Compilation and Code Generation

This document outlines the process of compiling Ribbon code into executable bytecode and the optional, high-performance path of Just-In-Time (JIT) compilation to native machine code. The entire system is designed around a central principle: simplicity and modularity. The core VM interpreter is completely unaware of the JIT’s existence; it only knows how to execute bytecode and call functions that adhere to the builtin ABI.

The Compilation Artifact: core.Bytecode

The fundamental unit of compiled Ribbon code is a core.Bytecode object. This is a self-contained block of memory that holds everything needed to execute one or more functions. It consists of two main parts:

  1. core.Header: A metadata section at the beginning of the block. The header contains:
    • AddressTable: The heart of the linking strategy. This table is an array of pointers that maps the Ids used in instruction operands (like Id.of(core.Function)) to the actual memory addresses of functions, globals, and constants. This indirection is what makes dynamic linking and JIT compilation possible.
    • SymbolTable: Optional metadata that maps human-readable names (e.g., "my_module/my_function") to their corresponding Ids. This is primarily used for debugging, reflection, and dynamic linking by name.
  2. Instruction Data: A contiguous block of raw InstructionBits that immediately follows the header. The AddressTable contains pointers into this region for each defined function.

The Standard Compilation Process (AOT)

The default Ahead-of-Time (AOT) compilation path transforms Ribbon source code into an executable core.Bytecode unit in memory.

  1. Parsing: Source code is parsed into an Abstract Syntax Tree (AST).
  2. Code Generation: A compiler backend traverses the AST and uses the bytecode.Builder API to generate a high-level, unencoded representation of the instructions for each function.
  3. Encoding: The bytecode.Encoder takes the unencoded instructions and writes them out as a stream of InstructionBits into a memory buffer. It populates the AddressTable and SymbolTable within the header as it goes.
  4. Finalization: The final result is a single, contiguous block of memory representing the core.Bytecode unit, ready to be loaded and executed by a Fiber.

At this stage, all functions in the unit are standard bytecode functions, and the call instructions targeting them will use the bytecode ABI.

The JIT Compilation Process (Optional Optimization)

The JIT compiler is an optional layer that dramatically improves performance by translating “hot” functions from bytecode into native machine code. Its integration is designed to be seamless and invisible to the core VM.

The Base Strategy: From bytecode to builtin

The JIT compiler is a specialized function that:

The “magic” happens in the final step:

The “Swap”: After generating the new native code, the JIT (or the host environment managing it) modifies the AddressTable within the Header. It finds the entry for the original core.Function and replaces the pointer to point to the new core.AllocatedBuiltinFunction.

From this point on, any call_c instruction that uses the ID of the JIT-compiled function will be dispatched by the interpreter as a standard builtin call. The interpreter simply calls the function pointer; it has no knowledge that the native code it’s executing was generated just moments before. This allows JIT-compiled code and interpreted code to coexist and call each other transparently.

Note on Dynamic Calls: This ‘swap’ strategy is most effective for direct, statically-known calls (via call_c). Handling dynamic calls (via the call instruction, where the function address is in a register) is more complex, as the AddressTable is not consulted at the call site. Ensuring that dynamically-loaded function pointers are also JIT-aware is a subject for future design and optimization.

Handling Foreign (C) Calls

Directly calling C functions requires conforming to the platform’s specific C ABI (e.g., passing arguments in specific physical registers). The VM interpreter cannot perform this complex task. This is a primary responsibility of the JIT compiler.

When the JIT encounters a call instruction with the foreign ABI, it generates the necessary “glue” code to marshal arguments from the Fiber’s virtual registers into the correct physical registers and stack layout required by the C ABI, and then performs the native call.

JIT-only Instructions

The ISA includes instructions marked with a jit tag. These instructions serve as hints or directives for an optimizing JIT compiler.