Architecture & System Design

Nytrix is built around single-owner layers, deep modules, strict type discipline, and clear subsystem boundaries. This document outlines the architectural principles, design workflows, and invariant boundaries that govern the codebase.

1. Design Workflow: Design Before Implementation

Before implementing significant changes or refactoring subsystems:

1. **State the Problem**: Define the precise behavior that is broken, missing, or under-specified.

2. **Exhaust the Design Space**: Formulate and evaluate at least three concrete alternative approaches before writing code.

3. **Redesign from First Principles**: Avoid stacking patches or shims on top of structural defects; address the root cause in the owning layer.

4. **Subtract Before Adding**: Remove obsolete pathways, redundant abstractions, and dead state before introducing new machinery.

5. **Outcome-Oriented Execution**: Define measurable, verifiable success criteria and executable proofs upfront.

2. The 17 Core Design Principles

Nytrix development follows 17 design principles categorized across structural, code quality, and process axes:

Structural Principles

**Foundational Thinking**: Identify the single layer that truly owns each invariant, data structure, or lifecycle.
**Redesign from First Principles**: Understand the root physics of a problem rather than patching symptoms.
**Subtract Before You Add**: Keep the codebase lean by pruning obsolete abstractions and compatibility shims.
**Exhaust the Design Space**: Systematically explore alternative representations and trade-offs.
**Outcome-Oriented Execution**: Work backwards from executable behavior and observable correctness.

Code Quality Principles

**Laziness Protocol**: Defer computation and allocations until strictly necessary.
**Minimize Reader Load**: Keep functions focused, naming precise, and interfaces self-documenting.
**Type System Discipline**: Use the type system as a compile-time proof engine:
*Make illegal states unrepresentable* using algebraic sum types instead of bags of optional fields.
*Brand semantic primitives* (e.g., UserId, ByteOffset, NYIRValue) to prevent accidental interchange of raw primitives.
*Parse at boundaries*: External inputs (CLI flags, environment variables, JSON, IPC messages, RPC payloads) are untyped until validated and parsed by an explicit boundary function.
*Never lie to the type system*: Avoid unchecked casts, unsafe coercions, or assertions that bypass compiler verification.
*Exhaustive matching*: Compilers must strictly enforce exhaustive pattern matching over sum types and enums.
**Boundary Discipline**: Keep subsystem interfaces explicit with typed enums and structs rather than magic strings or numbers.
**Idempotent Operations**: Design transforms, lowering passes, and analyses such that repeated application produces stable fixed points.
**Separate Shared State**: Eliminate global mutable state where it impedes parallelism, testing, or reasoning.

Process Principles

**Fix Root Causes**: Solve defects at the owning source rather than masking them downstream.
**Prove It Works**: Validate using executable oracles, cold test runs, and proof of fast-path activation.
**Guard Context**: Keep patches minimal, self-contained, and focused on the stated goal.
**Build the Lever**: Create reusable diagnostics, oracles, and test fixtures that make future changes safer.
**Experience First**: Preserve fast compiler turnaround, clean diagnostics, and intuitive developer tooling.

3. Subsystem Ownership & Boundaries

Every behavior in Nytrix has exactly one owning layer:

Subsystem	Source Location	Owned Responsibilities
Language Frontend	`src/code/`	Grammar, AST, semantic analysis, Hindley-Milner type inference, compile-time evaluation.
Intermediate Representation	`src/code/native/ir.h`<br>`src/code/native/ir/`	Target-independent SSA optimization, canonical control flow, loop analysis, verifier authority.
Native Code Generation	`src/code/native/`	Machine form representations, register allocation, ABI lowering, object emission.
Runtime & Execution	`src/rt/`	Memory allocator, garbage collection, dynamic value dispatch, platform primitives.
CLI & Tooling	`src/cmd/`	Standalone CLI tools (`ny`, `test`, `fmt`, `fuzz`, `perf`, `doc`, `web`, `dap`, `lsp`).
Standard Library	`lib/`	Public user-facing modules, collections, operating system bindings, and networking.

Boundary Invariants

**No Shims or Fallbacks**: If a subsystem contract changes, update the owning layer and migrate all affected callers directly.
**Strict Layer Separation**: Target-independent NYIR transforms must never depend on physical registers or calling conventions. Machine encoders must not reconstruct source-language semantics.
**Audit Duplicated Representations**: Regularly audit and eliminate duplicated type encodings across HM inference, semantic types, monomorphization, NYIR, and machine form.

4. Architectural Decision Records (ADRs)

When proposing major architectural changes, document the decision with:

**Problem Statement**: What behavior is broken, missing, or inefficient?
**Alternatives Considered**: At least 3 distinct designs with concrete trade-offs.
**Chosen Approach**: Detailed technical rationale for the selected design.
**Trade-offs Accepted**: Explicit costs in complexity, memory, or compile-time latency.
**Verification Plan**: Exact test suites, oracles, and benchmarks required to validate the change.