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-rw-r--r--docs/dev/README.md91
-rw-r--r--docs/dev/architecture.md427
2 files changed, 317 insertions, 201 deletions
diff --git a/docs/dev/README.md b/docs/dev/README.md
index 4cc608b07..9c0af68e3 100644
--- a/docs/dev/README.md
+++ b/docs/dev/README.md
@@ -9,8 +9,9 @@ $ cargo test
9 9
10should be enough to get you started! 10should be enough to get you started!
11 11
12To learn more about how rust-analyzer works, see 12To learn more about how rust-analyzer works, see [./architecture.md](./architecture.md) document.
13[./architecture.md](./architecture.md) document. 13It also explains the high-level layout of the source code.
14Do skim through that document.
14 15
15We also publish rustdoc docs to pages: 16We also publish rustdoc docs to pages:
16 17
@@ -99,25 +100,6 @@ I don't have a specific workflow for this case.
99Additionally, I use `cargo run --release -p rust-analyzer -- analysis-stats path/to/some/rust/crate` to run a batch analysis. 100Additionally, I use `cargo run --release -p rust-analyzer -- analysis-stats path/to/some/rust/crate` to run a batch analysis.
100This is primarily useful for performance optimizations, or for bug minimization. 101This is primarily useful for performance optimizations, or for bug minimization.
101 102
102## Parser Tests
103
104Tests for the parser (`parser`) live in the `syntax` crate (see `test_data` directory).
105There are two kinds of tests:
106
107* Manually written test cases in `parser/ok` and `parser/err`
108* "Inline" tests in `parser/inline` (these are generated) from comments in `parser` crate.
109
110The purpose of inline tests is not to achieve full coverage by test cases, but to explain to the reader of the code what each particular `if` and `match` is responsible for.
111If you are tempted to add a large inline test, it might be a good idea to leave only the simplest example in place, and move the test to a manual `parser/ok` test.
112
113To update test data, run with `UPDATE_EXPECT` variable:
114
115```bash
116env UPDATE_EXPECT=1 cargo qt
117```
118
119After adding a new inline test you need to run `cargo xtest codegen` and also update the test data as described above.
120
121## TypeScript Tests 103## TypeScript Tests
122 104
123If you change files under `editors/code` and would like to run the tests and linter, install npm and run: 105If you change files under `editors/code` and would like to run the tests and linter, install npm and run:
@@ -128,73 +110,6 @@ npm ci
128npm run lint 110npm run lint
129``` 111```
130 112
131# Code organization
132
133All Rust code lives in the `crates` top-level directory, and is organized as a single Cargo workspace.
134The `editors` top-level directory contains code for integrating with editors.
135Currently, it contains the plugin for VS Code (in TypeScript).
136The `docs` top-level directory contains both developer and user documentation.
137
138We have some automation infra in Rust in the `xtask` package.
139It contains stuff like formatting checking, code generation and powers `cargo xtask install`.
140The latter syntax is achieved with the help of cargo aliases (see `.cargo` directory).
141
142# Architecture Invariants
143
144This section tries to document high-level design constraints, which are not
145always obvious from the low-level code.
146
147## Incomplete syntax trees
148
149Syntax trees are by design incomplete and do not enforce well-formedness.
150If an AST method returns an `Option`, it *can* be `None` at runtime, even if this is forbidden by the grammar.
151
152## LSP independence
153
154rust-analyzer is independent from LSP.
155It provides features for a hypothetical perfect Rust-specific IDE client.
156Internal representations are lowered to LSP in the `rust-analyzer` crate (the only crate which is allowed to use LSP types).
157
158## IDE/Compiler split
159
160There's a semi-hard split between "compiler" and "IDE", at the `hir` crate.
161Compiler derives new facts about source code.
162It explicitly acknowledges that not all info is available (i.e. you can't look at types during name resolution).
163
164IDE assumes that all information is available at all times.
165
166IDE should use only types from `hir`, and should not depend on the underling compiler types.
167`hir` is a facade.
168
169## IDE API
170
171The main IDE crate (`ide`) uses "Plain Old Data" for the API.
172Rather than talking in definitions and references, it talks in Strings and textual offsets.
