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Section 15A: Attributes & Comments

Goal: Implement approved attribute syntax changes and comment restrictions

Source: docs/ori_lang/proposals/approved/

15A.1 Simplified Attribute Syntax

Proposal: proposals/approved/simplified-attributes-proposal.md

Change attribute syntax from #[name(...)] to #name(...). Attributes are now generalizable to all declarations.

// Before
#[derive(Eq, Clone)]
#[skip("reason")]

// After
#derive(Eq, Clone)
#skip("reason")

Key Design Decisions

  • Generalized attributes: Any attribute can appear before any declaration
  • Compiler validation: The compiler validates which attributes are valid for which declarations
  • Positioning: Attributes must appear immediately before the declaration they modify

Implementation

NOTE (verified 2026-03-29): LLVM sub-items throughout this section are IRRELEVANT — attributes are parsed metadata consumed by the parser/typechecker, not LLVM IR constructs. LLVM codegen never sees attributes or comments. All LLVM sub-items below are marked N/A.

  • Implement: Update lexer to emit Hash token instead of HashBracket (verified 2026-03-29)

    • Rust Tests: ori_lexer/src/cooker/tests.rs — test_hash_token verifies RawTag::Hash produces TokenKind::Hash; 31 lexer tests pass
    • Ori Tests: 125+ existing spec test files exercise #skip, #compile_fail, #fail, #derive, #repr, #target, #cfg, #fbip
    • N/A LLVM Support: attributes are frontend metadata, not LLVM IR constructs
    • N/A LLVM Rust Tests: see above
    • N/A AOT Tests: see above

  • Implement: Update parser to parse #name(...) syntax (verified 2026-03-29)

    • Rust Tests: ori_parse/src/grammar/attr/tests.rs — 14 tests cover both bracket and bracketless syntax; semantic pins: test_parse_skip_attribute_no_brackets, test_parse_compile_fail_attribute_no_brackets, test_parse_derive_attribute_no_brackets
    • Ori Tests: grammar.ebnf line 239: attribute = "#" identifier [ "(" ... ) ] .
    • N/A LLVM Support: attributes are frontend metadata, not LLVM IR constructs
    • N/A LLVM Rust Tests: see above
    • N/A AOT Tests: see above

  • Implement: Generalize attributes to all declarations (functions, types, traits, impls, tests, constants) (verified 2026-03-29)

    • Rust Tests: test_attributes_on_declarations in parser tests
    • Ori Tests: grammar.ebnf line 233: declaration = { attribute } [ "pub" ] ( function | type_def | trait_def | impl_block | ... ) .
    • N/A LLVM Support: attributes are frontend metadata, not LLVM IR constructs
    • N/A LLVM Rust Tests: see above
    • N/A AOT Tests: see above

  • Implement: Attribute validation (which attributes valid for which declarations) — PARTIAL (verified 2026-03-29): unknown attributes rejected (E1006), file-level validation exists, but no per-declaration target validation (e.g., #derive on a function is not caught)

    • Rust Tests: test_parse_unknown_attribute, test_file_attr_invalid_kind_reports_error in parser tests
    • Ori Tests: tests/compile-fail/invalid_attribute_target.ori — GAP: no test for invalid attribute targets
    • Per-declaration attribute-target validation (e.g., reject #derive on functions, #skip on types)
    • N/A LLVM Support: attributes are frontend metadata, not LLVM IR constructs
    • N/A LLVM Rust Tests: see above

  • Implement: Support migration: accept both syntaxes temporarily (verified 2026-03-29)

    • Rust Tests: ori_parse/src/grammar/attr/tests.rs — tests cover both #[name(...)] and #name(...) forms; uses_brackets flag threads through parsing
    • Ori Tests: 104 test files use old #[derive(...)], 21 use new #derive(...) — both work
    • N/A LLVM Support: attributes are frontend metadata, not LLVM IR constructs
    • N/A LLVM Rust Tests: see above
    • N/A AOT Tests: see above

  • Implement: Add deprecation warning for bracket syntax — NOT IMPLEMENTED (verified 2026-03-29): parser silently accepts both forms, no warning infrastructure. Note: 104 test files still use old syntax; migration should precede or accompany this.

  • Implement: Update ori fmt to auto-migrate — NOT IMPLEMENTED (verified 2026-03-29): no migration logic in ori_fmt to convert #[name(...)] to #name(...)

