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attempt_1/attempt_1.md

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+# Technical Outline: Attempt 1
+
+## Overview
+`attempt_1` is a minimal, `-nostdlib` C program that serves as a proof-of-concept for the "Lottes/Onat" sourceless ColorForth paradigm. It successfully integrates a visual editor, a live JIT compiler, and an execution environment into a single, cohesive Win32 application that runs without any external dependencies or the C runtime.
+
+The application presents a visual grid of 32-bit tokens and allows the user to navigate and edit them directly. On every keypress, the token array is re-compiled into x86-64 machine code and executed, with the results (register states and global memory) displayed instantly in the HUD.
+
+## Core Concepts Implemented
+
+1.  **Sourceless Token Array (`FArena` tape):**
+    *   The "source code" is a contiguous block of `U4` (32-bit) integers allocated by `VirtualAlloc` and managed by the `FArena` from `duffle.h`.
+    *   Each token is packed with a 4-bit "Color" tag and a 28-bit payload, adhering to the core design.
+
+2.  **Annotation Layer (`FArena` anno):**
+    *   A parallel `FArena` of `U8` (64-bit) integers stores an 8-character string for each corresponding token on the tape.
+    *   The UI renderer prioritizes displaying this string, but the compiler only ever sees the 2-character ID packed into the 32-bit token, successfully implementing Lottes' dictionary annotation strategy.
+
+3.  **2-Register Stack & Global Memory:**
+    *   The JIT compiler emits x86-64 that strictly adheres to Onat's `RAX`/`RDX` register stack.
+    *   A `vm_globals` array is passed by pointer into the JIT'd code (via `RCX` on Win64), allowing instructions like `FETCH` and `STORE` to simulate the "tape drive" memory model.
+
+4.  **Handmade x86-64 JIT Emitter:**
+    *   A small set of `emit8`/`emit32` functions write raw x86-64 opcodes into a `VirtualAlloc` block marked as executable (`PAGE_EXECUTE_READWRITE`).
+    *   This buffer is cast to a C function pointer and called directly, bypassing the need for an external assembler like NASM or a complex library like Zydis for this prototype stage.
+
+5.  **2-Character Mapped Dictionary & Resolver:**
+    *   The `ID2(a, b)` macro packs two characters into a 16-bit integer for use as a token's payload.
+    *   The JIT compiler maintains a simple array-based dictionary. On a `: Define` token, it records the ID and the current memory offset. On a `~ Call` token, it looks up the ID and emits a relative 32-bit `CALL` instruction (`0xE8`).
+    *   It also correctly emits `JMP` instructions to skip over definition bodies during linear execution.
+
+6.  **Modal Editor (Win32 GDI):**
+    *   The UI is built with raw Win32 GDI calls defined in `duffle.h`.
+    *   It features two modes: `Navigation` (gray cursor, arrow key movement) and `Edit` (orange cursor, text input).
+    *   The editor correctly handles token insertion, deletion (Vim-style backspace), tag cycling (Tab), and value editing, all while re-compiling and re-executing on every keystroke.
+
+## What's Missing (TODO)
+
+*   **Saving/Loading:** The tape and annotation arenas are purely in-memory and are lost when the program closes.
+*   **Expanded Instruction Set:** The JIT only knows a handful of primitives (`SWAP`, `MULT`, `ADD`, `FETCH`, `STORE`, `DEC`, `RET_IF_ZERO`, `PRINT`). It has no support for floating point, stack manipulation for C FFI, or more complex branches.
+*   **Robust Dictionary:** The current dictionary is a simple array that is rebuilt on every compile. It doesn't handle collisions, scoping, or namespaces.
+*   **Annotation Editing:** Typing into an annotation just appends characters. A proper text-editing cursor within the token is needed.
+
+## References Utilized
+*   **Heavily Utilized:**
+    *   **Onat's Talks:** The core architecture (2-register stack, global memory tape, JIT philosophy) is a direct implementation of the concepts from his VAMP/KYRA presentations.
+    *   **Lottes' Twitter Notes:** The 2-character mapped dictionary, `ret-if-signed` (`RET_IF_ZERO`), and annotation layer concepts were taken directly from his tweets.
+    *   **User's `duffle.h` & `fortish-study`:** The C coding conventions (X-Macros, `FArena`, byte-width types, `ms_` prefixes) were adopted from these sources.
+*   **Lightly Utilized:**
+    *   **Lottes' Blog:** Provided the high-level "sourceless" philosophy and inspiration.
+    *   **Grok Searches:** Served to validate our understanding and provide parallels (like Wasm's linear memory), but did not provide direct implementation details.