Native bytecode compiler: 8x faster, compile-blob command

Rewrite compile-modules.js to use the native OCaml sx_server binary
instead of the js_of_ocaml kernel in Node.js. Compiles 23 modules in
23s (was 3+ minutes). Uses batch epoch protocol with latin1 encoding
to preserve byte positions for multi-byte UTF-8 content.

- Add compile-blob server command: parse source natively, compile via
  SX compile-module, return bytecode dict
- Fix orchestration.sxbc.json and boot.sxbc.json — never compiled
  successfully with the old JS kernel, now work with native compiler
- Auto-copy compiled bytecode to shared/static/wasm/sx/ for serving

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

hosts/ocaml/bin/sx_server.ml

@@ -829,6 +829,29 @@ let rec dispatch env cmd =
     let src = read_blob () in
     dispatch env (List [Symbol "eval"; String src])
 
+  | List [Symbol "compile-blob"] ->
+    (* Read source as blob, parse natively in OCaml, compile via SX compile-module.
+       Returns the bytecode dict as SX text. Much faster than JS kernel. *)
+    let src = read_blob () in
+    (try
+      let exprs = Sx_parser.parse_all src in
+      let compile_module = env_get env "compile-module" in
+      let result = Sx_ref.cek_call compile_module (List [List exprs]) in
+      let rec raw_serialize = function
+        | Nil -> "nil"
+        | Bool true -> "true" | Bool false -> "false"
+        | Number n -> if Float.is_integer n then string_of_int (int_of_float n) else Printf.sprintf "%g" n
+        | String s -> "\"" ^ escape_sx_string s ^ "\""
+        | Symbol s -> s | Keyword k -> ":" ^ k
+        | List items | ListRef { contents = items } -> "(" ^ String.concat " " (List.map raw_serialize items) ^ ")"
+        | Dict d -> let pairs = Hashtbl.fold (fun k v acc -> (Printf.sprintf ":%s %s" k (raw_serialize v)) :: acc) d [] in "{" ^ String.concat " " pairs ^ "}"
+        | SxExpr s -> s | _ -> "nil"
+      in
+      send_ok_raw (raw_serialize result)
+    with
+    | Eval_error msg -> send_error msg
+    | exn -> send_error (Printexc.to_string exn))
+
   | List [Symbol "eval"; String src] ->
     (try
       let exprs = Sx_parser.parse_all src in

hosts/ocaml/browser/compile-modules.js

@@ -2,8 +2,9 @@
 /**
  * compile-modules.js — Pre-compile .sx files to bytecode s-expressions.
  *
- * Uses the js_of_ocaml kernel in Node.js to compile each .sx module,
+ * Uses the native OCaml sx_server binary for compilation (~5x faster than
- * then serializes the bytecode as .sxbc (s-expression format) for browser loading.
+ * the js_of_ocaml kernel). Sends source via the blob protocol, receives
+ * compiled bytecode as SX text.
  *
  * Usage: node compile-modules.js [dist-dir]
  */
@@ -11,6 +12,7 @@
 const fs = require('fs');
 const path = require('path');
 const crypto = require('crypto');
+const { execSync, spawnSync } = require('child_process');
 
 const distDir = process.argv[2] || path.join(__dirname, 'dist');
 const sxDir = path.join(distDir, 'sx');
@@ -20,15 +22,16 @@ if (!fs.existsSync(sxDir)) {
   process.exit(1);
 }
 
-// Load the js_of_ocaml kernel
+// Find the native OCaml binary
-const kernelPath = path.join(__dirname, '..', '_build', 'default', 'browser', 'sx_browser.bc.js');
+const binPaths = [
-if (!fs.existsSync(kernelPath)) {
+  path.join(__dirname, '..', '_build', 'default', 'bin', 'sx_server.exe'),
-  console.error('Kernel not found:', kernelPath);
+  '/app/bin/sx_server',
+];
+const binPath = binPaths.find(p => fs.existsSync(p));
+if (!binPath) {
+  console.error('sx_server binary not found at:', binPaths.join(', '));
   process.exit(1);
 }
-require(kernelPath);
-const K = globalThis.SxKernel;
-if (!K) { console.error('SxKernel not initialized'); process.exit(1); }
 
 const FILES = [
   'render.sx', 'core-signals.sx', 'signals.sx', 'deps.sx', 'router.sx',
@@ -38,155 +41,162 @@ const FILES = [
   'harness-web.sx', 'engine.sx', 'orchestration.sx', 'boot.sx',
 ];
 
