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 <title>Mu</title>
 
-<h3>Mu - A whitebox software stack</h3>
-<em>or</em>
-<h3>Building software without gradually slowing down</h3>
-<em>or</em>
-<h3>Writing programs to be understandable in an afternoon</h3>
-
+With apologies to <a href='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mu_%28negative%29#In_popular_culture'>Robert Pirsig</a>:
 <p>
-<a href='http://akkartik.name/about'>The problem</a><br/>
-
+<div style='font-style: italic; margin-left:2em'>
+Is it a language, or an operating system, or a virtual machine?
 <p>
-<a href='http://github.com/akkartik/mu#readme'>Overview of the solution</a>.
-The zen of mu:
-<ul>
-<li>traces, not interfaces</li>
-<li>be rewrite-friendly, not backwards-compatible</li>
-<li>be easy to port rather than portable</li>
-<li>global structure matters more than local hygiene</li>
-</ul>
+Mu.
+</div>
 
 <p>
-I've tried to make this codebase beneficial to skim. Try skimming the files in
-order, and <a href='mailto:mu@akkartik.com'>tell me how I did</a>!
+Mu's code is structured in an unconventional manner, requiring editors to be
+specially configured to colorize it in a sane manner. Here's how it currently
+looks in my <a href='https://github.com/akkartik/mu/blob/master/mu.vim'>custom setup</a>.
 
-<p>
-<a href='html/000organization.cc.html'>000organization.cc</a><br/>
-<a href='html/001help.cc.html'>001help.cc</a><br/>
-<a href='html/002test.cc.html'>002test.cc</a><br/>
-<a href='html/003trace.cc.html'>003trace.cc</a><br/>
-<a href='html/003trace.test.cc.html'>003trace.test.cc</a><br/>
-<a href='html/010vm.cc.html'>010vm.cc</a><br/>
-<a href='html/011load.cc.html'>011load.cc</a><br/>
-<a href='html/012transform.cc.html'>012transform.cc</a><br/>
-<a href='html/013literal_string.cc.html'>013literal_string.cc</a><br/>
-<a href='html/014literal_noninteger.cc.html'>014literal_noninteger.cc</a><br/>
-<a href='html/020run.cc.html'>020run.cc</a><br/>
-<a href='html/021arithmetic.cc.html'>021arithmetic.cc</a><br/>
-<a href='html/022boolean.cc.html'>022boolean.cc</a><br/>
-<a href='html/023jump.cc.html'>023jump.cc</a><br/>
-<a href='html/024compare.cc.html'>024compare.cc</a><br/>
-<a href='html/025trace.cc.html'>025trace.cc</a><br/>
-<a href='html/026assert.cc.html'>026assert.cc</a><br/>
-<a href='html/027debug.cc.html'>027debug.cc</a><br/>
-<a href='html/030container.cc.html'>030container.cc</a><br/>
-<a href='html/031address.cc.html'>031address.cc</a><br/>
-<a href='html/032array.cc.html'>032array.cc</a><br/>
-<a href='html/033length.cc.html'>033length.cc</a><br/>
-<a href='html/034exclusive_container.cc.html'>034exclusive_container.cc</a><br/>
-<a href='html/035call.cc.html'>035call.cc</a><br/>
-<a href='html/036call_ingredient.cc.html'>036call_ingredient.cc</a><br/>
-<a href='html/037call_reply.cc.html'>037call_reply.cc</a><br/>
-<a href='html/038scheduler.cc.html'>038scheduler.cc</a><br/>
-<a href='html/039wait.cc.html'>039wait.cc</a><br/>
-<a href='html/040brace.cc.html'>040brace.cc</a><br/>
-<a href='html/041name.cc.html'>041name.cc</a><br/>
-<a href='html/042new.cc.html'>042new.cc</a><br/>
-<a href='html/043space.cc.html'>043space.cc</a><br/>
-<a href='html/044space_surround.cc.html'>044space_surround.cc</a><br/>
-<a href='html/045closure_name.cc.html'>045closure_name.cc</a><br/>
-<a href='html/046tangle.cc.html'>046tangle.cc</a><br/>
-<a href='html/047jump_label.cc.html'>047jump_label.cc</a><br/>
-<a href='html/048call_variable.cc.html'>048call_variable.cc</a><br/>
-<a href='html/049continuation.cc.html'>049continuation.cc</a><br/>
-<a href='html/050scenario.cc.html'>050scenario.cc</a><br/>
-<a href='html/051scenario_test.mu.html'>051scenario_test.mu</a><br/>
-<a href='html/060string.mu.html'>060string.mu</a><br/>
-<a href='html/061channel.mu.html'>061channel.mu</a><br/>
-<a href='html/062array.mu.html'>062array.mu</a><br/>
-<a href='html/063list.mu.html'>063list.mu</a><br/>
