hakorune/docs/archive/phases/phase-170-197/phase182-simple-loops-design.md

Phase 182-1: JsonParser Simple Loops Design Memo

Overview

Phase 182 implements three simple JsonParser loops using existing P2/P1 JoinIR patterns. This follows Phase 181's design investigation.

Target Loops (3)

1. _parse_number (P2 Break)

• Loop condition: p < s.length() (LoopParam only)
• Carriers: p, num_str (2 carriers)
• Control flow: break on digit_pos < 0
• Pattern: P2 Break
• JoinIR support: ✅ Existing P2 lowerer sufficient
• AST characteristics:
  • Single break point
  • No continue
  • No nested control flow
  • Carriers updated unconditionally before break check

2. _atoi (P2 Break)

• Loop condition: i < n (LoopParam + OuterLocal)
• Carriers: v, i (2 carriers)
• Control flow: break on ch < "0" || ch > "9" + pos < 0
• Pattern: P2 Break
• JoinIR support: ✅ Existing P2 lowerer sufficient
• AST characteristics:
  • Multiple break conditions (combined with OR)
  • No continue
  • No nested control flow
  • Carriers updated before and after break check

3. _match_literal (P1 Simple)

• Loop condition: i < len (LoopParam + OuterLocal)
• Carriers: i (1 carrier)
• Control flow: return (early exit)
• Pattern: P1 Simple
• JoinIR support: ✅ Existing P1 lowerer sufficient
• AST characteristics:
  • No break/continue
  • Early return instead
  • Single carrier increment
  • Simple conditional logic

Pipeline Integration Strategy

Existing Infrastructure (Reuse)

• PatternPipelineContext: Already handles P1/P2 detection
• build_pattern_context(): Existing logic sufficient
• P1 lowerer: lower_simple_while_minimal() ready
• P2 lowerer: lower_loop_with_break_minimal() ready
• LoopFeatures: Shape detection already identifies P1/P2

Minimal Additions Required

1. Routing whitelist: Ensure 3 functions are in JOINIR_TARGETS
2. LoopUpdateAnalyzer: May need to skip string-heavy operations (gradual enablement)
3. Tracing: Use NYASH_JOINIR_STRUCTURE_ONLY=1 for verification

NOT Required

• ❌ New pattern types
• ❌ New lowerer functions
• ❌ Special carrier handling
• ❌ Custom PHI generation

Verification Plan

Phase 182-2: Routing Check

# Verify functions are in whitelist
grep -E "(_parse_number|_atoi|_match_literal)" \
  src/mir/builder/control_flow/joinir/routing.rs

Phase 182-3: Pattern Detection Tracing

# Verify correct pattern routing
NYASH_JOINIR_STRUCTURE_ONLY=1 NYASH_JOINIR_DEBUG=1 \
  ./target/release/hakorune apps/selfhost-runtime/jsonparser.hako 2>&1 | \
  grep -E "(pattern|route|_parse_number|_atoi|_match)"

Expected output:

• _parse_number → [trace:pattern] route: Pattern2_Break MATCHED
• _atoi → [trace:pattern] route: Pattern2_Break MATCHED
• _match_literal → [trace:pattern] route: Pattern1_Minimal MATCHED
• No [joinir/freeze] errors

Phase 182-5: Representative Tests

Create 3 minimal test files:

1. local_tests/test_jsonparser_parse_number_min.hako - number parsing
2. local_tests/test_jsonparser_atoi_min.hako - string to integer
3. local_tests/test_jsonparser_match_literal_min.hako - literal matching

Success criteria:

• ✅ RC = 0 (normal exit)
• ✅ Output matches expected values
• ✅ No [joinir/freeze] errors
• ✅ Same results as Rust JsonParser

Implementation Notes

Design Principles

1. Fit into existing framework - Don't add special cases
2. Minimal additions - Only adjust filters if necessary
3. Gradual enablement - String operations can be phased in
4. Reuse pattern pipeline - PatternPipelineContext handles everything

Potential Issues

• String operations: May need LoopUpdateAnalyzer filtering
• Carrier complexity: P2 has 2 carriers, but existing code handles this
• Break conditions: Multiple conditions in _atoi, but OR combination is standard

Success Metrics

• All 3 loops route to correct patterns (P2/P1)
• No new special-case code required
• Tests pass with NYASH_JOINIR_CORE=1
• Performance comparable to existing patterns

Next Steps (Phase 183+)

• _parse_array (P4 Continue candidate)
• _parse_object (P4 Continue candidate)
• Complex nested loops (future phases)

References

• Phase 170: Loop header PHI design
• Phase 181: JsonParser loop analysis
• Pattern detection: src/mir/builder/control_flow/joinir/patterns/detection.rs
• P1/P2 lowerers: src/mir/builder/control_flow/joinir/patterns/pattern{1,2}_*.rs Status: Historical