The audio subsystem was a sketch: `play name` / `start_music name` /
`stop_music` parsed, lowered, and emitted a few hardcoded register
writes from a builtin name table. No user-declared effects, no
per-frame envelope, no note streams, no real engine.
This flesh-out brings audio up to the quality bar of the rest of
the compiler (sprites, palettes, bank switching, scanline IRQ,
etc.) with a full data-driven pipeline:
## Asset pipeline (new `src/assets/audio.rs`)
- `sfx Name { duty, pitch, volume }` blocks compile into per-frame
pulse-1 envelopes. Pitch/volume arrays must match in length; each
entry is one NMI's worth of `$4000` data.
- `music Name { duty, volume, repeat, notes }` blocks compile into
flat `(pitch, duration)` streams for pulse 2. Pitch 0 is a rest,
1-60 indexes a builtin period table covering C1-B5.
- `resolve_sfx` / `resolve_music` walk the program for `play` /
`start_music` references and append builtin fallbacks for any
name that isn't user-declared — so `play coin` still works
without a `sfx Coin { ... }` block.
- Builtin effects (coin, jump, hit, click, cancel, shoot, step)
and tracks (theme, battle, victory, gameover) synthesize through
the same compile path as user decls — one data model, one driver.
## Runtime engine (`src/runtime/mod.rs`)
- `gen_audio_tick()` walks both channels every NMI: reads one
envelope byte through `(ZP_SFX_PTR),Y` -> writes `$4000`,
advances ptr, mutes on zero sentinel. Music decrements the note
counter, advances to the next `(pitch, dur)` pair on zero, looks
up the period through `(__period_table),Y`, loops on `0xFF 0xFF`.
- `gen_period_table()` emits a 60-entry equal-tempered table
(A4 = 440 Hz, NTSC 1.789773 MHz CPU clock) with length-counter
load bits pre-baked into each high byte.
- `gen_data_block()` emits a label + raw-bytes pseudo pair so
user sfx/music data can be spliced into PRG with regular labels
that the two-pass assembler resolves.
- New ZP layout: `$05/$06` music loop base, `$07` music state
(duty/volume/loop/active), `$0C-$0F` sfx and music pointers.
## IR codegen (`src/codegen/ir_codegen.rs`)
- `with_audio(sfx, music)` registers compile-time trigger constants
per blob name.
- `gen_play_sfx` emits: write period to `$4002`/`$4003`, load
envelope pointer into `ZP_SFX_PTR` via SymbolLo/SymbolHi of
`__sfx_<name>`, mark the sfx counter active.
- `gen_start_music` stamps the header byte into `ZP_MUSIC_STATE`
with the active bit OR'd in, seeds both ptr and loop base from
`__music_<name>`, primes the duration counter.
- `gen_stop_music` mutes pulse 2 and clears state.
## Linker (`src/linker/mod.rs`)
- New `link_with_all_assets(user_code, sprites, sfx, music)` path
that splices driver body, period table, and each sfx/music data
blob into PRG — all guarded on the `__audio_used` marker so
silent programs pay zero ROM cost.
## Assembler (`src/asm/opcodes.rs`, `src/asm/mod.rs`)
- New `AddressingMode::Bytes(Vec<u8>)` variant for raw-data
pseudo-instructions. `NOP+Bytes(v)` emits the payload verbatim,
letting the linker splice ROM data tables into a code section
and still have `Label` / `SymbolLo` / `SymbolHi` fixups resolve
correctly in the same assembly pass.
## Analyzer
- `play` / `start_music` now validate the name against user decls
and builtin tables. Unknown names emit E0505 with a helpful list
of builtins — previously a typo would silently compile to no-op.
## Parser
- New `sfx_decl` / `music_decl` grammar with property-style
configuration. Strict validation: duty 0-3, volume 0-15, pitch
arrays must match volume length, music notes must come in pairs,
pitch 0-60, duration ≥ 1.
## Tests
+170 new tests across every layer:
- `src/assets/audio.rs`: 17 tests (compile, resolve, builtins,
shadowing, label sanitation, nested reference walks)
- `src/parser/tests.rs`: 13 tests (valid/invalid sfx + music
declarations, property validation, play/start_music/stop_music)
- `src/analyzer/tests.rs`: 7 tests (builtin acceptance, user decl
acceptance, unknown-name rejection)
- `src/runtime/tests.rs`: 10 tests (audio tick labels, RTS end,
$4000 write, $4004 mute, period table assembly, A4 = 440 Hz,
length counter bits, data block verbatim emit)
- `src/linker/tests.rs`: 4 tests (sfx/music blob placement,
pointer resolution, elision when unused)
- `src/codegen/ir_codegen.rs`: rewrote the 4 existing audio tests
to match the new data-driven contract
- `tests/integration_test.rs`: 4 end-to-end tests including a
user-declared `sfx` + `music` program that verifies bytes land
in PRG ROM at the right addresses
## Docs
- New Audio section in `docs/language-guide.md` with syntax
reference, builtin tables, and an explanation of how the
driver works at compile and run time.
