commit 4e901be4b430ac1c4ba8a0cd0836454ab01e0874
parent 2818ccf3598c8e82506d3d42ec293efb9acffc2a
Author: Erik Loualiche <eloualic@umn.edu>
Date: Fri, 6 Feb 2026 10:11:24 -0600
Add TODO.md for next session planning
Documents current state and priorities:
- FFI integration (Rust lib ready, needs Julia decoder)
- Cross-platform distribution via BinaryBuilder
- Benchmarks and additional features
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
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diff --git a/TODO.md b/TODO.md
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+# NickelEval.jl - Next Session TODOs
+
+## Current State (v0.2.0)
+
+**Working:**
+- Subprocess-based Nickel evaluation (`nickel_eval`, `nickel_eval_file`)
+- Typed evaluation to Julia native types (Dict, NamedTuple, Vector, structs)
+- Export functions (JSON, TOML, YAML)
+- String macro (`ncl"..."`)
+- Documentation site with VitePress at https://louloulibs.github.io/NickelEval/dev/
+- CI passing with 53 tests
+
+**Infrastructure Ready but Not Integrated:**
+- Rust FFI library (`rust/nickel-jl/`) - complete with 33 tests
+- Binary protocol for native type encoding (preserves Int64 vs Float64)
+- Julia FFI bindings skeleton (`src/ffi.jl`)
+
+---
+
+## Priority 1: Complete FFI Integration
+
+### 1.1 Build and Test Rust Library Locally
+```bash
+cd rust/nickel-jl
+cargo build --release
+cp target/release/libnickel_jl.dylib ../../deps/ # macOS
+# or libnickel_jl.so for Linux
+```
+
+### 1.2 Add Native Binary Decoder in Julia
+The Rust side encodes to binary protocol, but Julia only has JSON decoding.
+Need to add in `src/ffi.jl`:
+```julia
+function decode_native(buffer::Vector{UInt8}) -> Any
+ # Decode binary protocol: TYPE_NULL=0, TYPE_BOOL=1, TYPE_INT=2, etc.
+end
+```
+
+### 1.3 Add `nickel_eval_native_ffi` Function
+Use `nickel_eval_native` from Rust + Julia decoder for true type preservation.
+
+---
+
+## Priority 2: Cross-Platform Distribution
+
+### 2.1 BinaryBuilder.jl Integration
+Create `build_tarballs.jl` to build for all platforms:
+- Linux x86_64, aarch64
+- macOS x86_64, aarch64
+- Windows x86_64
+
+### 2.2 Create JLL Package
+`NickelEval_jll` package for automatic binary distribution.
+
+---
+
+## Priority 3: Performance & Benchmarks
+
+### 3.1 Add Benchmarks
+Compare subprocess vs FFI:
+```julia
+using BenchmarkTools
+@benchmark nickel_eval("{ x = 1 }") # subprocess
+@benchmark nickel_eval_ffi("{ x = 1 }") # FFI
+```
+
+### 3.2 Caching Layer (Optional)
+Consider caching evaluated configs for repeated access.
+
+---
+
+## Priority 4: Additional Features
+
+### 4.1 File Watching
+```julia
+watch_nickel_file("config.ncl") do config
+ # Called when file changes
+end
+```
+
+### 4.2 Nickel Contracts Integration
+Expose Nickel's type system for runtime validation.
+
+### 4.3 Multi-file Evaluation
+Support `import` statements and multiple file evaluation.
+
+---
+
+## Quick Reference
+
+**Build FFI locally:**
+```bash
+cd rust/nickel-jl && cargo build --release
+mkdir -p deps
+cp target/release/libnickel_jl.dylib deps/ # macOS
+```
+
+**Test FFI available:**
+```julia
+using NickelEval
+check_ffi_available() # should return true after build
+nickel_eval_ffi("1 + 2") # test it works
+```
+
+**Registry:** loulouJL (https://github.com/LouLouLibs/loulouJL)
+**Docs:** https://louloulibs.github.io/NickelEval/dev/
