, if/else and early returns, integer-range/while loops, break/continue and nested/recursive producers. generated nested types, scalar-computed lengths/defaults, nominal cache identity, exact value types, overflow/guard/assignment diagnostics, imported producers and repeatable compilation work through interpreter/native execution. type-control execution shares a 4096-step bound across nested producers; scalar operations reuse checked IR execution. aggregate field/index updates and type-valued arrays are covered below; cleanup and type-valued record storage remain open.
  • type-match checkpoint: type-producing bodies execute scalar/enum match statements and direct type-valued match expressions in initializers, assignments and returns, including nested selected arms. ordinary checking/IR execution select the arm and validate subject/pattern types, ranges, overlap, unreachable arms and exhaustiveness; only the selected body is elaborated. generated storage, scoped locals, loop transfers, early returns, nominal cache identity, selected-body diagnostics, dependency provenance and repeatable compilation work through interpreter/native execution. all bodies remain parsed/name-resolved and execution shares the type-control bound.
  • nested type-match checkpoint: matches select types inside constructors, array lengths, generic arguments, local annotations, callback signatures and field defaults in type-producing bodies. selection precedes ordinary expansion, preserves literal spelling/source provenance and loop snapshots, and caches nominal results before expanding recursive fields. selected-body and pattern diagnostics, failed deferred elaboration, imported producers and repeatable compilation work through interpreter/native execution; deferred selection shares the producer's type-control bound.
  • tagged/fallible constant checkpoint: explicit $() expressions, generic value parameters and type-procedure inputs materialize tagged unions and both fallible channels through interpreter/native execution. preserve active tags/payloads, nested raw aggregate projections, string ownership, void/zero-cell variants, composed/payload errors, declared channel types, normalized cache identity and repeatable compilation. catch computes generated lengths and runtime values. untagged unions and storage-bearing active payloads remain escape diagnostics rather than retaining temporary interpreter handles.
  • tagged type-match checkpoint: type-producing bodies execute tagged-union matches with immutable by-value payload captures in statement, expression and nested storage positions. ordinary match checking validates every arm's captures, including grouped variants; selected payloads retain exact scalar/aggregate types and owned strings. generated storage/defaults, loop snapshots/transfers, cache identity, selected-body diagnostics, imported producers, dependency provenance and repeatable compilation work through interpreter/native execution. storage-bearing payloads retain the constant-materialization escape boundary.
  • generic match-specialization checkpoint: side-effect-free constant scalar/enum/tagged-union subjects in concrete generic procedures and explicit match $(subject) expressions/statements select an arm before body specialization/checking. reuse ordinary checked IR for pattern types, ranges, overlap, exhaustiveness and every arm's capture validation; only the selected body is elaborated. exact by-value payload types/owned strings, runtime parameters, nested expression matches, cleanup, return/loop transfers, imported producers and repeatable compilation work through interpreter/native execution. ordinary call/runtime/mutable subjects stay runtime; contextual aggregates with possible runtime defaults are not implicitly evaluated. all bodies remain parsed/name-resolved; storage-bearing payloads retain the constant-materialization escape boundary.
  • optional type-control checkpoint: type-producing bodies execute optional if/while guards with immutable by-value payload captures. ordinary checked IR validates guards; selected scalar/aggregate payloads retain exact types and owned strings across nested captures, generated storage/defaults, loop updates/transfers and early returns. absent optionals skip unselected bodies; invalid guards, capture mutation/shadowing, overflow and execution bounds retain diagnostics. imported producers, dependency provenance, nominal cache identity and repeatable compilation work through interpreter/native execution. null data/function pointers materialize correctly; nonnull storage-bearing payloads retain the constant-materialization escape boundary.
