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nescript/examples/feature_canary.ne
Claude 0602fd9590
analyzer+codegen: lift the 4-param ceiling via a direct-write calling convention
Follow-up to the silent-drop audit. The old ABI passed every
parameter through four fixed zero-page transport slots `$04-$07`,
imposing a hard 4-param cap (E0506) that didn't compose with
structs/arrays/u16s and fell back to "pack args into a global"
workarounds whenever a function needed five things. The transport
scheme also cost every non-leaf call a 4-LDA/STA spill prologue
(~28 cycles, 16 bytes) to copy args out of ZP before the next
nested `JSR` could clobber them.

Replace it with a hybrid convention keyed on leaf-ness:

- **Leaf callees** (no nested `JSR` in body, ≤4 params):
  unchanged. Caller stages args into `$04-$07`; body reads those
  slots directly for its entire lifetime. No prologue copy.
  Fastest path, 3-cycle ZP stores + 3-cycle ZP loads, preserves
  the SHA-256 leaf-primitive optimisation that motivated the
  original fast path.

- **Non-leaf callees** (body contains a nested `JSR`, OR ≥5
  params): direct-write. Caller stages each argument straight
  into the callee's analyzer-allocated parameter RAM slot,
  bypassing the transport slots entirely. No prologue copy on
  the callee side. Saves ~24 cycles and ~16 bytes per call vs
  the old transport-then-spill path, and — crucially — scales
  past 4 params because the per-param slots live wherever the
  analyzer put them rather than in a fixed ZP window.

The analyzer's ceiling moves from 4 to 8. Functions with 5–8
params are silently promoted to the non-leaf convention (even if
their body has no nested `JSR`), which pays the direct-write cost
rather than the prologue-copy cost — still cheaper than the old
ABI. Declarations with 9+ params still emit E0506.

### Implementation

- `function_is_leaf` now also requires `param_count <= 4`.
- `IrCodeGen::new` populates `non_leaf_param_addrs: HashMap<String,
  Vec<u16>>` — for every non-leaf function, the ordered list of
  addresses its parameters occupy. Callers use this to route each
  arg directly to the right slot.
- `IrOp::Call` branches on presence in the map: non-leaf → direct-
  write, leaf (or absent — 0-arg case) → ZP transport.
- `gen_function` no longer emits a prologue. Leaves didn't have
  one; non-leaves had a 4-LDA/STA copy that is now unnecessary
  because args arrive pre-written to the slot.
- The previous `leaf_functions: HashSet<String>` field is
  removed; leaf-ness is now inferred from absence-in-
  `non_leaf_param_addrs` at the call site.

### Tests and regressions

- `eight_param_non_leaf_function_stages_every_arg_at_its_allocated_slot`
  compiles an 8-param function, scans PRG for a distinct
  `LDA #\$NN / STA <addr>` per arg (immediates `0x11..0x88`), and
  asserts that STAs to the `$04-$07` range are strictly fewer
  than 8 — proof the old transport path is gone for this call.
- `non_leaf_call_direct_writes_args_to_callee_param_slots`
  replaces the old `gen_function_prologue_spills_params_to_local_ram`
  test with a dual assertion: (a) no `LDA \$04` prologue at the
  callee entry, and (b) the caller-side STA lands at the
  analyzer-allocated param slot, not at `\$04-\$07`.
- `analyze_rejects_function_with_more_than_4_params` renamed and
  rewritten for the new 8-param cap.
- `feature_canary.ne` gains a 6-param `sum6` call (1+2+3+4+5+6 =
  21) as check 8. The canary stays green (all eight checks
  pass), so the committed golden is unchanged.

### Blast radius

- Six example ROMs change bytes (arrays_and_functions, function_chain,
  mmc1_banked, pong, sha256, war) because their non-leaf call sites
  pick up the shorter staging sequence.
- Pong and war audio hashes refresh (pure layout-timing shift; no
  behavioural change in the 180-frame no-input window). docs/pong.gif
  and docs/war.gif stay byte-identical.
- `examples/function_chain.ne`'s header comment updated to
  document the leaf vs non-leaf split it exercises.
- `docs/language-guide.md` parameter-count section and E0506 entry
  updated to reflect the new rule.