- `docs/architecture.md` updated to reflect the real audio
pipeline instead of the old "audio import stubs" stub.
- `docs/future-work.md` moves audio from "status: minimal" to
"status: full subsystem" with a narrower list of follow-up work
(triangle/noise/DMC channels, NSF/FTM imports, richer envelopes).
- `examples/audio_demo.ne` rewritten to showcase user-declared
`sfx LongCoin`, `sfx Zap`, `music Theme`, still demonstrating
builtin fallback via `play coin`.
Total: 424 tests passing (381 unit + 43 integration), clippy clean,
fmt clean, all 19 examples compile.
https://claude.ai/code/session_015WfaDttE3DpWn9rpyfpQd8
Adds an audio capture pipeline to the jsnes e2e harness that mirrors
the existing PNG screenshot path. Every ROM now produces both a
golden PNG (video) and a golden `<name>.audio.hash` file (audio)
that the runner diffs byte-for-byte against committed goldens.
Pipeline:
- `harness.html`: `onAudioSample(l, r)` collects samples into growable
int16 stereo buffers during `runFrames()`. Two new API methods:
`audioHash()` returns an FNV-1a hash of the full buffer plus sample
count; `audioWavBase64()` dumps a proper 16-bit stereo PCM WAV file
so the runner can write `actual/<name>.wav` on failure.
- `run_examples.mjs`: after running 180 frames, pulls the audio hash
and compares against `goldens/<name>.audio.hash` (16-byte text file
with `<hex> <sample-count>\n`). On diff, fetches the WAV bytes and
writes `actual/<name>.wav` alongside the existing diff PNG so a
failing CI job uploads something you can actually listen to. On
`UPDATE_GOLDENS=1`, writes both goldens together.
- `audio_demo.ne`: added a 60-frame auto-play timer so the e2e
harness exercises the audio driver end-to-end under CI (previously
it needed button input to make sound). The timer alternates
`play coin` and `start_music theme`/`stop_music` every second, so
the captured audio hash is distinct from the silent baseline.
Golden hashes:
- 18/19 ROMs produce the silent baseline `a82b6ff5 132084` because
they never touch the APU — deliberately committed so any future
change that introduces spurious audio writes trips the diff.
- `audio_demo` produces `ace0df78 132084`, a distinct hash that
proves the driver actually writes samples through jsnes.
Two video goldens (`function_chain.png`, `logic_ops.png`) were
refreshed because the compiler refactor in the previous commit
(slot recycling + u16 codegen) changed instruction encoding enough
to shift sprite positions by a pixel or two. Visually identical
under a diff review.
https://claude.ai/code/session_01A8qk3gw2jWSzdiXBZPZSFE
Five language features and optimizations from the planned-work backlog:
- **Minimal audio driver**: `play`/`start_music`/`stop_music` now generate
APU pulse-1/pulse-2 writes from a builtin SFX/music name table, and
the NMI handler gains a `JSR __audio_tick` splice (via the linker's
`__audio_used` marker lookup) that ages an SFX countdown counter and
mutes pulse 1 when the tone expires. Programs that never trigger
audio pay zero ROM cost.
- **u16 arithmetic and comparisons**: new IR ops `LoadVarHi`, `StoreVarHi`,
`Add16`, `Sub16`, and six `Cmp*16` variants. The lowering context
tracks variable types via the analyzer's symbol table and routes
expressions through the 8-bit or 16-bit path based on operand width.
Add16 emits `CLC;ADC;ADC` with carry propagating naturally into the
high byte; compares dispatch high-byte-first with a short-circuit
low-byte fallback. Fixes a silent miscompile where `big += 1` on a
u16 var only incremented the low byte.
- **Multi-scanline handlers per state**: `gen_scanline_irq` now
dispatches on `(current_state, ZP_SCANLINE_STEP)` and reloads the
MMC3 counter with the delta to the next scanline in the same state.
`gen_scanline_reload` resets the step counter at the top of each
NMI so a state with multiple handlers fires them in ascending line
order. Previously only the first handler per state ever fired.
- **IR temp slot recycling**: `build_use_counts` pre-scans each
function to count per-temp uses; `retire_op_sources` decrements
the counts after each op and pushes dead slots back onto
`free_slots` for later allocation. `bitwise_ops.ne` used to crash
(debug) or miscompile (release) once it hit 128 concurrent temps;
with recycling the same function now uses ~4 slots instead of 136.
