metronome/docs/rust-port.md
Me Here be524ce1ea Rust port Stage 1: track-format codec crate (passes the golden vectors)
A third implementation of the track DSL alongside engine.js and app.py, validated
against the same tests/fixtures/track-format.json:

- rust/track-format/: pure parse()/serialize() codec (std + alloc for now; no_std is
  a later refinement). Ports the app.py/engine.js semantics exactly — grouping,
  subdivisions, swing, ghost, polymeter, euclid, GM note-number aliases, unknown->beep,
  default groove (group-start accents), tempo clamp, empty->beep, and the playback-flow
  tokens (rep/end/relative-goto). Carries vol/cd too, so it's the most spec-complete
  of the three.
- tests/conformance.rs: the Rust adapter — reads the shared fixtures, asserts each
  case's normalized form (number-tolerant deep-equal) + serialize idempotency.
- rust/Containerfile + run.sh: Rust toolchain in a container (mirrors hardware/eda/),
  with the thumbv8m.main-none-eabihf target for the eventual RP2350 firmware. Never
  on the host.

Verified: ./rust/run.sh -> cargo test -> conformance + idempotent both pass.
docs/rust-port.md Stage 1 marked done.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-05-31 18:36:59 -05:00

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# Rust port — staged plan
This is the plan for the native-Rust direction first discussed alongside the A/B-bootloader
idea. **What changed since then:** the track format is now formally specced
(`docs/track-format.md`) with a golden-vector conformance suite (`tests/run.mjs`). That suite is
the thing that makes a port *safe* — any Rust engine has a precise, executable definition of
"correct" to validate against, the same one `engine.js` and `app.py` already pass.
## The core idea
Port from the **inside out**, lowest-risk first. The pure logic (track codec, then the
scheduler) is host-testable with zero hardware and is gated by the existing golden vectors. Only
once that's proven do we touch drivers, A/B, and the actual firmware. We do **not** rip out
CircuitPython until the Rust engine passes the vectors *and* the drivers are proven on hardware.
## Stages
### Stage 0 — toolchain in a container
Add a Rust toolchain image (mirroring `hardware/eda/`): a `Containerfile` with `rustup`, the
`thumbv8m.main-none-eabihf` target (RP2350 is Cortex-M33), `flip-link`, `probe-rs`, `elf2uf2`.
Driven by a `run.sh` like the EDA one. **Never on the host.**
### Stage 1 — `track-format` crate ✅ DONE (`rust/track-format/`)
Implemented and **passing**: `./rust/run.sh` builds the container and runs `cargo test`, which
validates the crate against `tests/fixtures/track-format.json` (conformance + idempotency). The
Rust codec agrees with `engine.js` and `app.py` on every vector — and carries `vol`/`cd`, so it's
the most spec-complete of the three. Original scope below.
#### (original) Stage 1 — `track-format` crate ← the concrete first PR
A pure, `no_std`-compatible crate: `parse(&str) -> Track` and `serialize(&Track) -> String`,
plus a `normalize()` that emits the neutral structure from `docs/track-format.md` §5. Then a
`cargo test` that reads `tests/fixtures/track-format.json` and asserts each case's `norm` and
round-trip — i.e. a **third adapter alongside `js_adapter.mjs` / `py_adapter.py`**. When this is
green, the Rust engine provably agrees with web + device on every groove, euclid, swing, ghost,
polymeter, and the playback-flow tokens. No hardware, fully testable in the container.
This is the highest-value slice: small, gated by work already done, and it proves the toolchain.
### Stage 2 — scheduler/engine
Port the look-ahead step scheduler. `engine.js` already marks these primitives
`PORTS TO FIRMWARE`, and `app.py`'s `tick()` is the same model. Host-test it by asserting click
*timings* for known patches (e.g. swing ratios, polymeter bar lengths) — still no hardware.
### Stage 3 — drivers (hardware)
On `embassy` / `rp-hal`:
- ST7789 240×320 display → `mipidsi` + `embedded-graphics` (mature; the parts are well-supported).
- I²S to the PCM5102A → RP2350 PIO.
- WS2812 → `ws2812-pio`. USB-MIDI → `usbd-midi` / `embassy-usb`.
- GT911 touch (Kit) over I²C.
### Stage 4 — native A/B + secure boot
Replace the `.mpy`-level A/B hack (`code.py` loads `app.mpy`, rolls back to `app.bak`) with the
**RP2350 bootrom's native** partition-table A/B + signed boot, configured via `picotool` (the
chip already provides this — see the earlier hardware discussion). The Rust app is the image in
the slot; rollback and version selection move into silicon.
## What you keep / lose
- **Gain:** memory safety, native A/B + secure boot, performance headroom, one typed model instead
of three hand-written parsers.
- **Lose:** the live one-click `.mpy` push (Rust is compile→flash→reboot). The editor's *data*
live-sync (tempo/pattern/setlist mirroring) still works — it's a data protocol. Only live
*logic* edits go away, and an embedded `wasm3`/script module could buy those back if wanted.
## Acceptance gate
Every codec/engine change must pass `tests/fixtures/track-format.json`. The Rust crate joins
`js`/`py` as a runner adapter, so "same groove on web, device, and the Rust build" is enforced,
not hoped for.
## Recommendation
Do **Stage 1 in a container next** — it's small, testable today (given a toolchain), reuses the
suite, and produces a real artifact to judge the Rust path on before committing to drivers or a
firmware rewrite. Defer Stages 34 until Stage 12 are green and you've decided the live-push
tradeoff is acceptable.