Robert Allan JamesandClaude Sonnet 5
f43f3f4482
Punch list §25 item 0.4 complete. Adds aarch64_current_el() in arch.c: reads CurrentEL[3:2] on first call, caches the result (CurrentEL cannot change post-ExitBootServices, so every consumer gets the same answer without repeating the MRS). Called from arch_interrupts_init() in interrupts.c -- the earliest point with both a working console (up since M1) and a genuine first consumer (vector installation is the first EL-dependent operation) -- and the detected level is printed to the boot log there. Declared via extern-in-place in interrupts.c rather than added to the shared arch.h: "exception level" has no amd64/riscv64 equivalent, matching the convention already used for riscv64_timer_rearm() in item 0.3. Verified on real QEMU output: "AArch64: running at EL1", correctly positioned immediately before "IDT installed." in the serial log. Boots clean, dict_hash 0x3d4e1daf289da94f unchanged from the item 0.1-0.3 baseline. Scope: this item establishes the detection and exposes it; it does not yet change VBAR/ELR/SPSR or timer-register selection to use it. arch_interrupts_init() still writes VBAR_EL1 unconditionally, and now says so explicitly in its own doc comment -- if aarch64_current_el() ever reports 2 on real hardware, exceptions taken at EL2 vector through VBAR_EL2, which nothing programs yet. That gap is items 0.5 (vectors/saved-state) and 0.7 (CNTP vs CNTHP) to close, per FABRIC.md's GAP-B3 finding. The boot-log EL2 case prints a note pointing at both. Only aarch64-scoped files touched (arch.c, interrupts.c) -- no shared loader or header changed, so amd64 and riscv64 are provably unaffected; not rebuilt for this item. Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
capsules/
FORTH personality files loaded by the VM at boot. A capsule is an immutable, content-addressed payload; its XXHash64 hash is its identity. Any mutation changes the hash and the birth protocol rejects the image.
Key files
| File | Type | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
init.4th |
(m) MAMA_INIT |
Default Mama VM personality — loaded at LBN 2048 |
ACL.4th |
user | Word-level ACL system; self-activating at boot |
zuse.4th |
user | Bootstrap superuser; loaded by ACL.4th |
doe.4th |
user | DoE workload words (EXEC-DOE) — opt-in |
init-0.4th … init-9.4th |
(p) |
Numbered personality variants |
init-l8-*.4th |
(p) |
L8 Jacquard mode variants (stable/volatile/diverse/temporal/transition/omni) |
hermes/init.4th |
(p) |
Hermes baby VM personality |
artemis/init.4th |
(p) |
Artemis baby VM personality |
Block namespace
Block ranges are shared across all loaded capsules — collisions cause silent word-definition overwrites.
| Range | Owner |
|---|---|
| 2048–2099 | init.4th |
| 2100–2199 | doe.4th |
| 3000–3999 | workload capsules |
| 4000+ | user-defined (ACL.4th, zuse.4th, …) |
Each block is limited to 1024 bytes. Verify with wc -c before committing.
See also
experiments/bare_metal/README.md— DoE protocols and block namespace rulesdocs/03-architecture/word-acl/DESIGN.md— ACL system designtools/mkcapsule.c— assembles capsules intocapsule_generated.c- Project root