Builtin Developer

Add new builtin functions to AILANG using the modern registry system (M-DX1).

Quick Start

Development time: ~2.5 hours (down from 7.5h with legacy system)

Most common workflow:

1. Register builtin with metadata (~30 min)
2. Write hermetic tests (~1 hour)
3. Validate and inspect (~30 min)
4. Runtime auto-wires (already done!)

When to Use This Skill

Invoke this skill when:

• User wants to add a new builtin function
• User asks about builtin registration process
• User needs to understand the builtin system
• User wants to validate or inspect builtins
• User asks "how do I add a builtin?"

System Overview

Status: 🎉 M-DX1 COMPLETE (Oct 2025) - 52 builtins migrated, fully documented

Key Benefits:

• 67% faster: 2.5h instead of 7.5h
• 1 file instead of 4: Single-point registration
• 71% less code: Type Builder DSL reduces boilerplate
• Automatic wiring: Registry connects to runtime/link
• Hermetic tests: MockEffContext with HTTP/FS mocking

Components:

• Central Registry (internal/builtins/spec.go) - Single registration point
• Type Builder DSL (internal/types/builder.go) - Fluent type construction
• Test Harness (internal/effects/testctx/) - Hermetic testing helpers
• CLI Commands - Validation and inspection tools

Available Scripts

scripts/validate_builtins.sh

Validate all builtins in the registry.

Usage:

.claude/skills/builtin-developer/scripts/validate_builtins.sh

What it checks:

• All builtins are registered
• Proper metadata structure
• Type signatures valid
• Test coverage exists

scripts/checkbuiltinhealth.sh

Run ailang doctor and list commands.

Usage:

.claude/skills/builtin-developer/scripts/check_builtin_health.sh

Workflow

Step 1: Register the Builtin (~30 min)

Create or edit module file (e.g., internal/builtins/string.go):

// internal/builtins/string.go
func init() {
    registerMyBuiltin()
}

func registerMyBuiltin() {
    RegisterEffectBuiltin(BuiltinSpec{
        Module:  "std/string",
        Name:    "_str_reverse",
        NumArgs: 1,
        IsPure:  true,        // or false with Effect: "IO"
        Type:    makeReverseType,
        Impl:    strReverseImpl,
        Metadata: &BuiltinMetadata{
            Description: "Reverse a string (Unicode-aware)",
            Params: []ParamDoc{
                {Name: "s", Description: "String to reverse"},
            },
            Returns: "Reversed string",
            Examples: []Example{
                {Code: `_str_reverse("hello")`, Description: "Returns \"olleh\""},
            },
            Since:     "v0.3.15",
            Stability: StabilityStable,
            Tags:      []string{"string", "reverse", "unicode"},
            Category:  "string",
        },
    })
}

func makeReverseType() types.Type {
    T := types.NewBuilder()
    return T.Func(T.String()).Returns(T.String())
}

func strReverseImpl(ctx *effects.EffContext, args []eval.Value) (eval.Value, error) {
    str := args[0].(*eval.StringValue).Value
    runes := []rune(str)
    for i, j := 0, len(runes)-1; i < j; i, j = i+1, j-1 {
        runes[i], runes[j] = runes[j], runes[i]
    }
    return &eval.StringValue{Value: string(runes)}, nil
}

Key points:

• Use RegisterEffectBuiltin() in init()
• Use Type Builder DSL for type construction
• Include complete metadata (description, params, examples, tags)
• Set IsPure: true for pure functions, or Effect: "IO" for effects

See: [resources/typebuilderexamples.md](resources/typebuilderexamples.md) for type patterns

Step 2: Write Hermetic Tests (~1 hour)

Add tests in internal/builtins/register_test.go:

func TestStrReverse(t *testing.T) {
    ctx := testctx.NewMockEffContext()

    tests := []struct {
        input    string
        expected string
    }{
        {"hello", "olleh"},
        {"", ""},
        {"🎉", "🎉"},
    }

    for _, tt := range tests {
        result, err := strReverseImpl(ctx, []eval.Value{
            testctx.MakeString(tt.input),
        })
        assert.NoError(t, err)
        assert.Equal(t, tt.expected, testctx.GetString(result))
    }
}