173In general, API is centered around UI concerns -- the result of the call is what the user sees in the editor, and not what the compiler sees underneath.
174The results are 100% Rust specific though.
175Shout outs to LSP developers for popularizing the idea that "UI" is a good place to draw a boundary at.
176
177## LSP is stateless
178
179The protocol is implemented in the mostly stateless way.
180A good mental model is HTTP, which doesn't store per-client state, and instead relies on devices like cookies to maintain an illusion of state.
181If some action requires multi-step protocol, each step should be self-contained.
182
183A good example here is code action resolving process.
184TO display the lightbulb, we compute the list of code actions without computing edits.
185Figuring out the edit is done in a separate `codeAction/resolve` call.
186Rather than storing some `lazy_edit: Box<dyn FnOnce() -> Edit>` somewhere, we use a string ID of action to re-compute the list of actions during the resolve process.
187(See [this post](https://rust-analyzer.github.io/blog/2020/09/28/how-to-make-a-light-bulb.html) for more details.)
188The benefit here is that, generally speaking, the state of the world might change between `codeAction` and `codeAction` resolve requests, so any closure we store might become invalid.
189
190While we don't currently implement any complicated refactors with complex GUI, I imagine we'd use the same techniques for refactors.
191After clicking each "Next" button during refactor, the client would send all the info which server needs to re-recreate the context from scratch.
192
193## CI
194
195CI does not test rust-analyzer, CI is a core part of rust-analyzer, and is maintained with above average standard of quality.
196CI is reproducible -- it can only be broken by changes to files in this repository, any dependence on externalities is a bug.
197
198# Code Style & Review Process 113# Code Style & Review Process
199 114
200Do see [./style.md](./style.md). 115Do see [./style.md](./style.md).
diff --git a/docs/dev/architecture.md b/docs/dev/architecture.md
index b5831f47c..feda20dd7 100644
--- a/docs/dev/architecture.md
+++ b/docs/dev/architecture.md
@@ -1,174 +1,375 @@
1# Architecture 1# Architecture
2 2
3This document describes the high-level architecture of rust-analyzer. 3This document describes the high-level architecture of rust-analyzer.
4If you want to familiarize yourself with the code base, you are just 4If you want to familiarize yourself with the code base, you are just in the right place!
5in the right place!
6 5
7See also the [guide](./guide.md), which walks through a particular snapshot of 6See also the [guide](./guide.md), which walks through a particular snapshot of rust-analyzer code base.
8rust-analyzer code base.
9 7
10Yet another resource is this playlist with videos about various parts of the 8Yet another resource is this playlist with videos about various parts of the analyzer:
11analyzer:
12 9
13https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL85XCvVPmGQho7MZkdW-wtPtuJcFpzycE 10https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL85XCvVPmGQho7MZkdW-wtPtuJcFpzycE
14 11
15Note that the guide and videos are pretty dated, this document should be in 12Note that the guide and videos are pretty dated, this document should be in generally fresher.
16generally fresher.
17 13
18## The Big Picture 14See also this implementation-oriented blog posts:
15
16* https://rust-analyzer.github.io/blog/2019/11/13/find-usages.html
17* https://rust-analyzer.github.io/blog/2020/07/20/three-architectures-for-responsive-ide.html
18* https://rust-analyzer.github.io/blog/2020/09/16/challeging-LR-parsing.html
19* https://rust-analyzer.github.io/blog/2020/09/28/how-to-make-a-light-bulb.html
20* https://rust-analyzer.github.io/blog/2020/10/24/introducing-ungrammar.html
21
22## Bird's Eye View
19 23
20![](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/1711539/50114578-e8a34280-0255-11e9-902c-7cfc70747966.png) 24![](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/1711539/50114578-e8a34280-0255-11e9-902c-7cfc70747966.png)
21 25
22On the highest level, rust-analyzer is a thing which accepts input source code 26On the highest level, rust-analyzer is a thing which accepts input source code from the client and produces a structured semantic model of the code.
23from the client and produces a structured semantic model of the code. 27
28More specifically, input data consists of a set of test files (`(PathBuf, String)` pairs) and information about project structure, captured in the so called `CrateGraph`.
