Pad/doc/architecture.md
Greg Pomerantz be48ad8157 perf: default-off in-app profiler + debug scroll jumps; verify scroll perf & clamping
internal/perf: single-goroutine profiler (no locks). When enabled by the
/storage/emulated/0/PadPerf/enable marker it records one CSV row per logic
frame (seq, ms, frame delta, page, scroll Dp, max-scroll Dp, total lines,
visible byte range), logs a rolling ~1/s summary, and on Stop reports
nearest-rank p50/p90/p99/max. Flushes per row-batch but never fsyncs per
flush (avoids periodic hitches in the logic path).

editor: PerfRecord package-level hook (nil when off) + ProbeRecord;
Logic.emitFrame() now centralizes every frame emission so the profiler sees
each logic frame exactly once, on the owner goroutine. State gains
VisibleStart/VisibleEnd so the probe can confirm shaping stays
viewport-bounded.

logic: optional debug cmd poller (off by default) watches <dir>/cmd as a
one-shot file (top/bottom/frac <0..1>/dp <int>) and the owner applies a
clamped [0,MaxScroll] jump + frame. Enables deterministic large-offset scroll
tests without pixel taps.

main: wires the profiler when the marker file exists; logs present-fps
every 2s; stops the profiler on Destroy.

docs: README package inventory (add internal/perf); architecture §11
profiler facility; spec §5 invariant 7 (scroll always clamped to
[0,maxScroll]) + §6 measured rows; development_plan v5 + Phase 6 results.

Verified: go build/vet + full -race green. On-device 10 MB file:
logic-frame cadence flat across offsets 0.02->1.0 (no large-offset
degradation), visible byte range <=4.3 KB at every offset, clamping exact
across 2->130,955-line files, PSS plateaus ~250 MB (bounded, no leak);
profiler overhead negligible.
2026-08-16 16:53:28 -04:00

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# Runtime Architecture
This document describes how Pad actually works: the concurrency model, goroutine
responsibilities, the frame handoff contract, ownership rules, and the internal
design of the editor and browser. It is written at the level of *invariants and
contracts*, not line-by-line code, so it stays true as implementation details
evolve. If a detail below conflicts with the code, the code wins — and this
document should be fixed.
## 1. Concurrency model: single owner, no locks on state
The **logic goroutine is the sole owner (reader and writer) of mutable
`State`**. There is no `sync.Mutex`/`sync.RWMutex` on application state. Every
other goroutine talks to the owner through channels.
```
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Main goroutine (Gio event loop) │
│ - w.Event() loop: Config / Frame / Destroy │
│ - On FrameEvent: lock(handoff) → read Frame snapshot → │
│ Renderer.Draw → collect gestures + key events → │
│ e.Frame → unlock(handoff) → send inputs/config/query/layout │
│ to logic channels (sends happen OUTSIDE the lock) │
└───────────────▲──────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────┘
│ handoff lock (frame storage) │ inputChan, configChan,
│ + w.Invalidate() │ layoutChan, searchQueryChan
┌───────────────┴───────────┐ ▼
│ frameReceiver goroutine │ ┌──────────────────────────────────────┐
│ tight loop: │ │ Logic goroutine (SOLE OWNER of State)│
│ f := <-frameChan │ │ - select over all input channels │
│ lock; *frame = f; │ │ - mutates State, builds []Element │
│ w.Invalidate(); unlock │ │ - sends Frame on frameChan │
└───────────────────────────┘ │ - dispatches tasks to worker pool │
└───────────────┬──────────────────────┘
│ task dispatch / results
┌───────────────▼──────────────────────┐
│ Worker pool (8 goroutines) │
│ - priority: high > medium > low │
│ - file I/O, directory index, line │
│ index build, autosave writes │
│ - results posted on ResultChan │
└──────────────────────────────────────┘
```
Key invariants:
1. **No locks on `State`.** The only mutex is the *handoff* mutex in
`cmd/pad/main.go`, which guards the one-frame storage slot between
frameReceiver and the main goroutine. It is a message-passing handoff, not
a state lock; it is never held while touching a channel.
