stdlib has never been AOT-compiled as a coherent unit (angle-applied types + flat-namespace collisions; string.affine is the first symptom) #128

Summary

The AffineScript stdlib has never been compiled through the static
resolve → typecheck → codegen pipeline as a coherent unit. It is
interpreter-era code (dynamically typed, flat global namespace) that the
AOT path has never exercised end-to-end. stdlib/string.affine is the
first file that surfaced this (originally reported here), but the two
root causes are stdlib-wide, not string-specific.

This issue is rescoped from "stdlib/string.affine does not compile" to
the actual underlying defect.

Reproduce (original symptom)

affinescript compile stdlib/string.affine -o /tmp/x.deno.js --deno-esm
# => affinescript: Resolution error  (fails at resolve, before typecheck/codegen)

Root causes (both stdlib-wide)

1. Angle-bracket applied types are the stdlib's surface, not a string.affine quirk

The static front-end accepts <...> for type parameters but
rejects it for applied types in value/return position
(fn char_at(...) -> Option<Char>). That asymmetry is the actual
defect. It is pervasive, not local:

Rewriting only string.affine to bracket form yields a file that still
cannot use option.affine / prelude.affine because those don't
resolve either — a single-file smoke check would pass while the stdlib
remains incoherent.

2. No module/import story; flat-namespace collisions

No stdlib file uses use / import / open. prelude.affine and
option.affine both define is_some / is_none / unwrap /
unwrap_or / map / filter / contains, with conflicting
signatures (prelude.map(arr, f) vs option.map(f, opt)). Commit
b895374 ("seed Some/None/Ok/Err builtins so it resolves standalone")
is a band-aid that entrenches the interpreter-era global namespace
rather than resolving it; the original "add prelude/option imports or
qualify Option::Some" suggestion assumes import machinery the stdlib
has never been run through under AOT.

Decision required (resolve at source)

Pick the applied-type surface once and apply it uniformly. Per-file
rewrites are the worst of both options.

• (Preferred) Accept Option<Char> in applied position in the
  resolver. Cheap, consistent with the <...> parameter syntax
  already accepted, makes the entire existing stdlib compile
  unchanged.
• Bracket-only. Migrate all of stdlib/*.affine + docs + examples
  in one sweep and remove the angle alias so it cannot rot back.

Scope of work

1. Decide + implement the applied-type surface uniformly (above).
2. Resolve the duplicate-definition / namespace question: does the
   stdlib have modules, or stay flat-and-deduplicated? Remove the
   conflicting prelude vs option overlaps either way.
3. Add a stdlib-wide AOT compile-smoke gate: every
   stdlib/*.affine through resolve → typecheck → codegen, plus at
   least one test that uses several stdlib modules together, so the
   AOT path can't silently rot again. (Not a single-file check.)

Impact / scope

Non-blocking and separate from #122. The Deno-ESM consumer migration
(ubicity#30 → ubicity#31/#33) deliberately does not depend on the stdlib
(self-contained extern fn primitives; ubicity green 44/44). This is
the separately-tracked structural loose end noted during the #122 work,
now scoped to its true root cause.

Refs #122, #123, #125, #127. Supersedes the original
string.affine-only framing of this issue.

Tracking (sub-issues)

This issue is now the tracking epic. Work items, with dependencies:

• resolver: accept angle-bracket applied types (Option<Char>) in value/return position #131 — resolver: accept angle-bracket applied types in value/return position (core fix; unblocks stdlib: make every stdlib/*.affine compile through resolve→typecheck→codegen #135, cleanup: remove b895374 seeded Some/None/Ok/Err builtins band-aid #138)
• stdlib: decide & document the namespace/module model (modules vs flat-deduplicated) #132 — decide & document stdlib namespace/module model (decision; blocks stdlib: remove prelude/option/result duplicate & conflicting definitions #133, test: multi-module integration test using several stdlib modules together #137)
• stdlib: remove prelude/option/result duplicate & conflicting definitions #133 — remove prelude/option/result duplicate & conflicting defs (needs stdlib: decide & document the namespace/module model (modules vs flat-deduplicated) #132; blocks stdlib: make every stdlib/*.affine compile through resolve→typecheck→codegen #135)
• prelude: unwrap/unwrap_result fall through (return nothing) on None/Err #134 — fix prelude unwrap/unwrap_result fall-through (independent)
• stdlib: make every stdlib/*.affine compile through resolve→typecheck→codegen #135 — every stdlib/*.affine compiles via resolve→typecheck→codegen (needs resolver: accept angle-bracket applied types (Option<Char>) in value/return position #131, stdlib: remove prelude/option/result duplicate & conflicting definitions #133; blocks ci: add stdlib-wide AOT compile-smoke gate #136)
• ci: add stdlib-wide AOT compile-smoke gate #136 — stdlib-wide AOT compile-smoke gate in CI (needs stdlib: make every stdlib/*.affine compile through resolve→typecheck→codegen #135)
• test: multi-module integration test using several stdlib modules together #137 — multi-module integration test (needs stdlib: decide & document the namespace/module model (modules vs flat-deduplicated) #132, stdlib: remove prelude/option/result duplicate & conflicting definitions #133, ci: add stdlib-wide AOT compile-smoke gate #136)
• cleanup: remove b895374 seeded Some/None/Ok/Err builtins band-aid #138 — remove b895374 seeded-builtins band-aid (needs resolver: accept angle-bracket applied types (Option<Char>) in value/return position #131, stdlib: decide & document the namespace/module model (modules vs flat-deduplicated) #132, stdlib: remove prelude/option/result duplicate & conflicting definitions #133)

Suggested order: #131 → #132 → #133 → #135 → #136 → #137 → #138, with #134 doable anytime in parallel.

Downstream requirements (consumer-driven, from the ECHIDNA migration)

Folded in from the ReScript→AffineScript migration backlog. These are
requirements this epic must satisfy, not separate work streams — the
Client.res port (echidna [migration-roadmap.rescript-to-affinescript])
is blocked until the stdlib exposes these primitives. They extend the
stdlib surface the AOT pipeline (#135) must compile, beyond the existing
angle-bracket/namespace work:

Implication for scope: #135's "every stdlib/*.affine compiles" must
include the new http.affine and json.affine plus a real
collections.affine, and #137's multi-module integration test should
exercise the Client.res-shaped path (Http + Async + Json + Dict together)
as the migration's validation target. The four echidna issues stay open as
the consumer-side trackers and close when the migration lands, not when this
epic does.

Refs hyperpolymath/echidna#61, hyperpolymath/echidna#62, hyperpolymath/echidna#63, hyperpolymath/echidna#64.