From 76f41e6250eda5869333eab86454e655462c45c1 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Mike Gerwitz <gerwitzm@lovullo.com>
Date: Tue, 15 Nov 2016 12:35:54 -0500
Subject: [PATCH] Symbol format and type documentation

It's important that others understand the system before I keep adding to
the mystery.  This is at least a good start.

It also obviates certain awkward design issues that have evolved over
time and need addressing.  Note that it also mentions that `keep' is
marked for removal---this is the situation that prompted this
documentation; changes will be made to work toward its removal to
improve the terrible linker performance when given many thousands of
symbols defined in over 500 separate packages.

* src/symtable.xsl: Add menu for symbols.
* src/symtable/symbols.xsl: Added.
---
 src/symtable.xsl         |  12 ++
 src/symtable/symbols.xsl | 252 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 2 files changed, 264 insertions(+)
 create mode 100644 src/symtable/symbols.xsl

diff --git a/src/symtable.xsl b/src/symtable.xsl
index 93a99231..1179c4a9 100644
--- a/src/symtable.xsl
+++ b/src/symtable.xsl
@@ -98,4 +98,16 @@
   </for-each-group>
 </function>
 
+
+<!--
+  @menu
+  * Symbol Format::  Anatomy of a symbol table entry
+  * Symbol Types::   Symbols describing various objects
+  @end menu
+
+  @lowersections
+  @include ../src/symtable/symbols.texi
+  @raisesections
+-->
+
 </stylesheet>
diff --git a/src/symtable/symbols.xsl b/src/symtable/symbols.xsl
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..21bf54bc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/symtable/symbols.xsl
@@ -0,0 +1,252 @@
+<?xml version="1.0"?>
+<!--
+  Semantic analysis for symbol generation
+
+  Copyright (C) 2016 LoVullo Associates, Inc.
+
+    This file is part of TAME.
+
+    TAME is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+    it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+    the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+    (at your option) any later version.
+
+    This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+    but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+    MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+    General Public License for more details.
+
+    You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+    along with this program.  If not, see
+    <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+
+    Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
+    under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or
+    any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
+    Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts.
+    A copy of the license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free
+    Documentation License''.
+-->
+<stylesheet version="2.0"
+            xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform"
+            xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
+            xmlns:lv="http://www.lovullo.com/rater"
+            xmlns:symtable="http://www.lovullo.com/tame/symtable"
+            xmlns:preproc="http://www.lovullo.com/rater/preproc">
+
+<import href="symbols.xsl.apply" />
+
+<!--
+  @macro sym{}
+  @math{\\sigma}
+  @end macro
+
+  @macro obj{}
+  @math{\\theta}
+  @end macro
+-->
+
+
+<!--
+  @node Symbol Format
+  @section Symbol Format
+
+  A @dfn{symbol} is nothing more than an abstract representation of an
+    object,
+      represented by a @code{preproc:sym} node in the symbol table
+        (@pxref{Symbol Table}),
+  For some symbol@tie{}@sym{} describing some object@tie{}@obj{}, the
+    following attributes are recognized:
+
+  @table @code
+  @item name
+  Unique identifier of@tie{}@sym{}.  @emph{Required.}
+
+  @item type
+  Type of object described by@tie{}@sym{}.
+  Multiple symbols of different types may share the same@tie{}@obj{}.
+  @emph{Required.}
+
+  @item desc
+  Human-readable description of@tie{}@obj{}. @emph{Required.}
+
+  @item dim
+  Dimensions of@tie{}@obj{} as an integer.
+  Standard dimensions are scalar@tie{}(0),
+    vector@tie{}(1),
+    and matrix@tie{}(2).
+  @emph{Required}
+
+  @item dtype
+  Reference to some symbol describing the datatype of@tie{}@sym{},
+    if applicable.
+
+  @item tex
+  TeX code used to render@tie{}@sym{} in a math block.
+
+  @item parent
+  Reference to a symbol from which@tie{}@sym{} is derived.
+  For example, a @code{cgen} symbol would have the associated
+    @code{class} as its parent.
+
+  @item extern
+  Whether@tie{}@sym{} is unresolved in the given context.
+
+  @item missing
+  If extern, a human-readable message describing@tie{}@obj{}.
+  This is useful to display to the user on error when@tie{}@sym{}
+    is the result of generated code
+      (e.g. @ref{Macro Expansion,,template expansion}).
+
+  @item allow-circular
+  Permit@tie{}@sym{} to be part of a cycle (@pxref{Dependency Graph}).
+  This is desirable for recursive functions, but should otherwise be
+    avoided like the plague.
+
+  @item keep
+  Always link@tie{}@sym{},
+    even if disjoint from the program's dependency graph.
+  @emph{This is marked for removal.}@footnote{