2. **The main goroutine never reads logic `State` directly.** It reads only
the latest `Frame` snapshot (see §4) and writes only via channels.
3. **Non-owner goroutines never mutate `State`.** They send a request
(channel) or run a callback on the owner (`Inspect`, test-only).
4. **The autosave timer goroutine reads nothing.** `time.AfterFunc` only sends
a token on `autosaveChan`; the owner does all state reads and dispatches
the write.
5. **Gio-mutable widget state lives in the main-goroutine-owned `Renderer`**,
never in logic-owned `State` (see §5).
6. **Logic work is synchronous and fast.** Processing input, mutating state,
building the element tree, and sending a frame must stay well under one
display refresh (~16 ms). File I/O and index building always go to the
worker pool.
## 2. Goroutine responsibilities
### 2.1 Main goroutine (`cmd/pad/main.go`)
- Runs the Gio event loop.
- On `app.ConfigEvent`: sends `ConfigEvent{PixelWidth, PixelHeight}` to
`logic.ConfigChan()`.
- On `app.FrameEvent`:
1. Reads `newScale = gtx.Metric.PxPerDp`; if it differs from
`frame.Scale`, sends `ScaleEvent` (after the draw).
2. Under the handoff lock: reads the `Frame` snapshot, calls
`renderer.Draw(gtx, frame.Elems, scale)`, then `renderer.CheckGestures`
and the focused element's key/edit events (via `key.Filter` +
`key.FocusFilter`), then `e.Frame(&ops)`.
3. Outside the lock: sends `[]ui.InputEvent` (if any) to `InputChan`,
the search text (if it differs from `frame.Query`) to `SearchQueryChan`,
and `renderer.GlyphLayout()` to `LayoutChan`.
- Owns `frameReceiver` (started in `run`).
### 2.2 Frame receiver
Tight loop: read `logic.FrameChan()`, store into the shared `Frame` under the
handoff lock, call `w.Invalidate()`. The logic goroutine's send on `frameChan`
(bufsize 1) never blocks for more than one frame cycle.
### 2.3 Logic goroutine (`internal/editor/logic.go`)
Sole owner of `*State`. `Run()` selects on:
| Channel | From | Payload | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| `configChan` | main | `ConfigUpdate` (pixels or scale) | store scale/pixels; recompute layout |
| `inputChan` | main | `[]ui.InputEvent` | run each `Handler(evt.Data)` on the owner |
| `searchQueryChan` | main | `string` | store `Browser.Query`, re-filter, new frame |
| `openFileChan` | main (tap) | `string` path | open file in editor (chunked buffer + async index) |
| `layoutChan` | main | `ui.GlyphLayout` | store on editor state; derive `LastLineY` for scroll clamping |
| `retryChan` | logic | `string` filename | autosave retry |
| `autosaveChan` | timer | `struct{}` token | reconstruct content, dispatch `WriteFile` task |
| `workerPool.ResultChan()` | pool | task `Result` | apply async results (stat, read, index, write ack) |
| `inspectChan` | tests | `inspectReq` | run `fn(*State)` **on the owner** and reply (test-only) |
| `resultChan` | legacy | `ResultEvent` | drained (legacy channel; the live result path is the pool's) |
| `done` | main | — | drain pool, stop timer, exit |
After every state change the logic goroutine rebuilds the element tree and
sends a `Frame` on `frameChan`.
### 2.4 Worker pool (`internal/io/pool`)
Fixed 8 workers, two priority lanes (high > low; dispatch routes
`HighPriority` tasks to the high lane, everything else to low). Tasks are small
structs with `Execute() Result`; the `FileSystem` interface (`pool.FileSystem`)
has a real implementation (`io/pool/real`, rooted at `/`) and a mock
(`io/pool/mock`) for tests.
