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-rw-r--r--compiler/ic/bitabs.nim178
-rw-r--r--compiler/ic/cbackend.nim180
-rw-r--r--compiler/ic/dce.nim169
-rw-r--r--compiler/ic/design.rst56
-rw-r--r--compiler/ic/ic.nim1343
-rw-r--r--compiler/ic/iclineinfos.nim84
-rw-r--r--compiler/ic/integrity.nim155
-rw-r--r--compiler/ic/navigator.nim183
-rw-r--r--compiler/ic/packed_ast.nim367
-rw-r--r--compiler/ic/replayer.nim171
-rw-r--r--compiler/ic/rodfiles.nim283
11 files changed, 3169 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/compiler/ic/bitabs.nim b/compiler/ic/bitabs.nim
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0c9994c83
--- /dev/null
+++ b/compiler/ic/bitabs.nim
@@ -0,0 +1,178 @@
+## A BiTable is a table that can be seen as an optimized pair
+## of `(Table[LitId, Val], Table[Val, LitId])`.
+
+import std/hashes
+import rodfiles
+
+when defined(nimPreviewSlimSystem):
+  import std/assertions
+
+type
+  LitId* = distinct uint32
+
+  BiTable*[T] = object
+    vals: seq[T] # indexed by LitId
+    keys: seq[LitId]  # indexed by hash(val)
+
+proc initBiTable*[T](): BiTable[T] = BiTable[T](vals: @[], keys: @[])
+
+proc nextTry(h, maxHash: Hash): Hash {.inline.} =
+  result = (h + 1) and maxHash
+
+template maxHash(t): untyped = high(t.keys)
+template isFilled(x: LitId): bool = x.uint32 > 0'u32
+
+proc `$`*(x: LitId): string {.borrow.}
+proc `<`*(x, y: LitId): bool {.borrow.}
+proc `<=`*(x, y: LitId): bool {.borrow.}
+proc `==`*(x, y: LitId): bool {.borrow.}
+proc hash*(x: LitId): Hash {.borrow.}
+
+
+proc len*[T](t: BiTable[T]): int = t.vals.len
+
+proc mustRehash(length, counter: int): bool {.inline.} =
+  assert(length > counter)
+  result = (length * 2 < counter * 3) or (length - counter < 4)
+
+const
+  idStart = 1
+
+template idToIdx(x: LitId): int = x.int - idStart
+
+proc hasLitId*[T](t: BiTable[T]; x: LitId): bool =
+  let idx = idToIdx(x)
+  result = idx >= 0 and idx < t.vals.len
+
+proc enlarge[T](t: var BiTable[T]) =
+  var n: seq[LitId]
+  newSeq(n, len(t.keys) * 2)
+  swap(t.keys, n)
+  for i in 0..high(n):
+    let eh = n[i]
+    if isFilled(eh):
+      var j = hash(t.vals[idToIdx eh]) and maxHash(t)
+      while isFilled(t.keys[j]):
+        j = nextTry(j, maxHash(t))
+      t.keys[j] = move n[i]
+
+proc getKeyId*[T](t: BiTable[T]; v: T): LitId =
+  let origH = hash(v)
+  var h = origH and maxHash(t)
+  if t.keys.len != 0:
+    while true:
+      let litId = t.keys[h]
+      if not isFilled(litId): break
+      if t.vals[idToIdx t.keys[h]] == v: return litId
+      h = nextTry(h, maxHash(t))
+  return LitId(0)
+
+proc getOrIncl*[T](t: var BiTable[T]; v: T): LitId =
+  let origH = hash(v)
+  var h = origH and maxHash(t)
+  if t.keys.len != 0:
+    while true:
+      let litId = t.keys[h]
+      if not isFilled(litId): break
+      if t.vals[idToIdx t.keys[h]] == v: return litId
+      h = nextTry(h, maxHash(t))
+    # not found, we need to insert it:
+    if mustRehash(t.keys.len, t.vals.len):
+      enlarge(t)
+      # recompute where to insert:
+      h = origH and maxHash(t)
+      while true:
+        let litId = t.keys[h]
+        if not isFilled(litId): break
+        h = nextTry(h, maxHash(t))
+  else:
+    setLen(t.keys, 16)
+    h = origH and maxHash(t)
+
+  result = LitId(t.vals.len + idStart)
+  t.keys[h] = result
+  t.vals.add v
+
+
+proc `[]`*[T](t: var BiTable[T]; litId: LitId): var T {.inline.} =
+  let idx = idToIdx litId
+  assert idx < t.vals.len
+  result = t.vals[idx]
+
+proc `[]`*[T](t: BiTable[T]; litId: LitId): lent T {.inline.} =
+  let idx = idToIdx litId
+  assert idx < t.vals.len
+  result = t.vals[idx]
+
+proc hash*[T](t: BiTable[T]): Hash =
+  ## as the keys are hashes of the values, we simply use them instead
+  var h: Hash = 0
+  for i, n in pairs t.keys:
+    h = h !& hash((i, n))
+  result = !$h
+
+proc store*[T](f: var RodFile; t: BiTable[T]) =
+  storeSeq(f, t.vals)
+  storeSeq(f, t.keys)
+
+proc load*[T](f: var RodFile; t: var BiTable[T]) =
+  loadSeq(f, t.vals)
+  loadSeq(f, t.keys)
+
+proc sizeOnDisc*(t: BiTable[string]): int =
+  result = 4
+  for x in t.vals:
+    result += x.len + 4
+  result += t.keys.len * sizeof(LitId)
+
+when isMainModule:
+
+  var t: BiTable[string]
+
+  echo getOrIncl(t, "hello")
+
+  echo getOrIncl(t, "hello")
+  echo getOrIncl(t, "hello3")
+  echo getOrIncl(t, "hello4")
+  echo getOrIncl(t, "helloasfasdfdsa")
+  echo getOrIncl(t, "hello")
+  echo getKeyId(t, "hello")
+  echo getKeyId(t, "none")
+
+  for i in 0 ..< 100_000:
+    discard t.getOrIncl($i & "___" & $i)
+
+  for i in 0 ..< 100_000:
+    assert t.getOrIncl($i & "___" & $i).idToIdx == i + 4
+  echo "begin"
+  echo t.vals.len
+
+  echo t.vals[0]
+  echo t.vals[1004]
+
+  echo "middle"
+
+  var tf: BiTable[float]
+
+  discard tf.getOrIncl(0.4)
+  discard tf.getOrIncl(16.4)
+  discard tf.getOrIncl(32.4)
+  echo getKeyId(tf, 32.4)
+
+  var f2 = open("testblah.bin", fmWrite)
+  echo store(f2, tf)
+  f2.close
+
+  var f1 = open("testblah.bin", fmRead)
+
+  var t2: BiTable[float]
+
+  echo f1.load(t2)
+  echo t2.vals.len
+
+  echo getKeyId(t2, 32.4)
+
+  echo "end"
+
+
+  f1.close
diff --git a/compiler/ic/cbackend.nim b/compiler/ic/cbackend.nim
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..83f1b4cc7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/compiler/ic/cbackend.nim
@@ -0,0 +1,180 @@
+#
+#
+#           The Nim Compiler
+#        (c) Copyright 2021 Andreas Rumpf
+#
+#    See the file "copying.txt", included in this
+#    distribution, for details about the copyright.
+#
+
+## New entry point into our C/C++ code generator. Ideally
+## somebody would rewrite the old backend (which is 8000 lines of crufty Nim code)
+## to work on packed trees directly and produce the C code as an AST which can
+## then be rendered to text in a very simple manner. Unfortunately nobody wrote
+## this code. So instead we wrap the existing cgen.nim and its friends so that
+## we call directly into the existing code generation logic but avoiding the
+## naive, outdated `passes` design. Thus you will see some
+## `useAliveDataFromDce in flags` checks in the old code -- the old code is
+## also doing cross-module dependency tracking and DCE that we don't need
+## anymore. DCE is now done as prepass over the entire packed module graph.
+
+import std/[packedsets, algorithm, tables]
+
+when defined(nimPreviewSlimSystem):
+  import std/assertions
+
+import ".."/[ast, options, lineinfos, modulegraphs, cgendata, cgen,
+  pathutils, extccomp, msgs, modulepaths]
+
+import packed_ast, ic, dce, rodfiles
+
+proc unpackTree(g: ModuleGraph; thisModule: int;
+                tree: PackedTree; n: NodePos): PNode =
+  var decoder = initPackedDecoder(g.config, g.cache)
+  result = loadNodes(decoder, g.packed, thisModule, tree, n)
+
+proc setupBackendModule(g: ModuleGraph; m: var LoadedModule) =
+  if g.backend == nil:
+    g.backend = cgendata.newModuleList(g)
+  assert g.backend != nil
+  var bmod = cgen.newModule(BModuleList(g.backend), m.module, g.config)
+  bmod.idgen = idgenFromLoadedModule(m)
+
+proc generateCodeForModule(g: ModuleGraph; m: var LoadedModule; alive: var AliveSyms) =
+  var bmod = BModuleList(g.backend).modules[m.module.position]
+  assert bmod != nil
+  bmod.flags.incl useAliveDataFromDce
+  bmod.alive = move alive[m.module.position]
+
+  for p in allNodes(m.fromDisk.topLevel):
+    let n = unpackTree(g, m.module.position, m.fromDisk.topLevel, p)
+    cgen.genTopLevelStmt(bmod, n)
+
+  finalCodegenActions(g, bmod, newNodeI(nkStmtList, m.module.info))
+  for disp in getDispatchers(g):
+    genProcAux(bmod, disp)
+  m.fromDisk.backendFlags = cgen.whichInitProcs(bmod)
+
+proc replayTypeInfo(g: ModuleGraph; m: var LoadedModule; origin: FileIndex) =
+  for x in mitems(m.fromDisk.emittedTypeInfo):
+    #echo "found type ", x, " for file ", int(origin)
+    g.emittedTypeInfo[x] = origin
+
+proc addFileToLink(config: ConfigRef; m: PSym) =
+  let filename = AbsoluteFile toFullPath(config, m.position.FileIndex)
+  let ext =
+      if config.backend == backendCpp: ".nim.cpp"
+      elif config.backend == backendObjc: ".nim.m"
+      else: ".nim.c"
+  let cfile = changeFileExt(completeCfilePath(config,
+                            mangleModuleName(config, filename).AbsoluteFile), ext)
+  let objFile = completeCfilePath(config, toObjFile(config, cfile))
+  if fileExists(objFile):
+    var cf = Cfile(nimname: m.name.s, cname: cfile,
+                   obj: objFile,
+                   flags: {CfileFlag.Cached})
+    addFileToCompile(config, cf)
+
+when defined(debugDce):
+  import os, std/packedsets
+
+proc storeAliveSymsImpl(asymFile: AbsoluteFile; s: seq[int32]) =
+  var f = rodfiles.create(asymFile.string)
+  f.storeHeader()
+  f.storeSection aliveSymsSection
+  f.storeSeq(s)
+  close f
+
+template prepare {.dirty.} =
+  let asymFile = toRodFile(config, AbsoluteFile toFullPath(config, position.FileIndex), ".alivesyms")
+  var s = newSeqOfCap[int32](alive[position].len)
+  for a in items(alive[position]): s.add int32(a)
+  sort(s)
+
+proc storeAliveSyms(config: ConfigRef; position: int; alive: AliveSyms) =
+  prepare()
+  storeAliveSymsImpl(asymFile, s)
+
+proc aliveSymsChanged(config: ConfigRef; position: int; alive: AliveSyms): bool =
+  prepare()
+  var f2 = rodfiles.open(asymFile.string)
+  f2.loadHeader()
+  f2.loadSection aliveSymsSection
+  var oldData: seq[int32] = @[]
+  f2.loadSeq(oldData)
+  f2.close
+  if f2.err == ok and oldData == s:
+    result = false
+  else:
+    when defined(debugDce):
+      let oldAsSet = toPackedSet[int32](oldData)
+      let newAsSet = toPackedSet[int32](s)
+      echo "set of live symbols changed ", asymFile.changeFileExt("rod"), " ", position, " ", f2.err
+      echo "in old but not in new ", oldAsSet.difference(newAsSet), " number of entries in old ", oldAsSet.len
+      echo "in new but not in old ", newAsSet.difference(oldAsSet), " number of entries in new ", newAsSet.len
+      #if execShellCmd(getAppFilename() & " rod " & quoteShell(asymFile.changeFileExt("rod"))) != 0:
+      #  echo "command failed"
+    result = true
+    storeAliveSymsImpl(asymFile, s)
+
+proc genPackedModule(g: ModuleGraph, i: int; alive: var AliveSyms) =
+  # case statement here to enforce exhaustive checks.
+  case g.packed[i].status
+  of undefined:
+    discard "nothing to do"
+  of loading, stored:
+    assert false
+  of storing, outdated:
+    storeAliveSyms(g.config, g.packed[i].module.position, alive)
+    generateCodeForModule(g, g.packed[i], alive)
+    closeRodFile(g, g.packed[i].module)
+  of loaded:
+    if g.packed[i].loadedButAliveSetChanged:
+      generateCodeForModule(g, g.packed[i], alive)
+    else:
+      addFileToLink(g.config, g.packed[i].module)
+      replayTypeInfo(g, g.packed[i], FileIndex(i))
+
+      if g.backend == nil:
+        g.backend = cgendata.newModuleList(g)
+      registerInitProcs(BModuleList(g.backend), g.packed[i].module, g.packed[i].fromDisk.backendFlags)
+
+proc generateCode*(g: ModuleGraph) =
+  ## The single entry point, generate C(++) code for the entire
+  ## Nim program aka `ModuleGraph`.
+  resetForBackend(g)
+  var alive = computeAliveSyms(g.packed, g.config)
+
+  when false:
+    for i in 0..<len(g.packed):
+      echo i, " is of status ", g.packed[i].status, " ", toFullPath(g.config, FileIndex(i))
+
+  # First pass: Setup all the backend modules for all the modules that have
+  # changed:
+  for i in 0..<len(g.packed):
+    # case statement here to enforce exhaustive checks.
+    case g.packed[i].status
+    of undefined:
+      discard "nothing to do"
+    of loading, stored:
+      assert false
+    of storing, outdated:
+      setupBackendModule(g, g.packed[i])
+    of loaded:
+      # Even though this module didn't change, DCE might trigger a change.
+      # Consider this case: Module A uses symbol S from B and B does not use
+      # S itself. A is then edited not to use S either. Thus we have to
+      # recompile B in order to remove S from the final result.
+      if aliveSymsChanged(g.config, g.packed[i].module.position, alive):
+        g.packed[i].loadedButAliveSetChanged = true
+        setupBackendModule(g, g.packed[i])
+
+  # Second pass: Code generation.
+  let mainModuleIdx = g.config.projectMainIdx2.int
+  # We need to generate the main module last, because only then
+  # all init procs have been registered:
+  for i in 0..<len(g.packed):
+    if i != mainModuleIdx:
+      genPackedModule(g, i, alive)
+  if mainModuleIdx >= 0:
+    genPackedModule(g, mainModuleIdx, alive)
diff --git a/compiler/ic/dce.nim b/compiler/ic/dce.nim
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..6eb36431e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/compiler/ic/dce.nim
@@ -0,0 +1,169 @@
+#
+#
+#           The Nim Compiler
+#        (c) Copyright 2021 Andreas Rumpf
+#
+#    See the file "copying.txt", included in this
+#    distribution, for details about the copyright.
+#
+
+## Dead code elimination (=DCE) for IC.
+
+import std/[intsets, tables]
+
+when defined(nimPreviewSlimSystem):
+  import std/assertions
+
+import ".." / [ast, options, lineinfos, types]
+
+import packed_ast, ic, bitabs
+
+type
+  AliveSyms* = seq[IntSet]
+  AliveContext* = object ## Purpose is to fill the 'alive' field.
+    stack: seq[(int, TOptions, NodePos)] ## A stack for marking symbols as alive.
+    decoder: PackedDecoder ## We need a PackedDecoder for module ID address translations.
+    thisModule: int  ## The module we're currently analysing for DCE.
+    alive: AliveSyms ## The final result of our computation.
+    options: TOptions
+    compilerProcs: Table[string, (int, int32)]
+
+proc isExportedToC(c: var AliveContext; g: PackedModuleGraph; symId: int32): bool =
+  ## "Exported to C" procs are special (these are marked with '.exportc') because these
+  ## must not be optimized away!
+  let symPtr = unsafeAddr g[c.thisModule].fromDisk.syms[symId]
+  let flags = symPtr.flags
+  # due to a bug/limitation in the lambda lifting, unused inner procs
+  # are not transformed correctly; issue (#411). However, the whole purpose here
+  # is to eliminate unused procs. So there is no special logic required for this case.
