dart-sdk/pkg/dev_compiler
Sigmund Cherem 00b11411d6 [ddc] support library cycles in the new module format.
We'd like to properly support cases like:

```
a.dart:
  import 'b.dart';
  class A extends B {}
  class C {}

b.dart:
  import 'a.dart'
  class B extends C {}
```

Here both A and B will request a reference to the other during
linking.

We break the cycle by storing libraries in the map after they are
initialized, but before we recursively link them. Now an access to a
library proxy has different guarantees:
* during linking, it guarantees to return an intialized library.
* during program execution, it guarantees to return a linked
  library.

Aside from this change, this CL does a minor change to the logic on
`hotReloadEnd` to not change the state of the `libraries` array on a
hot-reload. This change is technically not necessary, but may help us
more clearly track the invariants of the library map: the new logic
keeps updates to the map monotonic over time.

Change-Id: Id2aafa3d94c6bff32b7ddb326f883f978bff6bf0
Reviewed-on: https://dart-review.googlesource.com/c/sdk/+/385324
Commit-Queue: Sigmund Cherem <sigmund@google.com>
Reviewed-by: Nicholas Shahan <nshahan@google.com>
2024-09-27 18:07:48 +00:00
..
bin [deps] roll package:lints to the latest 2023-10-05 03:36:59 +00:00
lib [ddc] support library cycles in the new module format. 2024-09-27 18:07:48 +00:00
test [ddc] Add help flag to hot reload suite 2024-09-26 22:38:00 +00:00
tool [ddc] Use import URI to name a library 2024-08-30 22:53:32 +00:00
web [deps] rev package:lints to capture the unnecessary_library_name addition 2024-08-13 17:04:13 +00:00
.gitignore
analysis_options.yaml [cfe] Add CFE test for DartScope 2023-11-15 10:17:23 +00:00
codereview.settings
LICENSE Update LICENSE 2021-04-07 10:28:38 +00:00
OWNERS [infra] Add OWNERS to the Dart SDK 2022-02-14 14:06:34 +00:00
pubspec.yaml [ddc] Delete shared_compiler.dart 2024-07-18 21:33:35 +00:00
README.md [ddc] update documentation 2022-01-27 21:13:41 +00:00
STRONG_MODE.md [dartdevc] add forwarding from old docs to new info 2019-12-10 22:53:26 +00:00

The Dart Dev Compiler (DDC) is a fast, modular compiler that generates modern JavaScript (EcmaScript 6). Its primary use today is to support fast, iterative development of Dart web applications for Chrome and other modern browsers.

Support

DDC is meant to be used by build systems like bazel, build_web_compilers and flutter_tools under the hood. This compiler is not meant to be used by application developers directly.

While at times the code generated by this compiler may be readable, the representation is not meant to be stable and can break with time. For that reason we do not recommend using this compiler to export Dart as a JavaScript module.

The recommended approach to compile Dart to JavaScript is to use dart compile js instead. If you intend to make a public JavaScript API based on a Dart implementation, such API should be declared explicitly using the standard Dart-JSInterop mechanisms.

Implementation details

Modularity

Unlike Dart2JS, DDC does not require an entire Dart application. Instead, it operates modularly: it compiles a set of Dart files into a JavaScript module. A DDC compilation step requires a set of input Dart files and a set of summaries of dependencies. It performs modular type checking as part of this compilation step, and, if the input type checks, it generates a JavaScript module. The browser (i.e., the JavaScript runtime) loads and links the generated modules when running the application. During development, a compilation step only needs to be rerun if the Dart files or summaries it relies upon change. For most changes, only a very small part of your code will require recompilation. Moreover, modules that are unchanged can be cached in the browser.

Representation

Currently Dart classes are mapped to ES6 classes, Dart fields to ES6 properties, Dart getters/setters to ES6 getters/setters, Dart methods to ES6 methods, and so on. Often names are preserved and calling conventions are natural JavaScript ones.

Some Dart concepts don't map directly:

  • Libraries. Multiple Dart libraries are mapped to a single JS module. Each library appears as a first class object in the generated JS module, with its top-level symbols as members. We currently use a heuristic (based upon file paths) to ensure unique naming of generated library objects.

  • Generics. Dart generics are reified, i.e., they are preserved at runtime. Generic classes are mapped to factories that, given one or more type parameters, return an actual ES6 class (e.g., HashMap$(core.String, core.int) produces a class that represents a HashMap from strings to ints). Similarly, generic methods are mapped to factories that, given one or more type parameters, return a method.

  • Dynamic. DDC supports dynamically typed code (i.e., Dart's dynamic type), but it will typically generate less readable and less efficient ES6 output as many type checks must be deferred to runtime. All dynamic operations are invoked via runtime helper code.

  • Constructors. Dart supports multiple, named and factory constructors for a given class with a different initialization order for fields. Today, these are mapped to instance or static methods on the generated ES6 class.

  • Private members. Dart maps private members (e.g., private fields or methods) to ES6 symbols. For example, a._x may map to a[_x] where _x is a symbol only defined in the scope of the generated library.

  • Scoping. Dart scoping rules and reserved words are slightly different than JavaScript. While we try to preserve names wherever possible, in certain cases, we are required to rename.

In general, the current conventions (i.e., the Application Binary Interface or ABI in compiler terminology) should not be considered stable. We reserve the right to change these in the future.

Browser support

DDC currently supports Chrome stable (though users have had success running on FireFox and Safari).