97 lines
4.0 KiB
Markdown
97 lines
4.0 KiB
Markdown
# BOOTSTRAP
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How `ww` builds itself.
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`ww` is self-hosted: the ww-side compiler/assembler/linker/driver live
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under `selfhost/cmd/` and reach a byte-identical fixed point under
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`make bootstrap`. But the *first* ww binary on a fresh checkout has to
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come from somewhere. Today, that "somewhere" is a small C bootstrap
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toolchain — the **Cstage**:
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cmd/wcc/ frontend library (lex, parse, check) → libwcc.a
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cmd/w6c/ amd64 compiler .ww → .s
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cmd/w6a/ amd64 assembler .s → .o
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cmd/w6l/ amd64 linker .o → static ELF
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cmd/ww/ user-facing driver (orchestrates w6c → w6a → w6l)
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Cstage is built with `cc`. Once it exists, it compiles the
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ww-rewritten tools (the **wwstage**) under `selfhost/cmd/`, which then
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self-compile to a byte-identical fixed point. After that, no C is
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involved.
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## Build flow
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cstage (cc → C tools, one-time)
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│
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├──→ ww1 wwstage tools, built by Cstage
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│ │
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│ └──→ ww2 wwstage self-compiles
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│ │
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│ └──→ ww3 ww2 self-compiles
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│ │
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│ ↓
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│ cmp ww2 ww3 → fixed point ✓
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↑
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└ from here on, no C is invoked
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## Make targets
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make builds cstage + wwstage + libs
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make cstage Cstage only (cc → ww, w6c, w6a, w6l, wwdump, libs)
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make wwstage wwstage only (assumes cstage)
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make bootstrap three-stage build; gates on cmp ww2 == ww3
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make test runs all tests, including 990–995 (ww-side
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tools vs C-side tools, byte-for-byte, plus
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the wwstage rebuilding itself in 995)
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Without cc:
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make bootstrap-snapshot populate bootstrap/$(ARCH)/ from the
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currently-built wwstage (gitignored
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by default)
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make nocc cold-start from bootstrap/$(ARCH)/,
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rebuild the wwstage from source, gate
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on `stage-0 == rebuilt` byte-for-byte.
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cc is never invoked.
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## Status
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Phase 10 of `PLAN.md` is at its first exit criterion: the bootstrap is
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green and `selfhost/cmd/{wcc,w6c,w6a,w6l,ww}` are byte-identical to their
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Cstage counterparts. Test 995 pins the stronger property — the
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wwstage rebuilds every one of its own tools through `ww_ww + w6c_ww +
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w6a_ww + w6l_ww`, byte-for-byte. Test 996 pins the equivalent for the
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dynamic linker: `w6l_ww` with `-L`/`-l` produces a byte-identical
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PT_INTERP+PT_DYNAMIC binary to C-side `w6l`.
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`make nocc` is wired and verifies stage-0 self-reproduction locally;
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the stage-0 binaries under `bootstrap/$(ARCH)/` are gitignored until
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ready to commit. The second exit criterion — deleting the C trees —
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is **still deferred to v1.0**: shipping the stage-0 binaries is a
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one-way door (they become the project's new trust surface), and the
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compiler is still churning. A `git clone` today still requires `cc`
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unless the local working copy has already done `make
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bootstrap-snapshot` once.
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## What "no C" looks like
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The pieces are already wired; only the binary commit is held back.
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When the compiler stabilises:
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1. On each supported arch, run `make wwstage && make bootstrap-snapshot`
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to populate `bootstrap/<arch>/{ww,w6c,w6a,w6l}` from the current
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wwstage. Verify with `make nocc`.
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2. `git add -f bootstrap/<arch>/{ww,w6c,w6a,w6l}` — explicit because
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the dir is gitignored. The binary SHAs become the new trust
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surface.
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3. Delete `cmd/wcc/`, `cmd/w6c/`, `cmd/w6a/`, `cmd/w6l/`, `cmd/ww/`.
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Drop `CC`/`AR` C-tool dependencies from the top-level Makefile.
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4. Move `selfhost/cmd/*` to `cmd/*` and `make nocc` becomes the
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default `make`.
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5. Build path: stage-0 binary → ww1 → ww2 → fixed point, same as
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today, just without `cc`.
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This is the standard self-hosting story (Go, Rust, OCaml all do
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variants of it). The bootstrap binaries become the new "trusting
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trust" surface.
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