Stdlib module compiler/backends/ast/target_type.vit

This page is a wiki-style reference for one concrete stdlib file. It explains what the file owns, where it fits in the family, and how to decide whether this is the right surface to depend on.

Visual portrait of compiler/backends/ast/target_type.vit
Wiki-style portrait for compiler/backends/ast/target_type.vit.

Family: compiler

Kind: compiler-facing or orchestrator module

Page style: this reference follows the same “encyclopedic card + portrait + usage contract” logic as the keyword pages, but for stdlib modules.

Summary

Overview

FieldValue
Pathcompiler/backends/ast/target_type.vit
Familycompiler
Kindcompiler-facing or orchestrator module
Line count55
Declared procedures9
Declared forms/picks3

`compiler/backends/ast/target_type.vit` is a compiler-facing or orchestrator module inside the `compiler` family. It should be read as one focused slice of the broader family responsibility: Compiler-owned stdlib surfaces that support self-hosted compiler and driver integration.

Purpose

This file should be chosen because of responsibility, not because its name “sounds close enough”. Inside the compiler family, it carries one focused part of the contract and keeps that responsibility separate from neighboring concerns.

  • A self-hosted compiler flow can reuse structured helpers without pretending they are general stdlib entry points.
  • A driver surface can depend on this family while still keeping its public contract documented elsewhere.

Top-level API inventory

SurfaceItems
Proceduresbuiltin, pointer, reference, array_type, function_type, user_type, add_const, add_volatile, is_const
FormsTargetType
PicksTargetQualifier, TargetTypeKind
Constantsnone declared at top level

Imported surfaces

This file does not advertise a top-level `use` surface in its opening declarations. That often means it is either self-contained or an aggregation layer.

How to use this module

Start by reading the file as an ownership boundary. Ask three questions: what enters this module, what stable types or procedures it exports, and what adjacent module should stay outside of it.

  1. Open the family page first to understand why this area of the stdlib exists.
  2. Read the source excerpt below to see the namespace, imports, and first declared surfaces.
  3. Check the neighbor list to avoid coupling this module with an adjacent responsibility by habit.

Source shape

space vitte/stdlib_checked/compiler_backends_ast_target_type
pick TargetQualifier {
  Ok
}
pick TargetTypeKind {
  Ok
}
form TargetType {
  value: int
}

The excerpt is not meant to replace the file. It exists to make the module recognizable at first glance, the same way a Wikipedia infobox helps the reader orient before reading the whole article.

Integration boundaries

Within compiler, this file should remain focused. If a future helper changes the host boundary, scheduling boundary, or data-shape boundary, it probably belongs in a neighbor module instead of being added here by convenience.

  • Family responsibility: Compiler-owned stdlib surfaces that support self-hosted compiler and driver integration.
  • Family architecture role: This family is not general-purpose business code. It exists to support compiler-owned flows where the compiler and stdlib need a shared contract.

Neighbor modules