+  if sfCompileTime notin flags:
+    if ({sfExportc, sfCompilerProc} * flags != {}) or
+        (symPtr.kind == skMethod):
+      result = true
+    else:
+      result = false
+      # XXX: This used to be a condition to:
+      #  (sfExportc in prc.flags and lfExportLib in prc.loc.flags) or
+    if sfCompilerProc in flags:
+      c.compilerProcs[g[c.thisModule].fromDisk.strings[symPtr.name]] = (c.thisModule, symId)
+  else:
+    result = false
+
+template isNotGeneric(n: NodePos): bool = ithSon(tree, n, genericParamsPos).kind == nkEmpty
+
+proc followLater(c: var AliveContext; g: PackedModuleGraph; module: int; item: int32) =
+  ## Marks a symbol 'item' as used and later in 'followNow' the symbol's body will
+  ## be analysed.
+  if not c.alive[module].containsOrIncl(item):
+    var body = g[module].fromDisk.syms[item].ast
+    if body != emptyNodeId:
+      let opt = g[module].fromDisk.syms[item].options
+      if g[module].fromDisk.syms[item].kind in routineKinds:
+        body = NodeId ithSon(g[module].fromDisk.bodies, NodePos body, bodyPos)
+      c.stack.add((module, opt, NodePos(body)))
+
+    when false:
+      let nid = g[module].fromDisk.syms[item].name
+      if nid != LitId(0):
+        let name = g[module].fromDisk.strings[nid]
+        if name in ["nimFrame", "callDepthLimitReached"]:
+          echo "I was called! ", name, " body exists: ", body != emptyNodeId, " ", module, " ", item
+
+proc requestCompilerProc(c: var AliveContext; g: PackedModuleGraph; name: string) =
+  let (module, item) = c.compilerProcs[name]
+  followLater(c, g, module, item)
+
+proc loadTypeKind(t: PackedItemId; c: AliveContext; g: PackedModuleGraph; toSkip: set[TTypeKind]): TTypeKind =
+  template kind(t: ItemId): TTypeKind = g[t.module].fromDisk.types[t.item].kind
+
+  var t2 = translateId(t, g, c.thisModule, c.decoder.config)
+  result = t2.kind
+  while result in toSkip:
+    t2 = translateId(g[t2.module].fromDisk.types[t2.item].types[^1], g, t2.module, c.decoder.config)
+    result = t2.kind
+
+proc rangeCheckAnalysis(c: var AliveContext; g: PackedModuleGraph; tree: PackedTree; n: NodePos) =
+  ## Replicates the logic of `ccgexprs.genRangeChck`.
+  ## XXX Refactor so that the duplicated logic is avoided. However, for now it's not clear
+  ## the approach has enough merit.
+  var dest = loadTypeKind(n.typ, c, g, abstractVar)
+  if optRangeCheck notin c.options or dest in {tyUInt..tyUInt64}:
+    discard "no need to generate a check because it was disabled"
+  else:
+    let n0t = loadTypeKind(n.firstSon.typ, c, g, {})
+    if n0t in {tyUInt, tyUInt64}:
+      c.requestCompilerProc(g, "raiseRangeErrorNoArgs")
+    else:
+      let raiser =
+        case loadTypeKind(n.typ, c, g, abstractVarRange)
+        of tyUInt..tyUInt64, tyChar: "raiseRangeErrorU"
+        of tyFloat..tyFloat128: "raiseRangeErrorF"
+        else: "raiseRangeErrorI"
+      c.requestCompilerProc(g, raiser)
+
+proc aliveCode(c: var AliveContext; g: PackedModuleGraph; tree: PackedTree; n: NodePos) =
+  ## Marks the symbols we encounter when we traverse the AST at `tree[n]` as alive, unless
+  ## it is purely in a declarative context (type section etc.).
+  case n.kind
+  of nkNone..pred(nkSym), succ(nkSym)..nkNilLit:
+    discard "ignore non-sym atoms"
+  of nkSym:
+    # This symbol is alive and everything its body references.
+    followLater(c, g, c.thisModule, tree[n].soperand)
+  of nkModuleRef:
+    let (n1, n2) = sons2(tree, n)
+    assert n1.kind == nkNone
+    assert n2.kind == nkNone
+    let m = n1.litId
+    let item = tree[n2].soperand
+    let otherModule = toFileIndexCached(c.decoder, g, c.thisModule, m).int
+    followLater(c, g, otherModule, item)
+  of nkMacroDef, nkTemplateDef, nkTypeSection, nkTypeOfExpr,
+     nkCommentStmt, nkIncludeStmt,
+     nkImportStmt, nkImportExceptStmt, nkExportStmt, nkExportExceptStmt,
+     nkFromStmt, nkStaticStmt:
+    discard
+  of nkVarSection, nkLetSection, nkConstSection:
+    # XXX ignore the defining local variable name?
+    for son in sonsReadonly(tree, n):
+      aliveCode(c, g, tree, son)
+  of nkChckRangeF, nkChckRange64, nkChckRange:
+    rangeCheckAnalysis(c, g, tree, n)
+  of nkProcDef, nkConverterDef, nkMethodDef, nkFuncDef, nkIteratorDef:
+    if n.firstSon.kind == nkSym and isNotGeneric(n):
+      let item = tree[n.firstSon].soperand
+      if isExportedToC(c, g, item):
+        # This symbol is alive and everything its body references.
+        followLater(c, g, c.thisModule, item)
+  else:
+    for son in sonsReadonly(tree, n):
+      aliveCode(c, g, tree, son)
+
+proc followNow(c: var AliveContext; g: PackedModuleGraph) =
+  ## Mark all entries in the stack. Marking can add more entries
+  ## to the stack but eventually we have looked at every alive symbol.
+  while c.stack.len > 0:
+    let (modId, opt, ast) = c.stack.pop()
+    c.thisModule = modId
+    c.options = opt
+    aliveCode(c, g, g[modId].fromDisk.bodies, ast)
+
+proc computeAliveSyms*(g: PackedModuleGraph; conf: ConfigRef): AliveSyms =
+  ## Entry point for our DCE algorithm.
+  var c = AliveContext(stack: @[], decoder: PackedDecoder(config: conf),
+                       thisModule: -1, alive: newSeq[IntSet](g.len),
+                       options: conf.options)
+  for i in countdown(len(g)-1, 0):
+    if g[i].status != undefined:
+      c.thisModule = i
+      for p in allNodes(g[i].fromDisk.topLevel):
+        aliveCode(c, g, g[i].fromDisk.topLevel, p)
+
+  followNow(c, g)
+  result = move(c.alive)
+
+proc isAlive*(a: AliveSyms; module: int, item: int32): bool =
+  ## Backends use this to query if a symbol is `alive` which means
+  ## we need to produce (C/C++/etc) code for it.
+  result = a[module].contains(item)
+
diff --git a/compiler/ic/design.rst b/compiler/ic/design.rst
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b096e3103
--- /dev/null
+++ b/compiler/ic/design.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+====================================
+  Incremental Recompilations
+====================================
+
+We split the Nim compiler into a frontend and a backend.
+The frontend produces a set of `.rod` files. Every `.nim` module
+produces its own `.rod` file.
+
+- The IR must be a faithful representation of the AST in memory.
+- The backend can do its own caching but doesn't have to. In the
+  current implementation the backend also caches its results.
+
+Advantage of the "set of files" vs the previous global database:
+- By construction, we either read from the `.rod` file or from the
+  `.nim` file, there can be no inconsistency. There can also be no
+  partial updates.
+- No dependency to external packages (SQLite). SQLite simply is too
+  slow and the old way of serialization was too slow too. We use a
+  format designed for Nim and expect to base further tools on this
+  file format.
+
+References to external modules must be (moduleId, symId) pairs.
+The symbol IDs are module specific. This way no global ID increment
+mechanism needs to be implemented that we could get wrong. ModuleIds
+are rod-file specific too.
+
+
+
+Global state
+------------
+
+There is no global state.
+
+Rod File Format
+---------------
+
+It's a simple binary file format. `rodfiles.nim` contains some details.
+
+
+Backend
+-------
+
+Nim programmers have to come to enjoy whole-program dead code elimination,
+by default. Since this is a "whole program" optimization, it does break
+modularity. However, thanks to the packed AST representation we can perform
+this global analysis without having to unpack anything. This is basically
+a mark&sweep GC algorithm:
+
+- Start with the top level statements. Every symbol that is referenced
+  from a top level statement is not "dead" and needs to be compiled by
+  the backend.
+- Every symbol referenced from a referenced symbol also has to be
+  compiled.
+
+Caching logic: Only if the set of alive symbols is different from the
+last run, the module has to be regenerated.
diff --git a/compiler/ic/ic.nim b/compiler/ic/ic.nim
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8e81633ef
--- /dev/null
+++ b/compiler/ic/ic.nim
@@ -0,0 +1,1343 @@
+#
+#
+#           The Nim Compiler
+#        (c) Copyright 2020 Andreas Rumpf
+#
+#    See the file "copying.txt", included in this
+#    distribution, for details about the copyright.
+#
+
+import std/[hashes, tables, intsets, monotimes]
+import packed_ast, bitabs, rodfiles
+import ".." / [ast, idents, lineinfos, msgs, ropes, options,
+  pathutils, condsyms, packages, modulepaths]
+#import ".." / [renderer, astalgo]
+from std/os import removeFile, isAbsolute
+
+import ../../dist/checksums/src/checksums/sha1
+
+import iclineinfos
+
+when defined(nimPreviewSlimSystem):
+  import std/[syncio, assertions, formatfloat]
+
+type
+  PackedConfig* = object
+    backend: TBackend
+    selectedGC: TGCMode
+    cCompiler: TSystemCC
+    options: TOptions
+    globalOptions: TGlobalOptions
+
+  ModuleBackendFlag* = enum
+    HasDatInitProc
+    HasModuleInitProc
+
+  PackedModule* = object ## the parts of a PackedEncoder that are part of the .rod file
+    definedSymbols: string
+    moduleFlags: TSymFlags
+    includes*: seq[(LitId, string)] # first entry is the module filename itself
+    imports: seq[LitId] # the modules this module depends on
+    toReplay*: PackedTree # pragmas and VM specific state to replay.
+    topLevel*: PackedTree  # top level statements
+    bodies*: PackedTree # other trees. Referenced from typ.n and sym.ast by their position.
+    #producedGenerics*: Table[GenericKey, SymId]
+    exports*: seq[(LitId, int32)]
+    hidden: seq[(LitId, int32)]
+    reexports: seq[(LitId, PackedItemId)]
+    compilerProcs*: seq[(LitId, int32)]
+    converters*, methods*, trmacros*, pureEnums*: seq[int32]
+
+    typeInstCache*: seq[(PackedItemId, PackedItemId)]
+    procInstCache*: seq[PackedInstantiation]
+    attachedOps*: seq[(PackedItemId, TTypeAttachedOp, PackedItemId)]
+    methodsPerGenericType*: seq[(PackedItemId, int, PackedItemId)]
+    enumToStringProcs*: seq[(PackedItemId, PackedItemId)]
+    methodsPerType*: seq[(PackedItemId, PackedItemId)]
+    dispatchers*: seq[PackedItemId]
+
+    emittedTypeInfo*: seq[string]
+    backendFlags*: set[ModuleBackendFlag]
+
+    syms*: OrderedTable[int32, PackedSym]
+    types*: OrderedTable[int32, PackedType]
+    strings*: BiTable[string] # we could share these between modules.
+    numbers*: BiTable[BiggestInt] # we also store floats in here so
+                                  # that we can assure that every bit is kept
+    man*: LineInfoManager
+
+    cfg: PackedConfig
+
+  PackedEncoder* = object
+    #m*: PackedModule
+    thisModule*: int32
+    lastFile*: FileIndex # remember the last lookup entry.
+    lastLit*: LitId
+    filenames*: Table[FileIndex, LitId]
+    pendingTypes*: seq[PType]
+    pendingSyms*: seq[PSym]
+    typeMarker*: IntSet #Table[ItemId, TypeId]  # ItemId.item -> TypeId
+    symMarker*: IntSet #Table[ItemId, SymId]    # ItemId.item -> SymId
+    config*: ConfigRef
+
+proc toString*(tree: PackedTree; pos: NodePos; m: PackedModule; nesting: int;
+               result: var string) =
+  if result.len > 0 and result[^1] notin {' ', '\n'}:
+    result.add ' '
+
+  result.add $tree[pos].kind
+  case tree[pos].kind
+  of nkEmpty, nkNilLit, nkType: discard
+  of nkIdent, nkStrLit..nkTripleStrLit:
+    result.add " "
+    result.add m.strings[LitId tree[pos].uoperand]
+  of nkSym:
+    result.add " "
+    result.add m.strings[m.syms[tree[pos].soperand].name]
+  of directIntLit:
+    result.add " "
+    result.addInt tree[pos].soperand
+  of externSIntLit:
+    result.add " "
+    result.addInt m.numbers[LitId tree[pos].uoperand]
+  of externUIntLit:
+    result.add " "
+    result.addInt cast[uint64](m.numbers[LitId tree[pos].uoperand])
+  of nkFloatLit..nkFloat128Lit:
+    result.add " "
+    result.addFloat cast[BiggestFloat](m.numbers[LitId tree[pos].uoperand])
+  else:
+    result.add "(\n"
+    for i in 1..(nesting+1)*2: result.add ' '
+    for child in sonsReadonly(tree, pos):
+      toString(tree, child, m, nesting + 1, result)
+    result.add "\n"
+    for i in 1..nesting*2: result.add ' '
+    result.add ")"
+    #for i in 1..nesting*2: result.add ' '
+
+proc toString*(tree: PackedTree; n: NodePos; m: PackedModule): string =
+  result = ""
+  toString(tree, n, m, 0, result)
+
+proc debug*(tree: PackedTree; m: PackedModule) =
+  stdout.write toString(tree, NodePos 0, m)
+
+proc isActive*(e: PackedEncoder): bool = e.config != nil
+proc disable(e: var PackedEncoder) = e.config = nil
+
+template primConfigFields(fn: untyped) {.dirty.} =
+  fn backend
+  fn selectedGC
+  fn cCompiler
+  fn options
+  fn globalOptions
+
+proc definedSymbolsAsString(config: ConfigRef): string =
+  result = newStringOfCap(200)
+  result.add "config"
+  for d in definedSymbolNames(config.symbols):
+    result.add ' '
+    result.add d
+
+proc rememberConfig(c: var PackedEncoder; m: var PackedModule; config: ConfigRef; pc: PackedConfig) =
+  m.definedSymbols = definedSymbolsAsString(config)
+  #template rem(x) =
+  #  c.m.cfg.x = config.x
+  #primConfigFields rem
+  m.cfg = pc
+
+const
+  debugConfigDiff = defined(debugConfigDiff)
+
+when debugConfigDiff:
+  import hashes, tables, intsets, sha1, strutils, sets
+
+proc configIdentical(m: PackedModule; config: ConfigRef): bool =
+  result = m.definedSymbols == definedSymbolsAsString(config)
+  when debugConfigDiff:
+    if not result:
+      var wordsA = m.definedSymbols.split(Whitespace).toHashSet()
+      var wordsB = definedSymbolsAsString(config).split(Whitespace).toHashSet()
+      for c in wordsA - wordsB:
+        echo "in A but not in B ", c
+      for c in wordsB - wordsA:
+        echo "in B but not in A ", c
+  template eq(x) =
+    result = result and m.cfg.x == config.x
+    when debugConfigDiff:
+      if m.cfg.x != config.x:
+        echo "B ", m.cfg.x, " ", config.x
+  primConfigFields eq
+
+proc rememberStartupConfig*(dest: var PackedConfig, config: ConfigRef) =
+  template rem(x) =
+    dest.x = config.x
+  primConfigFields rem
+  dest.globalOptions.excl optForceFullMake
+
+proc hashFileCached(conf: ConfigRef; fileIdx: FileIndex): string =
+  result = msgs.getHash(conf, fileIdx)
+  if result.len == 0:
+    let fullpath = msgs.toFullPath(conf, fileIdx)
+    result = $secureHashFile(fullpath)
+    msgs.setHash(conf, fileIdx, result)
+
+proc toLitId(x: FileIndex; c: var PackedEncoder; m: var PackedModule): LitId =
+  ## store a file index as a literal
+  if x == c.lastFile:
+    result = c.lastLit
+  else:
+    result = c.filenames.getOrDefault(x)
+    if result == LitId(0):
+      let p = msgs.toFullPath(c.config, x)
+      result = getOrIncl(m.strings, p)
+      c.filenames[x] = result
+    c.lastFile = x
+    c.lastLit = result
+  assert result != LitId(0)
+
+proc toFileIndex*(x: LitId; m: PackedModule; config: ConfigRef): FileIndex =
+  result = msgs.fileInfoIdx(config, AbsoluteFile m.strings[x])
+
+proc includesIdentical(m: var PackedModule; config: ConfigRef): bool =
+  for it in mitems(m.includes):
+    if hashFileCached(config, toFileIndex(it[0], m, config)) != it[1]:
+      return false
+  result = true
+
+proc initEncoder*(c: var PackedEncoder; m: var PackedModule; moduleSym: PSym; config: ConfigRef; pc: PackedConfig) =
+  ## setup a context for serializing to packed ast
+  c.thisModule = moduleSym.itemId.module
+  c.config = config
+  m.moduleFlags = moduleSym.flags
+  m.bodies = newTreeFrom(m.topLevel)
+  m.toReplay = newTreeFrom(m.topLevel)
+
+  c.lastFile = FileIndex(-10)
+
+  let thisNimFile = FileIndex c.thisModule
+  var h = msgs.getHash(config, thisNimFile)
+  if h.len == 0:
+    let fullpath = msgs.toFullPath(config, thisNimFile)
+    if isAbsolute(fullpath):
+      # For NimScript compiler API support the main Nim file might be from a stream.
