ast-manipulation

name	AST Manipulation
description	Expert skill for abstract syntax tree design, traversal, transformation, and manipulation patterns
category	Compiler Infrastructure
allowed-tools	["Read","Write","Edit","Glob","Grep","Bash"]

AST Manipulation Skill

Overview

Expert skill for abstract syntax tree design, traversal, transformation, and manipulation patterns.

Capabilities

• Design typed AST node hierarchies
• Implement visitor and transformer patterns
• Build AST rewriting systems
• Implement AST diffing and patching
• Generate AST pretty-printers and formatters
• Support AST serialization (JSON, binary)
• Implement pattern matching on AST structures
• Design span/location tracking systems

Target Processes

• ast-design.js
• semantic-analysis.js
• ir-design.js
• code-generation-llvm.js
• lsp-server-implementation.js
• macro-system-implementation.js

Dependencies

None (core skill)

Usage Guidelines

1. Node Design: Design immutable AST nodes with clear ownership semantics
2. Location Tracking: Include source spans on all nodes from the beginning
3. Visitor Pattern: Implement visitor pattern for extensible traversal
4. Transformation: Use transformer pattern for AST-to-AST transformations
5. Serialization: Support both human-readable (JSON) and efficient (binary) serialization

Output Schema

{
  "type": "object",
  "properties": {
    "nodeTypes": {
      "type": "array",
      "items": {
        "type": "object",
        "properties": {
          "name": { "type": "string" },
          "fields": { "type": "array" },
          "parent": { "type": "string" }
        }
      }
    },
    "visitors": {
      "type": "array",
      "items": { "type": "string" }
    },
    "transformers": {
      "type": "array",
      "items": { "type": "string" }
    },
    "generatedFiles": {
      "type": "array",
      "items": { "type": "string" }
    }
  }
}