Utilities.md

Core utilities for B+.

Asserts

You can do runtime checks with @bp_check(condition, msg...). It throws an error if the condition is false, and provides the given message data (by converting each to string() and appending them together). You can also use @bp_check_throws(statement, msg...) in your tests to check that an expression throws.

To add asserts and a debug/release flag to your project, invoke @make_toggleable_asserts(prefix). Invoking it adds a new compile-time flag, plus some helper macros. In B+ each sub-module has its own toggleable asserts; in your own program you probably just want one for the whole project.

For example, if you invoke @make_toggleable_asserts(my_game_), then you'll get the following new definitions:

1. @my_game_assert(condition, msg...) is the debug-only version of @bp_check.
2. @my_game_debug() is a compile-time boolean constant for whether you're in debug mode.
3. @my_game_debug(debug_code[, release_code]) runs some debug-only code, and alternatively some optional release-only code.
4. my_game_asserts_enabled() = false is the core function driving this feature. You can enable "debug mode" by explicitly redefining it, either within the module or after the module. For example, MyGameModule.my_game_asserts_enabled() = true; MyGameModule.run_game().
   • You can see an example of toggling debug flags in B+'s unit tests (test/runtests.jl).
   • The way this works is that the implementation of my_game_asserts_enabled() is so simple that Julia will always inline it, causing the value (true or false) to propagate out and effectively remove debug statements from the codebase entirely when in release mode.
   • Redefining the function forces Julia to recompile all functions which referenced it, causing debug code to suddenly appear.

Important note: constants do not get recompiled! For example, if you declare const C = @my_game_debug(100, 1000), then toggle the debug flag, C will not change its value from 1000 to 100.

Note: @make_toggleable_asserts is a custom implementation of the ToggleableAsserts.jl package, which provides some of this functionality globally.

Optional

• Optional{T} is an alias for Union{T, Nothing}.
• exists(t) is an alias for !isnothing(t).
• @optional(condition, outputs...) helps you optionally pass parameters into a function call. It evaluates to ()... if the condition is false, or outputs... if it is true.
  • I'm guessing that the use of this macro is very type-unstable if the condition isn't known at compile-time, so don't use it in high-performance contexts unless you can check that it doesn't cause allocations/dynamic dispatch.
• @optionalkw(condition, name, value) is like @optional but for named parameters. It evalues to NamedTuple() if the condition is false, or $name=$value if the condition is true.

Collections and Iterators

• preallocated_vector(T, capacity::Int) creates a vector with a specific initial capacity.
• Base.append! is now implemented for sets. This is type piracy, but it's also a very strange hole in Julia's API to not be able to append an iterator to a set.
• UpTo{N, T} is a type-stable, immutable container for 0 to N elements of type T. For example, calculating the intersection of a ray and sphere could return UpTo{2, Float32}.
  • The type implements AbstractVector{T}, so it can be treated like a 1D array using all of Julia's built-in functions for array manipulation.
  • append(a::UpTo{N, T}, b::UpTo{M, T}) creates a new UpTo{N+M, T}.
• SerializedUnion{U<:Union} is a value that can be serialized with its type (using the ubiquitous StructTypes package for serialization, which also means it works with the JSON3 package). The macro @SerializedUnion(A, B, ...) helps you specify the type more easily.
  • For example, if you want to write and read a Union{Int, String} using JSON3, you can do it by reading and writing with the type @SerializedUnion(Int, String).
  • The order of priority for trying to parse the different types in a serialized union is controlled by the function union_ordering(T)::Float64. Lower values are tried first.
• IterSome(lambda, T=Any) creates an iterator that uses your lambda idx::Int -> Union{Nothing, Some{T}}, outputting each of your elements, until you return nothing. The T parameter helps the compiler in case it can't do type-inference with your lambda.

Tuples

• tuple_length(::Type{<:Tuple})::Int gets the number of elements in a tuple type.
  • For a tuple object you can use length(t); this is for tuple types.
• ConstVector{T, N} is an alias for NTuple{N, T} which allows you to specify the element type without the count. For example, ConstVector{Int64} matches a tuple of all Int64, of any length.