+      h = $secureHashFile(fullpath)
+      msgs.setHash(config, thisNimFile, h)
+  m.includes.add((toLitId(thisNimFile, c, m), h)) # the module itself
+
+  rememberConfig(c, m, config, pc)
+
+proc addIncludeFileDep*(c: var PackedEncoder; m: var PackedModule; f: FileIndex) =
+  m.includes.add((toLitId(f, c, m), hashFileCached(c.config, f)))
+
+proc addImportFileDep*(c: var PackedEncoder; m: var PackedModule; f: FileIndex) =
+  m.imports.add toLitId(f, c, m)
+
+proc addHidden*(c: var PackedEncoder; m: var PackedModule; s: PSym) =
+  assert s.kind != skUnknown
+  let nameId = getOrIncl(m.strings, s.name.s)
+  m.hidden.add((nameId, s.itemId.item))
+  assert s.itemId.module == c.thisModule
+
+proc addExported*(c: var PackedEncoder; m: var PackedModule; s: PSym) =
+  assert s.kind != skUnknown
+  assert s.itemId.module == c.thisModule
+  let nameId = getOrIncl(m.strings, s.name.s)
+  m.exports.add((nameId, s.itemId.item))
+
+proc addConverter*(c: var PackedEncoder; m: var PackedModule; s: PSym) =
+  assert c.thisModule == s.itemId.module
+  m.converters.add(s.itemId.item)
+
+proc addTrmacro*(c: var PackedEncoder; m: var PackedModule; s: PSym) =
+  m.trmacros.add(s.itemId.item)
+
+proc addPureEnum*(c: var PackedEncoder; m: var PackedModule; s: PSym) =
+  assert s.kind == skType
+  m.pureEnums.add(s.itemId.item)
+
+proc addMethod*(c: var PackedEncoder; m: var PackedModule; s: PSym) =
+  m.methods.add s.itemId.item
+
+proc addReexport*(c: var PackedEncoder; m: var PackedModule; s: PSym) =
+  assert s.kind != skUnknown
+  if s.kind == skModule: return
+  let nameId = getOrIncl(m.strings, s.name.s)
+  m.reexports.add((nameId, PackedItemId(module: toLitId(s.itemId.module.FileIndex, c, m),
+                                        item: s.itemId.item)))
+
+proc addCompilerProc*(c: var PackedEncoder; m: var PackedModule; s: PSym) =
+  let nameId = getOrIncl(m.strings, s.name.s)
+  m.compilerProcs.add((nameId, s.itemId.item))
+
+proc toPackedNode*(n: PNode; ir: var PackedTree; c: var PackedEncoder; m: var PackedModule)
+proc storeSym*(s: PSym; c: var PackedEncoder; m: var PackedModule): PackedItemId
+proc storeType(t: PType; c: var PackedEncoder; m: var PackedModule): PackedItemId
+
+proc flush(c: var PackedEncoder; m: var PackedModule) =
+  ## serialize any pending types or symbols from the context
+  while true:
+    if c.pendingTypes.len > 0:
+      discard storeType(c.pendingTypes.pop, c, m)
+    elif c.pendingSyms.len > 0:
+      discard storeSym(c.pendingSyms.pop, c, m)
+    else:
+      break
+
+proc toLitId(x: string; m: var PackedModule): LitId =
+  ## store a string as a literal
+  result = getOrIncl(m.strings, x)
+
+proc toLitId(x: BiggestInt; m: var PackedModule): LitId =
+  ## store an integer as a literal
+  result = getOrIncl(m.numbers, x)
+
+proc toPackedInfo(x: TLineInfo; c: var PackedEncoder; m: var PackedModule): PackedLineInfo =
+  pack(m.man, toLitId(x.fileIndex, c, m), x.line.int32, x.col.int32)
+  #PackedLineInfo(line: x.line, col: x.col, file: toLitId(x.fileIndex, c, m))
+
+proc safeItemId(s: PSym; c: var PackedEncoder; m: var PackedModule): PackedItemId {.inline.} =
+  ## given a symbol, produce an ItemId with the correct properties
+  ## for local or remote symbols, packing the symbol as necessary
+  if s == nil or s.kind == skPackage:
+    result = nilItemId
+  #elif s.itemId.module == c.thisModule:
+  #  result = PackedItemId(module: LitId(0), item: s.itemId.item)
+  else:
+    assert int(s.itemId.module) >= 0
+    result = PackedItemId(module: toLitId(s.itemId.module.FileIndex, c, m),
+                          item: s.itemId.item)
+
+proc addMissing(c: var PackedEncoder; p: PSym) =
+  ## consider queuing a symbol for later addition to the packed tree
+  if p != nil and p.itemId.module == c.thisModule:
+    if p.itemId.item notin c.symMarker:
+      if not (sfForward in p.flags and p.kind in routineKinds):
+        c.pendingSyms.add p
+
+proc addMissing(c: var PackedEncoder; p: PType) =
+  ## consider queuing a type for later addition to the packed tree
+  if p != nil and p.uniqueId.module == c.thisModule:
+    if p.uniqueId.item notin c.typeMarker:
+      c.pendingTypes.add p
+
+template storeNode(dest, src, field) =
+  var nodeId: NodeId
+  if src.field != nil:
+    nodeId = getNodeId(m.bodies)
+    toPackedNode(src.field, m.bodies, c, m)
+  else:
+    nodeId = emptyNodeId
+  dest.field = nodeId
+
+proc storeTypeLater(t: PType; c: var PackedEncoder; m: var PackedModule): PackedItemId =
+  # We store multiple different trees in m.bodies. For this to work out, we
+  # cannot immediately store types/syms. We enqueue them instead to ensure
+  # we only write one tree into m.bodies after the other.
+  if t.isNil: return nilItemId
+
+  assert t.uniqueId.module >= 0
+  assert t.uniqueId.item > 0
+  result = PackedItemId(module: toLitId(t.uniqueId.module.FileIndex, c, m), item: t.uniqueId.item)
+  if t.uniqueId.module == c.thisModule:
+    # the type belongs to this module, so serialize it here, eventually.
+    addMissing(c, t)
+
+proc storeSymLater(s: PSym; c: var PackedEncoder; m: var PackedModule): PackedItemId =
+  if s.isNil: return nilItemId
+  assert s.itemId.module >= 0
+  assert s.itemId.item >= 0
+  result = PackedItemId(module: toLitId(s.itemId.module.FileIndex, c, m), item: s.itemId.item)
+  if s.itemId.module == c.thisModule:
+    # the sym belongs to this module, so serialize it here, eventually.
+    addMissing(c, s)
+
+proc storeType(t: PType; c: var PackedEncoder; m: var PackedModule): PackedItemId =
+  ## serialize a ptype
+  if t.isNil: return nilItemId
+
+  assert t.uniqueId.module >= 0
+  assert t.uniqueId.item > 0
+  result = PackedItemId(module: toLitId(t.uniqueId.module.FileIndex, c, m), item: t.uniqueId.item)
+
+  if t.uniqueId.module == c.thisModule and not c.typeMarker.containsOrIncl(t.uniqueId.item):
+    #if t.uniqueId.item >= m.types.len:
+    #  setLen m.types, t.uniqueId.item+1
+
+    var p = PackedType(id: t.uniqueId.item, kind: t.kind, flags: t.flags, callConv: t.callConv,
+      size: t.size, align: t.align, nonUniqueId: t.itemId.item,
+      paddingAtEnd: t.paddingAtEnd)
+    storeNode(p, t, n)
+    p.typeInst = t.typeInst.storeType(c, m)
+    for kid in kids t:
+      p.types.add kid.storeType(c, m)
+    c.addMissing t.sym
+    p.sym = t.sym.safeItemId(c, m)
+    c.addMissing t.owner
+    p.owner = t.owner.safeItemId(c, m)
+
+    # fill the reserved slot, nothing else:
+    m.types[t.uniqueId.item] = p
+
+proc toPackedLib(l: PLib; c: var PackedEncoder; m: var PackedModule): PackedLib =
+  ## the plib hangs off the psym via the .annex field
+  if l.isNil: return
+  result = PackedLib(kind: l.kind, generated: l.generated,
+    isOverridden: l.isOverridden, name: toLitId($l.name, m)
+  )
+  storeNode(result, l, path)
+
+proc storeSym*(s: PSym; c: var PackedEncoder; m: var PackedModule): PackedItemId =
+  ## serialize a psym
+  if s.isNil: return nilItemId
+
+  assert s.itemId.module >= 0
+  result = PackedItemId(module: toLitId(s.itemId.module.FileIndex, c, m), item: s.itemId.item)
+
+  if s.itemId.module == c.thisModule and not c.symMarker.containsOrIncl(s.itemId.item):
+    #if s.itemId.item >= m.syms.len:
+    #  setLen m.syms, s.itemId.item+1
+
+    assert sfForward notin s.flags
+
+    var p = PackedSym(id: s.itemId.item, kind: s.kind, flags: s.flags, info: s.info.toPackedInfo(c, m), magic: s.magic,
+      position: s.position, offset: s.offset, disamb: s.disamb, options: s.options,
+      name: s.name.s.toLitId(m))
+
+    storeNode(p, s, ast)
+    storeNode(p, s, constraint)
+
+    if s.kind in {skLet, skVar, skField, skForVar}:
+      c.addMissing s.guard
+      p.guard = s.guard.safeItemId(c, m)
+      p.bitsize = s.bitsize
+      p.alignment = s.alignment
+
+    p.externalName = toLitId(s.loc.snippet, m)
+    p.locFlags = s.loc.flags
+    c.addMissing s.typ
+    p.typ = s.typ.storeType(c, m)
+    c.addMissing s.owner
+    p.owner = s.owner.safeItemId(c, m)
+    p.annex = toPackedLib(s.annex, c, m)
+    when hasFFI:
+      p.cname = toLitId(s.cname, m)
+    p.instantiatedFrom = s.instantiatedFrom.safeItemId(c, m)
+
+    # fill the reserved slot, nothing else:
+    m.syms[s.itemId.item] = p
+
+proc addModuleRef(n: PNode; ir: var PackedTree; c: var PackedEncoder; m: var PackedModule) =
+  ## add a remote symbol reference to the tree
+  let info = n.info.toPackedInfo(c, m)
+  if n.typ != n.sym.typ:
+    ir.addNode(kind = nkModuleRef, operand = 3.int32, # spans 3 nodes in total
+               info = info, flags = n.flags,
+               typeId = storeTypeLater(n.typ, c, m))
+  else:
+    ir.addNode(kind = nkModuleRef, operand = 3.int32, # spans 3 nodes in total
+              info = info, flags = n.flags)
+  ir.addNode(kind = nkNone, info = info,
+             operand = toLitId(n.sym.itemId.module.FileIndex, c, m).int32)
+  ir.addNode(kind = nkNone, info = info,
+             operand = n.sym.itemId.item)
+
+proc toPackedNode*(n: PNode; ir: var PackedTree; c: var PackedEncoder; m: var PackedModule) =
+  ## serialize a node into the tree
+  if n == nil:
+    ir.addNode(kind = nkNilRodNode, operand = 1, info = NoLineInfo)
+    return
+  let info = toPackedInfo(n.info, c, m)
+  case n.kind
+  of nkNone, nkEmpty, nkNilLit, nkType:
+    ir.addNode(kind = n.kind, flags = n.flags, operand = 0,
+               typeId = storeTypeLater(n.typ, c, m), info = info)
+  of nkIdent:
+    ir.addNode(kind = n.kind, flags = n.flags,
+                operand = int32 getOrIncl(m.strings, n.ident.s),
+                typeId = storeTypeLater(n.typ, c, m), info = info)
+  of nkSym:
+    if n.sym.itemId.module == c.thisModule:
+      # it is a symbol that belongs to the module we're currently
+      # packing:
+      let id = n.sym.storeSymLater(c, m).item
+      if n.typ != n.sym.typ:
+        ir.addNode(kind = nkSym, flags = n.flags, operand = id,
+                   info = info,
+                   typeId = storeTypeLater(n.typ, c, m))
+      else:
+        ir.addNode(kind = nkSym, flags = n.flags, operand = id,
+                   info = info)
+    else:
+      # store it as an external module reference:
+      addModuleRef(n, ir, c, m)
+  of externIntLit:
+    ir.addNode(kind = n.kind, flags = n.flags,
+               operand = int32 getOrIncl(m.numbers, n.intVal),
+               typeId = storeTypeLater(n.typ, c, m), info = info)
+  of nkStrLit..nkTripleStrLit:
+    ir.addNode(kind = n.kind, flags = n.flags,
+               operand = int32 getOrIncl(m.strings, n.strVal),
+               typeId = storeTypeLater(n.typ, c, m), info = info)
+  of nkFloatLit..nkFloat128Lit:
+    ir.addNode(kind = n.kind, flags = n.flags,
+               operand = int32 getOrIncl(m.numbers, cast[BiggestInt](n.floatVal)),
+               typeId = storeTypeLater(n.typ, c, m), info = info)
+  else:
+    let patchPos = ir.prepare(n.kind, n.flags,
+                              storeTypeLater(n.typ, c, m), info)
+    for i in 0..<n.len:
+      toPackedNode(n[i], ir, c, m)
+    ir.patch patchPos
+
+proc storeTypeInst*(c: var PackedEncoder; m: var PackedModule; s: PSym; inst: PType) =
+  m.typeInstCache.add (storeSymLater(s, c, m), storeTypeLater(inst, c, m))
+
+proc addPragmaComputation*(c: var PackedEncoder; m: var PackedModule; n: PNode) =
+  toPackedNode(n, m.toReplay, c, m)
+
+proc toPackedProcDef(n: PNode; ir: var PackedTree; c: var PackedEncoder; m: var PackedModule) =
+  let info = toPackedInfo(n.info, c, m)
+  let patchPos = ir.prepare(n.kind, n.flags,
+                            storeTypeLater(n.typ, c, m), info)
+  for i in 0..<n.len:
+    if i != bodyPos:
+      toPackedNode(n[i], ir, c, m)
+    else:
+      # do not serialize the body of the proc, it's unnecessary since
+      # n[0].sym.ast has the sem'checked variant of it which is what
+      # everybody should use instead.
+      ir.addNode(kind = nkEmpty, flags = {}, operand = 0,
+                 typeId = nilItemId, info = info)
+  ir.patch patchPos
+
+proc toPackedNodeIgnoreProcDefs(n: PNode, encoder: var PackedEncoder; m: var PackedModule) =
+  case n.kind
+  of routineDefs:
+    toPackedProcDef(n, m.topLevel, encoder, m)
+    when false:
+      # we serialize n[namePos].sym instead
+      if n[namePos].kind == nkSym:
+        let s = n[namePos].sym
+        discard storeSym(s, encoder, m)
+        if s.flags * {sfExportc, sfCompilerProc, sfCompileTime} == {sfExportc}:
+          m.exportCProcs.add(s.itemId.item)
+      else:
+        toPackedNode(n, m.topLevel, encoder, m)
+  of nkStmtList, nkStmtListExpr:
+    for it in n:
+      toPackedNodeIgnoreProcDefs(it, encoder, m)
+  of nkImportStmt, nkImportExceptStmt, nkExportStmt, nkExportExceptStmt,
+     nkFromStmt, nkIncludeStmt:
+    discard "nothing to do"
+  else:
+    toPackedNode(n, m.topLevel, encoder, m)
+
+proc toPackedNodeTopLevel*(n: PNode, encoder: var PackedEncoder; m: var PackedModule) =
+  toPackedNodeIgnoreProcDefs(n, encoder, m)
+  flush encoder, m
+
+proc toPackedGeneratedProcDef*(s: PSym, encoder: var PackedEncoder; m: var PackedModule) =
+  ## Generic procs and generated `=hook`'s need explicit top-level entries so
+  ## that the code generator can work without having to special case these. These
+  ## entries will also be useful for other tools and are the cleanest design
+  ## I can come up with.
