The self-hosted driver now has the everyday commands. -g (debug info), --target
(Windows, ARM64, macOS) and lsp are still only in the C++ compiler, and say so.
C structs travel as C passes them: up to 16 bytes in INTEGER/SSE registers per eightbyte,
bigger ones byval and through sret, out-of-registers structs on the stack. addr(fn) makes a
C-callable thunk that rebuilds the arguments. With those, the self-hosted compiler can
compile boot/cimport.fch, which calls libclang with CXCursor and CXString by value and gives
it callbacks -- so it compiles itself.
boot.sh: stage 2 and stage 3 are identical (57904 lines of IR); 22 passed, 0 failed,
0 skipped. Only x86-64 System V so far; Windows and ARM64 conventions are still in C++.
The self-hosted compiler reads headers with boot/cimport.fch and compiles calls to C
functions (variadics, char* as str, C's default promotions), enum and #define
constants, extern variables like stdout, C structs laid out as C laid them (padding
and fixed arrays, by pointer), .ptr of a str or array, ptr(x) and int(ptr). link
"lib" asks pkg-config, link "x.c" compiles the file along.
cimport and c_pointers pass. Not yet: structs by value (the calling convention) and
addr(fn) for C callbacks, which is also what stops it building itself.
boot.sh now says so when stage 2 can't be made and runs the tests on stage 1.
Reads functions (with variadics and why one is unsupported), enum and #define
constants, extern variables and structs with their layout, the same as
src/cimport.cpp. It calls libclang through Finch's own C import, so compiling
it is what the bootstrap will have to do. Checked with the C++ compiler:
stdio.h gives 90 functions and 347 constants; EOF is -1, stdout is ptr[C.FILE].
map[K]V, [:] and ["a": 1] literals, m[k] reads and writes (m[k] += 1 starts from
zero), has/get/remove/clear/keys/values, .len, copy and printing, and a loop over
a map that stops with an error when it adds keys. for i, x in list gives the
index too.
boot.sh: 17 passed, 0 failed, 5 skipped (all five import C).
A function that can fail returns { ok, value, message }. return error(...) makes
the failure; try passes it on after running the defers; 'or <value>' and
'or { ... err ... }' handle it. int(text), float(text), read_file, write_file
and delete_file report failure to an enclosing or/try instead of stopping the
program. fn main() -> ! prints the error and exits with 1.
boot.sh: 15 passed, 0 failed, 7 skipped.
defer runs when its scope ends and before return, break and continue leave it,
newest first, and sees only the variables declared before it. Not allowed
inside a defer: defer, return, break, continue.
boot.sh: 14 passed, 0 failed, 8 skipped.
Methods are functions whose first parameter is the receiver's address; a method
that changes self can't be called on a temporary or a read-only value, and
calling one on a variable keeps a parameter from being borrowed. An argument
that lives inside the receiver is copied (c.merge(c)). str(x) and print of
arrays and structs go through one formatter, as in the C++ compiler.
boot.sh: 12 passed, 0 failed, 10 skipped.
The self-hosted compiler now has the numeric types the C++ one has: int and
float stay the i64 and f64 defaults, the others lower to their LLVM sizes;
literals adapt to the other operand if they fit, smaller types widen into
bigger ones, signed and unsigned mixing is refused, division and shifts and
comparisons pick their signedness, and u8(x), f32(x), bool(x) convert.
boot.sh: 11 passed, 0 failed, 10 skipped (was 9 / 12).
- examples/opengl.fch: OpenGL 3.3 core, shaders, VAO/VBO, a spinning triangle (checked offscreen)
- examples/vulkan.fch: instance, GPUs with properties/memory/queues, logical device and queue
- ptr(n) and int(p) conversions for C APIs that pass offsets as pointers
- .ptr works on string literals; a comma after the last call argument is allowed
- a missing header included by an imported header is now named in the error
- the old .fn extension hint is gone (Finch is new, there are no old files)
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
.fn is already used by other tools (e.g. Fennel). Modules are now looked up as name.fch;
a leftover name.fn gets a clear message telling you to rename it.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
boot/ is a second Finch compiler written in Finch (lexer, parser, type checker and
an LLVM IR text generator, ~3k lines). Built by the C++ compiler it compiles itself;
stage 2 and stage 3 produce byte-identical IR. It covers the core language: functions,
structs, arrays, str, pointers, loops and modules (no C imports, sized numbers or defer),
copies values like the main compiler and leaves freeing memory to the operating system.
tests/boot.sh checks the fixpoint and runs the test programs it supports.
Also: shell(cmd) built-in.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
