rajamesandClaude Opus 5.5
8df6c16766
ENGINE.md step 2, the carrier. Ruled 2026-10-05 (V3-PARITY.md 1i), on DECOMPOSITION.md section 6: a write to a port blocks until the neighbour reads. - node: v4_node_port_attach, v4_node_port_served; a store to the port keeps the value as the request and blocks the node - exec: a blocked node executes nothing; served, it goes on from the opcode after the store, in the same instruction word; a fault meanwhile abandons the rest of the word - compile.v4: n KERNEL-WORD name makes a word whose body writes n to the port; its arguments and results are on the data stack - boot: the kernel's words are made by handing the node text, and requests are served between the node's opcodes; one no one serves is error 12 - BYE, the first kernel word: hosted it leaves the program, as hosted v3; on the lone node it is v3's cold restart - ENGINE.md 3a: multiuser, multitasking, preemptive and cooperative, and what that asks of the engine Verified: make -C v4 test passes at both widths, with tests/test_port.c; hosted-check passes on three ISAs; clean qemu with STARFORTH_V4=1 on amd64, aarch64 and riscv64 passes POST with the same hashes as hosted, and a kernel word no one serves and BYE typed at each prompt are answered (logs/20261005-185506, -185734, -190101; -185234 is an amd64 run in which those two lines were not typed). Not done: v3's own C functions serving a node. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
capsules/
FORTH personality files loaded by the VM at boot. A capsule is an immutable, content-addressed payload; its XXHash64 hash is its identity. Any mutation changes the hash and the birth protocol rejects the image.
Key files
| File | Type | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
init.4th |
(m) MAMA_INIT |
Default Mama VM personality — loaded at LBN 2048 |
ACL.4th |
user | Word-level ACL system; self-activating at boot |
zuse.4th |
user | Bootstrap superuser; loaded by ACL.4th |
doe.4th |
user | DoE workload words (EXEC-DOE) — opt-in |
workload-0.4th … workload-9.4th |
(p) |
Numbered personality variants |
init-l8-*.4th |
(p) |
L8 Jacquard mode variants (stable/volatile/diverse/temporal/transition/omni) |
hermes/init.4th |
(p) |
Hermes baby VM personality |
artemis/init.4th |
(p) |
Artemis baby VM personality |
Block namespace
Block ranges are shared across all loaded capsules — collisions cause silent word-definition overwrites.
| Range | Owner |
|---|---|
| 2048–2099 | init.4th |
| 2100–2199 | doe.4th |
| 3000–3999 | workload capsules |
| 4000+ | user-defined (ACL.4th, zuse.4th, …) |
Each block is limited to 1024 bytes. Verify with wc -c before committing.
See also
experiments/bare_metal/README.md— DoE protocols and block namespace rulesdocs/03-architecture/word-acl/DESIGN.md— ACL system designtools/mkcapsule.c— assembles capsules intocapsule_generated.c- Project root