Functional programming

• unzip(zipped) takes the output of a zip() call (or something that looks like it) and splits them back out into the original iterators.
  • If the input isn't from an actual call to zip(), then the unzipping will require iterating through the input several times (once for each output iterator).
• reduce_some(f, predicate, iter; init=0) works like the built-in reduce(), but also skips over elements that fail a certain predicate.
• find_matching(element, collection, comparison=Base.:(==)) gets the index/key of the first element matching a desired one. Returns nothing if none matches. Optionally uses a comparison other than ==.
• iter(x) provides a facade for iterators that don't work on functions like map(). For example, while you can't do map(f, my_dictionary), you can do map(f, iter(my_dictionary)).
• map_unordered(f, iters...) uses iter() to run map() on unordered collections that don't normally support map().
• drop_last(iter) removes the last element of an iteration.
• iter_join(iter, delimiter) inserts delimiter in-between elements iter, like join().

Enums

Scoped enums

@bp_enum(name, elements...) is a more powerful version of Julia's @enum, with the same declaration syntax. It has the following improvements (assuming your enum is named MyEnum):

• The enum values are kept in their own scope, by turning MyEnum into a sub-module.
• The actual enum type inside the module is aliased to E_MyEnum outside the module, for convenience.
• The values can be parsed from a string (or Val{S}, where S is a Symbol) with MyEnum.parse(s).
• The values can be converted from their integer value with MyEnum.from(i), or from their index in the declaration order with MyEnum.from_index(idx).
• The enum values can be converted to their integer index with MyEnum.to_index(e).
• A tuple of all enum values can be gotten with MyEnum.instances().

Scoped bitflags

@bp_bitflag is for enums that reprsent bit-flags. Along with the above features of @bp_enum, @bp_bitflag adds the following (assuming your enum is named MyBitflag):

• Default values of elements increase by powers of two -- the first element is 1, second is 2, third is 4, fourth is 8, etc.
  • To define a "none" element followed by default numbering, put it at the beginning. For example, @bp_bitflag MyBitflag z=0 a b c.
  • For the full numbering rules, refer to the BitFlags.jl package which powers this macro.
• Combine two bitflags with a | b.
• Intersect two bitflags with a & b.
• Remove bitflags with a - b (equivalent to a & (~b)).
• Check for subsets with a <= b ("a is a subset of b?") and supersets with a >= b ("a is a superset of b?").
• Base.contains can be used to check if one bitflag is totally contained within another: Base.contains(haystack::E_MyBitflag, needle::E_MyBitflag)).
• The special value MyBitflag.ALL contains all the bitfield elements combined together. Equivalent to reduce(|, MyBitflag.instances()).
• Special aggregate values are defined with the @ symbol. These do not show up in instances(), to_index(), or from_index(). For example:

@bp_bitflag(MyFlags,
    a, b, c, d, e,
    # Aggregates:
    @ab(a|b), # Declares 'ab'
    @abc(ab|c) # Declares 'abc'
    @ace((abc - b) | e) # Declares 'ace'
)

Note: @bp_bitflag is meant to be a replacement for @bitflag, from the BitFlags package. @bitflag inherits a lot of the same problems as @enum, and also misses some big convenience features.

Anonymous enums

If you want small-scale enums, for function parameters, you can use @ano_enum(A, B, ...) and @ano_value(A). For example:

function do_stuff(i::Int, mode::@ano_enum(Mode1, Mode2, Mode3))
    if mode isa @ano_enum(Mode1, Mode2)
        i = -i
    end
    i *= 2
    if mode isa @ano_enum(Mode1, Mode3)
        i *= 10
    end
    return i
end

do_stuff(i, @ano_value(Mode2))

Numbers

• @f32(n) is short-hand to cast a value to Float32.
• Scalar8, Scalar16, Scalar32, Scalar64, and Scalar128 are aliases for built-in number types of the given bit sizes.
  • Note that Scalar8 does not include Bool.
  • For example, Scalar32 is Union{UInt32, Int32, Float32}.
• ScalarBits is a union of all the scalar types mentioned above.
• type_str(::Type{<:Scalar}) gets a short-hand for a number or boolean type.
  • For example, type_str(UInt8) returns "u8".
• Binary(x) is a decorator for numbers that prints them as their binary representation.
  • You can support this decorator for your own type by implementing the interface described in Binary's doc-string.

