Part VIII - LFE for Contributors
This final major section of the LFE MACHINE MANUAL serves as a definitive technical reference for the LFE programming language implementation. It synthesizes findings from an exhaustive analysis of the entire LFE codebase, providing the depth and rigor required for:
- The Motivated Newcomer to understand LFE's complete architecture and design philosophy
- Academics to conduct formal research and write papers on LFE's implementation
- Contributors to identify precisely where and how to add new features
- Maintainers to diagnose bugs by understanding system-wide interactions
- Integrators to embed or extend LFE within larger systems
- Language implementers to study a production-quality Lisp-on-VM implementation
This analysis assumes graduate-level computer science knowledge, including familiarity with:
- Compiler construction (lexing, parsing, AST transformation, code generation)
- Programming language theory (lambda calculus, type systems, evaluation strategies)
- Functional programming concepts (closures, higher-order functions, immutability)
- Virtual machine architectures (BEAM/Erlang VM in particular)
- Systems programming and concurrent/distributed computing
Document Navigation Guide
This document can be creativly re-organized for multiple reading paths, per focused need:
For newcomers (understanding the system), focus on these sections:
- LFE Architecture
- Module Reference
- Erlang Integration
For contributors (adding features), focus on these sections:
- Module Reference
- Component Relationship Graphs
- Design Patterns & Idioms
For maintainers (debugging), focus on these sections:
- Language Subsystems
- Data Structure Catalog
- Performance Considerations
For academics (research), focus on these sections:
- LFE Architecture
- Language Subsystems
- Language Features Matrix
For integrators (embedding/extending), focus on these sections:
- Erlang Integration
- Tooling
- Future Directions