  • aggregate type-update checkpoint: type-producing bodies update initialized, materializable aggregate locals through nested record fields and mutable fixed-array indices. ordinary checking validates assignments, retaining exact value types, mutability (including immutable payload captures), index types/bounds, unknown-field and narrow-overflow diagnostics. new owned constants preserve earlier by-value copies while later loops, generated storage and defaults observe updates. imported producers, dependency provenance, nominal cache identity and repeatable compilation work through interpreter/native execution. pointer/slice-backed mutation and partial record construction remain open; type-valued records/arrays and uninitialized value arrays are covered below.
  • collection-iteration checkpoint: arrays, slices, strings and single pointers-to-arrays support immutable exact-type copy captures, storage-qualified pointer captures and optional usize indices through interpreter/native execution. iterables/bounds evaluate once, array lvalues remain borrowed and later element updates are visible; temporary arrays, aggregate copy isolation, zero-cell/empty collections, nested loops and cleanup across transfers retain ordinary semantics. ordinary constant-input procedures reuse the same checked IR; type-producing bodies iterate materializable arrays/strings with by-value captures, fixed entry-time place indices, generated storage, nominal cache identity, dependency diagnostics, shared execution bounds and repeatable compilation. storage-bearing type-control captures retain their existing boundary; type-valued elements are covered below.
  • type-array storage checkpoint: type-producing bodies own initialized fixed arrays of type values, including explicit/inferred nested arrays, .len, checked usize indexing, whole/indexed updates and immutable by-value collection captures. persistent snapshots preserve copies and exact shape/mutability while borrowed array places observe later updates. selected types generate nested storage, constructors, signatures and defaults through interpreter/native execution, retaining selected-body and index/type/mutability diagnostics, imported provenance, nominal cache identity, shared bounds and repeatable compilation. uninitialized type arrays and local type-valued records are covered below; reflection remains open.
  • type-array procedure checkpoint: fixed arrays of type values cross compile-time procedure inputs/results, including nested/aliased results, dependent $N lengths, empty shapes and erased $types parameters in runtime generic procedures. all inputs to type/type-array producers are explicit constants; owned snapshots preserve by-value isolation, exact shape/mutability and canonical/nominal cache identity. projections generate signatures, constructors, storage and defaults through interpreter/native execution. malformed inputs/results, runtime dependencies, imported provenance, shared execution bounds and repeatable compilation retain diagnostics and isolation. runtime type-array storage, type-valued record procedure boundaries and reflection remain open.
  • field-selection reflection checkpoint: field!(base, name) evaluates/erases a constant string name and reuses ordinary selection through interpreter/native execution. records/tuples, enum/error-set members, tagged payloads, callbacks, pointer-qualified places and sequence .len/.ptr retain exact types, single base evaluation, address-taking, mutability and active-field checks. type-producing bodies snapshot changing selector names for nested aggregate updates without losing by-value isolation. runtime/nonstring names, malformed calls, missing members and noncanonical/overflowing tuple ordinals retain diagnostics; full metadata reflection and inline expansion remain open.
  • uninitialized type-array checkpoint: fixed type arrays in type/type-array producers start with undefined and fill through loop-driven indexed, nested and whole-array updates. persistent local copies retain independent initialization state; .len works before leaves initialize. premature leaf reads and incomplete procedure arguments/results diagnose read-before-initialization without caching invalid values. explicit nonnegative dimensions, empty shapes, ordinary mutability/shape checks, nominal identity and repeatable compilation work through interpreter/native execution. construction shares the type-control bound per expanded cell, including nested zero-leaf shapes. ordinary value-array construction, local type-valued records, runtime undefined storage and metadata reflection are covered below.
  • uninitialized value-array checkpoint: ordinary fixed arrays in type/type-array producers start with undefined, fill nested indices or replace whole arrays/rows, and generate storage/defaults through interpreter/native execution. owned snapshots preserve independent partial initialization in local copies; initialized scalar/string/optional/record/tagged-union elements retain exact types and ordinary checked operations. premature leaf reads and incomplete procedure arguments diagnose read-before-initialization. empty shapes, .len before initialization, mutability/type/index/bounds/overflow diagnostics, per-cell construction limits and repeatable compilation are verified. runtime undefined storage and ordinary value-returning procedures are covered below; partial type-valued record construction and storage-bearing constant materialization remain open.