Random

• rand_ntuple(rng, t::NTuple) picks a random element from an NTuple.
• RandIterator(n, rng) efficiently iterates through 1:N in a random order.

PRNG is a custom RNG struct which implements Julia's AbstractRNG interface. This means you can use it like any of the built-in RNG types. However, this one is designed for speed and quick spin-up time, which is important for procedural generation purposes.

You can construct it by passing 0 or more numbers to use as seeds. You can also construct it with an initial state (a UInt32 followed by a NTuple{3, UInt32}).

Mutable version

Like all RNG's offered by Julia, PRNG is mutable, which also means it's pass-by-reference and probably heap-allocated. This is OK for RNG's which are created once and last for a while.

Immutable version

In some contexts, you want to quickly create and destroy thousands or millions of RNG's. For example, generating a random texture usually involves creating one RNG per pixel, using the pixel coordinates as the seed, and only generating a handful of numbers with each one.

For this use-case, use ConstPRNG. It is the same RNG as an immutable struct, which in Julia also means it's pass-by-value and not usually heap-allocated.

ConstPRNG implements many of the same functions as PRNG. However, its return type is different. It always returns a tuple of the usual random output and the next state of the RNG. Here is an example of how you can use it:

function generate_pixel(x, y)
    rng = ConstPRNG(x, y)
    (red, rng) = rand(rng, Float32)
    (green, rng) = rand(rng, Float32)
    (blue, rng) = rand(rng, Float32)
    return (red, green, blue)

Macros

• @do_while code condition implements a do-while loop. The syntax can pretty closely match do-while loops in C-like languages, for example:

i::Int = 0
@do_while begin
    println(i)
    i += 1
end i<10

• @decentralized_module_init allows you to add runtime initialization code in multiple different places within a single module. After invoking it, you make use of it by statically adding lambdas to the global list RUN_ON_INIT. All these lambdas will execute once at the start of each program run (or more precisely, the first time this module is loaded with using or import). You can find examples of this in the B+ codebase.
  • This is valuable if you have a lot of disparate data to be computed at the beginning of each program run, rather than the more common const globals which are computed at compile-time. For example, a pointer to some C function or allocated memory will be different every time you run the program.
  • You cannot add lambdas outside the module, or within a function running at run-time. If you try, that function will be ignored since the module has already finished initializing by the point your code is reached.
    • Note the distinction between compile-time and run-time here: you are registering the lambdas with RUN_ON_INIT at compile-time, so that they can be later executed at run-time. The blurry line between write-time, compile-time, and run-time is key to Julia's expressive power, but it's tricky to get your head around at first.
    • You shouldn't add lambdas within a submodule either, although I belive it works. You should just define __init__() or @decentralized_module_init for that sub-module.
  • This macro is implemented by a) declaring the list RUN_ON_INIT, and b) implementing the special Julia function __init__() to call every lambda in the list.
  • The order of lambda execution is always the order they were added to the list, a.k.a. the order of your push! calls.

Functions

• reinterpret_bytes(input, output) converts between different bitstype data.
  • Allowed inputs, for some bitstype T:
    • An instance of a T
    • AbstractArray{T} (if you want to read a subset, use @view)
    • Ref{T}, pointing to one value
    • Tuple{Ref{T}, Integer}, pointing to some number of T values
    • Tuple{Ptr{T}, Integer}, pointing to some number of T values
  • Allowed outputs:
    • AbstractArray{T} for some bitstype T
    • Ref{T} for some bitstype T
    • Ptr{T} for some bitstype T
    • The type T itself, causing the function to return the reinterpreted T rather than write it somewhere.
• val_type(::Val{T}) and val_type(::Type{Val{T}}) return T. For example, val_type(Val(:hi)) returns :hi.
  • For reference, Val{T} is a built-in Julia type that turns some bits data into a type parameter. It's an important part of building complex zero-cost abstractions.

