3.2 KiB
G-101 kit container strategy for zig-built Tcl 8.6 runtimes (no zipfs)
Status: proposed Scope: investigation + decision record under src/buildsuites/suite_tcl86/ (or successor mechanism), TEMP_REFERENCE/metakit + TEMP_REFERENCE/KitCreator (read-only guidance), src/runtime/mapvfs.config ('kit' type consumers), src/make.tcl kit-wrap path (as consumer) Goal: a decided, demonstrated strategy for wrapping zig-built 8.6 runtimes into self-contained punk86-class kit executables in the absence of zipfs - candidate containers: the metakit/mk4vfs tclkit lineage, cookfs, and zipvfs-over-tclvfs boot - so the prebuilt third-party kit runtimes (tclkit86bi.exe, tclkit-win64-dyn.exe) can eventually be replaced by suite-built, provenance-carrying ones. Acceptance: the candidate containers are assessed and recorded here against punkshell's kit expectations (compatibility with make.tcl's 'kit' wrap path or a documented replacement path; boot-time vfs mount without an installed Tcl; loading binary dlls from or via the container; buildable from source under the zig-only policy); one strategy is demonstrated end-to-end - a kit wrapped from the suite-built 8.6 runtime boots on a path without any Tcl installation and runs a script from inside its vfs; the decision, rationale, and the follow-on work needed to reach punk86-kit parity are recorded in this file.
Context
The genuinely new problem in the 8.6 arc: suite_tcl90's kits came almost for free because Tcl 9's zipfs makes exe+zip self-mounting (tclsh90szip.exe, punk905_beta zip-wrap). 8.6 has no zipfs, so a kit needs a vfs container and a boot mechanism:
- metakit/mk4vfs: the classic tclkit lineage (the current prebuilt runtimes are this). TEMP_REFERENCE/metakit and TEMP_REFERENCE/KitCreator were flagged by the user (2026-07-20, during the G-098 (achieved 2026-07-20) vlerq cleanup) as the guidance for when tclkit builds are investigated - the old vlerq/vqtcl references removed from the 9.0 recipe belonged to an earlier attempt at this same territory.
- cookfs: used by some modern kit builders (tcl-sfe lineage); C extension plus scripted boot.
- zipvfs over tclvfs: pure-tcl-plus-tclvfs zip mounting (vfs::zip is already built by the suites) with a boot preamble; no zipfs required but bootstrapping the vfs package itself from inside the container is the chicken-and-egg to solve.
make.tcl's existing 'kit' wrap type drives sdx/mk4-style wrapping; whichever container is chosen must either fit that path or come with a documented successor.
The G-103 runtime kit family (plain/punk/bi kits with thread + tclvfs + tcllib batteries in the attached container) extends to 8.6 THROUGH this investigation: the user notes (2026-07-20) that in the 8.6 case tclvfs may have to be STATIC and there may be metakit-specific patching - both are part of this goal's assessment, and the 8.6 family variant is blocked on its outcome.
Separated from G-099/G-100 deliberately: runtime + libs + test gating are well-understood ports of the 9.0 work, while this is open investigation - keeping it out of their acceptance keeps the 8.6 suite arc incrementally landable.
SEQUENCING: proposed; naturally last in the 8.6 arc (needs the G-099 runtime to wrap), and only worth activating once G-099/G-100 land.
Notes
(none yet)