+  assert s.kind in routineKinds
+  toPackedProcDef(s.ast, m.topLevel, encoder, m)
+  #flush encoder, m
+
+proc storeAttachedProcDef*(t: PType; op: TTypeAttachedOp; s: PSym,
+                           encoder: var PackedEncoder; m: var PackedModule) =
+  assert s.kind in routineKinds
+  assert isActive(encoder)
+  let tid = storeTypeLater(t, encoder, m)
+  let sid = storeSymLater(s, encoder, m)
+  m.attachedOps.add (tid, op, sid)
+  toPackedGeneratedProcDef(s, encoder, m)
+
+proc storeInstantiation*(c: var PackedEncoder; m: var PackedModule; s: PSym; i: PInstantiation) =
+  var t = newSeq[PackedItemId](i.concreteTypes.len)
+  for j in 0..high(i.concreteTypes):
+    t[j] = storeTypeLater(i.concreteTypes[j], c, m)
+  m.procInstCache.add PackedInstantiation(key: storeSymLater(s, c, m),
+                                          sym: storeSymLater(i.sym, c, m),
+                                          concreteTypes: t)
+  toPackedGeneratedProcDef(i.sym, c, m)
+
+proc storeExpansion*(c: var PackedEncoder; m: var PackedModule; info: TLineInfo; s: PSym) =
+  toPackedNode(newSymNode(s, info), m.bodies, c, m)
+
+proc loadError(err: RodFileError; filename: AbsoluteFile; config: ConfigRef;) =
+  case err
+  of cannotOpen:
+    rawMessage(config, warnCannotOpenFile, filename.string)
+  of includeFileChanged:
+    rawMessage(config, warnFileChanged, filename.string)
+  else:
+    rawMessage(config, warnCannotOpenFile, filename.string & " reason: " & $err)
+    #echo "Error: ", $err, " loading file: ", filename.string
+
+proc toRodFile*(conf: ConfigRef; f: AbsoluteFile; ext = RodExt): AbsoluteFile =
+  result = changeFileExt(completeGeneratedFilePath(conf,
+    mangleModuleName(conf, f).AbsoluteFile), ext)
+
+const
+  BenchIC* = false
+
+when BenchIC:
+  var gloadBodies: MonoTime
+
+  template bench(x, body) =
+    let start = getMonoTime()
+    body
+    x = x + (getMonoTime() - start)
+
+else:
+  template bench(x, body) = body
+
+proc loadRodFile*(filename: AbsoluteFile; m: var PackedModule; config: ConfigRef;
+                  ignoreConfig = false): RodFileError =
+  var f = rodfiles.open(filename.string)
+  f.loadHeader()
+  f.loadSection configSection
+
+  f.loadPrim m.definedSymbols
+  f.loadPrim m.moduleFlags
+  f.loadPrim m.cfg
+
+  if f.err == ok and not configIdentical(m, config) and not ignoreConfig:
+    f.err = configMismatch
+
+  template loadSeqSection(section, data) {.dirty.} =
+    f.loadSection section
+    f.loadSeq data
+
+  template loadTableSection(section, data) {.dirty.} =
+    f.loadSection section
+    f.loadOrderedTable data
+
+  template loadTabSection(section, data) {.dirty.} =
+    f.loadSection section
+    f.load data
+
+  loadTabSection stringsSection, m.strings
+
+  loadSeqSection checkSumsSection, m.includes
+  if config.cmd != cmdM and not includesIdentical(m, config):
+    f.err = includeFileChanged
+
+  loadSeqSection depsSection, m.imports
+
+  bench gloadBodies:
+
+    loadTabSection numbersSection, m.numbers
+
+    loadSeqSection exportsSection, m.exports
+    loadSeqSection hiddenSection, m.hidden
+    loadSeqSection reexportsSection, m.reexports
+
+    loadSeqSection compilerProcsSection, m.compilerProcs
+
+    loadSeqSection trmacrosSection, m.trmacros
+
+    loadSeqSection convertersSection, m.converters
+    loadSeqSection methodsSection, m.methods
+    loadSeqSection pureEnumsSection, m.pureEnums
+
+    loadTabSection toReplaySection, m.toReplay
+    loadTabSection topLevelSection, m.topLevel
+
+    loadTabSection bodiesSection, m.bodies
+    loadTableSection symsSection, m.syms
+    loadTableSection typesSection, m.types
+
+    loadSeqSection typeInstCacheSection, m.typeInstCache
+    loadSeqSection procInstCacheSection, m.procInstCache
+    loadSeqSection attachedOpsSection, m.attachedOps
+    loadSeqSection methodsPerGenericTypeSection, m.methodsPerGenericType
+    loadSeqSection enumToStringProcsSection, m.enumToStringProcs
+    loadSeqSection methodsPerTypeSection, m.methodsPerType
+    loadSeqSection dispatchersSection, m.dispatchers
+    loadSeqSection typeInfoSection, m.emittedTypeInfo
+
+    f.loadSection backendFlagsSection
+    f.loadPrim m.backendFlags
+
+    f.loadSection sideChannelSection
+  f.load m.man
+
+  close(f)
+  result = f.err
+
+# -------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+proc storeError(err: RodFileError; filename: AbsoluteFile) =
+  echo "Error: ", $err, "; couldn't write to ", filename.string
+  removeFile(filename.string)
+
+proc saveRodFile*(filename: AbsoluteFile; encoder: var PackedEncoder; m: var PackedModule) =
+  flush encoder, m
+  #rememberConfig(encoder, encoder.config)
+
+  var f = rodfiles.create(filename.string)
+  f.storeHeader()
+  f.storeSection configSection
+  f.storePrim m.definedSymbols
+  f.storePrim m.moduleFlags
+  f.storePrim m.cfg
+
+  template storeSeqSection(section, data) {.dirty.} =
+    f.storeSection section
+    f.storeSeq data
+
+  template storeTabSection(section, data) {.dirty.} =
+    f.storeSection section
+    f.store data
+
+  template storeTableSection(section, data) {.dirty.} =
+    f.storeSection section
+    f.storeOrderedTable data
+
+  storeTabSection stringsSection, m.strings
+
+  storeSeqSection checkSumsSection, m.includes
+
+  storeSeqSection depsSection, m.imports
+
+  storeTabSection numbersSection, m.numbers
+
+  storeSeqSection exportsSection, m.exports
+  storeSeqSection hiddenSection, m.hidden
+  storeSeqSection reexportsSection, m.reexports
+
+  storeSeqSection compilerProcsSection, m.compilerProcs
+
+  storeSeqSection trmacrosSection, m.trmacros
+  storeSeqSection convertersSection, m.converters
+  storeSeqSection methodsSection, m.methods
+  storeSeqSection pureEnumsSection, m.pureEnums
+
+  storeTabSection toReplaySection, m.toReplay
+  storeTabSection topLevelSection, m.topLevel
+
+  storeTabSection bodiesSection, m.bodies
+  storeTableSection symsSection, m.syms
+
+  storeTableSection typesSection, m.types
+
+  storeSeqSection typeInstCacheSection, m.typeInstCache
+  storeSeqSection procInstCacheSection, m.procInstCache
+  storeSeqSection attachedOpsSection, m.attachedOps
+  storeSeqSection methodsPerGenericTypeSection, m.methodsPerGenericType
+  storeSeqSection enumToStringProcsSection, m.enumToStringProcs
+  storeSeqSection methodsPerTypeSection, m.methodsPerType
+  storeSeqSection dispatchersSection, m.dispatchers
+  storeSeqSection typeInfoSection, m.emittedTypeInfo
+
+  f.storeSection backendFlagsSection
+  f.storePrim m.backendFlags
+
+  f.storeSection sideChannelSection
+  f.store m.man
+
+  close(f)
+  encoder.disable()
+  if f.err != ok:
+    storeError(f.err, filename)
+
+  when false:
+    # basic loader testing:
+    var m2: PackedModule
+    discard loadRodFile(filename, m2, encoder.config)
+    echo "loaded ", filename.string
+
+# ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+type
+  PackedDecoder* = object
+    lastModule: int
+    lastLit: LitId
+    lastFile: FileIndex # remember the last lookup entry.
+    config*: ConfigRef
+    cache*: IdentCache
+
+type
+  ModuleStatus* = enum
+    undefined,
+    storing,  # state is strictly for stress-testing purposes
+    loading,
+    loaded,
+    outdated,
+    stored    # store is complete, no further additions possible
+
+  LoadedModule* = object
+    status*: ModuleStatus
+    symsInit, typesInit, loadedButAliveSetChanged*: bool
+    fromDisk*: PackedModule
+    syms: OrderedTable[int32, PSym] # indexed by itemId
+    types: OrderedTable[int32, PType]
+    module*: PSym # the one true module symbol.
+    iface, ifaceHidden: Table[PIdent, seq[PackedItemId]]
+      # PackedItemId so that it works with reexported symbols too
+      # ifaceHidden includes private symbols
+
+type
+  PackedModuleGraph* = object
+    pm*: seq[LoadedModule] # indexed by FileIndex
+    when BenchIC:
+      depAnalysis: MonoTime
+      loadBody: MonoTime
+      loadSym, loadType, loadBodies: MonoTime
+
+when BenchIC:
+  proc echoTimes*(m: PackedModuleGraph) =
+    echo "analysis: ", m.depAnalysis, " loadBody: ", m.loadBody, " loadSym: ",
+      m.loadSym, " loadType: ", m.loadType, " all bodies: ", gloadBodies
+
+template `[]`*(m: PackedModuleGraph; i: int): LoadedModule = m.pm[i]
+template len*(m: PackedModuleGraph): int = m.pm.len
+
+proc loadType(c: var PackedDecoder; g: var PackedModuleGraph; thisModule: int; t: PackedItemId): PType
+proc loadSym(c: var PackedDecoder; g: var PackedModuleGraph; thisModule: int; s: PackedItemId): PSym
+
+proc toFileIndexCached*(c: var PackedDecoder; g: PackedModuleGraph; thisModule: int; f: LitId): FileIndex =
+  if f == LitId(0):
+    result = InvalidFileIdx
+  elif c.lastLit == f and c.lastModule == thisModule:
+    result = c.lastFile
+  else:
+    result = toFileIndex(f, g[thisModule].fromDisk, c.config)
+    c.lastModule = thisModule
+    c.lastLit = f
+    c.lastFile = result
+
+proc translateLineInfo(c: var PackedDecoder; g: var PackedModuleGraph; thisModule: int;
+                       x: PackedLineInfo): TLineInfo =
+  assert g[thisModule].status in {loaded, storing, stored}
+  let (fileId, line, col) = unpack(g[thisModule].fromDisk.man, x)
+  result = TLineInfo(line: line.uint16, col: col.int16,
+            fileIndex: toFileIndexCached(c, g, thisModule, fileId))
+
+proc loadNodes*(c: var PackedDecoder; g: var PackedModuleGraph; thisModule: int;
+                tree: PackedTree; n: NodePos): PNode =
+  let k = n.kind
+  if k == nkNilRodNode:
+    return nil
+  when false:
+    echo "loading node ", c.config $ translateLineInfo(c, g, thisModule, n.info)
+  result = newNodeIT(k, translateLineInfo(c, g, thisModule, n.info),
+    loadType(c, g, thisModule, n.typ))
+  result.flags = n.flags
+
+  case k
+  of nkNone, nkEmpty, nkNilLit, nkType:
+    discard
+  of nkIdent:
+    result.ident = getIdent(c.cache, g[thisModule].fromDisk.strings[n.litId])
+  of nkSym:
+    result.sym = loadSym(c, g, thisModule, PackedItemId(module: LitId(0), item: tree[n].soperand))
+    if result.typ == nil:
+      result.typ = result.sym.typ
+  of externIntLit:
+    result.intVal = g[thisModule].fromDisk.numbers[n.litId]
+  of nkStrLit..nkTripleStrLit:
+    result.strVal = g[thisModule].fromDisk.strings[n.litId]
+  of nkFloatLit..nkFloat128Lit:
+    result.floatVal = cast[BiggestFloat](g[thisModule].fromDisk.numbers[n.litId])
+  of nkModuleRef:
+    let (n1, n2) = sons2(tree, n)
+    assert n1.kind == nkNone
+    assert n2.kind == nkNone
+    transitionNoneToSym(result)
+    result.sym = loadSym(c, g, thisModule, PackedItemId(module: n1.litId, item: tree[n2].soperand))
+    if result.typ == nil:
+      result.typ = result.sym.typ
+  else:
+    for n0 in sonsReadonly(tree, n):
+      result.addAllowNil loadNodes(c, g, thisModule, tree, n0)
+
+proc initPackedDecoder*(config: ConfigRef; cache: IdentCache): PackedDecoder =
+  result = PackedDecoder(
+    lastModule: int32(-1),
+    lastLit: LitId(0),
+    lastFile: FileIndex(-1),
+    config: config,
+    cache: cache)
+
+proc loadProcHeader(c: var PackedDecoder; g: var PackedModuleGraph; thisModule: int;
+                    tree: PackedTree; n: NodePos): PNode =
+  # do not load the body of the proc. This will be done later in
+  # getProcBody, if required.
+  let k = n.kind
+  result = newNodeIT(k, translateLineInfo(c, g, thisModule, n.info),
+    loadType(c, g, thisModule, n.typ))
+  result.flags = n.flags
+  assert k in {nkProcDef, nkMethodDef, nkIteratorDef, nkFuncDef, nkConverterDef, nkLambda}
+  var i = 0
+  for n0 in sonsReadonly(tree, n):
+    if i != bodyPos:
+      result.add loadNodes(c, g, thisModule, tree, n0)
+    else:
+      result.addAllowNil nil
+    inc i
+
+proc loadProcBody(c: var PackedDecoder; g: var PackedModuleGraph; thisModule: int;
+                  tree: PackedTree; n: NodePos): PNode =
+  result = nil
+  var i = 0
+  for n0 in sonsReadonly(tree, n):
+    if i == bodyPos:
+      result = loadNodes(c, g, thisModule, tree, n0)
+    inc i
+
+proc moduleIndex*(c: var PackedDecoder; g: var PackedModuleGraph; thisModule: int;
+                  s: PackedItemId): int32 {.inline.} =
+  result = if s.module == LitId(0): thisModule.int32
+           else: toFileIndexCached(c, g, thisModule, s.module).int32
+
+proc symHeaderFromPacked(c: var PackedDecoder; g: var PackedModuleGraph;
+                         s: PackedSym; si, item: int32): PSym =
+  result = PSym(itemId: ItemId(module: si, item: item),
+    kind: s.kind, magic: s.magic, flags: s.flags,
+    info: translateLineInfo(c, g, si, s.info),
+    options: s.options,
+    position: if s.kind in {skForVar, skVar, skLet, skTemp}: 0 else: s.position,
+    offset: if s.kind in routineKinds: defaultOffset else: s.offset,
+    disamb: s.disamb,
+    name: getIdent(c.cache, g[si].fromDisk.strings[s.name])
+  )
+
+template loadAstBody(p, field) =
+  if p.field != emptyNodeId:
+    result.field = loadNodes(c, g, si, g[si].fromDisk.bodies, NodePos p.field)
+
+template loadAstBodyLazy(p, field) =
+  if p.field != emptyNodeId:
+    result.field = loadProcHeader(c, g, si, g[si].fromDisk.bodies, NodePos p.field)
+
+proc loadLib(c: var PackedDecoder; g: var PackedModuleGraph;
+             si, item: int32; l: PackedLib): PLib =
+  # XXX: hack; assume a zero LitId means the PackedLib is all zero (empty)
+  if l.name.int == 0:
+    result = nil
+  else:
+    result = PLib(generated: l.generated, isOverridden: l.isOverridden,
+                  kind: l.kind, name: rope g[si].fromDisk.strings[l.name])
+    loadAstBody(l, path)
+
+proc symBodyFromPacked(c: var PackedDecoder; g: var PackedModuleGraph;
+                       s: PackedSym; si, item: int32; result: PSym) =
+  result.typ = loadType(c, g, si, s.typ)
+  loadAstBody(s, constraint)
+  if result.kind in {skProc, skFunc, skIterator, skConverter, skMethod}:
+    loadAstBodyLazy(s, ast)
+  else:
+    loadAstBody(s, ast)
+  result.annex = loadLib(c, g, si, item, s.annex)
+  when hasFFI:
+    result.cname = g[si].fromDisk.strings[s.cname]
+
+  if s.kind in {skLet, skVar, skField, skForVar}:
+    result.guard = loadSym(c, g, si, s.guard)
+    result.bitsize = s.bitsize
+    result.alignment = s.alignment
+  result.owner = loadSym(c, g, si, s.owner)
+  let externalName = g[si].fromDisk.strings[s.externalName]
+  if externalName != "":
+    result.loc.snippet = externalName
+  result.loc.flags = s.locFlags
+  result.instantiatedFrom = loadSym(c, g, si, s.instantiatedFrom)
+
+proc needsRecompile(g: var PackedModuleGraph; conf: ConfigRef; cache: IdentCache;
+                    fileIdx: FileIndex; cachedModules: var seq[FileIndex]): bool
+proc loadToReplayNodes(g: var PackedModuleGraph; conf: ConfigRef; cache: IdentCache;
+                       fileIdx: FileIndex; m: var LoadedModule)
+
+proc loadSym(c: var PackedDecoder; g: var PackedModuleGraph; thisModule: int; s: PackedItemId): PSym =
+  if s == nilItemId:
+    result = nil
+  else:
+    let si = moduleIndex(c, g, thisModule, s)
+    if si >= g.len:
+      g.pm.setLen(si+1)
+
+    if g[si].status == undefined and c.config.cmd == cmdM:
+      var cachedModules: seq[FileIndex] = @[]
+      discard needsRecompile(g, c.config, c.cache, FileIndex(si), cachedModules)
+      for m in cachedModules:
+        loadToReplayNodes(g, c.config, c.cache, m, g[int m])
+
+    assert g[si].status in {loaded, storing, stored}
+    #if not g[si].symsInit:
+    #  g[si].symsInit = true
+    #  setLen g[si].syms, g[si].fromDisk.syms.len
+
+    if g[si].syms.getOrDefault(s.item) == nil:
+      if g[si].fromDisk.syms[s.item].kind != skModule:
+        result = symHeaderFromPacked(c, g, g[si].fromDisk.syms[s.item], si, s.item)
+        # store it here early on, so that recursions work properly:
+        g[si].syms[s.item] = result
+        symBodyFromPacked(c, g, g[si].fromDisk.syms[s.item], si, s.item, result)
+      else:
+        result = g[si].module
+        assert result != nil
+        g[si].syms[s.item] = result
+
+    else:
+      result = g[si].syms[s.item]
+
+proc typeHeaderFromPacked(c: var PackedDecoder; g: var PackedModuleGraph;
+                          t: PackedType; si, item: int32): PType =
+  result = PType(itemId: ItemId(module: si, item: t.nonUniqueId), kind: t.kind,
+                flags: t.flags, size: t.size, align: t.align,
+                paddingAtEnd: t.paddingAtEnd,
+                uniqueId: ItemId(module: si, item: item),
+                callConv: t.callConv)
+
+proc typeBodyFromPacked(c: var PackedDecoder; g: var PackedModuleGraph;
+                        t: PackedType; si, item: int32; result: PType) =
+  result.sym = loadSym(c, g, si, t.sym)
+  result.owner = loadSym(c, g, si, t.owner)
+  when false:
+    for op, item in pairs t.attachedOps:
+      result.attachedOps[op] = loadSym(c, g, si, item)
+  result.typeInst = loadType(c, g, si, t.typeInst)
+  var sons = newSeq[PType]()
+  for son in items t.types:
+    sons.add loadType(c, g, si, son)
+  result.setSons(sons)
+  loadAstBody(t, n)
+  when false:
+    for gen, id in items t.methods:
+      result.methods.add((gen, loadSym(c, g, si, id)))
+
+proc loadType(c: var PackedDecoder; g: var PackedModuleGraph; thisModule: int; t: PackedItemId): PType =
+  if t == nilItemId:
+    result = nil
+  else:
+    let si = moduleIndex(c, g, thisModule, t)
+    assert g[si].status in {loaded, storing, stored}
+    assert t.item > 0
+
+    #if not g[si].typesInit:
+    #  g[si].typesInit = true
+    #  setLen g[si].types, g[si].fromDisk.types.len
+
+    if g[si].types.getOrDefault(t.item) == nil:
+      result = typeHeaderFromPacked(c, g, g[si].fromDisk.types[t.item], si, t.item)
+      # store it here early on, so that recursions work properly:
+      g[si].types[t.item] = result
+      typeBodyFromPacked(c, g, g[si].fromDisk.types[t.item], si, t.item, result)
+      #assert result.itemId.item == t.item, $(result.itemId.item, t.item)
+      assert result.itemId.item > 0, $(result.itemId.item, t.item)
+    else:
+      result = g[si].types[t.item]
+      assert result.itemId.item > 0, "2"
+
+proc setupLookupTables(g: var PackedModuleGraph; conf: ConfigRef; cache: IdentCache;
+                       fileIdx: FileIndex; m: var LoadedModule) =
+  m.iface = initTable[PIdent, seq[PackedItemId]]()
+  m.ifaceHidden = initTable[PIdent, seq[PackedItemId]]()
+  template impl(iface, e) =
+    let nameLit = e[0]
+    let e2 =
+      when e[1] is PackedItemId: e[1]
+      else: PackedItemId(module: LitId(0), item: e[1])
+    iface.mgetOrPut(cache.getIdent(m.fromDisk.strings[nameLit]), @[]).add(e2)
+
+  for e in m.fromDisk.exports:
+    m.iface.impl(e)
+    m.ifaceHidden.impl(e)
+  for e in m.fromDisk.reexports:
+    m.iface.impl(e)
+    m.ifaceHidden.impl(e)
+  for e in m.fromDisk.hidden:
+    m.ifaceHidden.impl(e)
+
+  let filename = AbsoluteFile toFullPath(conf, fileIdx)
+  # We cannot call ``newSym`` here, because we have to circumvent the ID
+  # mechanism, which we do in order to assign each module a persistent ID.
