Parser Developer

Master AILANG parser development with critical conventions that prevent common bugs.

Quick Start

⚠️ READ THIS BEFORE WRITING PARSER CODE

This skill documents critical parser conventions that prevent token position bugs (the #1 time sink in parser development).

Time savings: ~30% by avoiding common pitfalls

Key conventions:

1. Parser leaves cursor AT last token (not after)
2. Lexer never generates NEWLINE tokens
3. Use DEBUG_PARSER=1 for token tracing
4. Use make doc PKG=<package> for API discovery

When to Use This Skill

Invoke this skill when:

• User wants to modify the AILANG parser
• User asks about parser architecture or conventions
• User is debugging parser issues
• User needs to understand token positioning
• User wants to add new syntax to AILANG
• User asks "how do I parse...?"

Critical Convention: Token Position

CRITICAL: AILANG parser functions follow this convention:

• Input: Parser is AT the first token to parse
• Output: Parser is AT the last token of what was parsed (NOT after it)

Example:

// To parse "42" followed by a comma:
p.nextToken() // move to 42
expr := p.parseExpression(LOWEST)  // parses "42", leaves cur=42 (NOT comma!)
p.nextToken() // NOW we're at comma ✓

Functions following this convention:

• parseExpression() - Leaves parser AT the last token of the expression
• parseType() - Leaves parser AT the last token of the type
• parsePattern() - Leaves parser AT the last token of the pattern
• Most parser functions follow this pattern

When writing new parser functions:

• ✅ ALWAYS call p.nextToken() AFTER calling these functions
• ❌ DON'T call p.nextToken() BEFORE - the caller handles positioning
• ✅ Document your function if it deviates from this convention

See: resources/token_positioning.md for detailed examples

Available Scripts

scripts/trace_parser.sh <file.ail>

Run parser with DEBUG_PARSER=1 to trace token positions.

Usage:

.claude/skills/parser-developer/scripts/trace_parser.sh test.ail

Output:

[ENTER parseExpression] cur=INT(42) peek=COMMA
[EXIT parseExpression] cur=INT(42) peek=COMMA

scripts/check_ast_types.sh

List all AST node types in the codebase.

Usage:

.claude/skills/parser-developer/scripts/check_ast_types.sh

scripts/find_api.sh <package> <symbol>

Quick API discovery using make doc.

Usage:

.claude/skills/parser-developer/scripts/find_api.sh internal/parser New

Common AST Types

Quick type lookup:

grep "^type.*struct" internal/ast/ast.go | head -20

Expression types:

• Literals: ast.Literal with Kind field
  • ⚠️ GOTCHA: Lexer returns int64, not int for IntLit
  • ✅ Access: lit.Value.(int64)
  • ❌ Wrong: lit.Value.(int) (will panic!)
• Lists: ast.List with Elements []Expr
• Variables: ast.Variable with Name string
• Function calls: ast.FuncCall with Func Expr, Args []Expr
• Lambdas: ast.Lambda with Params []*ast.Param, Body Expr
• Blocks: ast.Block with Exprs []Expr

Type types:

• Simple types: ast.SimpleType with Name string
• List types: ast.ListType with Element Type
• Function types: ast.FuncType with Params []Type, Return Type, Effects *ast.EffectRow
• Type applications: ast.TypeApp with Con string, Args []Type

Pattern types:

• Variable pattern: ast.VarPattern with Name string
• Constructor pattern: ast.ConstructorPattern with Name string, Args []Pattern
• Literal pattern: ast.LiteralPattern with Value Literal
• Wildcard pattern: ast.WildcardPattern (matches anything)

See: resources/ast_quick_reference.md for complete listing

Quick Token Lookup

Check if a keyword exists:

grep -i "forall" internal/lexer/token.go
# Output: FORALL token exists!

Common testing keywords (already in lexer):

• FORALL, EXISTS - Quantifiers
• TEST, TESTS - Test blocks
• PROPERTY, PROPERTIES - Property-based tests
• ASSERT - Assertions

If you see an identifier instead of a keyword:

• ✅ Use lexer.FORALL, not lexer.IDENT + literal check
• ❌ Wrong: p.curTokenIs(lexer.IDENT) && p.curToken.Literal == "forall"
• ✅ Right: p.curTokenIs(lexer.FORALL)

Debug Mode

Enable token position tracing:

DEBUG_PARSER=1 ailang run test.ail

Output example:

[ENTER parseType] cur=IDENT(int) peek=,
[EXIT parseType] cur=IDENT(int) peek=,
[ENTER parseExpression] cur=IDENT(x) peek=+
[EXIT parseExpression] cur=IDENT(x) peek=+

How it works:

• Shows ENTER/EXIT for key parser functions
• Displays current (cur) and next (peek) tokens
• Only logs when DEBUG_PARSER=1 is set (zero overhead otherwise)
• Output goes to stderr

See: resources/debug_mode.md for troubleshooting guide

Common Patterns

Pattern 1: Parsing Optional Sections

Pattern for parsing optional sections:

// properties can be in PEEK (no tests) or CUR (after tests)
if p.peekTokenIs(lexer.PROPERTIES) || p.curTokenIs(lexer.PROPERTIES) {
    // If in peek, advance to it
    if p.peekTokenIs(lexer.PROPERTIES) {
        p.nextToken()
    }
    // Now always at PROPERTIES
    properties := p.parsePropertiesBlock()
}

Why: Previous optional section may or may not advance the parser, so check both positions.

