dustlib-k – K‑Regime Library for Dust

dustlib_k is the K‑regime standard library for the Dust Programming Language (DPL). It builds upon the core library dustlib to provide primitives for deterministic systems programming. Where dustlib defines general‑purpose abstractions, dustlib_k exposes memory management, concurrency, synchronisation and I/O operations that are specific to the classical K‑regime【709885362819930†L42-L64】. The APIs in this library wrap the low‑level effects defined in the DPL specification and enforce safety and determinism through clear interfaces.

Directory Structure

dustlib-k/
├── README.md          # this file
├── LICENSE            # Dust Open Source License
├── Dust.toml          # manifest describing the library and its sectors
├── spec/              # specification documents for dustlib_k
│   └── 01-overview.md # overview of the K‑regime library
└── sector/
    └── dustlib-k/
        ├── lib.ds         # top‑level forge aggregating submodules
        ├── memory.ds      # memory management primitives
        ├── threading.ds   # thread creation and joining
        ├── sync.ds        # mutexes and synchronisation
        ├── io.ds          # file and device I/O
        └── unsafe.ds      # unsafe operations and hardware access

Each .ds file defines a forge containing shapes and processes. These modules mirror the effects introduced in the v0.2 specification draft. Most process bodies are left as TODO stubs because the underlying runtime support and compiler integration are still in development. However, the signatures and documentation provide guidance on how the library will operate.

Using dustlib_k

Programs written in the K‑regime can import dustlib_k to access systems programming features. For example, to allocate memory and spawn a thread:

use dustlib_k::memory;
use dustlib_k::threading;

process main() -> Int = {
    let mem = memory.alloc(1024);
    let th = threading.spawn(|| {
        // do work
        return 42;
    }, 0);
    let result = threading.join(th);
    memory.free(mem);
    return result;
};

This example illustrates the intended API. In v0.2 the actual implementations may differ slightly, but the general pattern of explicit allocation, spawning and synchronisation will remain.

Specification

The spec/ directory contains a draft normative specification for dustlib_k. It describes the semantics of each module and how they interact with the K‑regime effects. These documents will evolve as implementation proceeds.

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