+  m.module = PSym(kind: skModule, itemId: ItemId(module: int32(fileIdx), item: 0'i32),
+                  name: getIdent(cache, splitFile(filename).name),
+                  info: newLineInfo(fileIdx, 1, 1),
+                  position: int(fileIdx))
+  m.module.owner = getPackage(conf, cache, fileIdx)
+  m.module.flags = m.fromDisk.moduleFlags
+
+proc loadToReplayNodes(g: var PackedModuleGraph; conf: ConfigRef; cache: IdentCache;
+                       fileIdx: FileIndex; m: var LoadedModule) =
+  m.module.ast = newNode(nkStmtList)
+  if m.fromDisk.toReplay.len > 0:
+    var decoder = PackedDecoder(
+      lastModule: int32(-1),
+      lastLit: LitId(0),
+      lastFile: FileIndex(-1),
+      config: conf,
+      cache: cache)
+    for p in allNodes(m.fromDisk.toReplay):
+      m.module.ast.add loadNodes(decoder, g, int(fileIdx), m.fromDisk.toReplay, p)
+
+proc needsRecompile(g: var PackedModuleGraph; conf: ConfigRef; cache: IdentCache;
+                    fileIdx: FileIndex; cachedModules: var seq[FileIndex]): bool =
+  # Does the file belong to the fileIdx need to be recompiled?
+  let m = int(fileIdx)
+  if m >= g.len:
+    g.pm.setLen(m+1)
+
+  case g[m].status
+  of undefined:
+    g[m].status = loading
+    let fullpath = msgs.toFullPath(conf, fileIdx)
+    let rod = toRodFile(conf, AbsoluteFile fullpath)
+    let err = loadRodFile(rod, g[m].fromDisk, conf, ignoreConfig = conf.cmd == cmdM)
+    if err == ok:
+      if conf.cmd == cmdM:
+        setupLookupTables(g, conf, cache, fileIdx, g[m])
+        cachedModules.add fileIdx
+        g[m].status = loaded
+        result = false
+      else:
+        result = optForceFullMake in conf.globalOptions
+        # check its dependencies:
+        let imp = g[m].fromDisk.imports
+        for dep in imp:
+          let fid = toFileIndex(dep, g[m].fromDisk, conf)
+          # Warning: we need to traverse the full graph, so
+          # do **not use break here**!
+          if needsRecompile(g, conf, cache, fid, cachedModules):
+            result = true
+
+        if not result:
+          setupLookupTables(g, conf, cache, fileIdx, g[m])
+          cachedModules.add fileIdx
+          g[m].status = loaded
+        else:
+          g.pm[m] = LoadedModule(status: outdated, module: g[m].module)
+    else:
+      loadError(err, rod, conf)
+      g[m].status = outdated
+      result = true
+    when false: loadError(err, rod, conf)
+  of loading, loaded:
+    # For loading: Assume no recompile is required.
+    result = false
+  of outdated, storing, stored:
+    result = true
+
+proc moduleFromRodFile*(g: var PackedModuleGraph; conf: ConfigRef; cache: IdentCache;
+                        fileIdx: FileIndex; cachedModules: var seq[FileIndex]): PSym =
+  ## Returns 'nil' if the module needs to be recompiled.
+  bench g.depAnalysis:
+    if needsRecompile(g, conf, cache, fileIdx, cachedModules):
+      result = nil
+    else:
+      result = g[int fileIdx].module
+      assert result != nil
+      assert result.position == int(fileIdx)
+  for m in cachedModules:
+    loadToReplayNodes(g, conf, cache, m, g[int m])
+
+template setupDecoder() {.dirty.} =
+  var decoder = PackedDecoder(
+    lastModule: int32(-1),
+    lastLit: LitId(0),
+    lastFile: FileIndex(-1),
+    config: config,
+    cache: cache)
+
+proc loadProcBody*(config: ConfigRef, cache: IdentCache;
+                   g: var PackedModuleGraph; s: PSym): PNode =
+  bench g.loadBody:
+    let mId = s.itemId.module
+    var decoder = PackedDecoder(
+      lastModule: int32(-1),
+      lastLit: LitId(0),
+      lastFile: FileIndex(-1),
+      config: config,
+      cache: cache)
+    let pos = g[mId].fromDisk.syms[s.itemId.item].ast
+    assert pos != emptyNodeId
+    result = loadProcBody(decoder, g, mId, g[mId].fromDisk.bodies, NodePos pos)
+
+proc loadTypeFromId*(config: ConfigRef, cache: IdentCache;
+                     g: var PackedModuleGraph; module: int; id: PackedItemId): PType =
+  bench g.loadType:
+    result = g[module].types.getOrDefault(id.item)
+    if result == nil:
+      var decoder = PackedDecoder(
+        lastModule: int32(-1),
+        lastLit: LitId(0),
+        lastFile: FileIndex(-1),
+        config: config,
+        cache: cache)
+      result = loadType(decoder, g, module, id)
+
+proc loadSymFromId*(config: ConfigRef, cache: IdentCache;
+                    g: var PackedModuleGraph; module: int; id: PackedItemId): PSym =
+  bench g.loadSym:
+    result = g[module].syms.getOrDefault(id.item)
+    if result == nil:
+      var decoder = PackedDecoder(
+        lastModule: int32(-1),
+        lastLit: LitId(0),
+        lastFile: FileIndex(-1),
+        config: config,
+        cache: cache)
+      result = loadSym(decoder, g, module, id)
+
+proc translateId*(id: PackedItemId; g: PackedModuleGraph; thisModule: int; config: ConfigRef): ItemId =
+  if id.module == LitId(0):
+    ItemId(module: thisModule.int32, item: id.item)
+  else:
+    ItemId(module: toFileIndex(id.module, g[thisModule].fromDisk, config).int32, item: id.item)
+
+proc simulateLoadedModule*(g: var PackedModuleGraph; conf: ConfigRef; cache: IdentCache;
+                           moduleSym: PSym; m: PackedModule) =
+  # For now only used for heavy debugging. In the future we could use this to reduce the
+  # compiler's memory consumption.
+  let idx = moduleSym.position
+  assert g[idx].status in {storing}
+  g[idx].status = loaded
+  assert g[idx].module == moduleSym
+  setupLookupTables(g, conf, cache, FileIndex(idx), g[idx])
+  loadToReplayNodes(g, conf, cache, FileIndex(idx), g[idx])
+
+# ---------------- symbol table handling ----------------
+
+type
+  RodIter* = object
+    decoder: PackedDecoder
+    values: seq[PackedItemId]
+    i, module: int
+
+template interfSelect(a: LoadedModule, importHidden: bool): auto =
+  var ret = a.iface.addr
+  if importHidden: ret = a.ifaceHidden.addr
+  ret[]
+
+proc initRodIter*(it: var RodIter; config: ConfigRef, cache: IdentCache;
+                  g: var PackedModuleGraph; module: FileIndex;
+                  name: PIdent, importHidden: bool): PSym =
+  it.decoder = PackedDecoder(
+    lastModule: int32(-1),
+    lastLit: LitId(0),
+    lastFile: FileIndex(-1),
+    config: config,
+    cache: cache)
+  it.values = g[int module].interfSelect(importHidden).getOrDefault(name)
+  it.i = 0
+  it.module = int(module)
+  if it.i < it.values.len:
+    result = loadSym(it.decoder, g, int(module), it.values[it.i])
+    inc it.i
+  else:
+    result = nil
+
+proc initRodIterAllSyms*(it: var RodIter; config: ConfigRef, cache: IdentCache;
+                         g: var PackedModuleGraph; module: FileIndex; importHidden: bool): PSym =
+  it.decoder = PackedDecoder(
+    lastModule: int32(-1),
+    lastLit: LitId(0),
+    lastFile: FileIndex(-1),
+    config: config,
+    cache: cache)
+  it.values = @[]
+  it.module = int(module)
+  for v in g[int module].interfSelect(importHidden).values:
+    it.values.add v
+  it.i = 0
+  if it.i < it.values.len:
+    result = loadSym(it.decoder, g, int(module), it.values[it.i])
+    inc it.i
+  else:
+    result = nil
+
+proc nextRodIter*(it: var RodIter; g: var PackedModuleGraph): PSym =
+  if it.i < it.values.len:
+    result = loadSym(it.decoder, g, it.module, it.values[it.i])
+    inc it.i
+  else:
+    result = nil
+
+iterator interfaceSymbols*(config: ConfigRef, cache: IdentCache;
+                           g: var PackedModuleGraph; module: FileIndex;
+                           name: PIdent, importHidden: bool): PSym =
+  setupDecoder()
+  let values = g[int module].interfSelect(importHidden).getOrDefault(name)
+  for pid in values:
+    let s = loadSym(decoder, g, int(module), pid)
+    assert s != nil
+    yield s
+
+proc interfaceSymbol*(config: ConfigRef, cache: IdentCache;
+                      g: var PackedModuleGraph; module: FileIndex;
+                      name: PIdent, importHidden: bool): PSym =
+  setupDecoder()
+  let values = g[int module].interfSelect(importHidden).getOrDefault(name)
+  result = loadSym(decoder, g, int(module), values[0])
+
+proc idgenFromLoadedModule*(m: LoadedModule): IdGenerator =
+  IdGenerator(module: m.module.itemId.module, symId: int32 m.fromDisk.syms.len,
+              typeId: int32 m.fromDisk.types.len)
+
+proc searchForCompilerproc*(m: LoadedModule; name: string): int32 =
+  # slow, linear search, but the results are cached:
+  for it in items(m.fromDisk.compilerProcs):
+    if m.fromDisk.strings[it[0]] == name:
+      return it[1]
+  return -1
+
+# ------------------------- .rod file viewer ---------------------------------
+
+proc rodViewer*(rodfile: AbsoluteFile; config: ConfigRef, cache: IdentCache) =
+  var m: PackedModule = PackedModule()
+  let err = loadRodFile(rodfile, m, config, ignoreConfig=true)
+  if err != ok:
+    config.quitOrRaise "Error: could not load: " & $rodfile.string & " reason: " & $err
+
+  when false:
+    echo "exports:"
+    for ex in m.exports:
+      echo "  ", m.strings[ex[0]], " local ID: ", ex[1]
+      assert ex[0] == m.syms[ex[1]].name
+      # ex[1] int32
+
+    echo "reexports:"
+    for ex in m.reexports:
+      echo "  ", m.strings[ex[0]]
+    #  reexports*: seq[(LitId, PackedItemId)]
+
+    echo "hidden: " & $m.hidden.len
+    for ex in m.hidden:
+      echo "  ", m.strings[ex[0]], " local ID: ", ex[1]
+
+  when false:
+    echo "all symbols"
+    for i in 0..high(m.syms):
+      if m.syms[i].name != LitId(0):
+        echo "  ", m.strings[m.syms[i].name], " local ID: ", i, " kind ", m.syms[i].kind
+      else:
+        echo "  <anon symbol?> local ID: ", i, " kind ", m.syms[i].kind
+
+  echo "symbols: ", m.syms.len, " types: ", m.types.len,
+    " top level nodes: ", m.topLevel.len, " other nodes: ", m.bodies.len,
+    " strings: ", m.strings.len, " numbers: ", m.numbers.len
+
+  echo "SIZES:"
+  echo "symbols: ", m.syms.len * sizeof(PackedSym), " types: ", m.types.len * sizeof(PackedType),
+    " top level nodes: ", m.topLevel.len * sizeof(PackedNode),
+    " other nodes: ", m.bodies.len * sizeof(PackedNode),
+    " strings: ", sizeOnDisc(m.strings)
+  when false:
+    var tt = 0
+    var fc = 0
+    for x in m.topLevel:
+      if x.kind == nkSym or x.typeId == nilItemId: inc tt
+      if x.flags == {}: inc fc
+    for x in m.bodies:
+      if x.kind == nkSym or x.typeId == nilItemId: inc tt
+      if x.flags == {}: inc fc
+    let total = float(m.topLevel.len + m.bodies.len)
+    echo "nodes with nil type: ", tt, " in % ", tt.float / total
+    echo "nodes with empty flags: ", fc.float / total
diff --git a/compiler/ic/iclineinfos.nim b/compiler/ic/iclineinfos.nim
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..74a7d971b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/compiler/ic/iclineinfos.nim
@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+#
+#
+#           The Nim Compiler
+#        (c) Copyright 2024 Andreas Rumpf
+#
+#    See the file "copying.txt", included in this
+#    distribution, for details about the copyright.
+#
+
+# For the line information we use 32 bits. They are used as follows:
+# Bit 0 (AsideBit): If we have inline line information or not. If not, the
+# remaining 31 bits are used as an index into a seq[(LitId, int, int)].
