Classes, interfaces and value classes

← Guest Kotlin support

• Classes, interfaces and value classes
  • Value equality and virtual equals for supported Guest values
  • Named singleton objects and companions
  • Instance methods and dynamic dispatch
  • Guest class initialization
  • Class property accessors
  • Sealed interfaces, data classes, and stateless enums
  • Secondary constructors and stateful enums
  • Type tests and casts
  • Value-class layouts and existing Guest use sites

This page describes the current checkout, including unreleased work. Status and evidence policy applies to every entry.

Value equality and virtual equals for supported Guest values

Status: Supported.

==, != and explicit equals share ordinary virtual Any.equals(Any?) for references. Null left receivers use null equality; a literal-null comparison skips overrides, while explicit equals(null) invokes the receiver. Operands evaluate once in order. String compares UTF-16 content; typed scalar boxes compare values, with canonical NaN and distinct signed zero for Float. Primitive Float == retains IEEE equality. Objects and arrays default to identity; custom and inherited overrides, super.equals, exceptions and independently compiled library methods use normal dispatch. Generated data-class methods compare constructor properties, including nullable, Float and object fields; arrays compare identity and body properties are excluded. Hashes agree for supported equal values; custom classes remain responsible for coherent equals/hashCode overrides. Other generated data/enum methods remain partial.

Evidence: virtual equals handles libraries data values nullable references and effects for vm execution (testKotlinEqualsVmConformance, 64 KiB heap and repeated allocation), source library generic functions and classes specialize in consumer (testKotlinGenericLibraryVmConformance), testKotlinHashCodeVmConformance, testKotlinListAnyVmConformance and IDE test toString and Any lazy assertion messages share canonical IDE semantics with equals diagnostics/completion. Reuses Runtime ABI 1.11; compiled libraries require rebuilding against the canonical runtime module.

Related work: #685

Named singleton objects and companions

Status: Supported.

Project object and companion object declarations lower to managed classes with one lazily initialized static instance. Supported field initialization, methods, identity and interface dispatch share that instance. A companion can implement a concrete generic interface, including inherited methods with typed predicates. Addon objects implementing interfaces export their instance and nominal type; selected addon source templates specialize through the same boundary as base library templates. Existing platform namespace objects without supertypes retain their static facade representation.

Evidence: singleton companions retain identity state and generic provider dispatch and addon companion provider imports one singleton and inherited generic methods, executed by testKotlinSingletonProvidersVmConformance. The addon test includes an unrelated callback shape to verify that callback identities depend on their signatures rather than discovery order. Anonymous object expressions remain outside this support claim.

Instance methods and dynamic dispatch

Status: Partial.

Supported Guest classes may declare ordinary non-suspending methods, override class methods, and implement abstract interface methods. Calls through class and interface references select the runtime implementation. Generic or suspending methods, member extensions remain unsupported. Interface methods may have supported non-suspending bodies; an inherited default uses the most specific interface declaration unless a class overrides it. An override may call a concrete interface body with super<Interface>, including one inherited through that interface; the call bypasses dynamic dispatch to the override.

Evidence: MinimalScriptLoweringTest, tests guest instance methods lower with deterministic owners flags and method ranges and guest instance methods reject unsupported callable shapes, paired with the testKotlinDispatchVmConformance Kotlin-to-VM execution gate, and test interface defaults lower to methods and computed accessors paired with testKotlinInterfaceDefaultsVmConformance, and test qualified interface super calls use direct default bodies paired with testKotlinInterfaceSuperVmConformance.

Related work: #626 #641, and #642.

Guest class initialization

Status: Partial.

Supported primary constructors initialize backed val and var properties, class-body properties, and init blocks in source order after superclass initialization on the same managed object. Plain constructor parameters may be used without becoming fields. Mutable properties with default accessors can be read and assigned through aliases and instance methods; each object retains its own field state. Primary-constructor defaults can refer to earlier parameters and use supported Guest expressions. Explicit arguments evaluate in call-site order, followed by omitted defaults in parameter order; the constructor receives the complete values before its property and init work. Constructor references retain their declared full arity unless an expected function type selects supported trailing defaults. Secondary constructors remain unsupported.