-<a href='html/064random.cc.html'>064random.cc</a><br/>
-<a href='html/069binary_tree.mu.html'>069binary_tree.mu</a><br/>
-<a href='html/070display.cc.html'>070display.cc</a><br/>
-<a href='html/071print.mu.html'>071print.mu</a><br/>
-<a href='html/072scenario_screen.cc.html'>072scenario_screen.cc</a><br/>
-<a href='html/073scenario_screen_test.mu.html'>073scenario_screen_test.mu</a><br/>
-<a href='html/074keyboard.mu.html'>074keyboard.mu</a><br/>
-<a href='html/075scenario_keyboard.cc.html'>075scenario_keyboard.cc</a><br/>
-<a href='html/076scenario_keyboard_test.mu.html'>076scenario_keyboard_test.mu</a><br/>
-<a href='html/077trace_browser.cc.html'>077trace_browser.cc</a><br/>
-<a href='html/999spaces.cc.html'>999spaces.cc</a><br/>
+<p><b>Part I</b>: basic infrastructure
+<p/><a href='html/000organization.cc.html'>000organization.cc</a>: the basic
+skeleton program. Compiles and runs but doesn't do much. Later <em>layers</em>
+hook into this skeleton to add functionality. Mu's guarantee: you can <a href='http://youtube.com/watch?v=c8N72t7aScY'>load
+features</a> up until any layer, and it will compile and pass all tests until
+that point.
+<br/><a href='html/001help.cc.html'>001help.cc</a>: just a simple test layer
+to show how to hook into the skeleton. Also summarizes how to invoke mu,
+behaviors that later layers will be providing.
+<br/><a href='html/002test.cc.html'>002test.cc</a>: mu's minimalist test
+harness, relying on a couple of one-liners in the makefile to autogenerate
+lists of tests to run.
+<br/><a href='html/003trace.cc.html'>003trace.cc</a>: support for logging
+facts about our program, and for <a href='http://akkartik.name/post/tracing-tests'>checking the facts logged in tests</a>.
+(<a href='html/003trace.test.cc.html'>tests for the test harness</a>)
+
+<p><b>Part II</b>: the mu virtual machine, designed to compile easily to
+machine language.
+<p/><a href='html/010vm.cc.html'>010vm.cc</a>: core data structures: recipes
+(functions), instructions and reagents (operands).
+<br/><a href='html/011load.cc.html'>011load.cc</a>: the textual representation
+of recipes and how it's turned into the data structures.
+<br/><a href='html/012transform.cc.html'>012transform.cc</a>: after mu
+programs are loaded but before they are run they can be transformed in an
+extensible manner akin to lisp macros. Think of this as the core of mu's
+&lsquo;compiler&rsquo; for providing high-level features atop the core.
+<br/><a href='html/013literal_string.cc.html'>013literal_string.cc</a>: extend
+the loader to support literal strings in various instructions.
+<br/><a href='html/014literal_noninteger.cc.html'>014literal_noninteger.cc</a>:
+extend the loader to support non-integer numbers.
+<br/><a href='html/020run.cc.html'>020run.cc</a>: executing mu recipes by
+executing the list of instructions they contain.
+<br/>Various primitive operations: on <a href='html/021arithmetic.cc.html'>numbers</a>,
+<a href='html/022boolean.cc.html'>booleans</a>, for <a href='html/023jump.cc.html'>control flow</a>,
+and <a href='html/024compare.cc.html'>comparing values</a>.
+<br/>Primitive operations to help with testing: <a href='html/025trace.cc.html'>tracing/logging</a>, 
+<a href='html/026assert.cc.html'>assert</a> and
+<a href='html/027debug.cc.html'>debug by print</a>.
+
+<br/><a href='html/030container.cc.html'>030container.cc</a>: compound types
+akin to records, structs or classes.
+<br/><a href='html/031address.cc.html'>031address.cc</a>: adding and removing
+layers of indirection to mu data.
+<br/><a href='html/032array.cc.html'>032array.cc</a>: all mu data structures
+are <a href='html/033length.cc.html'>bounds-checked</a>.
+<br/><a href='html/034exclusive_container.cc.html'>034exclusive_container.cc</a>: tagged unions or sum types.
+<br/><a href='html/035call.cc.html'>035call.cc</a>: calls to recipes look
+just like primitive operations.