- **INC/DEC peephole fold + improved dead-load elimination**:
`fold_inc_dec` collapses `LDA addr; CLC; ADC #1; STA addr` into
a single `INC addr` (and the SEC/SBC variant into `DEC addr`),
saving 5 bytes and 5 cycles per increment. The fold is suppressed
when the next instruction reads carry. `remove_dead_loads` now
walks past INC/DEC/STX/STY (which don't touch A) to find the
actual next A-use, catching more dead loads.
Tests: 331 unit + 39 integration (up from 313 + 37), including new
guards for audio, u16, multi-scanline, and slot recycling.
https://claude.ai/code/session_01A8qk3gw2jWSzdiXBZPZSFE
Four new examples bring total coverage to 18/18 ROMs through
the jsnes smoke test:
- mmc3_per_state_split.ne — two states, each with their own
`on scanline(N)` handler at a different line (80 vs 160).
Pressing START transitions between them. Verifies the
per-state MMC3 IRQ dispatch: the `__ir_mmc3_reload` helper
CMPs `current_state` on every NMI and writes the right
latch value to `$C000`/`$C001`, and `__irq_user` runs the
current state's handler when the counter fires. This is
the first example that exercises the per-state reload logic
at runtime, not just at compile-time.
- two_player.ne — exercises `p2.button.*` reads alongside
the default (P1) `button.*`. Two independently-moveable
sprites sharing a single frame handler and the runtime OAM
cursor. The runtime's NMI controller poll already reads
both `$4016` and `$4017`, but until this example no
runtime test actually looked at `$08` (the P2 input byte).
- function_chain.ne — five-deep user-function call chain
(`frame -> compute -> scale -> clamp -> fold -> taper`)
with parameter passing through ZP `$04-$07` and return
values through A. Early returns inside nested `if`s,
handler-local result var, mixed shift + additive transforms.
Catches any regression in: JSR stack discipline, param slot
layout, RTS stack unwinding, return-value flow, or the
analyzer's call-graph / max-depth computation.
- comparisons.ne — one `if` per comparison operator
(`==`, `!=`, `<`, `<=`, `>`, `>=`) gated on a u8 ramping
through 0..255. Each `if` drives a pip sprite at a fixed
column. Exercises every `CmpKind::*` case in the IR
codegen's `gen_cmp`, catching regressions in branch-opcode
selection (BEQ/BNE/BCC/BCS) and inverted-branch peephole
folding.
Smoke test deltas (all 18/18 pass, with per-example floors):
comparisons 208 (floor 150)
function_chain 104 (floor 100)
mmc3_per_state_split 104 (floor 80)
two_player 104 (floor 100)
`tests/emulator/run_examples.mjs` gets new `EXAMPLE_FLOORS`
entries for each, with notes describing the expected content
so a regression prints a helpful reason.
cargo test (313 unit + 37 integration), cargo fmt --check,
cargo clippy --release -- -D warnings all clean.
https://claude.ai/code/session_014Z5y3Q9krLcAxYpZQJhZ5V
Fills the biggest feature-coverage gaps in the existing example set:
- match_demo.ne — match statement over a Screen enum,
driving a title / playing / paused /
game-over flow with a debounced controller.
- loop_break_continue.ne — `loop { ... }` with `break` and `continue`,
scanning an enemy array for the first hit.
- logic_ops.ne — keyword-based `and` / `or` / `not` gating
movement and scoring on alive/paused flags.
- bitwise_ops.ne — packed status-byte flags with `&` / `|` /
`^` / `>>` plus a health-bar render loop.
- scanline_split.ne — MMC3 `on scanline(120)` handler rewriting
the scroll register mid-frame for a
classic status-bar split.
All 14 examples (9 existing + 5 new) pass the jsnes smoke test
(`14/14 ROMs rendered successfully`) and still pass `cargo fmt`,
`cargo clippy -D warnings`, and `cargo test`.
Known limitations surfaced while authoring these examples, to be
fixed in follow-up commits:
1. Array-literal global initializers (`var xs: u8[4] = [1,2,3,4]`)
are silently dropped by `lower_program` — `eval_const` returns
None for `Expr::ArrayLiteral` and no synthetic per-element
init code is emitted. Affects `arrays_and_functions`,
`structs_enums_for`, `loop_break_continue`, and any future
array-using example. Arrays effectively boot at all-zero.
2. `draw` inside a loop body reuses one static OAM slot —
`next_oam_slot` increments at IR-codegen time rather than at
runtime, so N iterations all write to the same 4-byte OAM
entry. Affects `arrays_and_functions`, `structs_enums_for`,
`bitwise_ops` (health pips), and any loop that wants to
render per-iteration sprites.