+#
+# We use 10 bits for the "file ID", this means a program can consist of as much
+# as 1024 different files. (If it uses more files than that, the overflow bit
+# would be set.)
+# This means we have 21 bits left to encode the (line, col) pair. We use 7 bits for the column
+# so 128 is the limit and 14 bits for the line number.
+# The packed representation supports files with up to 16384 lines.
+# Keep in mind that whenever any limit is reached the AsideBit is set and the real line
+# information is kept in a side channel.
+
+import std / assertions
+
+const
+  AsideBit = 1
+  FileBits = 10
+  LineBits = 14
+  ColBits = 7
+  FileMax = (1 shl FileBits) - 1
+  LineMax = (1 shl LineBits) - 1
+  ColMax = (1 shl ColBits) - 1
+
+static:
+  assert AsideBit + FileBits + LineBits + ColBits == 32
+
+import .. / ic / [bitabs, rodfiles] # for LitId
+
+type
+  PackedLineInfo* = distinct uint32
+
+  LineInfoManager* = object
+    aside: seq[(LitId, int32, int32)]
+
+const
+  NoLineInfo* = PackedLineInfo(0'u32)
+
+proc pack*(m: var LineInfoManager; file: LitId; line, col: int32): PackedLineInfo =
+  if file.uint32 <= FileMax.uint32 and line <= LineMax and col <= ColMax:
+    let col = if col < 0'i32: 0'u32 else: col.uint32
+    let line = if line < 0'i32: 0'u32 else: line.uint32
+    # use inline representation:
+    result = PackedLineInfo((file.uint32 shl 1'u32) or (line shl uint32(AsideBit + FileBits)) or
+      (col shl uint32(AsideBit + FileBits + LineBits)))
+  else:
+    result = PackedLineInfo((m.aside.len shl 1) or AsideBit)
+    m.aside.add (file, line, col)
+
+proc unpack*(m: LineInfoManager; i: PackedLineInfo): (LitId, int32, int32) =
+  let i = i.uint32
+  if (i and 1'u32) == 0'u32:
+    # inline representation:
+    result = (LitId((i shr 1'u32) and FileMax.uint32),
+      int32((i shr uint32(AsideBit + FileBits)) and LineMax.uint32),
+      int32((i shr uint32(AsideBit + FileBits + LineBits)) and ColMax.uint32))
+  else:
+    result = m.aside[int(i shr 1'u32)]
+
+proc getFileId*(m: LineInfoManager; i: PackedLineInfo): LitId =
+  result = unpack(m, i)[0]
+
+proc store*(r: var RodFile; m: LineInfoManager) = storeSeq(r, m.aside)
+proc load*(r: var RodFile; m: var LineInfoManager) = loadSeq(r, m.aside)
+
+when isMainModule:
+  var m = LineInfoManager(aside: @[])
+  for i in 0'i32..<16388'i32:
+    for col in 0'i32..<100'i32:
+      let packed = pack(m, LitId(1023), i, col)
+      let u = unpack(m, packed)
+      assert u[0] == LitId(1023)
+      assert u[1] == i
+      assert u[2] == col
+  echo m.aside.len
diff --git a/compiler/ic/integrity.nim b/compiler/ic/integrity.nim
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3e8ea2503
--- /dev/null
+++ b/compiler/ic/integrity.nim
@@ -0,0 +1,155 @@
+#
+#
+#           The Nim Compiler
+#        (c) Copyright 2021 Andreas Rumpf
+#
+#    See the file "copying.txt", included in this
+#    distribution, for details about the copyright.
+#
+
+## Integrity checking for a set of .rod files.
+## The set must cover a complete Nim project.
+
+import std/[sets, tables]
+
+when defined(nimPreviewSlimSystem):
+  import std/assertions
+
+import ".." / [ast, modulegraphs]
+import packed_ast, bitabs, ic
+
+type
+  CheckedContext = object
+    g: ModuleGraph
+    thisModule: int32
+    checkedSyms: HashSet[ItemId]
+    checkedTypes: HashSet[ItemId]
+
+proc checkType(c: var CheckedContext; typeId: PackedItemId)
+proc checkForeignSym(c: var CheckedContext; symId: PackedItemId)
+proc checkNode(c: var CheckedContext; tree: PackedTree; n: NodePos)
+
+proc checkTypeObj(c: var CheckedContext; typ: PackedType) =
+  for child in typ.types:
+    checkType(c, child)
+  if typ.n != emptyNodeId:
+    checkNode(c, c.g.packed[c.thisModule].fromDisk.bodies, NodePos typ.n)
+  if typ.sym != nilItemId:
+    checkForeignSym(c, typ.sym)
+  if typ.owner != nilItemId:
+    checkForeignSym(c, typ.owner)
+  checkType(c, typ.typeInst)
+
+proc checkType(c: var CheckedContext; typeId: PackedItemId) =
+  if typeId == nilItemId: return
+  let itemId = translateId(typeId, c.g.packed, c.thisModule, c.g.config)
+  if not c.checkedTypes.containsOrIncl(itemId):
+    let oldThisModule = c.thisModule
+    c.thisModule = itemId.module
+    checkTypeObj c, c.g.packed[itemId.module].fromDisk.types[itemId.item]
+    c.thisModule = oldThisModule
+
+proc checkSym(c: var CheckedContext; s: PackedSym) =
+  if s.name != LitId(0):
+    assert c.g.packed[c.thisModule].fromDisk.strings.hasLitId s.name
+  checkType c, s.typ
+  if s.ast != emptyNodeId:
+    checkNode(c, c.g.packed[c.thisModule].fromDisk.bodies, NodePos s.ast)
+  if s.owner != nilItemId:
+    checkForeignSym(c, s.owner)
+
+proc checkLocalSym(c: var CheckedContext; item: int32) =
+  let itemId = ItemId(module: c.thisModule, item: item)
+  if not c.checkedSyms.containsOrIncl(itemId):
+    checkSym c, c.g.packed[c.thisModule].fromDisk.syms[item]
+
+proc checkForeignSym(c: var CheckedContext; symId: PackedItemId) =
+  let itemId = translateId(symId, c.g.packed, c.thisModule, c.g.config)
+  if not c.checkedSyms.containsOrIncl(itemId):
+    let oldThisModule = c.thisModule
+    c.thisModule = itemId.module
+    checkSym c, c.g.packed[itemId.module].fromDisk.syms[itemId.item]
+    c.thisModule = oldThisModule
+
+proc checkNode(c: var CheckedContext; tree: PackedTree; n: NodePos) =
+  let t = findType(tree, n)
+  if t != nilItemId:
+    checkType(c, t)
+  case n.kind
+  of nkEmpty, nkNilLit, nkType, nkNilRodNode:
+    discard
+  of nkIdent:
+    assert c.g.packed[c.thisModule].fromDisk.strings.hasLitId n.litId
+  of nkSym:
+    checkLocalSym(c, tree[n].soperand)
+  of directIntLit:
+    discard
+  of externIntLit, nkFloatLit..nkFloat128Lit:
+    assert c.g.packed[c.thisModule].fromDisk.numbers.hasLitId n.litId
+  of nkStrLit..nkTripleStrLit:
+    assert c.g.packed[c.thisModule].fromDisk.strings.hasLitId n.litId
+  of nkModuleRef:
+    let (n1, n2) = sons2(tree, n)
+    assert n1.kind == nkNone
+    assert n2.kind == nkNone
+    checkForeignSym(c, PackedItemId(module: n1.litId, item: tree[n2].soperand))
+  else:
+    for n0 in sonsReadonly(tree, n):
+      checkNode(c, tree, n0)
+
+proc checkTree(c: var CheckedContext; t: PackedTree) =
+  for p in allNodes(t): checkNode(c, t, p)
+
+proc checkLocalSymIds(c: var CheckedContext; m: PackedModule; symIds: seq[int32]) =
+  for symId in symIds:
+    assert symId >= 0 and symId < m.syms.len, $symId & " " & $m.syms.len
+
+proc checkModule(c: var CheckedContext; m: PackedModule) =
+  # We check that:
+  # - Every symbol references existing types and symbols.
+  # - Every tree node references existing types and symbols.
+  for _, v in pairs(m.syms):
+    checkLocalSym c, v.id
+
+  checkTree c, m.toReplay
+  checkTree c, m.topLevel
+
+  for e in m.exports:
+    #assert e[1] >= 0 and e[1] < m.syms.len
+    assert e[0] == m.syms[e[1]].name
+
+  for e in m.compilerProcs:
+    #assert e[1] >= 0 and e[1] < m.syms.len
+    assert e[0] == m.syms[e[1]].name
+
+  checkLocalSymIds c, m, m.converters
+  checkLocalSymIds c, m, m.methods
+  checkLocalSymIds c, m, m.trmacros
+  checkLocalSymIds c, m, m.pureEnums
+  #[
+    To do: Check all these fields:
+
+    reexports*: seq[(LitId, PackedItemId)]
+    macroUsages*: seq[(PackedItemId, PackedLineInfo)]
+
+    typeInstCache*: seq[(PackedItemId, PackedItemId)]
+    procInstCache*: seq[PackedInstantiation]
+    attachedOps*: seq[(TTypeAttachedOp, PackedItemId, PackedItemId)]
+    methodsPerGenericType*: seq[(PackedItemId, int, PackedItemId)]
+    enumToStringProcs*: seq[(PackedItemId, PackedItemId)]
+    methodsPerType*: seq[(PackedItemId, PackedItemId)]
+    dispatchers*: seq[PackedItemId]
+  ]#
+
+proc checkIntegrity*(g: ModuleGraph) =
+  var c = CheckedContext(g: g)
+  for i in 0..<len(g.packed):
+    # case statement here to enforce exhaustive checks.
+    case g.packed[i].status
+    of undefined:
+      discard "nothing to do"
+    of loading:
+      assert false, "cannot check integrity: Module still loading"
+    of stored, storing, outdated, loaded:
+      c.thisModule = int32 i
+      checkModule(c, g.packed[i].fromDisk)
diff --git a/compiler/ic/navigator.nim b/compiler/ic/navigator.nim
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..39037b94f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/compiler/ic/navigator.nim
@@ -0,0 +1,183 @@
+#
+#
+#           The Nim Compiler
+#        (c) Copyright 2021 Andreas Rumpf
+#
+#    See the file "copying.txt", included in this
+#    distribution, for details about the copyright.
+#
+
+## Supports the "nim check --ic:on --defusages:FILE,LINE,COL"
+## IDE-like features. It uses the set of .rod files to accomplish
+## its task. The set must cover a complete Nim project.
+
+import std/[sets, tables]
+
+from std/os import nil
+from std/private/miscdollars import toLocation
+
+when defined(nimPreviewSlimSystem):
+  import std/assertions
+
+import ".." / [ast, modulegraphs, msgs, options]
+import iclineinfos
+import packed_ast, bitabs, ic
+
+type
+  UnpackedLineInfo = object
+    file: LitId
+    line, col: int
+  NavContext = object
+    g: ModuleGraph
+    thisModule: int32
+    trackPos: UnpackedLineInfo
+    alreadyEmitted: HashSet[string]
+    outputSep: char # for easier testing, use short filenames and spaces instead of tabs.
+
+proc isTracked(man: LineInfoManager; current: PackedLineInfo, trackPos: UnpackedLineInfo, tokenLen: int): bool =
+  let (currentFile, currentLine, currentCol) = man.unpack(current)
+  if currentFile == trackPos.file and currentLine == trackPos.line:
+    let col = trackPos.col
+    if col >= currentCol and col < currentCol+tokenLen:
+      result = true
+    else:
+      result = false
+  else:
+    result = false
+
+proc searchLocalSym(c: var NavContext; s: PackedSym; info: PackedLineInfo): bool =
+  result = s.name != LitId(0) and
+    isTracked(c.g.packed[c.thisModule].fromDisk.man, info, c.trackPos, c.g.packed[c.thisModule].fromDisk.strings[s.name].len)
+
+proc searchForeignSym(c: var NavContext; s: ItemId; info: PackedLineInfo): bool =
+  let name = c.g.packed[s.module].fromDisk.syms[s.item].name
+  result = name != LitId(0) and
+    isTracked(c.g.packed[c.thisModule].fromDisk.man, info, c.trackPos, c.g.packed[s.module].fromDisk.strings[name].len)
+
+const
+  EmptyItemId = ItemId(module: -1'i32, item: -1'i32)
+
+proc search(c: var NavContext; tree: PackedTree): ItemId =
+  # We use the linear representation here directly:
+  for i in 0..<len(tree):
+    let i = NodePos(i)
+    case tree[i].kind
+    of nkSym:
+      let item = tree[i].soperand
+      if searchLocalSym(c, c.g.packed[c.thisModule].fromDisk.syms[item], tree[i].info):
+        return ItemId(module: c.thisModule, item: item)
+    of nkModuleRef:
+      let (currentFile, currentLine, currentCol) = c.g.packed[c.thisModule].fromDisk.man.unpack(tree[i].info)
+      if currentLine == c.trackPos.line and currentFile == c.trackPos.file:
+        let (n1, n2) = sons2(tree, i)
+        assert n1.kind == nkInt32Lit
+        assert n2.kind == nkInt32Lit
+        let pId = PackedItemId(module: n1.litId, item: tree[n2].soperand)
+        let itemId = translateId(pId, c.g.packed, c.thisModule, c.g.config)
+        if searchForeignSym(c, itemId, tree[i].info):
+          return itemId
+    else: discard
+  return EmptyItemId
+
+proc isDecl(tree: PackedTree; n: NodePos): bool =
+  # XXX This is not correct yet.
+  const declarativeNodes = procDefs + {nkMacroDef, nkTemplateDef,
+    nkLetSection, nkVarSection, nkUsingStmt, nkConstSection, nkTypeSection,
+    nkIdentDefs, nkEnumTy, nkVarTuple}
+  result = n.int >= 0 and tree[n].kind in declarativeNodes
+
+proc usage(c: var NavContext; info: PackedLineInfo; isDecl: bool) =
+  let (fileId, line, col) = unpack(c.g.packed[c.thisModule].fromDisk.man, info)
+  var m = ""
+  var file = c.g.packed[c.thisModule].fromDisk.strings[fileId]
+  if c.outputSep == ' ':
+    file = os.extractFilename file
+  toLocation(m, file, line, col + ColOffset)
+  if not c.alreadyEmitted.containsOrIncl(m):
+    msgWriteln c.g.config, (if isDecl: "def" else: "usage") & c.outputSep & m
+
+proc list(c: var NavContext; tree: PackedTree; sym: ItemId) =
+  for i in 0..<len(tree):
+    let i = NodePos(i)
+    case tree[i].kind
+    of nkSym:
+      let item = tree[i].soperand
+      if sym.item == item and sym.module == c.thisModule:
+        usage(c, tree[i].info, isDecl(tree, parent(i)))
+    of nkModuleRef:
+      let (n1, n2) = sons2(tree, i)
+      assert n1.kind == nkNone
+      assert n2.kind == nkNone
+      let pId = PackedItemId(module: n1.litId, item: tree[n2].soperand)
+      let itemId = translateId(pId, c.g.packed, c.thisModule, c.g.config)
+      if itemId.item == sym.item and sym.module == itemId.module:
+        usage(c, tree[i].info, isDecl(tree, parent(i)))
+    else: discard
+
+proc searchForIncludeFile(g: ModuleGraph; fullPath: string): int =
+  for i in 0..<len(g.packed):
+    for k in 1..high(g.packed[i].fromDisk.includes):
+      # we start from 1 because the first "include" file is
+      # the module's filename.
+      if os.cmpPaths(g.packed[i].fromDisk.strings[g.packed[i].fromDisk.includes[k][0]], fullPath) == 0:
+        return i
+  return -1
+
+proc nav(g: ModuleGraph) =
+  # translate the track position to a packed position:
+  let unpacked = g.config.m.trackPos
+  var mid = unpacked.fileIndex.int
+
+  let fullPath = toFullPath(g.config, unpacked.fileIndex)
+
+  if g.packed[mid].status == undefined:
+    # check if 'mid' is an include file of some other module:
+    mid = searchForIncludeFile(g, fullPath)
+
+  if mid < 0:
+    localError(g.config, unpacked, "unknown file name: " & fullPath)
+    return
+
+  let fileId = g.packed[mid].fromDisk.strings.getKeyId(fullPath)
+
+  if fileId == LitId(0):
+    internalError(g.config, unpacked, "cannot find a valid file ID")
+    return
+
+  var c = NavContext(
+    g: g,
+    thisModule: int32 mid,
+    trackPos: UnpackedLineInfo(line: unpacked.line.int, col: unpacked.col.int, file: fileId),
+    outputSep: if isDefined(g.config, "nimIcNavigatorTests"): ' ' else: '\t'
+  )
+  var symId = search(c, g.packed[mid].fromDisk.topLevel)
+  if symId == EmptyItemId:
+    symId = search(c, g.packed[mid].fromDisk.bodies)
+
+  if symId == EmptyItemId:
+    localError(g.config, unpacked, "no symbol at this position")
+    return
+
+  for i in 0..<len(g.packed):
+    # case statement here to enforce exhaustive checks.