Task types in active use: `StatFile`, `ReadFile`, `BuildLineIndex`,
`WriteFile` (editor); `BuildIndex`, `LoadPages` (browser). Dormant/dead task
types — `ReadChunk` (no-op for fully-loaded in-range files), `ReadDir`,
`StatDir`, `ReadCache`, `WriteCache`, `Invalidate`, `SaveState`, `SaveUndo`
are candidates for removal in a cleanup round.
## 3. Channel topology summary
- **main → logic:** `InputChan`, `ConfigChan`, `LayoutChan`, `SearchQueryChan`,
`OpenFileChan`.
- **timer → logic:** `autosaveChan` (token only).
- **logic → logic:** `retryChan` (self-piped).
- **logic → frameReceiver:** `FrameChan` (the only outbound state carrier).
- **pool → logic:** `WorkerPool.ResultChan()`.
- **tests → logic:** `Inspect` (owner-executed callback; the production
equivalent is "send a request channel message").
## 4. The Frame handoff contract
`editor.Frame` is the **only** data that crosses from the logic side to the
main side:
```go
type Frame struct {
Elems []ui.Element // element tree for the next draw
Scale float32 // current px-per-Dp
FocusedElementID string // which registered element gets key/edit events
Query string // search text logic is filtering with
}
```
- `Elems` is the computed tree; the renderer draws it (it is a snapshot, safe
to read from main).
- `Scale` lets main detect a density change and pass scale to `Renderer.Draw`.
- `FocusedElementID` drives which registered `key.Filter`/`key.FocusFilter`
main uses to harvest keyboard/IME events.
- `Query` lets main compare against the (main-owned) search `widget.Editor`
text and forward changes — the browser search box is a Gio widget, so its
text lives on the main side, not in `State`.
## 5. Ownership rules
| Owned by | What |
|---|---|
| **Logic goroutine** | `State` (browser + editor + chunked buffers + line indexes), worker pool, autosave timer handle |
| **Main goroutine** | `*app.Window`, `op.Ops`, text shaper, `ui.Renderer` (gesture state, IME dedup state, glyph layout cache), the search-bar `widget.Editor` |
Rules:
1. **Gio mutates widgets during draw, so anything Gio mutates must be
main-owned.** The search bar is a `widget.Editor` registered with the
renderer by ID (`"search_bar"`); its text reaches logic only through
`SearchQueryChan`.
2. **The editor content is NOT a `widget.Editor`.** It is the custom
`ui.TextField` element; all editor state (buffer, cursor, scroll) is
logic-owned. This is why the editor does not hit `widget.Editor`'s
O(n²)-ish cost on large files.
3. **Per-frame element values are rebuilt by logic** (`[]ui.Element` in the
`Frame`); any cross-frame persistent draw-side state (IME dedup, gesture
tracking) belongs in the persistent, main-owned `Renderer`.
## 6. Editor internals (`internal/editor`)
### 6.1 Chunked buffer
`ChunkedBuffer` (`chunked_buffer.go`) is the edit buffer for open files.
- **Full load on open** for in-range files: the whole file is read into an
ordered slice of chunks (64 KB) plus **prefix-sum byte offsets** over actual
chunk lengths. There is no lazy loading and no eviction (both existed as
plans and were removed).
- **Byte-indexed** throughout: `CursorPosition`, chunk offsets, and glyph
`ByteOffsets` are byte offsets.
- Edits splice the affected chunk(s) only; chunks are not rebalanced.
- `LineIndex` (per-line byte offsets, `int32`) is built asynchronously by
`BuildLineIndexTask` and stored on `cb.LineIndex` — the single source of
truth (the old parallel `EditorState.LineIndex` field was removed).
- **Size guard:** files larger than `MaxEditableFileSize` (**50 MB**,
measured on-device) open into a `TooLarge` state: the editor shows a notice
and edit handlers are no-ops; the browser still lists the file.
