Crate Map

Workspace crate dependencies and responsibilities.

The Achronyme workspace contains 7 crates. All are at version 0.7.0, edition 2021.

Crate Overview

Crate	Path	Purpose
`memory`	`memory/`	Value representation, `FieldElement` (BN254 Montgomery), heap arenas, GC
`achronyme-parser`	`achronyme-parser/`	Recursive descent parser, owned AST types
`constraints`	`constraints/`	R1CS constraint system, Plonkish system, Poseidon hash, binary export
`ir`	`ir/`	SSA intermediate representation, AST→IR lowering, optimization passes
`vm`	`vm/`	Register-based virtual machine, bytecode interpreter, native functions
`compiler`	`compiler/`	R1CS and Plonkish backends, witness generation
`cli`	`cli/`	Command-line interface, proof orchestration (arkworks Groth16, halo2 PlonK)

Dependency Graph

memory          achronyme-parser
  │                    │
  ├──────┐             │
  ▼      ▼             │
constraints   ┌────────┘
  │      │    │
  │      ▼    ▼
  │       ir ◄──── memory
  │       │
  ▼       │
  vm      │
  │       │
  └──┬────┘
     ▼
  compiler ◄── memory, achronyme-parser
     │
     ▼
    cli ◄── memory, vm, constraints, ir

Foundation (no workspace dependencies)

memory — The base layer. Defines FieldElement (BN254 scalar field in Montgomery form, [u64; 4] limbs), tagged Value (4-bit tag + 60-bit payload), typed heap arenas, and mark-and-sweep GC.

achronyme-parser — Standalone parser. Recursive descent with Pratt expression parsing. Exports parse_program(source) -> Result<Program, String> and owned AST types (Program, Stmt, Expr, Block).

Middle Layer

constraints → memory

Core constraint system abstractions. Variable(usize) for wire references, LinearCombination for sparse symbolic expressions, ConstraintSystem for A×B=C enforcement. Also contains the PlonkishSystem (gates, lookups, copy constraints), Poseidon hash parameters (circomlibjs-compatible), and binary export (write_r1cs, write_wtns in iden3 format).

ir → memory, constraints, achronyme-parser

SSA intermediate representation for circuit compilation. IrLowering converts the AST into a flat IrProgram (19 instruction variants). Includes 4 optimization passes (const_fold, dce, bool_prop, taint) and an evaluator for concrete IR execution.

vm → memory, constraints

Register-based bytecode VM. 40+ opcodes, bytecode compiler (FunctionCompiler), 43 native functions, prove {} block support. Uses constraints for Poseidon hash computation in VM mode.

Top Layer

compiler → memory, vm, constraints, achronyme-parser, ir

Backend compilation from IR to constraint systems. R1CSCompiler maps SSA variables to linear combinations and emits R1CS constraints. PlonkishCompiler uses lazy PlonkVal evaluation with cell-based rows. Both backends include compile_ir_with_witness() for combined compilation + witness generation.

cli → memory, vm, compiler, constraints, ir

User-facing CLI. Dispatches ach run (VM path) and ach circuit (constraint path). Handles proof orchestration with external cryptographic libraries:

arkworks: ark-groth16, ark-bn254, ark-relations for Groth16 proving
halo2: halo2_proofs for PlonK proving

Key Entry Points

Task	Crate	Function
Parse source	`achronyme-parser`	`parse_program(source)`
Lower to IR	`ir`	`IrLowering::lower_circuit(source, pub, wit)`
Optimize IR	`ir`	`passes::optimize(&mut program)`
Compile to R1CS	`compiler`	`R1CSCompiler::compile_ir(program)`
Compile to Plonkish	`compiler`	`PlonkishCompiler::compile_ir(program)`
Generate witness	`compiler`	`R1CSCompiler::compile_ir_with_witness(program, inputs)`
Export .r1cs	`constraints`	`write_r1cs(cs)`
Export .wtns	`constraints`	`write_wtns(witness)`
Run VM	`vm`	`VM::interpret(function)`
Run CLI	`cli`	`main()` → command dispatch