+<br/><a href='html/036call_ingredient.cc.html'>036call_ingredient.cc</a>: how
+recipes pass arguments or 'ingredients' without introducing any syntax and
+breaking the metaphor of recipes as lists of instructions.
+<br/><a href='html/037call_reply.cc.html'>037call_reply.cc</a>: recipes can
+return arbitrary numbers of values to their callers.
+<br/><a href='html/038scheduler.cc.html'>038scheduler.cc</a>: running multiple
+recipes concurrently using <em>routines</em> that might execute in interleaved
+fashion.
+<br/><a href='html/039wait.cc.html'>039wait.cc</a>: primitives for
+synchronization between routines.
+
+<p><b>Part III</b>: transforms to provide 80% of the benefits of high-level
+languages.
+<br/><a href='html/040brace.cc.html'>040brace.cc</a>: how mu provides
+structured goto-less programming without introducing the syntax of
+conditionals and loops other languages require.
+<br/><a href='html/041name.cc.html'>041name.cc</a>: how mu transforms variable
+names to raw memory addresses.
+<br/><a href='html/042new.cc.html'>042new.cc</a>: rudimentary memory
+allocator that is aware of all global types in any mu program.
+<br/><a href='html/043space.cc.html'>043space.cc</a>: how variables in
+different routines are isolated from each other using <em>spaces</em>. Mu
+&lsquo;local variables&rsquo; are allocated on the heap.
+<br/><a href='html/044space_surround.cc.html'>044space_surround.cc</a>:
+Chaining spaces together to accomodate variables with varying lifetimes and
+ownership properties.
+<br/><a href='html/045closure_name.cc.html'>045closure_name.cc</a>: how spaces
+can implement lexical scope.
+<br/><a href='html/046tangle.cc.html'>046tangle.cc</a>: support for layers in
+mu programs. They've been so good to us.
+<br/><a href='html/047jump_label.cc.html'>047jump_label.cc</a>: since we have 
+<br/><a href='html/048call_variable.cc.html'>048call_variable.cc</a>:
+higher-order functions.
+<br/><a href='html/049continuation.cc.html'>049continuation.cc</a>:
+first-class and delimited continuations, primitives for yield, exceptions and
+much else besides.
+<br/><a href='html/050scenario.cc.html'>050scenario.cc</a>: mu's first syntax
+&mdash; not for code but for tests. (<a href='html/051scenario_test.mu.html'>example</a>)
+
+<p><b>Part IV</b>: beginnings of a standard library
+<p/><a href='html/060string.mu.html'>060string.mu</a>: bounds-checked rather
+than null-terminated. Unicode-aware.
+<br/><a href='html/061channel.mu.html'>061channel.mu</a>: channels are mu's
+only synchronization primitive, queues that can cause the routine reading or
+writing from them to stall without taking up CPU resources.
+<br/><a href='html/062array.mu.html'>062array.mu</a>
+<br/><a href='html/063list.mu.html'>063list.mu</a>
+<br/><a href='html/064random.cc.html'>064random.cc</a>
+
+<p><b>Part V</b>: Nascent tools for browsing mu codebases, for teaching programming
+to non-programmers by getting them hooked on the value of tests. The eventual
+goal is an environment that watches the programmers try out the code they
+write, and turns the interactive sessions into reproducible test scenarios.
+
+<p/><a href='html/070display.cc.html'>070display.cc</a>: primitives for using
+the keyboard and screen.
+<br/><a href='html/071print.mu.html'>071print.mu</a>: helpers that can swap
+the real screen with fake ones for testing.
+<br/><a href='html/072scenario_screen.cc.html'>072scenario_screen.cc</a>:
+writing tests that check what is printed to screen.
+(<a href='html/073scenario_screen_test.mu.html'>examples</a>)
+<br/><a href='html/074keyboard.mu.html'>074keyboard.mu</a>: helpers that can
+swap the real keyboard with fake ones for testing.
+<br/><a href='html/075scenario_keyboard.cc.html'>075scenario_keyboard.cc</a>:
+writing tests using a fake keyboard.
+(<a href='html/076scenario_keyboard_test.mu.html'>examples</a>)
+<br/><a href='html/077trace_browser.cc.html'>077trace_browser.cc</a>: a
+zoomable UI for inspecting traces generated by mu programs. Allows both
+scanning a high-level view and drilling down into selective details.
+
+<p/><a href='html/999spaces.cc.html'>Epilogue</a>: maps summarizing various
+address spaces, and the conventions that regulate their use in previous
+layers.
+
+<p style='margin-bottom: 2em'/>