+    ``Keeps'' cause various tricky and inelegant situations,
+      cause unnecessary coupling of unrelated concerns,
+      and create a performance nightmare for the linker.
+    They were created as a kluge during a near-rewrite of @tame{}
+      (which introduced the symbol table) to get around the fact that
+      certain systems weren't in place to pull in symbols as
+      dependencies for certain operations;
+        it wasn't intended to stick.
+    They will be removed entirely and will not be replaced with
+      anything@mdash{
+        }if a symbol is to be linked, it must be part of the
+        dependency graph.}
+  @end table
+
+  An attribute not marked as required may be omitted.
+  If an implementation wishes to attach additional metadata to a
+    symbol,
+      it @emph{must} use a different namespace.
+-->
+
+
+<!--
+  @node Symbol Types
+  @section Symbol Types
+
+  The @dfn{symbol type} describes the context in which a symbol may be
+  used,
+    and the attributes it supports.
+  Generally, both the compiler and linker must be aware of a given
+    symbol type:
+      the compiler uses the symbol type to determine the type of code
+        to generate,
+      and the linker uses that information to determine what section
+        the object code should be linked to.
+  There are exceptions,
+    noted in their individual sections.
+
+  @tame{} aims to reduce the number of symbol types in favor of a
+    generalized system with few primitives@mdash{
+      }before defining a new symbol type,
+        consider whether the existing can be reused in a novel way.
+  Certain symbols will be consolidated in the future,
+    time permitting.@footnote{
+      @code{class} can be a special case of @code{rate}.
+      @code{gen} can acquire the multidimensional capabilities of
+        @code{cgen} and the latter can be removed.
+      @code{param} and @code{lparam} can be merged if the former
+        is defined by a wide "local" scope.
+      @code{const} is a special case of @code{rate} or @code{cgen}.
+      @code{func} can be eliminated if all current @code{rate} are
+        considered to be immediate function applications;
+          this would also allow for mocking inputs for testing and
+          debugging.
+        If it's not yet clear, @tame{} started as a very rigid,
+          narrowly-focused system and began generalizing over time.}
+
+  @table @code
+  @item rate
+  Calculation.@footnote{
+    The term @dfn{rate} (a verb) is a consequence of @tame{}'s origin
+      as an insurance rating system.
+    This symbol type will be renamed to @code{calc} eventually.}
+  Calculations yield a single scalar value.
+  If a child @code{cgen} exists,
+    the yield of the calculation is equivalent to the sum of all its
+    elements.
+
+  @item gen
+  Generator.@footnote{
+    The name is regrettable@mdash{
+      }it originated from the concept of a generator function,
+        but never turned out that way.
+    @code{gen} is actually a list comprehension,
+      and will likely be renamed in the future to reflect that.}
+  Generators produce a vector element for each iteration of some
+    calculation.
+  Generators always have a parent @code{rate} symbol.
+
+  @item class
+  Classification.
+  Classifications are universal or existential quantifiers most often
+    used as predicates.
+
+  @item cgen
+  Classification generator.@footnote{
+    See footnote for @code{gen}.}
+  Analogous to @code{gen},
+    produces a boolean element for each classification result.
+  Unlike @code{gen}, the dimension of a given @code{cgen} is the
+    largest of all of its predicates.
+
+  @item param
+  Global parameter.
+  All TAME programs can be viewed as a function operating on a set of
+    global inputs.
+  Their domains are defined by their datatype,
+    represented by the symbol attribute @code{dtype}
+    (@pxref{Symbol Types}).
+
+  @item lparam
+  Local parameter.
+  In contrast to @code{param}, local parameters are restricted to a
+    defined scope (e.g. function parameters; let expressions).
+  This symbol is not used by the linker.
+
+  @item const
+  Global constant.
+  Constant values (of any dimension).
+  These values may be inlined at the compiler's discretion.
+
+  @item tpl
+  Template definition.
+  Templates define expandable text in the form of macros
+    (@pxref{Macro Expansion}).
+  This symbol is not used by the linker.
+
+  @item type
+  Datatype.
+  A type describes the domain of a symbol.
+  Types do not include dimension information@mdash{
+    }such is determined by the @code{dim} symbol attribute
+      (@pxref{Symbol Format}).
+
+  @item func
+  Function.
+  @tame{} supports functions as a means of calculation reuse and
+    abstraction.
+  Unlike calculations,
+    functions can recurse (see @code{allow-circular} in
+      @ref{Symbol Format}).
+  Functions are not first-class@mdash{
+    }@tame{} is not a functional language.
+
+  @item meta
+  Arbitrary metadata about the program.
+  These metadata are key-value and are intended to be compiled
+    statically into the program for static reference without having to
+    actually invoke the program.
+  @end table
+-->
+
+
+</stylesheet>