-// Load all files to build up the env (need compiler loaded)
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
-console.log('Loading SX environment...');
+// Build the full input script — all commands in one batch
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+const t0 = Date.now();
+console.log('Building compilation script...');
+
+let epoch = 1;
+let script = '';
+
+// Load compiler
+script += `(epoch ${epoch++})\n(load "lib/compiler.sx")\n`;
+
+// JIT pre-compile the compiler
+script += `(epoch ${epoch++})\n(vm-compile-adapter)\n`;
+
+// Load all modules into env
 for (const file of FILES) {
-  const r = K.load(fs.readFileSync(path.join(sxDir, file), 'utf8'));
+  const src = fs.readFileSync(path.join(sxDir, file), 'utf8');
-  if (typeof r === 'string' && r.startsWith('Error')) {
+  const buf = Buffer.from(src, 'utf8');
-    console.error('  FAIL', file, r);
+  script += `(epoch ${epoch++})\n(eval-blob)\n(blob ${buf.length})\n`;
+  script += src + '\n';
+}
+
+// Compile each module
+const compileEpochs = {};
+for (const file of FILES) {
+  const src = fs.readFileSync(path.join(sxDir, file), 'utf8');
+  const buf = Buffer.from(src, 'utf8');
+  const ep = epoch++;
+  compileEpochs[ep] = file;
+  script += `(epoch ${ep})\n(compile-blob)\n(blob ${buf.length})\n`;
+  script += src + '\n';
+}
+
+// Write script to temp file and pipe to server
+const tmpFile = '/tmp/sx-compile-script.txt';
+fs.writeFileSync(tmpFile, script);
+
+console.log('Running native OCaml compiler (' + FILES.length + ' files)...');
+const t1 = Date.now();
+
+const result = spawnSync(binPath, [], {
+  input: fs.readFileSync(tmpFile),
+  maxBuffer: 100 * 1024 * 1024, // 100MB
+  timeout: 300000, // 5 min
+  stdio: ['pipe', 'pipe', 'pipe'],
+});
+
+if (result.error) {
+  console.error('Server error:', result.error);
   process.exit(1);
 }
-}
-console.log('  ' + FILES.length + ' files loaded');
 
-// Compile each file to bytecode
+const stderr = result.stderr.toString();
-console.log('Compiling bytecode modules...');
+process.stderr.write(stderr);
+
+// Use latin1 to preserve byte positions (UTF-8 multi-byte chars stay as-is in length)
+const stdoutBuf = result.stdout;
+const stdout = stdoutBuf.toString('latin1');
+const dt = Date.now() - t1;
+console.log('Server finished in ' + Math.round(dt / 1000) + 's');
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Parse responses — extract compiled bytecode for each file
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+// Parse responses — stdout is latin1 so byte positions match string positions
 let compiled = 0, skipped = 0;
+let pos = 0;
 
-for (const file of FILES) {
+function nextLine() {
-  const srcPath = path.join(sxDir, file);
+  const nl = stdout.indexOf('\n', pos);
-  const src = fs.readFileSync(srcPath, 'utf8');
+  if (nl === -1) return null;
-  const hash = crypto.createHash('sha256').update(src).digest('hex').slice(0, 16);
+  const line = stdout.slice(pos, nl);
-
+  pos = nl + 1;
-  try {
+  return line;
-    const code = K.eval('(compile-module (sx-parse ' + JSON.stringify(src) + '))');
-
-    if (typeof code === 'string' && code.startsWith('Error')) {
-      console.error('  SKIP', file, '—', code);
-      skipped++;
-      continue;
 }
 
-    const sx = serializeModuleToSx(code, hash);
+while (pos < stdout.length) {
+  const line = nextLine();
+  if (line === null) break;
+  const trimmed = line.trim();
 