+    case g.packed[i].status
+    of undefined:
+      discard "nothing to do"
+    of loading:
+      assert false, "cannot check integrity: Module still loading"
+    of stored, storing, outdated, loaded:
+      c.thisModule = int32 i
+      list(c, g.packed[i].fromDisk.topLevel, symId)
+      list(c, g.packed[i].fromDisk.bodies, symId)
+
+proc navDefinition*(g: ModuleGraph) = nav(g)
+proc navUsages*(g: ModuleGraph) = nav(g)
+proc navDefusages*(g: ModuleGraph) = nav(g)
+
+proc writeRodFiles*(g: ModuleGraph) =
+  for i in 0..<len(g.packed):
+    case g.packed[i].status
+    of undefined, loading, stored, loaded:
+      discard "nothing to do"
+    of storing, outdated:
+      closeRodFile(g, g.packed[i].module)
diff --git a/compiler/ic/packed_ast.nim b/compiler/ic/packed_ast.nim
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a39bb7adf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/compiler/ic/packed_ast.nim
@@ -0,0 +1,367 @@
+#
+#
+#           The Nim Compiler
+#        (c) Copyright 2020 Andreas Rumpf
+#
+#    See the file "copying.txt", included in this
+#    distribution, for details about the copyright.
+#
+
+## Packed AST representation, mostly based on a seq of nodes.
+## For IC support. Far future: Rewrite the compiler passes to
+## use this representation directly in all the transformations,
+## it is superior.
+
+import std/[hashes, tables, strtabs]
+import bitabs, rodfiles
+import ".." / [ast, options]
+
+import iclineinfos
+
+when defined(nimPreviewSlimSystem):
+  import std/assertions
+
+type
+  SymId* = distinct int32
+  ModuleId* = distinct int32
+  NodePos* = distinct int
+
+  NodeId* = distinct int32
+
+  PackedItemId* = object
+    module*: LitId       # 0 if it's this module
+    item*: int32         # same as the in-memory representation
+
+const
+  nilItemId* = PackedItemId(module: LitId(0), item: 0.int32)
+
+const
+  emptyNodeId* = NodeId(-1)
+
+type
+  PackedLib* = object
+    kind*: TLibKind
+    generated*: bool
+    isOverridden*: bool
+    name*: LitId
+    path*: NodeId
+
+  PackedSym* = object
+    id*: int32
+    kind*: TSymKind
+    name*: LitId
+    typ*: PackedItemId
+    flags*: TSymFlags
+    magic*: TMagic
+    info*: PackedLineInfo
+    ast*: NodeId
+    owner*: PackedItemId
+    guard*: PackedItemId
+    bitsize*: int
+    alignment*: int # for alignment
+    options*: TOptions
+    position*: int
+    offset*: int32
+    disamb*: int32
+    externalName*: LitId # instead of TLoc
+    locFlags*: TLocFlags
+    annex*: PackedLib
+    when hasFFI:
+      cname*: LitId
+    constraint*: NodeId
+    instantiatedFrom*: PackedItemId
+
+  PackedType* = object
+    id*: int32
+    kind*: TTypeKind
+    callConv*: TCallingConvention
+    #nodekind*: TNodeKind
+    flags*: TTypeFlags
+    types*: seq[PackedItemId]
+    n*: NodeId
+    #nodeflags*: TNodeFlags
+    sym*: PackedItemId
+    owner*: PackedItemId
+    size*: BiggestInt
+    align*: int16
+    paddingAtEnd*: int16
+    # not serialized: loc*: TLoc because it is backend-specific
+    typeInst*: PackedItemId
+    nonUniqueId*: int32
+
+  PackedNode* = object     # 8 bytes
+    x: uint32
+    info*: PackedLineInfo
+
+  PackedTree* = object ## usually represents a full Nim module
+    nodes: seq[PackedNode]
+    withFlags: seq[(int32, TNodeFlags)]
+    withTypes: seq[(int32, PackedItemId)]
+
+  PackedInstantiation* = object
+    key*, sym*: PackedItemId
+    concreteTypes*: seq[PackedItemId]
+
+const
+  NodeKindBits = 8'u32
+  NodeKindMask = (1'u32 shl NodeKindBits) - 1'u32
+
+template kind*(n: PackedNode): TNodeKind = TNodeKind(n.x and NodeKindMask)
+template uoperand*(n: PackedNode): uint32 = (n.x shr NodeKindBits)
+template soperand*(n: PackedNode): int32 = int32(uoperand(n))
+
+template toX(k: TNodeKind; operand: uint32): uint32 =
+  uint32(k) or (operand shl NodeKindBits)
+
+template toX(k: TNodeKind; operand: LitId): uint32 =
+  uint32(k) or (operand.uint32 shl NodeKindBits)
+
+template typeId*(n: PackedNode): PackedItemId = n.typ
+
+proc `==`*(a, b: SymId): bool {.borrow.}
+proc hash*(a: SymId): Hash {.borrow.}
+
+proc `==`*(a, b: NodePos): bool {.borrow.}
+#proc `==`*(a, b: PackedItemId): bool {.borrow.}
+proc `==`*(a, b: NodeId): bool {.borrow.}
+
+proc newTreeFrom*(old: PackedTree): PackedTree =
+  result = PackedTree(nodes: @[])
+  when false: result.sh = old.sh
+
+proc addIdent*(tree: var PackedTree; s: LitId; info: PackedLineInfo) =
+  tree.nodes.add PackedNode(x: toX(nkIdent, uint32(s)), info: info)
+
+proc addSym*(tree: var PackedTree; s: int32; info: PackedLineInfo) =
+  tree.nodes.add PackedNode(x: toX(nkSym, cast[uint32](s)), info: info)
+
+proc addSymDef*(tree: var PackedTree; s: SymId; info: PackedLineInfo) =
+  tree.nodes.add PackedNode(x: toX(nkSym, cast[uint32](s)), info: info)
+
+proc isAtom*(tree: PackedTree; pos: int): bool {.inline.} = tree.nodes[pos].kind <= nkNilLit
+
+type
+  PatchPos = distinct int
+
+proc addNode*(t: var PackedTree; kind: TNodeKind; operand: int32;
+              typeId: PackedItemId = nilItemId; info: PackedLineInfo;
+              flags: TNodeFlags = {}) =
+  t.nodes.add PackedNode(x: toX(kind, cast[uint32](operand)), info: info)
+  if flags != {}:
+    t.withFlags.add (t.nodes.len.int32 - 1, flags)
+  if typeId != nilItemId:
+    t.withTypes.add (t.nodes.len.int32 - 1, typeId)
+
+proc prepare*(tree: var PackedTree; kind: TNodeKind; flags: TNodeFlags; typeId: PackedItemId; info: PackedLineInfo): PatchPos =
+  result = PatchPos tree.nodes.len
+  tree.addNode(kind = kind, flags = flags, operand = 0, info = info, typeId = typeId)
+
+proc prepare*(dest: var PackedTree; source: PackedTree; sourcePos: NodePos): PatchPos =
+  result = PatchPos dest.nodes.len
+  dest.nodes.add source.nodes[sourcePos.int]
+
+proc patch*(tree: var PackedTree; pos: PatchPos) =
+  let pos = pos.int
+  let k = tree.nodes[pos].kind
+  assert k > nkNilLit
+  let distance = int32(tree.nodes.len - pos)
+  assert distance > 0
+  tree.nodes[pos].x = toX(k, cast[uint32](distance))
+
+proc len*(tree: PackedTree): int {.inline.} = tree.nodes.len
+
+proc `[]`*(tree: PackedTree; i: NodePos): lent PackedNode {.inline.} =
+  tree.nodes[i.int]
+
+template rawSpan(n: PackedNode): int = int(uoperand(n))
+
+proc nextChild(tree: PackedTree; pos: var int) {.inline.} =
+  if tree.nodes[pos].kind > nkNilLit:
+    assert tree.nodes[pos].uoperand > 0
+    inc pos, tree.nodes[pos].rawSpan
+  else:
+    inc pos
+
+iterator sonsReadonly*(tree: PackedTree; n: NodePos): NodePos =
+  var pos = n.int
+  assert tree.nodes[pos].kind > nkNilLit
+  let last = pos + tree.nodes[pos].rawSpan
+  inc pos
+  while pos < last:
+    yield NodePos pos
+    nextChild tree, pos
+
+iterator sons*(dest: var PackedTree; tree: PackedTree; n: NodePos): NodePos =
+  let patchPos = prepare(dest, tree, n)
+  for x in sonsReadonly(tree, n): yield x
+  patch dest, patchPos
+
+iterator isons*(dest: var PackedTree; tree: PackedTree;
+                n: NodePos): (int, NodePos) =
+  var i = 0
+  for ch0 in sons(dest, tree, n):
+    yield (i, ch0)
+    inc i
+
+iterator sonsFrom1*(tree: PackedTree; n: NodePos): NodePos =
+  var pos = n.int
+  assert tree.nodes[pos].kind > nkNilLit
+  let last = pos + tree.nodes[pos].rawSpan
+  inc pos
+  if pos < last:
+    nextChild tree, pos
+  while pos < last:
+    yield NodePos pos
+    nextChild tree, pos
+
+iterator sonsWithoutLast2*(tree: PackedTree; n: NodePos): NodePos =
+  var count = 0
+  for child in sonsReadonly(tree, n):
+    inc count
+  var pos = n.int
+  assert tree.nodes[pos].kind > nkNilLit
+  let last = pos + tree.nodes[pos].rawSpan
+  inc pos
+  while pos < last and count > 2:
+    yield NodePos pos
+    dec count
+    nextChild tree, pos
+
+proc parentImpl(tree: PackedTree; n: NodePos): NodePos =
+  # finding the parent of a node is rather easy:
+  var pos = n.int - 1
+  while pos >= 0 and (isAtom(tree, pos) or (pos + tree.nodes[pos].rawSpan - 1 < n.int)):
+    dec pos
+  #assert pos >= 0, "node has no parent"
+  result = NodePos(pos)
+
+template parent*(n: NodePos): NodePos = parentImpl(tree, n)
+
+proc hasXsons*(tree: PackedTree; n: NodePos; x: int): bool =
+  var count = 0
+  if tree.nodes[n.int].kind > nkNilLit:
+    for child in sonsReadonly(tree, n): inc count
+  result = count == x
+
+proc hasAtLeastXsons*(tree: PackedTree; n: NodePos; x: int): bool =
+  if tree.nodes[n.int].kind > nkNilLit:
+    var count = 0
+    for child in sonsReadonly(tree, n):
+      inc count
+      if count >= x: return true
+  return false
+
+proc firstSon*(tree: PackedTree; n: NodePos): NodePos {.inline.} =
+  NodePos(n.int+1)
+proc kind*(tree: PackedTree; n: NodePos): TNodeKind {.inline.} =
+  tree.nodes[n.int].kind
+proc litId*(tree: PackedTree; n: NodePos): LitId {.inline.} =
+  LitId tree.nodes[n.int].uoperand
+proc info*(tree: PackedTree; n: NodePos): PackedLineInfo {.inline.} =
+  tree.nodes[n.int].info
+
+proc findType*(tree: PackedTree; n: NodePos): PackedItemId =
+  for x in tree.withTypes:
+    if x[0] == int32(n): return x[1]
+    if x[0] > int32(n): return nilItemId
+  return nilItemId
+
+proc findFlags*(tree: PackedTree; n: NodePos): TNodeFlags =
+  for x in tree.withFlags:
+    if x[0] == int32(n): return x[1]
+    if x[0] > int32(n): return {}
+  return {}
+
+template typ*(n: NodePos): PackedItemId =
+  tree.findType(n)
+template flags*(n: NodePos): TNodeFlags =
+  tree.findFlags(n)
+
+template uoperand*(n: NodePos): uint32 =
+  tree.nodes[n.int].uoperand
+
+proc span*(tree: PackedTree; pos: int): int {.inline.} =
+  if isAtom(tree, pos): 1 else: tree.nodes[pos].rawSpan
+
+proc sons2*(tree: PackedTree; n: NodePos): (NodePos, NodePos) =
+  assert(not isAtom(tree, n.int))
+  let a = n.int+1
+  let b = a + span(tree, a)
+  result = (NodePos a, NodePos b)
+
+proc sons3*(tree: PackedTree; n: NodePos): (NodePos, NodePos, NodePos) =
+  assert(not isAtom(tree, n.int))
+  let a = n.int+1
+  let b = a + span(tree, a)
+  let c = b + span(tree, b)
+  result = (NodePos a, NodePos b, NodePos c)
+
+proc ithSon*(tree: PackedTree; n: NodePos; i: int): NodePos =
+  result = default(NodePos)
+  if tree.nodes[n.int].kind > nkNilLit:
+    var count = 0
+    for child in sonsReadonly(tree, n):
+      if count == i: return child
+      inc count
+  assert false, "node has no i-th child"
+
+when false:
+  proc `@`*(tree: PackedTree; lit: LitId): lent string {.inline.} =
+    tree.sh.strings[lit]
+
+template kind*(n: NodePos): TNodeKind = tree.nodes[n.int].kind
+template info*(n: NodePos): PackedLineInfo = tree.nodes[n.int].info
+template litId*(n: NodePos): LitId = LitId tree.nodes[n.int].uoperand
+
+template symId*(n: NodePos): SymId = SymId tree.nodes[n.int].soperand
+
+proc firstSon*(n: NodePos): NodePos {.inline.} = NodePos(n.int+1)
+
+const
+  externIntLit* = {nkCharLit,
+    nkIntLit,
+    nkInt8Lit,
+    nkInt16Lit,
+    nkInt32Lit,
+    nkInt64Lit,
+    nkUIntLit,
+    nkUInt8Lit,
+    nkUInt16Lit,
+    nkUInt32Lit,
+    nkUInt64Lit}
+
+  externSIntLit* = {nkIntLit, nkInt8Lit, nkInt16Lit, nkInt32Lit, nkInt64Lit}
+  externUIntLit* = {nkUIntLit, nkUInt8Lit, nkUInt16Lit, nkUInt32Lit, nkUInt64Lit}
+  directIntLit* = nkNone
+
+template copyInto*(dest, n, body) =
+  let patchPos = prepare(dest, tree, n)
+  body
+  patch dest, patchPos
+
+template copyIntoKind*(dest, kind, info, body) =
+  let patchPos = prepare(dest, kind, info)
+  body
+  patch dest, patchPos
+
+proc getNodeId*(tree: PackedTree): NodeId {.inline.} = NodeId tree.nodes.len
+
+iterator allNodes*(tree: PackedTree): NodePos =
+  var p = 0
+  while p < tree.len:
+    yield NodePos(p)
+    let s = span(tree, p)
+    inc p, s
+
+proc toPackedItemId*(item: int32): PackedItemId {.inline.} =
+  PackedItemId(module: LitId(0), item: item)
+
+proc load*(f: var RodFile; t: var PackedTree) =
+  loadSeq f, t.nodes
+  loadSeq f, t.withFlags
+  loadSeq f, t.withTypes
+
+proc store*(f: var RodFile; t: PackedTree) =
+  storeSeq f, t.nodes
+  storeSeq f, t.withFlags
+  storeSeq f, t.withTypes
diff --git a/compiler/ic/replayer.nim b/compiler/ic/replayer.nim
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b244ec885
--- /dev/null
+++ b/compiler/ic/replayer.nim
@@ -0,0 +1,171 @@
+#
+#
+#           The Nim Compiler
+#        (c) Copyright 2020 Andreas Rumpf
+#
+#    See the file "copying.txt", included in this
+#    distribution, for details about the copyright.
+#
+
+## Module that contains code to replay global VM state changes and pragma
+## state like ``{.compile: "foo.c".}``. For IC (= Incremental compilation)
+## support.
+
+import ".." / [ast, modulegraphs, trees, extccomp, btrees,
+  msgs, lineinfos, pathutils, options, cgmeth]
+
+import std/tables
+
+when defined(nimPreviewSlimSystem):
+  import std/assertions
+
+import packed_ast, ic, bitabs
+
+proc replayStateChanges*(module: PSym; g: ModuleGraph) =
+  let list = module.ast
+  assert list != nil
+  assert list.kind == nkStmtList
+  for n in list:
+    assert n.kind == nkReplayAction
+    # Fortunately only a tiny subset of the available pragmas need to
+    # be replayed here. This is always a subset of ``pragmas.stmtPragmas``.
