Compile-Time Eval

The eval keyword forces compile-time evaluation. An eval variable, function, or control flow construct must be fully resolvable at compile time if it depends on runtime values, the compiler emits an error. There is no “maybe compile-time, maybe runtime” mode. eval means compile-time, always.

Eval Variables

eval declares a binding whose value is computed at compile time. The result is baked into the binary as a constant:

eval PI = 3.14159265358979
eval MAX_BUFFER = 1024 * 1024
eval HEADER_SIZE = sizeof u32 + sizeof u16 + sizeof u8

eval bindings are implicitly const they cannot be reassigned. The initializer must be a compile-time evaluable expression.

Type annotation

Type annotations are optional. The compiler infers the type from the initializer:

eval N = 10           // i32
eval NAME = "Kairo"   // string
eval N: u64 = 10      // explicitly u64

Usage as generic arguments

eval variables can be used wherever a compile-time constant is required, including array sizes and generic arguments:

eval BUFFER_SIZE = 256

var buffer: [u8; BUFFER_SIZE] = [0; BUFFER_SIZE]

eval TABLE_WIDTH = 16
eval TABLE_HEIGHT = 16
var grid: [[f64; TABLE_WIDTH]; TABLE_HEIGHT]

Eval Functions

An eval function must be fully evaluable at compile time. The compiler executes it during compilation and replaces the call site with the result:

eval fn factorial(n: i32) -> i32 {
    if n <= 1 { return 1 }
    return n * factorial(n - 1)
}

eval FACT_10 = factorial(10)   // computed at compile time: 3628800

Calling other eval functions

Eval functions can call other eval functions:

eval fn square(x: i32) -> i32 = x * x

eval fn sum_of_squares(n: i32) -> i32 {
    var total = 0
    for i in 1..=n {
        total += square(i)
    }
    return total
}

eval RESULT = sum_of_squares(10)   // 385

Recursion

Eval functions can be recursive. The compiler evaluates the recursion at compile time:

eval fn fib(n: i32) -> i32 {
    if n <= 1 { return n }
    return fib(n - 1) + fib(n - 2)
}

eval FIB_20 = fib(20)   // 6765

Restrictions

Eval bodies must be deterministic and free of side effects. The following are not permitted inside eval functions or eval variable initializers:

What is allowed

Eval If

eval if selects a branch at compile time. The condition must be a compile-time constant. Only the selected branch is compiled the others are discarded entirely (no codegen, no type checking):

eval if platform == "linux" {
    fn init_platform() { /* linux-specific */ }
} else if platform == "windows" {
    fn init_platform() { /* windows-specific */ }
} else {
    fn init_platform() { /* fallback */ }
}

eval if can appear at the top level (selecting between declarations) or inside function bodies (selecting between code paths):

fn <T> process(x: T) -> T {
    eval if sizeof(T) <= 8 {
        return fast_path(x)
    } else {
        return slow_path(x)
    }
}

Type-based branching

eval if combined with typeof enables type-specialized code paths in generic functions:

fn <T> serialize(value: T) -> [byte] {
    eval if typeof T == i32 {
        return int_to_bytes(value)
    } else if typeof T == string {
        return value.to_bytes()
    } else {
        return generic_serialize(value)
    }
}

The unselected branches are not type-checked, so they can contain code that would be invalid for the current T. This is the mechanism for writing type-specialized generic code without separate overloads.

See Control Flow for eval if in the context of control flow.

Eval For

eval for unrolls a loop at compile time when all loop bounds and operations are compile-time evaluable:

eval fn build_lookup_table() -> [i32; 16] {
    var table: [i32; 16]
    eval for i in 0..16 {
        table[i] = i * i
    }
    return table
}

eval SQUARES = build_lookup_table()

If the loop body or bounds depend on runtime values, the compiler emits an error.

Eval and Types

eval works with any type that can be constructed and manipulated at compile time:

Primitives

All integer, float, bool, char, and string types are eval-compatible:

eval X = 42
eval PI = 3.14159
eval FLAG = true
eval INITIAL = 'K'
eval NAME = "Kairo"

Fixed-size arrays

eval PRIMES = [2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19]
eval IDENTITY: [f64; 4] = [1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0]

Structs (trivially constructible)

struct Point {
    var x: f64
    var y: f64
}

eval ORIGIN = Point { x: 0.0, y: 0.0 }
eval UNIT_X = Point { x: 1.0, y: 0.0 }

Enums (plain)

enum Mode { Debug, Release, Test }
eval BUILD_MODE = Mode::Release

Types that are NOT eval-compatible

Classes with constructors, types with destructors, heap-allocated types ([T], {K: V}, {T}), and any type involving pointers cannot be used in eval context.

Eval vs Const

const is an immutable binding. eval is a compile-time computed value. Use const for values that are fixed after initialization but may depend on runtime computation. Use eval for values that must be known at compile time.

const config = load_config()          // runtime: reads a file
eval MAX_CONNECTIONS = 1024           // compile time: baked into binary

Eval and Where Clauses

eval expressions are valid in where clauses. When a where clause contains only eval-compatible expressions, it is checked at compile time:

fn <T> stack_alloc() -> T
  where sizeof(T) <= 4096 {
    // guaranteed at compile time: T fits on the stack
}

See Where Clauses for the full constraint system.

Summary

// Eval variable
eval MAX_SIZE = 1024 * 1024
eval TABLE_SIZE = 256

// Eval function
eval fn power(base: i32, exp: i32) -> i32 {
    if exp == 0 { return 1 }
    return base * power(base, exp - 1)
}

eval TWO_TO_16 = power(2, 16)   // 65536

// Eval as array size
var buffer: [u8; MAX_SIZE]

// Eval if (platform selection)
eval if platform == "linux" {
    eval CACHE_LINE = 64
} else {
    eval CACHE_LINE = 128
}

// Eval if (type specialization)
fn <T> zero() -> T {
    eval if typeof T == i32 { return 0 }
    else if typeof T == f64 { return 0.0 }
    else if typeof T == string { return "" }
    else if typeof T == bool { return false }
}

// Eval for (compile-time loop)
eval fn sum_range(n: i32) -> i32 {
    var total = 0
    eval for i in 1..=n {
        total += i
    }
    return total
}

eval SUM_100 = sum_range(100)   // 5050