Pattern 2: Test Error Printing

❌ WRONG - Errors are hidden:

if len(p.Errors()) != 0 {
    t.Fatalf("parser had %d errors:", len(p.Errors()))
    // ⚠️ This never executes! t.Fatalf stops immediately
    for _, err := range p.Errors() {
        t.Errorf("  %s", err)
    }
}

✅ CORRECT - Errors are visible:

if len(p.Errors()) != 0 {
    // Print errors BEFORE Fatalf
    for _, err := range p.Errors() {
        t.Errorf("  %s", err)
    }
    t.Fatalf("parser had %d errors", len(p.Errors()))
}

Pattern 3: String Formatting

⚠️ CRITICAL: string(rune(i)) produces unprintable characters!

// ❌ WRONG - Produces "\x01" instead of "1"
testName := "test_" + string(rune(i+1))  // BUG!

// ✅ CORRECT - Use fmt.Sprintf or strconv
testName := fmt.Sprintf("test_%d", i+1)
testName := "test_" + strconv.Itoa(i+1)

Why: rune(1) is Unicode U+0001 (unprintable), not "1" (U+0031).

See: resources/common_patterns.md for more patterns

API Discovery Workflow

When you need to know an API:

1. Check make doc (fastest - 30 seconds)

make doc PKG=internal/parser | grep "parseExpression"
make doc PKG=internal/testing | grep "NewCollector"

2. Check source files (if you know the file)

grep "^func New" internal/testing/collector.go
grep "^type.*struct" internal/ast/ast.go

3. Check test files (shows real usage)

grep "NewCollector" internal/testing/*_test.go

4. Check docs/guides/ (for complex workflows)

• docs/guides/parser_development.md
• docs/CONTRIBUTING.md

Time savings:

• Before make doc: ~5-10 min per API lookup
• After make doc: ~30 sec per API lookup
• Improvement: ~80% reduction

See: resources/api_discovery.md for constructor tables

Common Constructors

Quick reference:

Package	Constructor	Signature	Notes
internal/parser	New(lexer)	Takes lexer instance	Parser
internal/elaborate	NewElaborator()	No arguments	Surface → Core
internal/types	NewTypeChecker(core, imports)	Takes Core prog + imports	Type inference
internal/link	NewLinker()	No arguments	Dictionary linking
internal/testing	NewCollector(path string)	Takes module path	M-TESTING
internal/eval	NewEvaluator(ctx)	Takes EffContext	Core evaluator

See: resources/api_discovery.md for complete reference

Pipeline Sequence

Typical compilation pipeline:

// Step 1: Parse
l := lexer.New(input, "test.ail")
p := parser.New(l)
file := p.ParseFile()

// Step 2: Elaborate (Surface → Core)
elab := elaborate.NewElaborator()  // ⚠️ No arguments!
coreProg, err := elab.Elaborate(file)

// Step 3: Type check
tc := types.NewTypeChecker(coreProg, nil)  // nil = no imports
typedProg, err := tc.Check()

// Step 4: Link dictionaries
linker := link.NewLinker()
linkedProg, err := linker.Link(typedProg, tc.CoreTI)

Common Field Gotchas

Use make doc to discover struct fields:

make doc PKG=internal/ast | grep -A 20 "type FuncDecl"

Common mistakes:

// ✅ CORRECT
funcDecl.Tests           // []*ast.TestCase (not .Tests.Cases!)
funcDecl.Properties      // []*ast.Property
funcDecl.Params          // []*ast.Param

// ❌ WRONG (fields that don't exist)
funcDecl.InlineTests     // Use .Tests
funcDecl.Tests.Cases     // .Tests is already the slice

Resources

Detailed Guides

Token positioning:

• resources/token_positioning.md - Detailed examples and edge cases

AST types:

• resources/ast_quick_reference.md - Complete AST node listing

Common patterns:

• resources/common_patterns.md - Parser patterns and anti-patterns

API discovery:

• resources/api_discovery.md - Constructor tables and field reference

Debug mode:

• resources/debug_mode.md - Troubleshooting guide

Architecture Docs

• Parser design: design_docs/planned/v0_3_15/m-dx9-parser-developer-experience.md
• Contributing: docs/CONTRIBUTING.md
• Lexer/Parser: internal/lexer/, internal/parser/

Critical Warnings

1. Lexer Never Generates NEWLINE Tokens

The lexer skips \n as whitespace. Even though lexer.NEWLINE exists, it's never generated!

❌ WRONG:

if p.curTokenIs(lexer.NEWLINE) {  // This is NEVER true!
    ...
}

✅ CORRECT:

// After RPAREN of Leaf(int), next token is PIPE (not NEWLINE)
if p.curTokenIs(lexer.PIPE) {
    ...
}

Multi-line syntax "just works" because the lexer handles it.

2. IntLit is int64, not int

// ❌ WRONG - Will panic!
value := lit.Value.(int)

// ✅ CORRECT
value := lit.Value.(int64)

3. Always Print Errors Before t.Fatalf

t.Fatalf stops execution immediately, so print errors first!

Progressive Disclosure

This skill loads information progressively:

1. Always loaded: This SKILL.md file (conventions overview)
2. Execute as needed: Scripts in scripts/ (tracing, API discovery)
3. Load on demand: Detailed guides in resources/

Notes

• Parser functions leave cursor AT last token, not after
• Lexer never generates NEWLINE tokens - it skips them
• Use DEBUG_PARSER=1 for token tracing
• Use make doc PKG=<package> for API discovery (80% faster)
• IntLit values are int64, not int
• Print errors before t.Fatalf in tests