+    if n.len >= 2:
+      internalAssert g.config, n[0].kind == nkStrLit and n[1].kind == nkStrLit
+      case n[0].strVal
+      of "hint": message(g.config, n.info, hintUser, n[1].strVal)
+      of "warning": message(g.config, n.info, warnUser, n[1].strVal)
+      of "error": localError(g.config, n.info, errUser, n[1].strVal)
+      of "compile":
+        internalAssert g.config, n.len == 4 and n[2].kind == nkStrLit
+        let cname = AbsoluteFile n[1].strVal
+        var cf = Cfile(nimname: splitFile(cname).name, cname: cname,
+                       obj: AbsoluteFile n[2].strVal,
+                       flags: {CfileFlag.External},
+                       customArgs: n[3].strVal)
+        extccomp.addExternalFileToCompile(g.config, cf)
+      of "link":
+        extccomp.addExternalFileToLink(g.config, AbsoluteFile n[1].strVal)
+      of "passl":
+        extccomp.addLinkOption(g.config, n[1].strVal)
+      of "passc":
+        extccomp.addCompileOption(g.config, n[1].strVal)
+      of "localpassc":
+        extccomp.addLocalCompileOption(g.config, n[1].strVal, toFullPathConsiderDirty(g.config, module.info.fileIndex))
+      of "cppdefine":
+        options.cppDefine(g.config, n[1].strVal)
+      of "inc":
+        let destKey = n[1].strVal
+        let by = n[2].intVal
+        let v = getOrDefault(g.cacheCounters, destKey)
+        g.cacheCounters[destKey] = v+by
+      of "put":
+        let destKey = n[1].strVal
+        let key = n[2].strVal
+        let val = n[3]
+        if not contains(g.cacheTables, destKey):
+          g.cacheTables[destKey] = initBTree[string, PNode]()
+        if not contains(g.cacheTables[destKey], key):
+          g.cacheTables[destKey].add(key, val)
+        else:
+          internalError(g.config, n.info, "key already exists: " & key)
+      of "incl":
+        let destKey = n[1].strVal
+        let val = n[2]
+        if not contains(g.cacheSeqs, destKey):
+          g.cacheSeqs[destKey] = newTree(nkStmtList, val)
+        else:
+          block search:
+            for existing in g.cacheSeqs[destKey]:
+              if exprStructuralEquivalent(existing, val, strictSymEquality=true):
+                break search
+            g.cacheSeqs[destKey].add val
+      of "add":
+        let destKey = n[1].strVal
+        let val = n[2]
+        if not contains(g.cacheSeqs, destKey):
+          g.cacheSeqs[destKey] = newTree(nkStmtList, val)
+        else:
+          g.cacheSeqs[destKey].add val
+      else:
+        internalAssert g.config, false
+
+proc replayBackendProcs*(g: ModuleGraph; module: int) =
+  for it in mitems(g.packed[module].fromDisk.attachedOps):
+    let key = translateId(it[0], g.packed, module, g.config)
+    let op = it[1]
+    let tmp = translateId(it[2], g.packed, module, g.config)
+    let symId = FullId(module: tmp.module, packed: it[2])
+    g.attachedOps[op][key] = LazySym(id: symId, sym: nil)
+
+  for it in mitems(g.packed[module].fromDisk.enumToStringProcs):
+    let key = translateId(it[0], g.packed, module, g.config)
+    let tmp = translateId(it[1], g.packed, module, g.config)
+    let symId = FullId(module: tmp.module, packed: it[1])
+    g.enumToStringProcs[key] = LazySym(id: symId, sym: nil)
+
+  for it in mitems(g.packed[module].fromDisk.methodsPerType):
+    let key = translateId(it[0], g.packed, module, g.config)
+    let tmp = translateId(it[1], g.packed, module, g.config)
+    let symId = FullId(module: tmp.module, packed: it[1])
+    g.methodsPerType.mgetOrPut(key, @[]).add LazySym(id: symId, sym: nil)
+
+  for it in mitems(g.packed[module].fromDisk.dispatchers):
+    let tmp = translateId(it, g.packed, module, g.config)
+    let symId = FullId(module: tmp.module, packed: it)
+    g.dispatchers.add LazySym(id: symId, sym: nil)
+
+proc replayGenericCacheInformation*(g: ModuleGraph; module: int) =
+  ## We remember the generic instantiations a module performed
+  ## in order to to avoid the code bloat that generic code tends
+  ## to imply. This is cheaper than deduplication of identical
+  ## generic instantiations. However, deduplication is more
+  ## powerful and general and I hope to implement it soon too
+  ## (famous last words).
+  assert g.packed[module].status == loaded
+  for it in g.packed[module].fromDisk.typeInstCache:
+    let key = translateId(it[0], g.packed, module, g.config)
+    g.typeInstCache.mgetOrPut(key, @[]).add LazyType(id: FullId(module: module, packed: it[1]), typ: nil)
+
+  for it in mitems(g.packed[module].fromDisk.procInstCache):
+    let key = translateId(it.key, g.packed, module, g.config)
+    let sym = translateId(it.sym, g.packed, module, g.config)
+    var concreteTypes = newSeq[FullId](it.concreteTypes.len)
+    for i in 0..high(it.concreteTypes):
+      let tmp = translateId(it.concreteTypes[i], g.packed, module, g.config)
+      concreteTypes[i] = FullId(module: tmp.module, packed: it.concreteTypes[i])
+
+    g.procInstCache.mgetOrPut(key, @[]).add LazyInstantiation(
+      module: module, sym: FullId(module: sym.module, packed: it.sym),
+      concreteTypes: concreteTypes, inst: nil)
+
+  for it in mitems(g.packed[module].fromDisk.methodsPerGenericType):
+    let key = translateId(it[0], g.packed, module, g.config)
+    let col = it[1]
+    let tmp = translateId(it[2], g.packed, module, g.config)
+    let symId = FullId(module: tmp.module, packed: it[2])
+    g.methodsPerGenericType.mgetOrPut(key, @[]).add (col, LazySym(id: symId, sym: nil))
+
+  replayBackendProcs(g, module)
+
+  for it in mitems(g.packed[module].fromDisk.methods):
+    let sym = loadSymFromId(g.config, g.cache, g.packed, module,
+                            PackedItemId(module: LitId(0), item: it))
+    methodDef(g, g.idgen, sym)
+
+  when false:
+    # not used anymore:
+    for it in mitems(g.packed[module].fromDisk.compilerProcs):
+      let symId = FullId(module: module, packed: PackedItemId(module: LitId(0), item: it[1]))
+      g.lazyCompilerprocs[g.packed[module].fromDisk.sh.strings[it[0]]] = symId
+
+  for it in mitems(g.packed[module].fromDisk.converters):
+    let symId = FullId(module: module, packed: PackedItemId(module: LitId(0), item: it))
+    g.ifaces[module].converters.add LazySym(id: symId, sym: nil)
+
+  for it in mitems(g.packed[module].fromDisk.trmacros):
+    let symId = FullId(module: module, packed: PackedItemId(module: LitId(0), item: it))
+    g.ifaces[module].patterns.add LazySym(id: symId, sym: nil)
+
+  for it in mitems(g.packed[module].fromDisk.pureEnums):
+    let symId = FullId(module: module, packed: PackedItemId(module: LitId(0), item: it))
+    g.ifaces[module].pureEnums.add LazySym(id: symId, sym: nil)
diff --git a/compiler/ic/rodfiles.nim b/compiler/ic/rodfiles.nim
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ac995dd2e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/compiler/ic/rodfiles.nim
@@ -0,0 +1,283 @@
+#
+#
+#           The Nim Compiler
+#        (c) Copyright 2020 Andreas Rumpf
+#
+#    See the file "copying.txt", included in this
+#    distribution, for details about the copyright.
+#
+
+## Low level binary format used by the compiler to store and load various AST
+## and related data.
+##
+## NB: this is incredibly low level and if you're interested in how the
+##     compiler works and less a storage format, you're probably looking for
+##     the `ic` or `packed_ast` modules to understand the logical format.
+
+from std/typetraits import supportsCopyMem
+
+when defined(nimPreviewSlimSystem):
+  import std/[syncio, assertions]
+
+import std / tables
+
+## Overview
+## ========
+## `RodFile` represents a Rod File (versioned binary format), and the
+## associated data for common interactions such as IO and error tracking
+## (`RodFileError`). The file format broken up into sections (`RodSection`)
+## and preceded by a header (see: `cookie`). The precise layout, section
+## ordering and data following the section are determined by the user. See
+## `ic.loadRodFile`.
+##
+## A basic but "wrong" example of the lifecycle:
+## ---------------------------------------------
+## 1. `create` or `open`        - create a new one or open an existing
+## 2. `storeHeader`             - header info
+## 3. `storePrim` or `storeSeq` - save your stuff
+## 4. `close`                   - and we're done
+##
+## Now read the bits below to understand what's missing.
+##
+## ### Issues with the Example
+## Missing Sections:
+## This is a low level API, so headers and sections need to be stored and
+## loaded by the user, see `storeHeader` & `loadHeader` and `storeSection` &
+## `loadSection`, respectively.
+##
+## No Error Handling:
+## The API is centered around IO and prone to error, each operation checks or
+## sets the `RodFile.err` field. A user of this API needs to handle these
+## appropriately.
+##
+## API Notes
+## =========
+##
+## Valid inputs for Rod files
+## --------------------------
+## ASTs, hopes, dreams, and anything as long as it and any children it may have
+## support `copyMem`. This means anything that is not a pointer and that does not contain a pointer. At a glance these are:
+## * string
+## * objects & tuples (fields are recursed)
+## * sequences AKA `seq[T]`
+##
+## Note on error handling style
+## ----------------------------
+## A flag based approach is used where operations no-op in case of a
+## preexisting error and set the flag if they encounter one.
+##
+## Misc
+## ----
+## * 'Prim' is short for 'primitive', as in a non-sequence type
+
+type
+  RodSection* = enum
+    versionSection
+    configSection
+    stringsSection
+    checkSumsSection
+    depsSection
+    numbersSection
+    exportsSection
+    hiddenSection
+    reexportsSection
+    compilerProcsSection
+    trmacrosSection
+    convertersSection
+    methodsSection
+    pureEnumsSection
+    toReplaySection
+    topLevelSection
+    bodiesSection
+    symsSection
+    typesSection
+    typeInstCacheSection
+    procInstCacheSection
+    attachedOpsSection
+    methodsPerGenericTypeSection
+    enumToStringProcsSection
+    methodsPerTypeSection
+    dispatchersSection
+    typeInfoSection  # required by the backend
+    backendFlagsSection
+    aliveSymsSection # beware, this is stored in a `.alivesyms` file.
+    sideChannelSection
+    namespaceSection
+    symnamesSection
+
+  RodFileError* = enum
+    ok, tooBig, cannotOpen, ioFailure, wrongHeader, wrongSection, configMismatch,
+    includeFileChanged
+
+  RodFile* = object
+    f*: File
+    currentSection*: RodSection # for error checking
+    err*: RodFileError # little experiment to see if this works
+                       # better than exceptions.
+
+const
+  RodVersion = 2
+  defaultCookie = [byte(0), byte('R'), byte('O'), byte('D'),
+            byte(sizeof(int)*8), byte(system.cpuEndian), byte(0), byte(RodVersion)]
+
+proc setError(f: var RodFile; err: RodFileError) {.inline.} =
+  f.err = err
+  #raise newException(IOError, "IO error")
+
+proc storePrim*(f: var RodFile; s: string) =
+  ## Stores a string.
+  ## The len is prefixed to allow for later retreival.
+  if f.err != ok: return
+  if s.len >= high(int32):
+    setError f, tooBig
+    return
+  var lenPrefix = int32(s.len)
+  if writeBuffer(f.f, addr lenPrefix, sizeof(lenPrefix)) != sizeof(lenPrefix):
+    setError f, ioFailure
+  else:
+    if s.len != 0:
+      if writeBuffer(f.f, unsafeAddr(s[0]), s.len) != s.len:
+        setError f, ioFailure
+
+proc storePrim*[T](f: var RodFile; x: T) =
+  ## Stores a non-sequence/string `T`.
+  ## If `T` doesn't support `copyMem` and is an object or tuple then the fields
+  ## are written -- the user from context will need to know which `T` to load.
+  if f.err != ok: return
+  when supportsCopyMem(T):
+    if writeBuffer(f.f, unsafeAddr(x), sizeof(x)) != sizeof(x):
+      setError f, ioFailure
+  elif T is tuple:
+    for y in fields(x):
+      storePrim(f, y)
+  elif T is object:
+    for y in fields(x):
+      when y is seq:
+        storeSeq(f, y)
+      else:
+        storePrim(f, y)
+  else:
+    {.error: "unsupported type for 'storePrim'".}
+
+proc storeSeq*[T](f: var RodFile; s: seq[T]) =
+  ## Stores a sequence of `T`s, with the len as a prefix for later retrieval.
+  if f.err != ok: return
+  if s.len >= high(int32):
+    setError f, tooBig
+    return
+  var lenPrefix = int32(s.len)
+  if writeBuffer(f.f, addr lenPrefix, sizeof(lenPrefix)) != sizeof(lenPrefix):
+    setError f, ioFailure
+  else:
+    for i in 0..<s.len:
+      storePrim(f, s[i])
+
+proc storeOrderedTable*[K, T](f: var RodFile; s: OrderedTable[K, T]) =
+  if f.err != ok: return
+  if s.len >= high(int32):
+    setError f, tooBig
+    return
+  var lenPrefix = int32(s.len)
+  if writeBuffer(f.f, addr lenPrefix, sizeof(lenPrefix)) != sizeof(lenPrefix):
+    setError f, ioFailure
+  else:
+    for _, v in s:
+      storePrim(f, v)
+
+proc loadPrim*(f: var RodFile; s: var string) =
+  ## Read a string, the length was stored as a prefix
+  if f.err != ok: return
+  var lenPrefix = int32(0)
+  if readBuffer(f.f, addr lenPrefix, sizeof(lenPrefix)) != sizeof(lenPrefix):
+    setError f, ioFailure
+  else:
+    s = newString(lenPrefix)
+    if lenPrefix > 0:
+      if readBuffer(f.f, unsafeAddr(s[0]), s.len) != s.len:
+        setError f, ioFailure
+
+proc loadPrim*[T](f: var RodFile; x: var T) =
+  ## Load a non-sequence/string `T`.
+  if f.err != ok: return
+  when supportsCopyMem(T):
+    if readBuffer(f.f, unsafeAddr(x), sizeof(x)) != sizeof(x):
+      setError f, ioFailure
+  elif T is tuple:
+    for y in fields(x):
+      loadPrim(f, y)
+  elif T is object:
+    for y in fields(x):
+      when y is seq:
+        loadSeq(f, y)
+      else:
+        loadPrim(f, y)
+  else:
+    {.error: "unsupported type for 'loadPrim'".}
+
+proc loadSeq*[T](f: var RodFile; s: var seq[T]) =
+  ## `T` must be compatible with `copyMem`, see `loadPrim`
+  if f.err != ok: return
+  var lenPrefix = int32(0)
+  if readBuffer(f.f, addr lenPrefix, sizeof(lenPrefix)) != sizeof(lenPrefix):
+    setError f, ioFailure
+  else:
+    s = newSeq[T](lenPrefix)
+    for i in 0..<lenPrefix:
+      loadPrim(f, s[i])
+
+proc loadOrderedTable*[K, T](f: var RodFile; s: var OrderedTable[K, T]) =
+  ## `T` must be compatible with `copyMem`, see `loadPrim`
+  if f.err != ok: return
+  var lenPrefix = int32(0)
+  if readBuffer(f.f, addr lenPrefix, sizeof(lenPrefix)) != sizeof(lenPrefix):
+    setError f, ioFailure
+  else:
+    s = initOrderedTable[K, T](lenPrefix)
+    for i in 0..<lenPrefix:
+      var x = default T
+      loadPrim(f, x)
+      s[x.id] = x
+
+proc storeHeader*(f: var RodFile; cookie = defaultCookie) =
+  ## stores the header which is described by `cookie`.
+  if f.err != ok: return
+  if f.f.writeBytes(cookie, 0, cookie.len) != cookie.len:
+    setError f, ioFailure
+
+proc loadHeader*(f: var RodFile; cookie = defaultCookie) =
+  ## Loads the header which is described by `cookie`.
+  if f.err != ok: return
+  var thisCookie: array[cookie.len, byte] = default(array[cookie.len, byte])
+  if f.f.readBytes(thisCookie, 0, thisCookie.len) != thisCookie.len:
+    setError f, ioFailure
+  elif thisCookie != cookie:
+    setError f, wrongHeader
+
+proc storeSection*(f: var RodFile; s: RodSection) =
+  ## update `currentSection` and writes the bytes value of s.
+  if f.err != ok: return
+  assert f.currentSection < s
+  f.currentSection = s
+  storePrim(f, s)
+
+proc loadSection*(f: var RodFile; expected: RodSection) =
+  ## read the bytes value of s, sets and error if the section is incorrect.
+  if f.err != ok: return
+  var s: RodSection = default(RodSection)
+  loadPrim(f, s)
+  if expected != s and f.err == ok:
+    setError f, wrongSection
+
+proc create*(filename: string): RodFile =
+  ## create the file and open it for writing
+  result = default(RodFile)
+  if not open(result.f, filename, fmWrite):
+    setError result, cannotOpen
+
+proc close*(f: var RodFile) = close(f.f)
+
+proc open*(filename: string): RodFile =
+  ## open the file for reading
+  result = default(RodFile)
+  if not open(result.f, filename, fmRead):
+    setError result, cannotOpen