### 6.2 Virtualized viewport
Only the visible byte range is shaped and drawn each frame:
- `VisibleByteRange` maps scroll offset + viewport height → `[startLine,
endLine]` via the `LineIndex`, then to a byte range. The range is always
bounded by real lines of the document.
- **Never shape the whole file.** Lesson learned (Phase 3): the shaper's
internal `document` retains the backing array of its largest layout forever
(`reset()` keeps the cap), so one whole-file layout permanently inflated
memory to ~1 GB for a 10 MB file. Shaping ~50 lines keeps it small and flat.
- The renderer reports `GlyphLayout` back via `LayoutChan`; logic derives
`LastLineY` for scroll clamping and the max scroll offset.
### 6.3 IME (Android soft keyboard)
- The editor exposes to the IME a **windowed snippet**: `IMEWindowText` is the
visible viewport text, `IMEWindowStartByte` its absolute start. While the
`TextField` is focused, `drawElement` emits `key.SnippetCmd` (the window)
and `key.SelectionCmd` (caret as a rune index into the window).
- **Dedup in the Renderer** (main-owned state): the snippet/selection are
re-emitted only when they actually change, and a fresh push is forced when
the field (re)gains focus. This mirrors `widget.Editor`'s behavior and
prevents per-frame re-push from resetting IME composition on rapid commits.
- Incoming `key.EditEvent{Range, Text}` has **window-relative rune
indices**; `HandleReplaceRange` converts them to absolute byte offsets
(`RuneIndexToByte`) and splices the chunked buffer. Insertion,
`deleteSurroundingText` (backspace/autocorrect replacement), and composition
all arrive through this one path.
### 6.4 Autosave
- Any edit calls `markDirty()`: a 1 s debounce timer; each keystroke restarts
it. On expiry the timer goroutine sends a token on `autosaveChan`; the owner
reconstructs the full content from the chunked buffer and dispatches a
`WriteFile` task.
- Write failures are tracked per file (`writeFailed`, `retryAttempts`) and
retried via `retryChan`. There is no save button; autosave is the only
persistence.
### 6.5 Opening a file
- A browser tap sends the path on `OpenFileChan`. The logic goroutine creates
the `ChunkedBuffer`, dispatches `StatFile` (size guard) and the read +
`BuildLineIndex` tasks, switches `page` to the editor, and sets
`justOpenedAt`.
- **Opening-tap swallow:** the tap that opens the file is also delivered as an
editor tap in the same frame. A short time window (`justOpenedAt`) swallows
it so the viewport does not jump to the tapped (often EOF) position.
## 7. Browser internals (`internal/browser`)
- `BrowserState` is **embedded by value** in `State` (single owner; no
pointer indirection).
- `BrowserManager` drives async directory loading through the worker pool:
`ReadDir` + `BuildIndex` on navigation, `LoadPages` for pagination.
- Features: 4 sort modes (name/date × asc/desc; default newest-first),
incremental case-insensitive search over names, directory navigation with
back, single-tap file open.
- The browser renders via `ListView`/`ListItem` elements; rows carry
`Interaction` handlers that send channel requests (tap) or mutate state
directly when the handler runs on the owner (scroll).
## 8. Render pipeline (`internal/ui`)
- **Logic** builds a `[]ui.Element` tree. Elements are value types; interactive
ones carry `Interaction{Gesture, Handler}` entries. `Handler` is a static
function that mutates `TheState` — handlers run on the logic goroutine only.
- **Main** draws via `Renderer.Draw(gtx, elems, scale)`:
1. `drawElement` recursively walks the tree, applying transforms/clips.
2. Interactive elements register hit regions in the *current clip context*
(`gesture.Click.Add` / `pointer.InputOp`), so hit-testing always matches
the drawn geometry.
3. Text elements shape through the shared shaper — **only the visible
window**, never the whole buffer.