29The crate graph specifies which files are crate roots, which cfg flags are specified for each crate and what dependencies exist between the crates.
30This the input (ground) state.
31The analyzer keeps all this input data in memory and never does any IO.
32Because the input data are source code, which typically measures in tens of megabytes at most, keeping everything in memory is OK.
33
34A "structured semantic model" is basically an object-oriented representation of modules, functions and types which appear in the source code.
35This representation is fully "resolved": all expressions have types, all references are bound to declarations, etc.
36This is derived state.
37
38The client can submit a small delta of input data (typically, a change to a single file) and get a fresh code model which accounts for changes.
24 39
25More specifically, input data consists of a set of test files (`(PathBuf, 40The underlying engine makes sure that model is computed lazily (on-demand) and can be quickly updated for small modifications.
26String)` pairs) and information about project structure, captured in the so
27called `CrateGraph`. The crate graph specifies which files are crate roots,
28which cfg flags are specified for each crate and what dependencies exist between
29the crates. The analyzer keeps all this input data in memory and never does any
30IO. Because the input data are source code, which typically measures in tens of
31megabytes at most, keeping everything in memory is OK.
32 41
33A "structured semantic model" is basically an object-oriented representation of
34modules, functions and types which appear in the source code. This representation
35is fully "resolved": all expressions have types, all references are bound to
36declarations, etc.
37 42
38The client can submit a small delta of input data (typically, a change to a 43## Code Map
39single file) and get a fresh code model which accounts for changes.
40 44
41The underlying engine makes sure that model is computed lazily (on-demand) and 45This section talks briefly about various important directories an data structures.
42can be quickly updated for small modifications. 46Pay attention to the **Architecture Invariant** sections.
47They often talk about things which are deliberately absent in the source code.
43 48
49Note also which crates are **API Boundaries**.
50Remember, [rules at the boundary are different](https://www.tedinski.com/2018/02/06/system-boundaries.html).
44 51
45## Code generation 52### `xtask`
46 53
47Some of the components of this repository are generated through automatic 54This is rust-analyzer's "build system".
48processes. `cargo xtask codegen` runs all generation tasks. Generated code is 55We use cargo to compile rust code, but there are also various other tasks, like release management or local installation.
49committed to the git repository. 56They are handled by Rust code in the xtask directory.
50 57
51In particular, `cargo xtask codegen` generates: 58### `editors/code`
52 59
531. [`syntax_kind/generated`](https://github.com/rust-analyzer/rust-analyzer/blob/a0be39296d2925972cacd9fbf8b5fb258fad6947/crates/ra_parser/src/syntax_kind/generated.rs) 60VS Code plugin.
54 -- the set of terminals and non-terminals of rust grammar.
55 61
562. [`ast/generated`](https://github.com/rust-analyzer/rust-analyzer/blob/a0be39296d2925972cacd9fbf8b5fb258fad6947/crates/ra_syntax/src/ast/generated.rs) 62### `libs/`
57 -- AST data structure.
58 63
593. [`doc_tests/generated`](https://github.com/rust-analyzer/rust-analyzer/blob/a0be39296d2925972cacd9fbf8b5fb258fad6947/crates/assists/src/doc_tests/generated.rs), 64rust-analyzer independent libraries which we publish to crates.io.
60 [`test_data/parser/inline`](https://github.com/rust-analyzer/rust-analyzer/tree/a0be39296d2925972cacd9fbf8b5fb258fad6947/crates/ra_syntax/test_data/parser/inline) 65It not heavily utilized at the moment.
61 -- tests for assists and the parser.
62 66
63The source for 1 and 2 is in [`ast_src.rs`](https://github.com/rust-analyzer/rust-analyzer/blob/a0be39296d2925972cacd9fbf8b5fb258fad6947/xtask/src/ast_src.rs). 67### `crates/parser`
64 68
65## Code Walk-Through 69It is a hand-written recursive descent parser, which produces a sequence of events like "start node X", "finish node Y".
70It works similarly to
71[kotlin's parser](https://github.com/JetBrains/kotlin/blob/4d951de616b20feca92f3e9cc9679b2de9e65195/compiler/frontend/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/parsing/KotlinParsing.java),
72which is a good source of inspiration for dealing with syntax errors and incomplete input.