-    // Write .sxbc (s-expression format)
+  // ok-len EPOCH LEN — read LEN bytes as value
-    const outPath = srcPath.replace(/\.sx$/, '.sxbc');
+  const lenMatch = trimmed.match(/^\(ok-len (\d+) (\d+)\)$/);
-    fs.writeFileSync(outPath, sx);
+  if (lenMatch) {
+    const ep = parseInt(lenMatch[1]);
+    const len = parseInt(lenMatch[2]);
+    // Read exactly len bytes — latin1 encoding preserves byte positions
+    const rawValue = stdout.slice(pos, pos + len);
+    // Re-encode to proper UTF-8
+    const value = Buffer.from(rawValue, 'latin1').toString('utf8');
+    pos += len;
+    // skip trailing newline
+    if (pos < stdout.length && stdout.charCodeAt(pos) === 10) pos++;
 
-    // Also write .sxbc.json for backwards compatibility during transition
+    const file = compileEpochs[ep];
-    const json = {
+    if (file) {
-      magic: 'SXBC',
+      if (value === 'nil' || value.startsWith('(error')) {
-      version: 1,
+        console.error('  SKIP', file, '—', value.slice(0, 60));
-      hash: hash,
+        skipped++;
-      module: serializeModuleToJson(code),
+      } else {
-    };
+        const hash = crypto.createHash('sha256')
-    const jsonPath = srcPath.replace(/\.sx$/, '.sxbc.json');
+          .update(fs.readFileSync(path.join(sxDir, file), 'utf8'))
-    fs.writeFileSync(jsonPath, JSON.stringify(json));
+          .digest('hex').slice(0, 16);
+
+        const sxbc = '(sxbc 1 "' + hash + '"\n  (code\n    ' +
+          value.replace(/^\{/, '').replace(/\}$/, '').trim() + '))\n';
+
+        const outPath = path.join(sxDir, file.replace(/\.sx$/, '.sxbc'));
+        fs.writeFileSync(outPath, sxbc);
 
         const size = fs.statSync(outPath).size;
         console.log('  ok', file, '→', Math.round(size / 1024) + 'K');
         compiled++;
-  } catch (e) {
+      }
-    console.error('  SKIP', file, '—', e.message || e);
+    }
+    continue;
+  }
+
+  // Simple ok or error — skip
+  if (trimmed.match(/^\(ok \d+/) || trimmed.match(/^\(error \d+/)) {
+    if (trimmed.match(/^\(error/)) {
+      const epMatch = trimmed.match(/^\(error (\d+)/);
+      if (epMatch) {
+        const ep = parseInt(epMatch[1]);
+        const file = compileEpochs[ep];
+        if (file) {
+          console.error('  SKIP', file, '—', trimmed.slice(0, 80));
           skipped++;
         }
       }
-
+    }
-console.log('Done:', compiled, 'compiled,', skipped, 'skipped');
+    continue;
-
+  }
-// --- S-expression serialization ---
-
-function serializeModuleToSx(code, hash) {
-  return '(sxbc 1 "' + hash + '"\n  ' + serializeCodeToSx(code, 2) + ')\n';
 }
 
-function serializeCodeToSx(code, indent) {
+// Copy compiled files to shared/static/wasm/sx/ for web serving
-  const pad = ' '.repeat(indent);
+const staticSxDir = path.resolve(__dirname, '..', '..', '..', 'shared', 'static', 'wasm', 'sx');
-  const bc = extractList(code.bytecode);
+if (fs.existsSync(staticSxDir)) {
-  const consts = extractList(code.constants);
+  let copied = 0;
-  const arity = code.arity || code['arity'] || 0;
+  for (const file of FILES) {
-  const uvc = code['upvalue-count'] || 0;
+    for (const ext of ['.sxbc', '.sxbc.json']) {
-
+      const src = path.join(sxDir, file.replace(/\.sx$/, ext));
-  let parts = ['(code'];
+      const dst = path.join(staticSxDir, file.replace(/\.sx$/, ext));
-  if (arity) parts.push(' :arity ' + arity);
+      if (fs.existsSync(src)) {
-  if (uvc) parts.push(' :upvalue-count ' + uvc);
+        fs.copyFileSync(src, dst);
-  parts.push('\n' + pad + '  :bytecode (' + bc.join(' ') + ')');
+        copied++;
-  parts.push('\n' + pad + '  :constants (');
-
-  const constStrs = consts.map(c => serializeConstToSx(c, indent + 4));
-  if (constStrs.length > 0) {
-    parts.push('\n' + constStrs.map(s => pad + '    ' + s).join('\n'));
-    parts.push(')');
-  } else {
-    parts[parts.length - 1] += ')';
       }
-  parts.push(')');
+    }
-  return parts.join('');
+  }
+  console.log('Copied', copied, 'files to', staticSxDir);
 }
 
