perf(ir): move inferred types to a positional side table — ~100x faster type writes

pkg/ir/lisp_type_sidetable_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2026 Norman Nunley, Jr <nnunley@gmail.com>
+ * Part of the let-go project; see CONTRIBUTORS for full list of authors.
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
+ */
+
+package ir_test
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// TestTypeSideTableContract pins the :types side-table invariants introduced
+// when inferred types moved off the inst tuple (PR #558). type-of, the
+// lattice seed, and clone-inst each implement the same precedence rule —
+// side table first, tuple slot 5 (construction-time :unknown) as fallback —
+// and the clone carry was a review catch, so lock the contract down:
+//
+//  1. fallback: an inst with no side-table entry reads :unknown
+//  2. set-type! writes are read back through type-of (side table wins)
+//  3. overwrite: the last write wins
+//  4. sparse growth: setting only a high nid grows the table; untouched
+//     nids in the gap still read the fallback
+//  5. clone-inst carries the side-table entry (typed clone keeps its type,
+//     untyped clone stays :unknown)
+//  6. seed-state-from-inst-types! reads the same merged view
+func TestTypeSideTableContract(t *testing.T) {
+	ensureLoader()
+	got := runLispString(t, `(pr-str
+		(let [f        (ir.build/build-fn '(defn t558 [x] (+ x 1)))
+		      nid      (first (ir/block-insts (ir/entry-block f) f))
+		      last-nid (- (ir/inst-count f) 1)
+		      mid-nid  (- last-nid 1)]
+		  [;; 1. fallback: nothing set yet -> construction default
+		   (ir/type-of nid f)
+		   ;; 2. side table wins once set
+		   (do (ir/set-type! f nid :int) (ir/type-of nid f))
+		   ;; 3. overwrite: last write wins
+		   (do (ir/set-type! f nid :float) (ir/type-of nid f))
+		   ;; 4. sparse: only the high nid is set; the gap nid still falls back
+		   (do (ir/set-type! f last-nid :string)
+		       [(ir/type-of last-nid f) (ir/type-of mid-nid f)])
+		   ;; 5. clone carry: typed clone keeps the type, untyped stays :unknown
+		   (ir/type-of (ir/clone-inst f nid) f)
+		   (ir/type-of (ir/clone-inst f mid-nid) f)
+		   ;; 6. the typeinfra seed reads the merged view (side table first)
+		   (let [s (ir.lattice/seed-state-from-inst-types! (ir.lattice/new-typeinfra-state f) f)]
+		     (ir.lattice/state-type s nid))]))`)
+	want := `[:unknown :int :float [:string :unknown] :float :unknown :float]`
+	if got != want {
+		t.Fatalf("side-table contract mismatch:\n got: %s\nwant: %s", got, want)
+	}
+}

pkg/rt/core/ir/data.lg

@@ -95,6 +95,14 @@
          ;; IR mutator by volume) used to copy the whole 6-element inst tuple +
          ;; the :insts spine per call; the side table is mutated in place.
          :source-info (transient [])
+         ;; Inferred types live OFF the inst tuple too, same shape as
+         ;; :source-info. set-type! was the top typeinfer cost: the epoch
+         ;; flush wrote every inferred type via swap! + assoc-in (both
+         ;; interpreted) — ~94µs/write at 3.5k insts, more than the whole
+         ;; worklist drain. Tuple slot 5 keeps the construction-time
+         ;; :unknown and acts as the read fallback for nids the table
+         ;; doesn't cover.
+         :types     (transient [])
          :blocks    [{:id 0 :params [] :insts [] :preds [] :term nil}]
          :uses-cache nil
          :uses-dirty? true}))
@@ -134,14 +142,25 @@
 ;; Inst layout: positional vector [op refs aux block source-infos type].
 ;; Indices 0..5; access via `nth` rather than keyword-as-fn to skip
 ;; the Keyword.Invoke + hashUnencodedChars hot path.
+;; NB slot 5 holds only the construction-time :unknown — inferred types live
+;; in the :types side table (see new-fn / set-type!); slot 5 is type-of's
+;; fallback for nids the table doesn't cover. Slot 4 (source-infos) is
+;; likewise superseded by the :source-info side table.
 (defn op       [nid f] (nth (nth (:insts @f) nid) 0))
 (defn refs     [nid f] (nth (nth (:insts @f) nid) 1))
 (defn aux      [nid f] (nth (nth (:insts @f) nid) 2))
 (defn block-of [nid f] (nth (nth (:insts @f) nid) 3))
 
