hakorune/docs/reference/language/using.md

using — Imports and Namespaces (Phase 15+)

Status: Accepted (Runner‑side resolution). Selfhost parser accepts using as no‑op and attaches meta.usings for future use.

Policy

• Accept using lines at the top of the file to declare module namespaces or file imports.
• Resolution is performed by the Rust Runner when NYASH_ENABLE_USING=1.
  • Runner strips using lines from the source before parsing/execution.
  • Registers modules into an internal registry for path/namespace hints.
• Selfhost compiler (Ny→JSON v0) collects using lines and emits meta.usings when present. The bridge currently ignores this meta field.

Namespace Resolution (Runner‑side)

• Goal: keep IR/VM/JIT untouched. All resolution happens in Runner/Registry.
• Default search order (3 stages, deterministic):
  1. Local/Core Boxes (nyrt)
  2. Aliases (nyash.toml [imports] / needs … as …)
  3. Plugins (short name if unique, otherwise qualified pluginName.BoxName)
• On ambiguity: error with candidates and remediation (qualify or define alias).
• Modes:
  • Relaxed (default): short names allowed when unique.
  • Strict: require plugin prefix (env NYASH_PLUGIN_REQUIRE_PREFIX=1 or nyash.toml [plugins] require_prefix=true).
• Aliases:
  • nyash.toml [imports] HttpClient = "network.HttpClient"
  • needs sugar: needs plugin.network.HttpClient as HttpClient (file‑scoped alias)

Plugins

• Unified namespace with Boxes. Prefer short names when unique.
• Qualified form: network.HttpClient
• Per‑plugin control (nyash.toml): prefix, require_prefix, expose_short_names

needs sugar (optional)

• Treated as a synonym to using on the Runner side; registers aliases only.
• Examples: needs utils.StringHelper, needs plugin.network.HttpClient as HttpClient, needs plugin.network.*

nyash.toml keys (MVP)

• [imports]/[aliases]: short name → fully qualified
• [plugins.<name>]: path, prefix, require_prefix, expose_short_names

Index and Cache (Runner)

• Build a Box index once per run to make resolution fast and predictable:

struct BoxIndex {
    local_boxes: HashMap<String, PathBuf>,
    plugin_boxes: HashMap<String, Vec<PluginBox>>,
    aliases: HashMap<String, String>,
}

• Maintain a small resolve cache per thread:

thread_local! {
    static RESOLVE_CACHE: RefCell<HashMap<String, ResolvedBox>> = /* ... */;
}

• Trace: NYASH_RESOLVE_TRACE=1 prints resolution steps (for debugging/CI logs).

Syntax

• Namespace: using core.std or using core.std as Std
• File path: using "apps/examples/string_p0.nyash" as Strings
• Relative path is allowed; absolute paths are discouraged.

Style

• Place all using lines at the top of the file, before any code.
• One using per line; avoid trailing semicolons. Newline separation is preferred.
• Order: sort alphabetically by target. Group namespaces before file paths.
• Prefer an explicit alias (as ...) when the target is long. Suggested alias style is PascalCase (e.g., Std, Json, UI).

Examples

using core.std as Std
using "apps/examples/string_p0.nyash" as Strings

static box Main {
  main(args) {
    local console = new ConsoleBox()
    console.println("hello")
    return 0
  }
}

Qualified/Plugins/Aliases examples

# nyash.toml
[plugins.network]
path = "plugins/network.so"
prefix = "network"
require_prefix = false

[imports]
HttpClient = "network.HttpClient"

# code
needs plugin.network.HttpClient as HttpClient

static box Main {
  main(args) {
    let a = new HttpClient()         # alias
    let b = new network.HttpClient() # qualified
  }
}

Runner Configuration

• Enable using pre‑processing: NYASH_ENABLE_USING=1
• Selfhost pipeline keeps child stdout quiet and extracts JSON only: NYASH_JSON_ONLY=1 (set by Runner automatically for child)
• Selfhost emits meta.usings automatically when present; no additional flags required.

Notes

• Phase 15 keeps resolution in the Runner to minimize parser complexity. Future phases may leverage meta.usings for compiler decisions.
• Unknown fields in the top‑level JSON (like meta) are ignored by the current bridge.