All 720 Rust tests pass; all 35 emulator goldens pass.

https://claude.ai/code/session_01AoQ678uVeqpyayvWHpfDhC
2026-04-18 02:34:56 +00:00

165 lines
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// Feature canary — a round-trip smoke test for memory-affecting
// language features. Every check writes a distinctive constant
// through one language construct, then reads it back and compares
// against the written value. A pass leaves the universal palette
// green; any failure flips it to red.
//
// The goal is a single emulator golden that captures the green-
// backdrop "all features round-trip correctly" state at frame 180.
// If any of the following bugs reappear, the canary turns red and
// `tests/emulator/goldens/feature_canary.png` no longer matches:
//
// - PR #31 (state-local variable writes silently dropped)
// - Uninitialized struct-field writes silently dropped (caught
// while hardening `var_addrs` in this audit)
// - `slow` placement ignored (cold var still lands in ZP)
// - u16 high byte not stored
// - Array-element write silently dropped
// - Function return value dropped
//
// Every check cascades into `all_ok` (cleared to 0 on first
// failure), so the final set_palette call picks Pass/Fail from
// one flag. We deliberately do not use `debug.assert` because
// `--debug` builds strip nothing; the palette swap works in
// release and that's what the emulator harness runs.
//
// Build: cargo run -- build examples/feature_canary.ne
game "Feature Canary" { mapper: NROM }
// ── Palettes ────────────────────────────────────────────────
//
// Pass = all-green backdrop; Fail = all-red. The canary starts
// in Pass; if any round-trip check mismatches, `set_palette Fail`
// flips the entire screen red for the rest of the run.
palette Pass {
universal: green
bg0: [dk_green, lt_green, white]
bg1: [dk_green, lt_green, white]
bg2: [dk_green, lt_green, white]
bg3: [dk_green, lt_green, white]
sp0: [black, black, black]
sp1: [black, black, black]
sp2: [black, black, black]
sp3: [black, black, black]
}
palette Fail {
universal: red
bg0: [dk_red, lt_red, white]
bg1: [dk_red, lt_red, white]
bg2: [dk_red, lt_red, white]
bg3: [dk_red, lt_red, white]
sp0: [black, black, black]
sp1: [black, black, black]
sp2: [black, black, black]
sp3: [black, black, black]
}
// ── Types and storage ──────────────────────────────────────
struct Vec2 { x: u8, y: u8 }
// Uninitialized struct global — this is the shape that was
// silently dropping field writes before the `var_addrs` fix.
var pos: Vec2
// Global u8 / u16 / array — classic globals.
var scalar: u8 = 0
var wide: u16 = 0
var row: u8[4] = [0, 0, 0, 0]
// A deliberately-cold u8 placed via `slow` so the analyzer
// keeps it outside zero-page. If `slow` regresses to advisory,
// the allocation address moves into ZP but the round-trip still
// succeeds — so this byte is for memory-map inspection, not the
// backdrop flip.
slow var cold_byte: u8 = 0
fun double_u8(x: u8) -> u8 {
return x + x
}
// A six-parameter non-leaf function. The call site exercises
// the direct-write calling convention — the caller stages each
// arg straight into the callee's per-param RAM slot, no
// transport through `$04-$07`. Returns the sum of all six, so
// a regression that silently drops any one (same shape as PR
// #31 but for params) knocks the result off 21 and flips the
// canary red.
fun sum6(a: u8, b: u8, c: u8, d: u8, e: u8, f: u8) -> u8 {
var tmp: u8 = a + b
tmp = tmp + c
tmp = tmp + d
tmp = tmp + e
tmp = tmp + f
return tmp
}
// ── Main state ─────────────────────────────────────────────
state Main {
// State-local — the PR #31 bug.
var local_counter: u8 = 0
// Per-frame "pass" flag. Starts true each frame; any failed
// round-trip clears it.
var all_ok: u8 = 1
on enter {
set_palette Pass
}
on frame {
all_ok = 1
// Check 1: state-local write-read.
local_counter = 42
if local_counter != 42 { all_ok = 0 }
// Check 2: uninitialized struct-field write-read.
pos.x = 99
pos.y = 77
if pos.x != 99 { all_ok = 0 }
if pos.y != 77 { all_ok = 0 }
// Check 3: global u8.
scalar = 123
if scalar != 123 { all_ok = 0 }
// Check 4: global u16 > 255 (both low and high bytes must
// land — the u16 path splits into StoreVar + StoreVarHi).
wide = 1234
if wide != 1234 { all_ok = 0 }
// Check 5: array element write-read at nonzero index.
row[2] = 55
if row[2] != 55 { all_ok = 0 }
// Check 6: slow-placed global still round-trips.
cold_byte = 200
if cold_byte != 200 { all_ok = 0 }
// Check 7: function call return value survives the
// caller's frame of reference.
var r: u8 = double_u8(21)
if r != 42 { all_ok = 0 }
// Check 8: six-parameter non-leaf function — exercises
// the direct-write calling convention that lifts the
// old 4-param ceiling. 1+2+3+4+5+6 = 21.
var s: u8 = sum6(1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
if s != 21 { all_ok = 0 }
// Drive the backdrop flip. `set_palette` schedules an
// update during the next vblank, so the effect lands on
// the following frame — well before the frame-180 golden
// sample.
if all_ok == 0 {
set_palette Fail
}
wait_frame
}
}
start Main