 (defn type-of [nid f]
-  (let [t (nth (nth (:insts @f) nid) 5)]
-    (if (nil? t) :unknown t)))
+  ;; Side table first (where set-type! writes), tuple slot 5 as fallback
+  ;; (construction-time default). A nil in either place reads as :unknown.
+  (let [s   @f
+        tys (:types s)
+        side (when (< nid (count tys)) (nth tys nid))]
+    (if (nil? side)
+      (let [t (nth (nth (:insts s) nid) 5)]
+        (if (nil? t) :unknown t))
+      side)))
 
 (defn source-infos [nid f]
   ;; Positional read from the side table (see new-fn). Bounds-checked: a nid
@@ -422,8 +441,26 @@
 (defn set-aux! [f nid aux-val]
   (swap! f assoc-in [:insts nid 2] aux-val))
 
+(defn- ensure-types! [f nid]
+  ;; Grow the types side table so index nid is addressable, then return the
+  ;; transient. Same shape as ensure-si!; typeinfer's flush walks nids in
+  ;; order, so this appends ~1 slot amortized.
+  (let [tys (:types @f)]
+    (loop []
+      (when (<= (count tys) nid)
+        (conj! tys nil)
+        (recur)))
+    tys))
+
 (defn set-type! [f nid t]
-  (swap! f assoc-in [:insts nid 5] t))
+  ;; In-place positional update — no inst-tuple copy, no :insts spine copy,
+  ;; no swap! (mirrors add-source-info!; this was typeinfer's #1 cost: the
+  ;; flush paid ~94µs per interpreted swap!+assoc-in write).
+  ;; Contract: this bypasses the Function atom — no CAS, and atom watches
+  ;; will NOT fire. Safe because compilation is single-threaded per Function
+  ;; (the same assumption :source-info's add-source-info! already relies on);
+  ;; concurrent mutation of one Function was never supported.
+  (assoc! (ensure-types! f nid) nid t))
 
 (defn cond-target-set-true! [ct bt]
   (assoc ct :true-target bt))
@@ -516,6 +553,14 @@
     (let [src-sis (source-infos nid f)]
       (when (seq src-sis)
         (assoc! (ensure-si! f new-id) new-id src-sis)))
+    ;; Same for the inferred type: it lives in the :types side table now, and
+    ;; the copied tuple only carries the construction-time :unknown in slot 5.
+    ;; Without this carry a clone of a typed inst would silently read :unknown
+    ;; (conservative de-optimization, not a miscompile — but a perf trap).
+    (let [tys (:types @f)
+          src-t (when (< nid (count tys)) (nth tys nid))]
+      (when (some? src-t)
+        (assoc! (ensure-types! f new-id) new-id src-t)))
     (invalidate-uses-state! f)
     new-id))
 

pkg/rt/core/ir/lattice.lg

@@ -433,11 +433,17 @@
   (let [s     @state
         facts (:inst-facts s)
         tch   (:touched s)
-        insts (:insts @f)
+        fv    @f
+        insts (:insts fv)
+        ;; types side table (see ir.data new-fn) — read it first, tuple slot 5
+        ;; is the construction-time fallback, mirroring ir/type-of.
+        tys   (:types fv)
+        tn    (count tys)
         n     (count insts)]
     (loop [i 0]
       (if (< i n)
-        (let [raw-type (nth (nth insts i) 5)
+        (let [side     (when (< i tn) (nth tys i))
+              raw-type (if (nil? side) (nth (nth insts i) 5) side)
               seeded   (if (or (nil? raw-type) (= raw-type :unknown)) :bottom raw-type)]
           (conj! facts (fact-from-type seeded))
           (conj! tch false)

pkg/rt/generated.sums

@@ -2,4 +2,4 @@
 # Content digest of all .lg + lgbgen sources that feed the .lgb
 # bundle and the lowered Go tree. The genmanifest staleness test
 # fails if this no longer matches the sources on disk.
-a7dc9e523b36e733b9d9e4e92b60e45badf58bed0187c491f47f5abcfb03a0bc
+6d48dd1c077adff47aa9060a9e15e372f52690b1cb9b742e8d267e892f645ee4