73Original [libsyntax parser](https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/blob/6b99adeb11313197f409b4f7c4083c2ceca8a4fe/src/libsyntax/parse/parser.rs) is what we use for the definition of the Rust language.
74`TreeSink` and `TokenSource` traits bridge the tree-agnostic parser from `grammar` with `rowan` trees.
66 75
67### `crates/ra_syntax`, `crates/parser` 76**Architecture Invariant:** the parser is independent of the particular tree structure and particular representation of the tokens.
77It transforms one flat stream of events into another flat stream of events.
78Token independence allows us to pares out both text-based source code and `tt`-based macro input.
79Tree independence allows us to more easily vary the syntax tree implementation.
80It should also unlock efficient light-parsing approaches.
81For example, you can extract the set of names defined in a file (for typo correction) without building a syntax tree.
68 82
69Rust syntax tree structure and parser. See 83**Architecture Invariant:** parsing never fails, the parser produces `(T, Vec<Error>)` rather than `Result<T, Error>`.
70[RFC](https://github.com/rust-lang/rfcs/pull/2256) and [./syntax.md](./syntax.md) for some design notes. 84
85### `crates/syntax`
86
87Rust syntax tree structure and parser.
88See [RFC](https://github.com/rust-lang/rfcs/pull/2256) and [./syntax.md](./syntax.md) for some design notes.
71 89
72- [rowan](https://github.com/rust-analyzer/rowan) library is used for constructing syntax trees. 90- [rowan](https://github.com/rust-analyzer/rowan) library is used for constructing syntax trees.
73- `grammar` module is the actual parser. It is a hand-written recursive descent parser, which
74 produces a sequence of events like "start node X", "finish node Y". It works similarly to [kotlin's parser](https://github.com/JetBrains/kotlin/blob/4d951de616b20feca92f3e9cc9679b2de9e65195/compiler/frontend/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/parsing/KotlinParsing.java),
75 which is a good source of inspiration for dealing with syntax errors and incomplete input. Original [libsyntax parser](https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/blob/6b99adeb11313197f409b4f7c4083c2ceca8a4fe/src/libsyntax/parse/parser.rs)
76 is what we use for the definition of the Rust language.
77- `TreeSink` and `TokenSource` traits bridge the tree-agnostic parser from `grammar` with `rowan` trees.
78- `ast` provides a type safe API on top of the raw `rowan` tree. 91- `ast` provides a type safe API on top of the raw `rowan` tree.
79- `ast_src` description of the grammar, which is used to generate `syntax_kinds` 92- `ungrammar` description of the grammar, which is used to generate `syntax_kinds` and `ast` modules, using `cargo xtask codegen` command.
80 and `ast` modules, using `cargo xtask codegen` command. 93
94Tests for ra_syntax are mostly data-driven.
95`test_data/parser` contains subdirectories with a bunch of `.rs` (test vectors) and `.txt` files with corresponding syntax trees.
96During testing, we check `.rs` against `.txt`.
97If the `.txt` file is missing, it is created (this is how you update tests).
98Additionally, running `cargo xtask codegen` will walk the grammar module and collect all `// test test_name` comments into files inside `test_data/parser/inline` directory.
99
100To update test data, run with `UPDATE_EXPECT` variable:
81 101
82Tests for ra_syntax are mostly data-driven: `test_data/parser` contains subdirectories with a bunch of `.rs` 102```bash
83(test vectors) and `.txt` files with corresponding syntax trees. During testing, we check 103env UPDATE_EXPECT=1 cargo qt
84`.rs` against `.txt`. If the `.txt` file is missing, it is created (this is how you update 104```
85tests). Additionally, running `cargo xtask codegen` will walk the grammar module and collect
86all `// test test_name` comments into files inside `test_data/parser/inline` directory.
87 105
88Note 106After adding a new inline test you need to run `cargo xtest codegen` and also update the test data as described above.