Test Harness helpers:

• testctx.NewMockEffContext() - Create test context
• testctx.MakeString(), MakeInt(), MakeRecord() - Create test values
• testctx.GetString(), GetInt(), GetRecord() - Extract values

For HTTP/FS effects:

ctx := testctx.NewMockEffContext()
ctx.GrantAll("Net")  // Grant Net capability
ctx.SetHTTPClient(server.Client())  // Use test server

See: [resources/testingpatterns.md](resources/testingpatterns.md) for more examples

Step 3: Validate and Inspect (~30 min)

Run validation:

# Validate all builtins
ailang doctor builtins

# List all builtins by module
ailang builtins list --by-module

# Check for orphaned builtins (migration safety)
ailang builtins check-migration

Run tests:

# Test specific builtin
go test -v internal/builtins -run TestStrReverse

# Test all builtins
make test

Test in REPL:

ailang repl
> :type _str_reverse
string -> string

> _str_reverse("hello")
"olleh" : string

Step 4: Runtime Wiring (Automatic!)

No manual wiring needed! The registry automatically:

• ✅ Registers with evaluator (internal/eval)
• ✅ Adds to type environment (internal/types)
• ✅ Links to runtime (internal/runtime)
• ✅ Generates module interface (internal/link)

Feature flag removed in v0.3.10 - New registry is now the default.

Key Components

Central Registry

Location: internal/builtins/spec.go

Features:

• Single registration point with RegisterEffectBuiltin()
• Compile-time validation (arity, types, impl, effects)
• Freeze-safe (no registration after init)
• 52 builtins migrated

Type Builder DSL

Location: internal/types/builder.go

Reduces type construction from 35 lines → 10 lines (-71%)

Available methods:

T := types.NewBuilder()

// Primitive types
T.String()
T.Int()
T.Float()
T.Bool()
T.Unit()

// Complex types
T.List(elementType)
T.Record(fields...)
T.Tuple(types...)
T.Con("TypeName")
T.Var("α")

// Function types
T.Func(arg1, arg2, ...).Returns(returnType).Effects("IO", "FS")

// Type applications
T.App("Result", okType, errType)

See: [resources/typebuilderexamples.md](resources/typebuilderexamples.md)

Test Harness

Location: internal/effects/testctx/

Value constructors:

• MakeString(s string) → StringValue
• MakeInt(i int) → IntValue
• MakeFloat(f float64) → FloatValue
• MakeBool(b bool) → BoolValue
• MakeList([]Value) → ListValue
• MakeRecord(map[string]Value) → RecordValue

Value extractors:

• GetString(Value) → string
• GetInt(Value) → int
• GetFloat(Value) → float64
• GetBool(Value) → bool
• GetList(Value) → []Value
• GetRecord(Value) → map[string]Value

Effect mocking:

• ctx.GrantAll(effect) - Grant capabilities
• ctx.SetHTTPClient(client) - Mock HTTP
• ctx.SetFS(fs) - Mock filesystem

Validation & Inspection

Commands:

ailang doctor builtins              # Health checks
ailang builtins list                # List all builtins
ailang builtins list --by-module    # Group by module
ailang builtins list --by-effect    # Group by effect
ailang builtins check-migration     # Check for orphaned builtins

7 validation rules:

1. Type function exists and valid
2. Implementation function exists
3. Arity matches NumArgs
4. Effect consistency (IsPure vs Effect field)
5. Module name valid
6. Metadata complete
7. Determinism: IsPure: true builtins MUST NOT use nondeterministic Go patterns (map iteration, goroutines, time-dependent logic). Tests must run with -count=20 to verify. See xml.go lookupPrefix bug — Go map iteration caused findAll to randomly drop elements.