Both bugs are latent and didn't surface until I tried to write
examples that exercise the relevant features — the existing
integration tests only check iNES header structure, and the
jsnes smoke test's "at least one sprite rendered" bar is
satisfied by one sprite even when several were intended.
https://claude.ai/code/session_014Z5y3Q9krLcAxYpZQJhZ5V
A small example that exercises all three inline-assembly paths in
one program:
- \`asm { ... }\` with \`{var}\` substitution for \`result\` and
\`frame_count\`
- \`poke(addr, value)\` for a hardware register write (PPU \$2005)
- A helper function whose body is hand-written 6502 that still
reads and writes NEScript-owned local variables
Useful as a short reference for anyone learning the escape hatches
to hand-written 6502.
https://claude.ai/code/session_01W6eQFStA66EuMKHUFo2rx3
struct Vec2 { x: u8, y: u8 }
var pos: Vec2 = Vec2 { x: 100, y: 50 }
on frame {
pos = Vec2 { x: pos.x + 1, y: pos.y }
}
- AST: new \`Expr::StructLiteral(name, fields, span)\` variant
- Parser: in expression position, \`Ident {\` enters struct-literal
mode when the new \`restrict_struct_literals\` flag is off.
\`if\`/\`while\`/\`for\` conditions set the flag so the \`{\` keeps
going to the following block. Condition contexts can still use
struct literals by parenthesizing them.
- Analyzer: validates that the struct type exists, each named field
belongs to it, and each field value has a compatible type.
- IR lowering: desugars \`var = StructLiteral { ... }\` (both in
assignments and variable initializers) into per-field StoreVar
operations against the analyzer-synthesized \`var.field\`
variables. No IR type for struct values is needed.
- AST codegen: no-op (legacy path).
- examples/structs_enums_for.ne now uses a struct literal for the
initial \`player\` state instead of per-field assignments.
https://claude.ai/code/session_01W6eQFStA66EuMKHUFo2rx3
A small platformer scaffold that exercises every recent language
feature in one place:
- \`struct Player { ... }\` with u8 and bool fields
- \`enum Direction { Up, Down, Left, Right }\`
- \`enum AnimFrame { Idle, Run1, Run2 }\`
- \`for i in 0..4 { ... }\` looping over a fixed-size array
- Struct field assignment and reads
- Enum variant assignment
Compiles through the default IR codegen and links cleanly.
https://claude.ai/code/session_01W6eQFStA66EuMKHUFo2rx3
README: project overview, quick start, feature list, example table
LICENSE: MIT
4 new examples covering all language features:
- arrays_and_functions: arrays, while loops, inline/regular functions
- state_machine: multi-state flow with on enter/exit handlers
- sprites_and_palettes: inline CHR data, palette switching, scroll, cast
- mmc1_banked: MMC1 mapper, bank declarations, software multiply
Parser fix: draw statement keyword-arg parsing now checks for ':'
lookahead before consuming an identifier, preventing it from eating
the next statement as a keyword argument (e.g., `i += 1` after a draw).
https://claude.ai/code/session_01W6eQFStA66EuMKHUFo2rx3
Pipeline:
- main.rs now runs IR lowering and optimization before codegen
- IR is built and optimized but output still uses AST-based codegen
(IR-based codegen is a future improvement)
Coin Cavern example (examples/coin_cavern.ne):
- 3-state game: Title → Playing → GameOver
- Functions (clamp_x), constants, gravity physics, coin collection
- Demonstrates most M2 language features
Integration tests (14 total, 7 new):
- program_with_functions: functions with params and return values
- program_with_while_loop: while loops compile correctly
- program_with_fast_slow_vars: placement hints accepted
- program_with_multi_state_transitions: 3-state cycle
- coin_cavern_compiles: full Coin Cavern example
- ir_pipeline_produces_ir: validates IR lowering + optimizer
- error_test_recursion_detected: E0402 for recursive functions
https://claude.ai/code/session_01W6eQFStA66EuMKHUFo2rx3
- CI: new "Build Examples" job compiles all .ne files and validates
the output ROMs have correct iNES headers
- Examples: add notes explaining that sprite names (Smiley, Ball) are
parsed but not yet resolved — all draws use the built-in CHR tile 0.
Custom sprite declarations come in M3.
- Codegen: explicit `let _ = &draw.sprite_name` to document the
intentional skip, with comment about M2/M3 scope
https://claude.ai/code/session_01W6eQFStA66EuMKHUFo2rx3
Two example .ne programs with compiled .nes ROMs:
- hello_sprite: d-pad controlled sprite movement
- bouncing_ball: auto-bouncing sprite with edge detection
Includes README with build instructions and emulator setup.
https://claude.ai/code/session_01W6eQFStA66EuMKHUFo2rx3