89[`api_walkthrough`](https://github.com/rust-analyzer/rust-analyzer/blob/2fb6af89eb794f775de60b82afe56b6f986c2a40/crates/ra_syntax/src/lib.rs#L190-L348) 107
108Note [`api_walkthrough`](https://github.com/rust-analyzer/rust-analyzer/blob/2fb6af89eb794f775de60b82afe56b6f986c2a40/crates/ra_syntax/src/lib.rs#L190-L348)
90in particular: it shows off various methods of working with syntax tree. 109in particular: it shows off various methods of working with syntax tree.
91 110
92See [#93](https://github.com/rust-analyzer/rust-analyzer/pull/93) for an example PR which 111See [#93](https://github.com/rust-analyzer/rust-analyzer/pull/93) for an example PR which fixes a bug in the grammar.
93fixes a bug in the grammar. 112
113**Architecture Invariant:** `syntax` crate is completely independent from the rest of rust-analyzer, it knows nothing about salsa or LSP.
114This is important because it is possible to useful tooling using only syntax tree.
115Without semantic information, you don't need to be able to _build_ code, which makes the tooling more robust.
116See also https://web.stanford.edu/~mlfbrown/paper.pdf.
117You can view the `syntax` crate as an entry point to rust-analyzer.
118`sytax` crate is an **API Boundary**.
119
120**Architecture Invariant:** syntax tree is a value type.
121The tree is fully determined by the contents of its syntax nodes, it doesn't need global context (like an interner) and doesn't store semantic info.
122Using the tree as a store for semantic info is convenient in traditional compilers, but doesn't work nicely in the IDE.
123Specifically, assists and refactors require transforming syntax trees, and that becomes awkward if you need to do something with the semantic info.
124
125**Architecture Invariant:** syntax tree is build for a single file.
126This is to enable parallel parsing of all files.
127
128**Architecture Invariant:** Syntax trees are by design incomplete and do not enforce well-formedness.
129If an AST method returns an `Option`, it *can* be `None` at runtime, even if this is forbidden by the grammar.
94 130
95### `crates/base_db` 131### `crates/base_db`
96 132
97We use the [salsa](https://github.com/salsa-rs/salsa) crate for incremental and 133We use the [salsa](https://github.com/salsa-rs/salsa) crate for incremental and on-demand computation.
98on-demand computation. Roughly, you can think of salsa as a key-value store, but 134Roughly, you can think of salsa as a key-value store, but it also can compute derived values using specified functions. The `base_db` crate provides basic infrastructure for interacting with salsa.
99it also can compute derived values using specified functions. The `base_db` crate 135Crucially, it defines most of the "input" queries: facts supplied by the client of the analyzer.
100provides basic infrastructure for interacting with salsa. Crucially, it 136Reading the docs of the `base_db::input` module should be useful: everything else is strictly derived from those inputs.
101defines most of the "input" queries: facts supplied by the client of the 137
102analyzer. Reading the docs of the `base_db::input` module should be useful: 138**Architecture Invariant:** particularities of the build system are *not* the part of the ground state.
103everything else is strictly derived from those inputs. 139In particular, `base_db` knows nothing about cargo.
140The `CrateGraph` structure is used to represent the dependencies between the crates abstractly.
141
142**Architecture Invariant:** `base_db` doesn't know about file system and file paths.
143Files are represented with opaque `FileId`, there's no operation to get an `std::path::Path` out of the `FileId`.
144
145### `crates/hir_expand`, `crates/hir_def`, `crates/hir_ty`
146
147These crates are the *brain* of rust-analyzer.
148This is the compiler part of the IDE.
104 149
105### `crates/hir*` crates 150`hir_xxx` crates have a strong ECS flavor, in that they work with raw ids and directly query the database.
151There's little abstraction here.
152These crates integrate deeply with salsa and chalk.
106 153
107HIR provides high-level "object oriented" access to Rust code. 154Name resolution, macro expansion and type inference all happen here.
155These crates also define various intermediate representations of the core.
108 156
109The principal difference between HIR and syntax trees is that HIR is bound to a 157`ItemTree` condenses a single `SyntaxTree` into a "summary" data structure, which is stable over modifications to function bodies.
110particular crate instance. That is, it has cfg flags and features applied. So,
111the relation between syntax and HIR is many-to-one. The `source_binder` module
112is responsible for guessing a HIR for a particular source position.