Metrics

Development time:

Resources

Detailed Examples

For type patterns:

• [resources/typebuilderexamples.md](resources/typebuilderexamples.md) - All type patterns

For testing patterns:

• [resources/testingpatterns.md](resources/testingpatterns.md) - Hermetic test examples

For comprehensive guide:

• [M-DX1-FINAL-SUMMARY.md](../../../M-DX1-FINAL-SUMMARY.md) - Complete M-DX1 summary
• design_docs/planned/easier-ailang-dev.md - Design rationale
• CHANGELOG.md (v0.3.10+) - Version history

File Locations

Builtin files by module:

• internal/builtins/string.go - String functions (9 builtins)
• internal/builtins/math.go - Math functions (37 builtins)
• internal/builtins/io.go - IO functions (3 builtins)
• internal/builtins/net.go - Network functions (1 builtin)
• internal/builtins/show.go - Show typeclass (1 builtin)
• internal/builtins/json_decode.go - JSON decoding (1 builtin)

Test files:

• internal/builtins/*_test.go - Builtin tests
• internal/effects/testctx/*_test.go - Test harness tests

Common Patterns

Pattern 0: "Zero-Arg" Builtins (M-DX10 Unit-Argument Model)

⚠️ AILANG has no true nullary functions! All functions that appear to take no arguments must take a unit parameter.

// ✅ CORRECT - Unit-argument model
RegisterEffectBuiltin(BuiltinSpec{
    Module:  "std/sharedmem",
    Name:    "_sharedmem_keys",
    NumArgs: 1,  // Takes unit parameter!
    Effect:  "SharedMem",
    Type: func() types.Type {
        T := types.NewBuilder()
        return T.Func(T.Unit()).Returns(T.List(T.String())).Effects("SharedMem")
    },
    Impl: func(ctx *effects.EffContext, args []eval.Value) (eval.Value, error) {
        // args[0] is unit, ignored (validates arity)
        keys := ctx.SharedMem.Cache.Keys()
        // ...
    },
})

// ❌ WRONG - True nullary (causes "arity mismatch: 0 vs 1")
RegisterEffectBuiltin(BuiltinSpec{
    Name:    "_sharedmem_keys",
    NumArgs: 0,  // BUG!
})

Stdlib wrapper:

export func keys(u: unit) -> list[string] ! {SharedMem} {
    _sharedmem_keys(u)
}
-- Or expression body:
export func now() -> int ! {Clock} = _clock_now()

Go tests must pass unit:

// ✅ Correct
result, err := impl(ctx, []eval.Value{&eval.UnitValue{}})

// ❌ Wrong - causes arity mismatch
result, err := impl(ctx, []eval.Value{})

Reference: [M-DX10 design doc](../../../designdocs/implemented/v04_6/m-dx10-nullary-function-calls.md)

Pattern 1: Pure String Function

RegisterEffectBuiltin(BuiltinSpec{
    Module:  "std/string",
    Name:    "_str_len",
    NumArgs: 1,
    IsPure:  true,
    Type: func() types.Type {
        T := types.NewBuilder()
        return T.Func(T.String()).Returns(T.Int())
    },
    Impl: func(ctx *effects.EffContext, args []eval.Value) (eval.Value, error) {
        s := args[0].(*eval.StringValue).Value
        return &eval.IntValue{Value: len([]rune(s))}, nil
    },
})

Pattern 2: Effect Function with HTTP

RegisterEffectBuiltin(BuiltinSpec{
    Module:  "std/net",
    Name:    "_net_httpRequest",
    NumArgs: 4,
    Effect:  "Net",
    Type:    makeHTTPRequestType,
    Impl:    effects.NetHTTPRequest,  // Uses ctx.GetHTTPClient()
})

Pattern 3: Complex Record Types

See: [resources/typebuilderexamples.md](resources/typebuilderexamples.md) for full example with nested records.

Progressive Disclosure

This skill loads information progressively:

1. Always loaded: This SKILL.md file (workflow overview)
2. Execute as needed: Scripts in scripts/ (validation)
3. Load on demand: Detailed type examples in resources/

Notes

• No feature flag needed (default since v0.3.10)
• Registry auto-wires to all subsystems
• Test harness prevents network/FS side effects
• Metadata enables future tooling (docs, LSP)
• Type Builder DSL is type-safe at compile time