google-research/dex-lang

Add a primitive guaranteed to inhibit constant folding

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#1,154 opened on Nov 10, 2022

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 (0 comments) (0 reactions) (0 assignees)Haskell (1,681 stars) (116 forks)batch import
good first issue

Description

at least to test the compiler's behavior on unknown entities. Suggested name unknown.

Contributor guide

Tech stack
None
Domain
tooling
Issue type
feature
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
4
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-3 hours
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
stale
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
mostly clear
Prerequisites
Knowledge of constant foldingFamiliarity with dex lang compiler
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
35
Research direction
Investigate the dex lang compiler's constant folding implementation, likely in the optimizer or middle end. Identify where primitives are defined and how they are handled. Propose a new primitive `unknown` that the compiler treats as unknown value to inhibit constant folding. Implementation involves adding the primitive to the language's syntax and semantics, and ensuring the constant folding pass does not fold expressions involving it.