113 158
114Underneath, HIR works on top of salsa, using a `HirDatabase` trait. 159`DefMap` contains the module tree of a crate and stores module scopes.
115 160
116`hir_xxx` crates have a strong ECS flavor, in that they work with raw ids and 161`Body` stores information about expressions.
117directly query the database.
118 162
119The top-level `hir` façade crate wraps ids into a more OO-flavored API. 163**Architecture Invariant:** this crates are not, and will never be, an api boundary.
164
165**Architecture Invariant:** these creates explicitly care about being incremental.
166The core invariant we maintain is "typing inside a function's body never invalidates global derived data".
167Ie, if you change body of `foo`, all facts about `bar` should remain intact.
168
169**Architecture Invariant:** hir exists only in context of particular crate instance with specific CFG flags.
170The same syntax may produce several instances of HIR if the crate participates in the crate graph more than once.
171
172### `crates/hir`
173
174The top-level `hir` crate is an **API Boundary**.
175If you think about "using rust-analyzer as a library", `hir` crate is most likely the façade you'll be talking to.
176
177It wraps ECS-style internal API into a more OO-flavored API (with an extra `db` argument for each call).
178
179**Architecture Invariant:** `hir` provides a static, fully resolved view of the code.
180While internal `hir_*` crates _compute_ things, `hir`, from the outside, looks like an inert data structure.
181
182`hir` also handles the delicate task of going from syntax to the corresponding `hir`.
183Remember that the mapping here is one-to-many.
184See `Semantics` type and `source_to_def` module.
185
186Note in particular a curious recursive structure in `source_to_def`.
187We first resolve the parent _syntax_ node to the parent _hir_ element.
188Then we ask the _hir_ parent what _syntax_ children does it have.
189Then we look for our node in the set of children.
190
191This is the heart of many IDE features, like goto definition, which start with figuring out a hir node at the cursor.
192This is some kind of (yet unnamed) uber-IDE pattern, as it is present in Roslyn and Kotlin as well.
120 193
121### `crates/ide` 194### `crates/ide`
122 195
123A stateful library for analyzing many Rust files as they change. `AnalysisHost` 196The `ide` crate build's on top of `hir` semantic model to provide high-level IDE features like completion or goto definition.
124is a mutable entity (clojure's atom) which holds the current state, incorporates 197It is an **API Boundary**.
125changes and hands out `Analysis` --- an immutable and consistent snapshot of 198If you want to use IDE parts of rust-analyzer via LSP, custom flatbuffers-based protocol or just as a library in your text editor, this is the right API.
126the world state at a point in time, which actually powers analysis.
127 199
128One interesting aspect of analysis is its support for cancellation. When a 200**Architecture Invariant:** `ide` crate's API is build out of POD types with public fields.
129change is applied to `AnalysisHost`, first all currently active snapshots are 201The API uses editor's terminology, it talks about offsets and string labels rathe than in terms of definitions or types.
130canceled. Only after all snapshots are dropped the change actually affects the 202It is effectively the view in MVC and viewmodel in [MVVM](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model%E2%80%93view%E2%80%93viewmodel).
131database. 203All arguments and return types are conceptually serializable.
204In particular, syntax tress and and hir types are generally absent from the API (but are used heavily in the implementation).
205Shout outs to LSP developers for popularizing the idea that "UI" is a good place to draw a boundary at.
132 206
133APIs in this crate are IDE centric: they take text offsets as input and produce 207`ide` is also the first crate which has the notion of change over time.
134offsets and strings as output. This works on top of rich code model powered by 208`AnalysisHost` is a state to which you can transactonally `apply_change`.
135`hir`. 209`Analysis` is an immutable snapshot of the state.
210
211Internally, `ide` is split across several crates. `ide_assists`, `ide_completion` and `ide_ssr` implement large isolated features.
212`ide_db` implements common IDE functionality (notably, reference search is implemented here).
213The `ide` contains a public API/façade, as well as implementation for a plethora of smaller features.
214
215**Architecture Invariant:** `ide` crate strives to provide a _perfect_ API.
216Although at the moment it has only one consumer, the LSP server, LSP *does not* influence it's API design.