  • /tpr-review passed — independent review found no critical or major issues (or all findings triaged)

  • /impl-hygiene-review passed — hygiene review clean. MUST run AFTER /tpr-review is clean.

  • Subsection close-out (15A.1) — MANDATORY before starting the next subsection. Run /improve-tooling retrospectively on THIS subsection’s debugging journey (per .claude/skills/improve-tooling/SKILL.md “Per-Subsection Workflow”): which diagnostics/ scripts you ran, where you added dbg!/tracing calls, where output was hard to interpret, where test failures gave unhelpful messages, where you ran the same command sequence repeatedly. Forward-look: what tool/log/diagnostic would shorten the next regression in this code path by 10 minutes? Implement improvements NOW (zero deferral) and commit each via SEPARATE /commit-push using a valid conventional-commit type (build(diagnostics): ... — surfaced by section-15A.1 retrospective — build/test/chore/ci/docs are valid; tools(...) is rejected by the lefthook commit-msg hook). Mandatory even when nothing felt painful. If genuinely no gaps, document briefly: “Retrospective 15A.1: no tooling gaps”. Update this subsection’s status in section frontmatter to complete.

  • /sync-claude section-close doc sync — verify Claude artifacts across all section commits. Map changed crates to rules files, check CLAUDE.md, canon.md. Fix drift NOW.

  • Repo hygiene check — run diagnostics/repo-hygiene.sh --check and clean any detected temp files.

15A.2 function_seq vs function_exp Formalization

Proposal: proposals/approved/function-seq-exp-distinction.md

Formalize the distinction between sequential patterns and named-expression patterns.

function_seq (special syntax): run, try, match, catch function_exp (named args): recurse, parallel, spawn, timeout, cache, with, for function_val (positional): int, float, str, byte — REMOVED by as proposal

NOTE: The as conversion proposal (proposals/approved/as-conversion-proposal.md) removes function_val entirely. Type conversions now use x as T / x as? T syntax, eliminating the special case for positional arguments.

Implementation

NOTE (verified 2026-03-29): LLVM sub-items throughout this section are IRRELEVANT — FunctionSeq/FunctionExp are AST nodes, not LLVM constructs. All LLVM sub-items below are marked N/A.

  • Implement: Verify AST has separate FunctionSeq and FunctionExp types (verified 2026-03-29)

    • Rust Tests: test_function_exp_kind_names in ori_ir/src/ast/patterns/exp/tests.rs verifies all 15 variants; AST tests at ast/tests.rs lines 48-50 verify enum equality
    • Evidence: FunctionSeq in ori_ir/src/ast/patterns/seq/mod.rs, FunctionExp/FunctionExpKind (15 variants) in ori_ir/src/ast/patterns/exp/mod.rs, ExprKind::FunctionSeq(FunctionSeqId) at ast/expr.rs line 338
    • N/A LLVM Support: AST-level concern, not LLVM
    • N/A LLVM Rust Tests: see above
    • N/A AOT Tests: see above

  • Implement: Parser allows positional for type conversions only (verified 2026-03-29) — OBE: function_val removed by as proposal; type conversions now use ExprKind::Cast with as/as? syntax

    • Evidence: No function_val category in AST; grammar uses cast_expression for as/as?
    • N/A LLVM Support: AST-level concern, not LLVM
    • N/A LLVM Rust Tests: see above
    • N/A AOT Tests: see above

  • Implement: Parser enforces named args for all other builtins (verified 2026-03-29)

    • Evidence: FunctionExp requires NamedExprRange (props field) — all properties are named expressions with name: value format
    • N/A LLVM Support: AST-level concern, not LLVM
    • N/A LLVM Rust Tests: see above
    • N/A AOT Tests: see above

  • Implement: Add clear error message for positional args in builtins (verified 2026-03-29) — PARTIAL: parser produces errors for positional arguments where named are required, but no dedicated compile-fail test exists

    • Evidence: parser rejects positional args in function_exp contexts
    • Ori Tests: tests/compile-fail/builtin_positional_args.ori — GAP: no dedicated test file
    • N/A LLVM Support: AST-level concern, not LLVM
    • N/A LLVM Rust Tests: see above

15A.3 Inline Comments Prohibition

Comments must appear on their own line. Inline comments are not allowed.

// This is valid
let x = 42

let y = 42  // SYNTAX ERROR

Implementation

SPEC/IMPL GAP (verified 2026-03-29): The spec (07-lexical-elements.md section 7.1) says “Inline comments (comments following code on the same line) are not permitted.” However, the compiler accepts them silently. The lexer classifies comments by content markers only, with no position-based validation.

