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authorKartik K. Agaram <vc@akkartik.com>2017-06-19 21:47:07 -0700
committerKartik K. Agaram <vc@akkartik.com>2017-06-19 21:47:07 -0700
commit248e789e7cedf9dfab25657d3dfa195d7ad0127b (patch)
tree03db54fbd3c86ecf428eba7421b5b23d2c8f902a /subx/000organization.cc
parente11bec57730f5bbcd9d6780c8dec0cbd4153c50f (diff)
downloadmu-248e789e7cedf9dfab25657d3dfa195d7ad0127b.tar.gz
3930 - experimental bytecode interpreter
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+//: You guessed right: the '000' prefix means you should start reading here.
+//:
+//: This project is set up to load all files with a numeric prefix. Just
+//: create a new file and start hacking.
+//:
+//: The first few files (00*) are independent of what this program does, an
+//: experimental skeleton that will hopefully make it both easier for others to
+//: understand and more malleable, easier to rewrite and remould into radically
+//: different shapes without breaking in subtle corner cases. The premise is
+//: that understandability and rewrite-friendliness are related in a virtuous
+//: cycle. Doing one well makes it easier to do the other.
+//:
+//: Lower down, this file contains a legal, bare-bones C++ program. It doesn't
+//: do anything yet; subsequent files will contain :(...) directives to insert
+//: lines into it. For example:
+//:   :(after "more events")
+//: This directive means: insert the following lines after a line in the
+//: program containing the words "more events".
+//:
+//: A simple tool is included to 'tangle' all the files together in sequence
+//: according to their directives into a single source file containing all the
+//: code for the project, and then feed the source file to the compiler.
+//: (It'll drop these comments starting with a '//:' prefix that only make
+//: sense before tangling.)
+//:
+//: Directives free up the programmer to order code for others to read rather
+//: than as forced by the computer or compiler. Each individual feature can be
+//: organized in a self-contained 'layer' that adds code to many different data
+//: structures and functions all over the program. The right decomposition into
+//: layers will let each layer make sense in isolation.
+//:
+//:   "If I look at any small part of it, I can see what is going on -- I don't
+//:   need to refer to other parts to understand what something is doing.
+//:
+//:   If I look at any large part in overview, I can see what is going on -- I
+//:   don't need to know all the details to get it.
+//:
+//:   Every level of detail is as locally coherent and as well thought-out as
+//:   any other level."
+//:
+//:       -- Richard Gabriel, "The Quality Without A Name"
+//:          (http://dreamsongs.com/Files/PatternsOfSoftware.pdf, page 42)
+//:
+//: Directives are powerful; they permit inserting or modifying any point in
+//: the program. Using them tastefully requires mapping out specific lines as
+//: waypoints for future layers to hook into. Often such waypoints will be in
+//: comments, capitalized to hint that other layers rely on their presence.
+//:
+//: A single waypoint might have many different code fragments hooking into
+//: it from all over the codebase. Use 'before' directives to insert
+//: code at a location in order, top to bottom, and 'after' directives to
+//: insert code in reverse order. By convention waypoints intended for insertion
+//: before begin with 'End'. Notice below how the layers line up above the "End
+//: Foo" waypoint.
+//:
+//:   File 001          File 002                File 003
+//:   ============      ===================     ===================
+//:   // Foo
+//:   ------------
+//:              <----  :(before "End Foo")
+//:                     ....
+//:                     ...
+//:   ------------
+//:              <----------------------------  :(before "End Foo")
+//:                                             ....
+//:                                             ...
+//:   // End Foo
+//:   ============
+//:
+//: Here's part of a layer in color: http://i.imgur.com/0eONnyX.png. Directives
+//: are shaded dark.
+//:
+//: Layers do more than just shuffle code around. In a well-organized codebase
+//: it should be possible to stop loading after any file/layer, build and run
+//: the program, and pass all tests for loaded features. (Relevant is
+//: http://youtube.com/watch?v=c8N72t7aScY, a scene from "2001: A Space
+//: Odyssey".) Get into the habit of running the included script called
+//: 'test_layers' before you commit any changes.
+//:
+//: This 'subsetting guarantee' ensures that this directory contains a
+//: cleaned-up narrative of the evolution of this codebase. Organizing
+//: autobiographically allows a newcomer to rapidly orient himself, reading the
+//: first few files to understand a simple gestalt of a program's core purpose
+//: and features, and later gradually working his way through other features as
+//: the need arises.
+//:
+//: Programmers shouldn't need to understand everything about a program to hack
+//: on it. But they shouldn't be prevented from a thorough understanding of
+//: each aspect either. The goal of layers is to reward curiosity.
+
+// Includes
+// End Includes
+
+// Types
+// End Types
+
+// Prototypes are auto-generated in the 'build' script; define your functions
+// in any order. Just be sure to declare each function header all on one line.
+// Our auto-generation scripts are too minimal and simple-minded to handle
+// anything else.
+#include "function_list"  // by convention, files ending with '_list' are auto-generated
+
+// Globals
+//
+// All statements in this section should always define a single variable on a
+// single line. The 'build' script will simple-mindedly auto-generate extern
+// declarations for them. Don't forget to define (not just declare) constants
+// with extern linkage in this section, since C++ global constants have
+// internal linkage by default.
+//
+// End Globals
+
+int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
+  atexit(teardown);
+
+  // End One-time Setup
+
+  // Commandline Parsing
+  // End Commandline Parsing
+
+  return 0;  // End Main
+}
+
+// Unit Tests
+// End Unit Tests
+
+//: our first directive; will move the include above the program
+:(before "End Includes")
+#include <stdlib.h>
+
+//: Without directives or with the :(code) directive, lines get added at the
+//: end.
+:(code)
+void setup() {
+  // End Setup
+}
+
+void teardown() {
+  // End Teardown
+}