Reloadable Type Versioning for Runtime Source Code Changes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing software development tools limit the ability to make changes to source code during debugging sessions without stopping, reloading, and restarting the program due to the complexity of updating runtime representations of types and their instances.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system that allows for hot reload by marking types as reloadable, creating a new version of the type when changes are made, and replacing the old instances with the new version, thereby updating the UI framework and .NET runtime.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If changes are made to source code at runtime without stopping the program, then productivity is improved by reducing development cycle time, but device complexity increases due to the need to manage multiple versions of types and their instances
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments types into reloadable and non-reloadable categories, allowing selective hot reloading of specific types while maintaining stability of others. This segmentation enables the complexity benefits to be isolated to specific types rather than affecting the entire system.
Solution Approach 2:
When a reloadable type is modified, the system creates a copy of the type with the modifications rather than modifying the original in-place. This copying approach allows the runtime to maintain both the old and new versions, enabling seamless switching between versions without corrupting the original type structure.
2Ease of operation
If the runtime representation of types is updated in-place, then ease of operation is improved by allowing continuous execution, but reliability decreases due to potential inconsistencies in type instances
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of updating types in-place, the system creates new copies of reloadable types with modifications. This ensures that the original type instances remain consistent and unchanged, while new instances reflect the modifications. The copying mechanism prevents inconsistency issues that would arise from in-place updates.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the state parameter of types by creating new versions with modified parameters rather than altering existing parameters in-place. This approach maintains reliability by preserving the original parameter values while allowing new parameter values to be introduced through controlled type versioning.
3Manufacturing precision
If a new version of reloadable types is created instead of in-place updates, then manufacturing precision is improved by maintaining type integrity, but loss of time increases due to the overhead of creating and managing type versions
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments type management into reloadable and non-reloadable categories, applying the overhead of version creation only to reloadable types. This selective approach maintains type integrity where needed while minimizing the time overhead to only the necessary portions of the system.
Solution Approach 2:
The system efficiently manages type version parameters by tracking only the essential versioning information for reloadable types. This parameter management approach maintains precise type integrity while reducing the overhead of version management through optimized parameter tracking and metadata handling.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for implementing changes made to source code of a program at runtime are provided. In particular, a computing device may execute the source code in a runtime environment and detect changes made to the source code at runtime in the runtime environment. In response to detecting the changes, the computing device may determine if the changes were made to a type in the source code identified as reloadable. In response to determining that the changes were made to the type in the source code identified as reloadable, the computing device may create a new version of the type and perform implementation of the changes to the source code at runtime using the new version of the type.