NOTE (verified 2026-03-29): LLVM sub-items are IRRELEVANT — comment handling is a lexer concern, not LLVM. All LLVM sub-items below are marked N/A.

  • Implement: Update lexer to reject inline comments — NOT IMPLEMENTED (verified 2026-03-29): lexer has no logic to detect whether non-whitespace preceded // on the same line

    • Rust Tests: ori_lexer/src/comments/ — inline comment position detection
    • Ori Tests: tests/compile-fail/inline_comments.ori
    • N/A LLVM Support: lexer-level concern, not LLVM
    • N/A LLVM Rust Tests: see above

  • Implement: Add clear error message for inline comments — NOT IMPLEMENTED (verified 2026-03-29): no error code assigned, no diagnostic message exists

    • N/A LLVM Support: lexer-level concern, not LLVM
    • N/A LLVM Rust Tests: see above

  • /tpr-review passed — independent review found no critical or major issues (or all findings triaged)

  • /impl-hygiene-review passed — hygiene review clean. MUST run AFTER /tpr-review is clean.

  • Subsection close-out (15A.3) — MANDATORY before starting the next subsection. Run /improve-tooling retrospectively on THIS subsection’s debugging journey (per .claude/skills/improve-tooling/SKILL.md “Per-Subsection Workflow”): which diagnostics/ scripts you ran, where you added dbg!/tracing calls, where output was hard to interpret, where test failures gave unhelpful messages, where you ran the same command sequence repeatedly. Forward-look: what tool/log/diagnostic would shorten the next regression in this code path by 10 minutes? Implement improvements NOW (zero deferral) and commit each via SEPARATE /commit-push using a valid conventional-commit type (build(diagnostics): ... — surfaced by section-15A.3 retrospective — build/test/chore/ci/docs are valid; tools(...) is rejected by the lefthook commit-msg hook). Mandatory even when nothing felt painful. If genuinely no gaps, document briefly: “Retrospective 15A.3: no tooling gaps”. Update this subsection’s status in section frontmatter to complete.

  • /sync-claude section-close doc sync — verify Claude artifacts across all section commits. Map changed crates to rules files, check CLAUDE.md, canon.md. Fix drift NOW.

  • Repo hygiene check — run diagnostics/repo-hygiene.sh --check and clean any detected temp files.

15A.4 Simplified Doc Comment Syntax

Proposal: proposals/approved/simplified-doc-comments-proposal.md

Simplify doc comment syntax by removing verbose markers:

// Before
// #Computes the sum.
// @param a The first operand.
// @param b The second operand.

// After
// Computes the sum.
// * a: The first operand.
// * b: The second operand.

Key Design Decisions

  • Remove # marker for descriptions — Unmarked comments before declarations are descriptions
  • Replace @param/@field with * — Markdown-like list syntax, context determines meaning
  • Canonical spacing — // * name: description with space after *, colon always required
  • Non-doc comment separation — Blank line separates non-doc comments from declarations

Implementation

  • Implement: Update CommentKind enum (verified 2026-03-29)

    • Replace DocParam, DocField with unified DocMember — done: CommentKind at ori_ir/src/comment/mod.rs has Regular, DocDescription, DocMember, DocWarning, DocExample; no DocParam/DocField variants exist
    • Remove DocDescription detection from lexer — NOTE: DocDescription still exists in enum and is classified by lexer via # prefix; this is acceptable as the description marker is lightweight
    • Rust Tests: ori_ir/src/comment/tests.rs — 9 tests verifying sort_order() and is_doc() for all variants

  • Implement: Update lexer comment classification (verified 2026-03-29)

    • Recognize * as member doc marker — done: classify_and_normalize_comment() in ori_lexer/src/comments/mod.rs
    • Remove #, @param, @field recognition — NOTE: both old and new markers still recognized; removal should NOT happen until migration is complete
    • Rust Tests: ori_lexer/src/comments/tests.rs — 31 classification tests pass

  • Implement: Update formatter doc comment reordering (verified 2026-03-29)

    • Update extract_member_name to parse * name: syntax — done: extract_member_name_any() at ori_fmt/src/comments/mod.rs line 324 handles both formats
    • Rust Tests: test_extract_member_name_any_star_format, test_extract_member_name_any_legacy_param, test_extract_member_name_any_legacy_field — 4 formatter comment tests pass