Interop

• InteropString juggles a string across two representations: a Julia String and a C-style, null-terminated Vector{UInt8}.
  • Create a new instance with i_str = InteropString(s::String[, buffer_capacity_multiplier]).
  • Get the Julia string's current value with string(i_str) (the same string function defined in Base and available everywhere).
  • Set the Julia string with update!(i_str, new_value::String).
    • Note that update!() is also declared in the package DataStructures, so if you use that module you have to put the module name in front of each update! call, or pick the default one with an alias const update! = BplusCore.Utilities.update!.
  • If the C version of the string was modified, regenerate the Julia string with update!(i_str).

Metaprogramming

Unions

• @unionspec(T{_}, A, B, C) turns into Union{T{A}, T{B}, T{C}}
  • You can get the same result with a generator expression, Union{(T{t} for t in (A, B, C))...}, but it's a bit more verbose.
• union_types(U) calculates a tuple of the individual types inside a union.
  • If you pass a single type, then you get a 1-tuple of that type.

Expression manipulation

Much of this section requires some familiarity with Julia macros and metaprogramming, a.k.a. code that generates code. It's also heavily inspired by the MacroTools package. also builds off of the MacroTools package.

• visit_exprs(to_do, root) visits every expression, like MacroTools.prewalk but without modifying the expression and with more info that helps to pinpoint the location of each sub-expression.
• FunctionMetadata(expr) strips out top-level information from a function definition. In particular it checks for doc-strings, @inline, and @generated. For example, FunctionMetadata(quote "Multiplies x by 5" @inline f(x) = x*5 end) creates an instance of FunctionMetadata("Multiplies x by 5", true, false, :( f(x) = x*5 )).
  • If you pass some invalid syntax into FunctionMetadata(expr), it outputs nothing rather than throwing an error. This lets you more easily check whether an expression is a valid function definition or not. However it doesn't check the core expression (e.x. f(x) = x*5); only the things surrounding it.
  • You can turn an instance back into the original expression with MacroTools.combinedef(fm::FunctionMetadata)::Expr.
• is_scopable_name(expr)::Bool checks for a Symbol, possibly prefixed by one or more dot operators (e.x. :( Base.iszero )), and optionally allowing type parameters at the end (e.x. :( A.B{C} )).
• is_function_call(expr)::Bool checks for a function call/signature, like :( MyGame.run(i::Int; j=5) ).
• is_function_decl(expr)::Bool checks for a function definition, like :( f() = 5 ).
• expr_deepcopy() works like deepcopy(), but without copying certain things that may show up in an AST and which aren't supposed to be copied. For example, literal references to modules.

Expression Splitting

There are several data representations of important syntax structures. This is analogous to MacroTools.splitdef() and MacroTools.splitarg(), but deeper and broader.

All the below structures inherit from AbstractSplitExpr. They are created by constructing them with an expression (or another instance to be deep-copied with expr_deepcopy()). They can be turned back into the original AST with combine_expr(s). Most of them can detect when the expression they're analyzing is wrapped in an esc() call.

For more precise info on each field's meaning and type, refer to comments in the definition.

• SplitArg(expr) gets all data about a function argument declaration, such as :( i::Int=3 ).
• SplitType(expr) gets all data about a type declaration, such as :( A{X} <: B ).
  • By default the constructor will do deep error-checking to validate the individual elements of the expression (e.x. making sure the name is a Symbol), but you can disable this by passing a second parameter into the constructor, false.
• SplitDef(expr) gets all data about a function declaration (e.x. quote "Returns 0." @inline f() = 0 end).
  • You can make it a function call/signature (e.x. :( f(i::Int; j=5) )) by setting the body to nothing (not to be confused with the expression :nothing, as in :( f() = nothing )).
  • You can make it a lambda (e.x. :( i -> i*2 )) by setting the name to nothing (not to be confused with the expression :nothing).
  • It is an error to set both the body and the name to nothing.
• SplitMacro gets all data about a macro invocation, such as :( @m a b+c ).

Assignment operators

• ASSIGNMENT_INNER_OP maps modifying assignment operators to the plain operator. For example, ASSIGNMENT_INNER_OP[:+=] maps to :+.
  • ASSIGNMENT_WITH_OP is a map in the opposite direction: ASSIGNMENT_WITH_OP[:+] maps to :+=.
• compute_op(s::Symbol, a, b) performs one of the modifying assignments (e.x. +=) on a and b. For example, compute_op(:+=, a, b) computes a + b.