4. `e.Frame(&ops)` flushes ops.
- After draw, `CheckGestures` turns raw pointer/gesture state into
`[]ui.InputEvent` (each carrying its own handler) for the logic channel.
- **Units:** `ui.Dp`/`ui.Px` convert via the current `PxPerDp` scale
(`ToDp`/`ToPx`). The window is 390×844 dp; the real pixel size arrives via
`ConfigEvent`.
- **Live element catalog:** `Container`, `Label`, `Icon`, `TextField` (editor
window), `ListView`/`Line`/`ListItem` (browser rows), `GioEditor` (search
bar), `Cursor`. Types `Button`, `Toast`, `Spacer`, `AlphaIndex`,
`Selection`, `MergeHunk` exist in `element.go` but are not used by any page
— future work, not current behavior.
- **Theme:** `ui.Theme{FontSize: 14}` + palette in `element.go`.
## 9. Testing hooks
- `Logic.Inspect(fn)` (test-only): runs `fn(*State)` **on the owner** and
returns its result — the sanctioned way for tests to read state without
breaking single ownership. It must never be called from production code.
- The e2e harness (`internal/test/e2e`) drives the **real** `Logic` + worker
pool + mock filesystem through the real channels, and asserts via
`Inspect`. It is logic-only: it does not exercise `Renderer.Draw`, so
draw-path behavior (IME dedup, gesture routing) is validated on-device with
adb (see `development_plan.md` §Phase 2/3 observation loop).
- CI gate: `go build ./... && go vet ./... && go test -race ./...`.
## 10. Known loose ends (code, not spec)
- Globals `TheState` / `TheLogic` / `ui.OpenFile` still exist (handlers are
static funcs); replacing them with explicit state is a planned cleanup
(`development_plan.md` Phase 4).
- Dead task types (`ReadChunk`, `SaveState`, `SaveUndo`, …) and unused element
types are candidates for removal in the same round.
## 11. Performance profiler (default-off, `internal/perf`)
Pad ships a built-in profiler that is **off by default** and costs nothing when
off. It is the in-app frame-timing tool (see `development_plan.md` §9: `gfxinfo`
cannot measure this app because it renders into a `SurfaceView`).
- **Enable** by creating the marker file
`/storage/emulated/0/PadPerf/enable` before launch. `main.go` then creates a
`perf.Profiler` that writes `logic_frames.csv` (one row per logic frame: seq,
ms-since-start, frame delta, page, scroll Dp, max-scroll Dp, total lines,
visible byte range) and logs a rolling ~1 s `PERF` summary. `DestroyEvent`
stops it (final flush + `PERF stopped` summary with p50/p90/p99/max).
- **Hook**: `internal/editor.PerfRecord` is a package-level func, set by
`main.go` only when enabled. `Logic.emitFrame` calls it on the owner
goroutine with a `ProbeRecord` **before** sending the frame. When disabled it
is `nil` and the per-frame cost is a single nil check.
- **Debug scroll jumps** (for testing, off by default): with the profiler on,
`main.go` also polls `/storage/emulated/0/PadPerf/cmd` (a one-shot file
consumed on read). `top`, `bottom`, `frac <0..1>`, and `dp <int>` jump the
editor's `ScrollOffset` (clamped to `[0, MaxScroll]`) and emit a frame. This
lets a test drive large-offset scrolls deterministically without pixel taps.
- The profiler is owned by the goroutine that creates it and is single-goroutine
(no locks). It does **not** `Sync()` the CSV per flush (only per row batch) to
avoid periodic fsync hitches in the logic path.
- **Measured** (emulator, 10 MB file, 2026-08): logic-frame cadence is flat
across scroll offsets 0.02→1.0 (no large-offset degradation); the visible byte
range stays ≤ ~4.3 KB (0.04% of the file); PSS plateaus ~250 MB (bounded
high-water mark, no leak). See `development_plan.md` Phase 6.