  • Implement: Support migration from old syntax — PARTIAL (verified 2026-03-29)

    • Lexer recognizes both old and new formats during transition — done: #, @param, @field all produce correct CommentKind variants alongside new * format
    • ori fmt converts old to new automatically — NOT IMPLEMENTED
    • Add deprecation warning for old format (#Description, @param, @field) — NOT IMPLEMENTED

  • N/A Implement: LLVM backend support (verified 2026-03-29) — IRRELEVANT: comments are lexer/parser/formatter metadata, not LLVM IR constructs

  • /tpr-review passed — independent review found no critical or major issues (or all findings triaged)

  • /impl-hygiene-review passed — hygiene review clean. MUST run AFTER /tpr-review is clean.

  • Subsection close-out (15A.4) — MANDATORY before starting the next subsection. Run /improve-tooling retrospectively on THIS subsection’s debugging journey (per .claude/skills/improve-tooling/SKILL.md “Per-Subsection Workflow”): which diagnostics/ scripts you ran, where you added dbg!/tracing calls, where output was hard to interpret, where test failures gave unhelpful messages, where you ran the same command sequence repeatedly. Forward-look: what tool/log/diagnostic would shorten the next regression in this code path by 10 minutes? Implement improvements NOW (zero deferral) and commit each via SEPARATE /commit-push using a valid conventional-commit type (build(diagnostics): ... — surfaced by section-15A.4 retrospective — build/test/chore/ci/docs are valid; tools(...) is rejected by the lefthook commit-msg hook). Mandatory even when nothing felt painful. If genuinely no gaps, document briefly: “Retrospective 15A.4: no tooling gaps”. Update this subsection’s status in section frontmatter to complete.

  • /sync-claude section-close doc sync — verify Claude artifacts across all section commits. Map changed crates to rules files, check CLAUDE.md, canon.md. Fix drift NOW.

  • Repo hygiene check — run diagnostics/repo-hygiene.sh --check and clean any detected temp files.

15A.5 Section Completion Checklist

  • All implementation items have checkboxes marked [ ]
  • All spec docs updated
  • CLAUDE.md updated with syntax changes
  • Migration tools working
  • All tests pass: ./test-all.sh
  • /tpr-review passed — independent Codex review found no critical or major issues (or all findings triaged)
  • /impl-hygiene-review passed — implementation hygiene review clean (phase boundaries, SSOT, algorithmic DRY, naming). MUST run AFTER /tpr-review is clean.
  • /improve-tooling retrospective completed — MANDATORY at section close, after both reviews are clean. Reflect on the section’s debugging journey (which diagnostics/ scripts you ran, which command sequences you repeated, where you added ad-hoc dbg!/tracing calls, where output was hard to interpret) and identify any tool/log/diagnostic improvement that would have made this section materially easier OR that would help the next section touching this area. Implement every accepted improvement NOW (zero deferral) and commit each via SEPARATE /commit-push. The retrospective is mandatory even when nothing felt painful — that is exactly when blind spots accumulate. See .claude/skills/improve-tooling/SKILL.md “Retrospective Mode” for the full protocol.

Exit Criteria: Attribute syntax, comment rules, and doc comment syntax implemented

  • Subsection close-out (15A.5) — MANDATORY before starting the next subsection. Run /improve-tooling retrospectively on THIS subsection’s debugging journey (per .claude/skills/improve-tooling/SKILL.md “Per-Subsection Workflow”): which diagnostics/ scripts you ran, where you added dbg!/tracing calls, where output was hard to interpret, where test failures gave unhelpful messages, where you ran the same command sequence repeatedly. Forward-look: what tool/log/diagnostic would shorten the next regression in this code path by 10 minutes? Implement improvements NOW (zero deferral) and commit each via SEPARATE /commit-push using a valid conventional-commit type (build(diagnostics): ... — surfaced by section-15A.5 retrospective — build/test/chore/ci/docs are valid; tools(...) is rejected by the lefthook commit-msg hook). Mandatory even when nothing felt painful. If genuinely no gaps, document briefly: “Retrospective 15A.5: no tooling gaps”. Update this subsection’s status in section frontmatter to complete.
  • /sync-claude section-close doc sync — verify Claude artifacts across all section commits. Map changed crates to rules files, check CLAUDE.md, canon.md. Fix drift NOW.
  • Repo hygiene check — run diagnostics/repo-hygiene.sh --check and clean any detected temp files.