Introduction

My name is Iva Fezova, and the goal of this project is to focus on integrating jank specific modifications directly into the official CppInterOp upstream repository. This will not only simplify the development of jank-lang but also enhance CppInterOp for other projects that require similar advanced interoperability features. The jank project is a native Clojure dialect that compiles to C++ and leverages the power of LLVM.

Mentor: Vassil Vasilev

Overview

Maintaining local patches—often referred to as “downstream patches”—comes with a significant maintenance cost. Every time the upstream CppInterOp library or the underlying Clang/LLVM infrastructure is updated, these patches must be manually re-applied and tested. The current reliance on local patches meets specific immediate requirements, but to ensure long-term stability, we are moving toward this upstream-first approach.

Technical Implementation

The implementation process involves a deep dive into the existing modifications and the CppInterOp codebase:

  • Analysis of Modifications: I am currently analyzing the specific jank-lang patches to determine which functionalities are missing from the current CppInterOp implementation.
  • Refactoring and Generalization: To make these patches acceptable for upstream, they must be refactored from specialized “hacks” into general-purpose, robust components.
  • API Compatibility: The work involves heavy interaction with LLVM and Clang APIs to ensure that the new CppInterOp features are performant and stable across different compiler versions.
  • Incremental Integration: Following a review-oriented approach, changes are being prepared as incremental pull requests to allow for thorough peer review and testing.

Goals

The primary objectives of this project are:

  1. Reduce Maintenance Overhead: Eliminate the need for jank-lang to maintain separate CppInterOp patches.
  2. Standardize Interoperability: Provide a well-designed, repeatable process for establishing language interoperability through CppInterOp.
  3. Enhance the Ecosystem: Contribute improvements that benefit the broader CppInterOp user base and the C++ tooling community.