From 578feb6b73e1dee18ce5f9e3bc2ad14ddc74a948 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: alex-eg <alexey.e.egorov@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 2026 14:13:19 +0300
Subject: [PATCH] scope and promote the way C does

A `while' or `switch' body is a block with no `do' around it, and its
declarations landed in the enclosing frame. Two operands of one narrow
type skipped the conversions, so `(+ c c)' answered `char'.
---
 semen.scm                        | 29 +++++++++++++++++++++++------
 tests/sex-programs/wildcards.sex | 28 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++-
 2 files changed, 50 insertions(+), 7 deletions(-)

diff --git a/semen.scm b/semen.scm
index 23081ed..9ddbaf7 100644
--- a/semen.scm
+++ b/semen.scm
@@ -295,8 +295,13 @@
 ;;; The scope chain
 ;;;
 ;;; `(do (var c int 9) ...)' declares a `c' that ends with the block, so
-;;; a closure-typed `c' outside it is still a closure after it. `do' and
-;;; `for' each open a frame; innermost first.
+;;; a closure-typed `c' outside it is still a closure after it. Every
+;;; form whose body C brackets opens a frame; innermost first.
+;;;
+;;; One frame per form is enough, rather than one per arm: a `case' label
+;;; opens no scope in C either, and a declaration is not a statement, so
+;;; the only way to write one in an `if' arm is the `do' that already
+;;; brings its own.
 
 (define (declare-name! env name type)
   (hash-table-set! (car (hash-table-ref env :scopes)) name type))
@@ -351,7 +356,8 @@
           (cons walk-embed-result (walk-body expansion env)))))
    (else
     (case (car form)
-      ((do for) (with-scope env (lambda () (walk-parts form env))))
+      ((do for while if switch)
+       (with-scope env (lambda () (walk-parts form env))))
 
       ((lambda)
        (let ((name (aux-name! env make-lambda-name)))
@@ -595,15 +601,26 @@
   (cond
    ((not left) right)
    ((not right) left)
-   ((equal? left right) left)
    (else
     (let ((l (underlying (parse-type left)))
           (r (underlying (parse-type right))))
       (cond
        ((or (ptr-type? l) (array-type? l)) left)
        ((or (ptr-type? r) (array-type? r)) right)
-       ((< (conversion-rank l) (conversion-rank r)) right)
-       (else left))))))
+       ((< (conversion-rank l) (conversion-rank r)) (promoted right r))
+       (else (promoted left l)))))))
+
+;;; Anything narrower than `int' is promoted to one before the
+;;; arithmetic happens, so two `char's join as `int' and not as `char'.
+;;; Operands of the same type reach here too, which is the whole point:
+;;; `(+ c c)' is where the promotion is invisible and the truncation is
+;;; not. `unsigned' alone is `unsigned int' and stays as written.
+(define (promoted written type)
+  (if (and (prim-type? type)
+           (any (lambda (word) (memq word '(char short bool _Bool)))
+                (prim-name type)))
+      'int
+      written))
 
 ;;; `char' and `short' promote to `int', so the ranks start there
 (define (conversion-rank type)
diff --git a/tests/sex-programs/wildcards.sex b/tests/sex-programs/wildcards.sex
index 2fe4c8b..20b7752 100644
--- a/tests/sex-programs/wildcards.sex
+++ b/tests/sex-programs/wildcards.sex
@@ -6,8 +6,10 @@
         "arrays: 30"
         "loop: 0 1 2"
         "shadowed: 9 then 42"
+        "still an int: 200"
         "partial: 1 2.5"
         "joined: 43.5 84 49 1"
+        "promoted: 200 60000 3705032704"
         "from elements: 4 9 0")
 (return 0)
 
@@ -55,11 +57,24 @@
        (printf " %d" i))
   (printf "\n")
 
-  ;; a block's declarations end with it
+  ;; a block's declarations end with it, and so do the declarations of
+  ;; everything else C brackets -- a `while' body is a block with no
+  ;; `do' written around it
   (do (var n _ 9)
       (printf "shadowed: %d then " n))
   (printf "%d\n" n)
 
+  (var wide int 200)
+  (while false (var wide char 1) (printf "%d" wide))
+  (if false (do (var wide char 1) (printf "%d" wide)))
+  ;; a statement before the declaration: a label may not be followed by
+  ;; one until C23
+  (switch a (case 1 (printf "") (var wide char 1) (printf "%d" wide) (break)))
+  ;; a copy, not a sum: an arithmetic result would be promoted to `int'
+  ;; whatever leaked, and say nothing
+  (var copy _ wide)
+  (printf "still an int: %d\n" copy)
+
   ;; a wildcard inside a written type: only it is solved
   (var pp2 (* _) (& p))
   (printf "partial: %d %g\n" (-> pp2 x) (-> pp2 y))
@@ -74,6 +89,17 @@
   (var single _ (+ g g))
   (printf "joined: %g %d %ld %g\n" mixed same wider single)
 
+  ;; ...including the promotions, which two operands of one narrow type
+  ;; are exactly where they show: `char' + `char' is an `int'
+  (var c1 char 100)
+  (var c2 char 100)
+  (var h1 short 30000)
+  (var narrow _ (+ c1 c2))
+  (var narrower _ (+ h1 h1))
+  (var kept (unsigned int) 4000000000)
+  (var unpromoted _ (+ kept kept))
+  (printf "promoted: %d %d %u\n" narrow narrower unpromoted)
+
   ;; a brace initializer has no type of its own, but its elements solve
   ;; the hole in the array type around it -- and the length stays as
   ;; written, whether or not every slot is initialized