  • type-record storage checkpoint: initialized records/tuples containing type values live inside type/type-array producers, including local schemas/defaults, typed/contextual/inferred construction, nested records/arrays, checked field/index reads and updates, whole-value replacement and immutable by-value collection captures. persistent snapshots isolate copies/captures while borrowed array places observe later updates; type leaves retain nominal identity and ordinary value leaves reuse checked IR. generated storage/defaults, invalid field/type/default diagnostics, readonly places, narrow overflow, imported producers/provenance, cached nominal results and repeatable compilation work through interpreter/native execution. field validation/construction shares the type-control bound. type-record procedure inputs/results are covered below; runtime type-valued records, partial record initialization, metadata reflection and inline expansion remain open.
  • type-record procedure checkpoint: records/tuples containing type values cross compile-time procedure inputs/results, including nested arrays/records, aliases, defaults and dependent annotations. compile-time producers accept ordinary constant inputs; runtime generics accept erased $ metadata parameters. owned snapshots isolate argument/result copies, exact type/value leaves retain checked diagnostics, and normalized cache keys preserve nominal generated types. generated storage/defaults, imported producers/provenance, shared execution bounds and repeatable compilation work through interpreter/native execution. runtime metadata storage, partial record initialization, reflection and inline expansion remain open.
  • generated-record checkpoint: struct_type!(layout, names, types, defaults) builds ordinary records from constant fixed arrays or tuples with unique ASCII field names, concrete types and contextual optional defaults. literal heterogeneous collections, helper results and loop-filled producer arrays preserve exact types, owned defaults/copies and cached nominal identity through interpreter/native execution. .auto permits empty records; .c requires nonempty C-compatible fields and retains native field order/layout. malformed inputs, incomplete arrays, runtime dependencies, field/default validation, imported provenance, shared construction bounds and repeatable compilation retain diagnostics and isolation. metadata inspection, inline expansion, aggregate C calling conventions and storage-bearing defaults remain open.
  • inline-loop checkpoint: inline for expands constant integer ranges, fixed arrays (including type-valued arrays) and strings into separately checked runtime bodies through interpreter/native execution. exact immutable captures, usize collection indices, narrow inclusive maxima, selected conditional/tagged-match bodies, static break/continue tail pruning, nested inline/ordinary loops, runtime returns/errors and scoped cleanup retain ordinary semantics. empty loops skip body elaboration; runtime-dependent inputs/transfers, pointer captures, storage-bearing escapes and shared expansion bounds retain diagnostics. imported producers/provenance and repeatable compilation are verified. heterogeneous tuples and inline-match syntax are covered below; metadata iteration remains open.
  • heterogeneous inline-tuple checkpoint: inline for iterates constant tuples with exact per-field value/type captures and usize indices through interpreter/native execution. literal/helper/aliased tuples, erased generic inputs, nested tuple projections, generated storage, empty shapes, static exits, cleanup and aggregate copy isolation retain existing semantics. type-producing bodies borrow tuple places so later fields observe updates while saved copies remain isolated. runtime dependencies and storage-bearing escapes are rejected before iteration, including discarded captures and early exits; named records and ordinary tuple loops remain invalid. imported producers, nominal type leaves and repeatable compilation are verified. inline-match syntax is covered below; metadata collections remain open.
  • nominal inline-match checkpoint: final inline |tag|: enum arms and inline |payload[, tag]|: tagged-union arms expand remaining variants through interpreter/native execution. runtime subjects evaluate once; immutable static enum/tag captures specialize nested conditions, matches and generic calls while exact by-value scalar/aggregate/string/void payloads retain runtime semantics and copy isolation. statement/expression arms, ordinary loop/optional/match captures, scoped cleanup and return/break/continue work; type-producing bodies select generated storage and update outer type/value locals, including collection captures. invalid subjects/captures, redundant/nonfinal arms, ordinary pattern checks, imported provenance, shared expansion bounds and repeatable compilation retain diagnostics and ownership. composed error-set inline arms are covered below; pointer captures and metadata reflection remain open.
