// compiler-bugs.md — a running log of compiler issues surfaced // while implementing the Pong example (examples/pong.ne et al). // // Format, one entry per bug: // // ## #N — one-line title // // **Status**: OPEN / WORKED-AROUND / FIXED // **Phase**: lexer / parser / analyzer / ir / optimizer / codegen / linker / runtime / asset // **Surfaced in**: examples/pong/.ne (brief context) // // ### Reproducer // ```ne // ... minimal .ne snippet that triggers the bad behaviour ... // ``` // // ### Expected vs actual // What the user-visible behaviour should be; what the compiler actually does. // // ### Workaround (if applied) // The current shape of the code in examples/pong/ that avoids the bug, // and exactly what should be reverted once the fix lands. Every workaround // in examples/pong/ MUST be tagged with `// BUG: compiler-bugs.md #N` so // grep -r "BUG: compiler-bugs.md" finds every reverible workaround in one pass. // // ### Guess at the fix // Which source file(s) and what kind of change is likely needed. Doesn't // have to be right — it's a hint for the compiler-bug cleanup milestone. // // --- (no bugs logged yet — pong development just started) --- ## #1 — inline `asm { {param} }` resolves to an address nothing writes to **Status**: FIXED in `src/codegen/ir_codegen.rs::IrCodeGen::new` (the codegen now reads each function-local's address out of the analyzer's `VarAllocation` table instead of minting its own parallel `$0300+` range). The workaround in `examples/sha256/sha_core.ne` — reading parameters directly from the `$04`/`$05` transport slots — has been reverted in the same commit. **Phase**: codegen (prologue spill vs. inline-asm resolver disagree on local addresses) **Surfaced in**: `examples/sha256/sha_core.ne` — the 20-odd 32-bit byte primitives (`cp_wk`, `xor_wk`, `add_wk`, `rotr1_wk`, `add_wk_to_h`, `add_k_to_wk`, …) all pass `dst` / `src` / `w_ofs` / `h_ofs` / `k_ofs` as parameters and want to use them inside `LDX {dst}` / `LDY {src}` / `LDA {wk},X`. ### Reproducer ```ne game "Param Bug" { mapper: NROM } var sink: u8 = 0 fun echo(value: u8) { asm { LDA {value} STA {sink} } } on frame { echo(0x42) if sink == 0x42 { draw Smiley at: (120, 120) // should draw — doesn't } } start Main ``` `sink` is `0x00` every frame no matter what `echo` is called with. `{value}` resolves to a zero-page slot that nothing in the generated program ever writes to. ### Expected vs actual **Expected** — the `asm { LDA {value} }` inside `echo` should load the caller's argument. `sink` should become `0x42` after `echo(0x42)` runs. **Actual** — the function prologue reads `$04` (the parameter transport slot) and spills it to one absolute address; the inline `{value}` substitution resolves `value` to a different zero-page address; nothing ever writes the spilled value to that zero-page slot, so `LDA {value}` always loads whatever the RAM clear left there (`0x00`). A minimal `--asm-dump` shows the disagreement directly. For a `fun cp_wk(dst: u8, src: u8) { asm { LDX {dst}; ... } }`: ``` __ir_fn_cp_wk: LDA ZeroPage(4) STA Absolute(1464) ; $05B8 — codegen's address for `dst` LDA ZeroPage(5) STA Absolute(1465) ; $05B9 — codegen's address for `src` __ir_blk_fn_cp_wk_entry_1: LDX ZeroPage(39) ; $27 — analyzer's address for `dst` LDY ZeroPage(40) ; $28 — analyzer's address for `src` LDA AbsoluteY(1360) ; wk,Y STA AbsoluteX(1360) ... ``` `$05B8` / `$05B9` are the codegen's spill destinations for the function's locals. `$27` / `$28` are the analyzer's allocations for the same two parameter names. Nothing copies `$05B8` → `$27`, so the `LDX ZeroPage(39)` above always reads `0`. `--memory-map` confirms the analyzer thinks the parameters live in zero page: ``` $0027 [USER] __local__cp_wk__dst (u8) $0028 [USER] __local__cp_wk__src (u8) ``` while `--asm-dump` shows the codegen's prologue writing them to `$05B8` / `$05B9`. ### Root cause Two independently-populated address maps disagree on where every function-local lives: - `src/analyzer/mod.rs::register_const` (for const decls) and the equivalent path for function parameters call `allocate_ram(size, span)`, which allocates from zero page and pushes a `VarAllocation { name: "__local__cp_wk__dst", address: 0x0027, size: 1 }` onto `self.var_allocations`. This is the table `substitute_asm_vars` consults to resolve `{name}` inside `asm { ... }` blocks. - `src/codegen/ir_codegen.rs::Emitter::new` (around line 255) **overwrites** every local's address in its own `var_addrs` map: ```rust let mut local_ram_next: u16 = 0x0300; // ... (skip past globals) ... for func in &ir.functions { for local in &func.locals { var_addrs.insert(local.var_id, local_ram_next); var_sizes.insert(local.var_id, local.size); local_ram_next += local.size.max(1); } } ``` `local_ram_next` grows linearly from `0x0300` upward, past every other local in every other function. NEScript code generated afterwards — assignments, reads, arithmetic, the function's parameter spill prologue at `gen_function` — all consult `var_addrs` and therefore use the `$05B8`-ish codegen address. The comment on that block explains that the override is deliberate (so nested calls don't trash the caller's params when they overwrite `$04-$07`), but it stops tracking the analyzer's allocation entirely, so anyone else who still uses the analyzer's allocations (= the inline-asm resolver) sees a stale address. - `src/codegen/ir_codegen.rs::substitute_asm_vars` (line 1371): ```rust self.allocations .iter() .find(|a| a.name == qualified) .map(|a| a.address) ``` `self.allocations` is the `&[VarAllocation]` from the analyzer. That's the stale table — it still says `dst` is at `$27`. ### Blast radius Silently wrong for every `fun` (regular or state-handler helper) that references a parameter or a function-local `var` inside an inline `asm { ... }` block. Globals and state-scoped (non- function) locals are unaffected because the analyzer and codegen agree on their addresses through `allocations`. The bug hides itself well because the asm reads a zero-page slot that's always `0` (the RAM clear zeros it, and nothing else writes there) — most programs just produce a wrong result rather than crashing. `examples/inline_asm_demo.ne` is also affected but its output looks plausibly animated anyway: ```ne fun times_four(input: u8) -> u8 { var result: u8 = input asm { LDA {result} ; reads stale $14 (= 0), not $0301 ASL A ASL A STA {result} ; writes 0 << 2 = 0 to $14 } return result ; returns the $0301 copy of `input`, unchanged } ``` So `times_four(x)` actually returns `x`, not `x * 4`. The committed golden for that example reflects the bug rather than the intended `×4` behaviour. ### How it was fixed Option (a) from the original writeup: `IrCodeGen::new` now looks each function-local's address up in the analyzer's `VarAllocation` table instead of minting a parallel `$0300+` range. The codegen and the inline-asm resolver consequently agree on every local's address, so `{dst}` / `{src}` / … inside `asm { ... }` blocks resolve to the same slot the NEScript-level code reads and writes. ```rust // Was: let mut local_ram_next: u16 = 0x0300; // ... for func in &ir.functions { for local in &func.locals { var_addrs.insert(local.var_id, local_ram_next); var_sizes.insert(local.var_id, local.size); local_ram_next += local.size.max(1); } } // Is now: for func in &ir.functions { let scope = scope_prefix_for_fn(&func.name); for local in &func.locals { let qualified = format!("__local__{scope}__{}", local.name); if let Some(alloc) = allocations.iter().find(|a| a.name == qualified) { var_addrs.insert(local.var_id, alloc.address); var_sizes.insert(local.var_id, alloc.size); } } } ``` The same commit: - factors the "function name → analyzer scope prefix" mapping (`_frame` / `_enter` / `_exit` / `_scanline_N` / bare name) into a `scope_prefix_for_fn(&str) -> String` helper and reuses it in `gen_function` so the two sites can't drift; - updates `gen_function_prologue_spills_params_to_local_ram` (the regression test originally guarding the War-era param clobbering bug) to assert the spill's destination is *any* address outside `$04-$07`, not specifically `$0300+`. The invariant that matters is "separate from the transport slots", which holds for the analyzer's zero-page allocations too; - reverts the `LDX $04` / `LDY $05` workaround across every primitive in `examples/sha256/sha_core.ne` back to the intended `LDX {dst}` / `LDY {src}` substitution form, and drops the "Parameter convention" note from the top of the file; - regenerates `tests/emulator/goldens/inline_asm_demo.png`: that example's `times_four` previously returned its input verbatim (the inline asm operated on an unrelated zero-page byte that was always `0`), so the golden's smiley position drifted by exactly the expected `x * 4 mod 256` delta at frame 180. Verified after the fix: - `cargo test --all-targets` — 616 + 3 + 75 tests pass on both rustc 1.94.1 and 1.95.0. - `cargo clippy --all-targets -- -D warnings` clean on both. - Full emulator harness — 34/34 ROMs match their goldens (only `inline_asm_demo.png` changed, and the new capture reflects the corrected `×4` behaviour). - The SHA-256 example still computes `AE9145DB…4E0D` for the auto-demo input `"NES"`, matching `shasum` byte-for-byte, with the inline-asm-pretty `{dst}` / `{src}` primitives. ---