Torja (Symbol Resolver)

Torja is the core Symbol Resolver of LightVM. It acts as a bridge between high-level bytecode—which uses human-readable names for variables and functions—and the high-performance execution engine that relies on memory-efficient numerical indices.

How Torja Works

Before your bytecode reaches the execution phase, Torja performs a crucial pass to resolve all symbolic references into fixed-position indices.

• Symbol Mapping & Imports: Torja pre-loads the symbol table with all provided imports. As it traverses the bytecode, it maps every unique variable name found in symbolic instructions to a stable integer index.
• Dynamic Resolution: It utilizes a get_or_insert_idx logic; if a variable name is encountered for the first time, Torja dynamically assigns a new index using an incrementing counter (next_idx), ensuring a unique ID for every symbol throughout the program lifecycle.
• Instruction Specialization: It transforms generic, name-based instructions into their specialized index-based counterparts. This includes converting get to get_idx, set to set_idx, inc to inc_idx, and dec to dec_idx. This minimizes runtime lookups and significantly reduces CPU overhead during execution.
• Functional Scope Tracking: Torja identifies function parameter names within Func instructions. It registers these names into the symbol table, ensuring all local-scoped identifiers are correctly tracked and prepared for the VM's stack-based architecture.