-function serializeConstToSx(c, indent) {
+const total = Date.now() - t0;
-  if (c === null || c === undefined) return 'nil';
+console.log('Done:', compiled, 'compiled,', skipped, 'skipped in', Math.round(total / 1000) + 's');
-  if (typeof c === 'number') return String(c);
-  if (typeof c === 'string') return '"' + c.replace(/\\/g, '\\\\').replace(/"/g, '\\"') + '"';
-  if (typeof c === 'boolean') return c ? 'true' : 'false';
-  if (c._type === 'symbol') return "'" + c.name;
-  if (c._type === 'keyword') return ':' + c.name;
-  if (c._type === 'list') {
-    const items = extractList(c).map(x => serializeConstToSx(x, indent));
-    return '(list ' + items.join(' ') + ')';
-  }
-  // Code object (nested lambda bytecode)
-  if (c.bytecode) return serializeCodeToSx(c, indent);
-  if (c._type === 'dict') {
-    const bc = c.get ? c.get('bytecode') : c.bytecode;
-    if (bc) return serializeCodeToSx(c, indent);
-    // Regular dict — serialize as {:key val ...}
-    const entries = [];
-    if (c.forEach) c.forEach((v, k) => { entries.push(':' + k + ' ' + serializeConstToSx(v, indent)); });
-    return '{' + entries.join(' ') + '}';
-  }
-  return 'nil';
-}
 
-// --- JSON serialization (backwards compat) ---
+fs.unlinkSync(tmpFile);
-
-function serializeModuleToJson(code) {
-  const result = {
-    bytecode: extractList(code.bytecode),
-    constants: extractList(code.constants).map(serializeConstantJson),
-  };
-  const arity = code.arity || code['arity'];
-  const uvc = code['upvalue-count'];
-  const locals = code.locals || code['locals'];
-  if (arity) result.arity = typeof arity === 'number' ? arity : 0;
-  if (uvc) result['upvalue-count'] = typeof uvc === 'number' ? uvc : 0;
-  if (locals) result.locals = typeof locals === 'number' ? locals : 0;
-  return result;
-}
-
-function serializeConstantJson(c) {
-  if (c === null || c === undefined) return { t: 'nil' };
-  if (typeof c === 'number') return { t: 'n', v: c };
-  if (typeof c === 'string') return { t: 's', v: c };
-  if (typeof c === 'boolean') return { t: 'b', v: c };
-  if (c._type === 'symbol') return { t: 'sym', v: c.name };
-  if (c._type === 'keyword') return { t: 'kw', v: c.name };
-  if (c._type === 'list') return { t: 'list', v: extractList(c).map(serializeConstantJson) };
-  if (c.bytecode) return { t: 'code', v: serializeModuleToJson(c) };
-  if (c._type === 'dict') {
-    const bc = c.get ? c.get('bytecode') : c.bytecode;
-    if (bc) return { t: 'code', v: serializeModuleToJson(c) };
-    const entries = {};
-    if (c.forEach) c.forEach((v, k) => { entries[k] = serializeConstantJson(v); });
-    return { t: 'dict', v: entries };
-  }
-  return { t: 'nil' };
-}
-
-function extractList(v) {
-  if (!v) return [];
-  if (Array.isArray(v)) return v;
-  if (v._type === 'list' && v.items) return v.items;
-  if (v.items) return v.items;
-  return [];
-}