217Instead, we keep in mind a hypothetical _ideal_ client -- an IDE tailored specifically for rust, every nook and cranny of which is packed with Rust-specific goodies.
136 218
137### `crates/rust-analyzer` 219### `crates/rust-analyzer`
138 220
139An LSP implementation which wraps `ide` into a language server protocol. 221This crate defines the `rust-analyzer` binary, so it is the **entry point**.
222It implements the language server.
223
224**Architecture Invariant:** `rust-analyzer` is the only crate that knows about LSP and JSON serialization.
225If you want to expose a datastructure `X` from ide to LSP, don't make it serializable.
226Instead, create a serializable counterpart in `rust-analyzer` crate and manually convert between the two.
227
228`GlobalState` is the state of the server.
229The `main_loop` defines the server event loop which accepts requests and sends responses.
230Requests that modify the state or might block user's typing are handled on the main thread.
231All other requests are processed in background.
232
233**Architecture Invariant:** the server is stateless, a-la HTTP.
234Sometimes state needs to be preserved between requests.
235For example, "what is the `edit` for the fifth's completion item of the last completion edit?".
236For this, the second request should include enough info to re-create the context from scratch.
237This generally means including all the parameters of the original request.
238
239`reload` module contains the code that handles configuration and Cargo.toml changes.
240This is a tricky business.
241
242**Architecture Invariant:** `rust-analyzer` should be partially available even when the build is broken.
243Reloading process should not prevent IDE features from working.
244
245### `crates/toolchain`, `crates/project_model`, `crates/flycheck`
140 246
141### `crates/vfs` 247These crates deal with invoking `cargo` to learn about project structure and get compiler errors for the "check on save" feature.
142 248
143Although `hir` and `ide` don't do any IO, we need to be able to read 249They use `crates/path` heavily instead of `std::path`.
144files from disk at the end of the day. This is what `vfs` does. It also 250A single `rust-analyzer` process can serve many projects, so it is important that server's current directory does not leak.
145manages overlays: "dirty" files in the editor, whose "true" contents is
146different from data on disk.
147 251
148## Testing Infrastructure 252### `crates/mbe`, `crated/tt`, `crates/proc_macro_api`, `crates/proc_macro_srv`
149 253
150Rust Analyzer has three interesting [systems 254These crates implement macros as token tree -> token tree transforms.
151boundaries](https://www.tedinski.com/2018/04/10/making-tests-a-positive-influence-on-design.html) 255They are independent from the rest of the code.
152to concentrate tests on.
153 256
154The outermost boundary is the `rust-analyzer` crate, which defines an LSP 257### `crates/vfs`, `crates/vfs-notify`
155interface in terms of stdio. We do integration testing of this component, by
156feeding it with a stream of LSP requests and checking responses. These tests are
157known as "heavy", because they interact with Cargo and read real files from
158disk. For this reason, we try to avoid writing too many tests on this boundary:
159in a statically typed language, it's hard to make an error in the protocol
160itself if messages are themselves typed.
161 258
162The middle, and most important, boundary is `ide`. Unlike 259These crates implement a virtual fils system.
163`rust-analyzer`, which exposes API, `ide` uses Rust API and is intended to 260They provide consistent snapshots of the underlying file system and insulate messy OS paths.
164use by various tools. Typical test creates an `AnalysisHost`, calls some
165`Analysis` functions and compares the results against expectation.
166 261
167The innermost and most elaborate boundary is `hir`. It has a much richer 262**Architecture Invariant:** vfs doesn't assume a single unified file system.
168vocabulary of types than `ide`, but the basic testing setup is the same: we 263IE, a single rust-analyzer process can act as a remote server for two different machines, where the same `/tmp/foo.rs` path points to different files.
169create a database, run some queries, assert result. 264For this reason, all path APIs generally take some existing path as a "file system witness".
265
266### `crates/stdx`
267
268This crate contains various non-rust-analyzer specific utils, which could have been in std.
269
270### `crates/profile`
271
272This crate contains utilities for CPU and memory profiling.
273
274
275## Cross-Cutting Concerns
276
277This sections talks about the things which are everywhere and nowhere in particular.
278
279### Code generation
280
281Some of the components of this repository are generated through automatic processes.