  • composed inline-match checkpoint: composed error sets expand remaining variants through interpreter/native execution, including nested/repeated/aliased enum, tagged-union and named struct members. all-void sets use one static tag capture; payload-bearing sets use exact immutable by-value payloads and optional static tags, including void members. catch captures, nested inline tag matches, generic calls, owned aggregate copies, deferred cleanup and error returns retain ordinary semantics. constant inputs and type-producing bodies select generated storage with cached nominal identity; struct variant names remain identifiers in generated constants rather than embedding declarations. invalid compositions/captures, narrow payload types, redundant arms, imported dependencies and repeatable compilation retain diagnostics and ownership. member discovery shares the type-control bound; pointer captures and metadata reflection remain open.
  • type-metadata reflection checkpoint: typeinfo!(T) uses the actual @std/meta ABI to classify supported types and expose array child/length, immediate distinct backing, record names/tuple/layout and enum/record fields through interpreter/native execution. readonly owned metadata collections retain exact nominal/type leaves, ordinal indices, composed enum identity, checked projections, by-value iteration/copies and compile-time procedure boundaries. ordinary/inline matches select runtime bodies; reflected fields drive field!, generics and generated storage/defaults. arity/type/import/ABI failures, match/capture validation, bounds, readonly updates, runtime escape rejection, imported provenance, shared construction bounds and repeatable compilation retain diagnostics and ownership. existing meta.EnumFieldStruct and enummap.EnumMap generated storage are verified without replacement library code; full enummap.init/get is covered below, while general type-valued execution and broader constant materialization remain open.
  • enum-map acceptance checkpoint: existing enummap.init/get run through interpreter/native execution with sparse/aliased/composed enum keys, absent entries and owned aggregate values. contextual .tag and aggregate arguments reuse key/value types inferred from rigid generated-map arguments; unresolved generics and rigid conflicts still diagnose. some! constructs exact, single-evaluation optional payloads and preserves nested present-null values through compile-time results, cache keys and generated defaults. concrete mutable runtime locals initialize from undefined, including nested record/array updates, pointer access and by-value copies; ordinary compile-time procedures materialize fully initialized storage and reject incomplete snapshots. native undefined storage is poison, not zeroed or per-leaf checked. get now explicitly returns null on lookup fallthrough, preserving the ordinary nonvoid return contract.
  • remaining gate: general type-valued compile-time execution, broader constant materialization (including untagged unions and storage-bearing values), plus full existing-library acceptance for ArrayList, hash maps, broader meta operations and io.print. required expression-valued control flow, compound updates, formatting parsing and imported C-binding support may interleave with later gates.
• remaining source constructs: expression-valued control flow and yield, compound updates and multiline strings. examples: source/parser/parse.hon, source/llvm/runtime.hon.
• standard-library milestone: compile/run a multi-package program exercising existing allocation and IO, including error cleanup; no replacement miniature standard library.
• native driver integration: required C ABI declarations, process.Init startup arguments/IO, actual CLI exit statuses, file loading, temporary files and spawning Clang. Honey-generated programs currently accept only parameterless main and print its result; Bro's bootstrap startup support is not Honey backend support.
• self-hosting proof: bootstrap-built Honey builds the production compiler (excluding test-only imports); that executable rebuilds the compiler; the rebuilt compiler passes representative interpreter/native examples and CLI/error scenarios without Bro at runtime.

the gates may require interleaving (notably allocation, errors and generics). extend checking, IR and native emission together; accepting syntax alone does not complete a gate. additional targets, a package registry, a replacement linker and interpreter execution of arbitrary FFI are not prerequisites.