282`cargo xtask codegen` runs all generation tasks.
283Generated code is generally committed to the git repository.
284There are tests to check that the generated code is fresh.
285
286In particular, we generate:
287
288* API for working with syntax trees (`syntax::ast`, the `ungrammar` crate).
289* Various sections of the manual:
290
291 * features
292 * assists
293 * config
294
295* Documentation tests for assists
296
297**Architecture Invariant:** we avoid bootstrapping.
298For codegen we need to parse Rust code.
299Using rust-analyzer for that would work and would be fun, but it would also complicate the build process a lot.
300For that reason, we use syn and manual string parsing.
301
302### Cancellation
303
304Let's say that the IDE is in the process of computing syntax highlighting, when the user types `foo`.
305What should happen?
306`rust-analyzer`s answer is that the highlighting process should be cancelled -- its results are now stale, and it also blocks modification of the inputs.
307
308The salsa database maintains a global revision counter.
309When applying a change, salsa bumps this counter and waits until all other threads using salsa finish.
310If a thread does salsa-based computation and notices that the counter is incremented, it panics with a special value (see `Canceled::throw`).
311That is, rust-analyzer requires unwinding.
312
313`ide` is the boundary where the panic is caught and transformed into a `Result<T, Cancelled>`.
314
315### Testing
316
317Rust Analyzer has three interesting [systems boundaries](https://www.tedinski.com/2018/04/10/making-tests-a-positive-influence-on-design.html) to concentrate tests on.
318
319The outermost boundary is the `rust-analyzer` crate, which defines an LSP interface in terms of stdio.
320We do integration testing of this component, by feeding it with a stream of LSP requests and checking responses.
321These tests are known as "heavy", because they interact with Cargo and read real files from disk.
322For this reason, we try to avoid writing too many tests on this boundary: in a statically typed language, it's hard to make an error in the protocol itself if messages are themselves typed.
323Heavy tests are only run when `RUN_SLOW_TESTS` env var is set.
324
325The middle, and most important, boundary is `ide`.
326Unlike `rust-analyzer`, which exposes API, `ide` uses Rust API and is intended to use by various tools.
327Typical test creates an `AnalysisHost`, calls some `Analysis` functions and compares the results against expectation.
328
329The innermost and most elaborate boundary is `hir`.
330It has a much richer vocabulary of types than `ide`, but the basic testing setup is the same: we create a database, run some queries, assert result.
170 331
171For comparisons, we use the `expect` crate for snapshot testing. 332For comparisons, we use the `expect` crate for snapshot testing.
172 333
173To test various analysis corner cases and avoid forgetting about old tests, we 334To test various analysis corner cases and avoid forgetting about old tests, we use so-called marks.
174use so-called marks. See the `marks` module in the `test_utils` crate for more. 335See the `marks` module in the `test_utils` crate for more.
336
337**Architecture Invariant:** rust-analyzer tests do not use libcore or libstd.
338All required library code must be a part of the tests.
339This ensures fast test execution.
340
341**Architecture Invariant:** tests are data driven and do not test API.
342Tests which directly call various API functions are a liability, because they make refactoring the API significantly more complicated.
343So most of the tests look like this:
344
345```rust
346fn check(input: &str, expect: expect_test::Expect) {
347 // The single place that actually exercises a particular API
348}
349
350
351#[test]
352fn foo() {
353 check("foo", expect![["bar"]]);
354}
355
356#[test]
357fn spam() {
358 check("spam", expect![["eggs"]]);
359}
360// ...and a hundred more tests that don't care about the specific API at all.
361```
362
363To specify input data, we use a single string literal in a special format, which can describe a set of rust files.
364See the `Fixture` type.
365
366**Architecture Invariant:** all code invariants are tested by `#[test]` tests.
367There's no additional checks in CI, formatting and tidy tests are run with `cargo test`.
368
369**Architecture Invariant:** tests do not depend on any kind of external resources, they are perfectly reproducible.
370
371### Observability
372
373I've run out of steam here :)
374rust-analyzer is a long-running process, so its important to understand what's going on inside.
375We have hierarchical profiler (`RA_PROFILER=1`) and object counting (`RA_COUNT=1`).