Evidence: MinimalScriptLoweringTest, test guest object subset lowers sealed results data values enum identity and type branches, paired with heap_tests.rs, tests heap_instructions_round_trip_reference_fields and heap_instructions_use_inherited_fields_and_interface_closure, plus MinimalScriptLoweringTest, tests mutable constructor properties lower to instance field writes and immutable constructor property assignment remains rejected, paired with root task testKotlinMutableFieldsVmConformance, and test class body properties and init blocks lower in construction order paired with testKotlinClassInitializationVmConformance, and test primary constructor defaults preserve argument order and earlier parameters paired with testKotlinConstructorDefaultsVmConformance, and test default adapted constructor references lower to managed function values paired with testKotlinAdaptedConstructorsVmConformance.

Related work: #637, #638, #643, and #644.

Class property accessors

Status: Partial.

Class val and var properties support computed getters and source-defined non-suspending getters/setters. Accessors use ordinary instance-method dispatch, including overrides called through a base-class reference; field reads and writes use the property’s managed backing field when present. Non-overriding final default accessors retain direct field access. Abstract val and var declarations in classes and interfaces contribute accessor methods without allocating fields; calls through either base type select a concrete backed or computed implementation. Interface properties can also define computed getter and setter bodies; interface backing fields, top-level custom accessors, delegated properties, and unsupported Guest types remain outside this subset.

Evidence: MinimalScriptLoweringTest, test computed and custom class accessors lower with backing fields and override dispatch, paired with root task testKotlinPropertyAccessorsVmConformance, and test abstract class and interface properties lower to dispatched accessors without fields paired with testKotlinAbstractPropertiesVmConformance, and test interface defaults lower to methods and computed accessors paired with testKotlinInterfaceDefaultsVmConformance. Qualified super<Interface> getter and setter calls are covered by qualified interface super calls use direct default bodies and testKotlinInterfaceSuperVmConformance.

Related work: #639, #640, and #641, and #642.

Sealed interfaces, data classes, and stateless enums

Status: Partial.

The admitted fixture lowers sealed result types, immutable data values, enum identity, exhaustive type branches, and smart-cast property reads, then executes those branches in the pinned VM. This does not imply support for all generated data or enum methods. Value-producing exhaustive when supports reference results without a source else; its synthesized impossible branch throws NoWhenBranchMatchedException, never a dummy value.

Evidence: assertions and exhaustive reference when share exceptions for vm execution, executed by testKotlinExceptionsVmConformance for Boolean and enum subjects returning String. The bundled boot keeps its explicit diagnostic fallback, exercised by checked in boot compiles deterministically with process intrinsic and :core:programRuntimeIntegrationTest.

Evidence: MinimalScriptLoweringTest, test guest object subset lowers sealed results data values enum identity and type branches, paired with root task testKotlinObjectModelVmConformance.

Related work: not scheduled

Secondary constructors and stateful enums

Status: Unsupported.

These shapes are rejected before artifact publication.

Evidence: MinimalScriptLoweringTest, test guest object subset rejects generic secondary uninitialized stateful and explicit cast shapes.

Related work: not scheduled

Type tests and casts

Status: Partial.

is checks and compiler-generated smart casts over admitted references lower to VM type checks and checked casts. Boxed Int values support is Int, is Int?, and explicit checked as Int / as Int?. Checked casts between admitted reference types are supported. Safe casts (as?) are exercised for imported value classes by testKotlinMfvcVmConformance; this does not establish every reference-cast shape. Nullable type tests admit null. Reference ===/!== compare identity directly, including null, without artificial Any casts. Supported arrays preserve identity across aliases and differ from fresh copies, including comparisons between arrays with nullable and non-null element types. Operands evaluate left-to-right once. Heterogeneous reference comparison requires Runtime ABI 1.6; existing same-nominal comparisons retain older ABI requirements.

Evidence: testKotlinNullableCollectionsVmConformance and MinimalScriptLoweringTest, tests guest object subset lowers sealed results data values enum identity and type branches and guest object subset rejects generic secondary uninitialized stateful and explicit cast shapes, paired with heap_tests.rs, test heap_instructions_checked_cast_handles_nullability_and_incompatibility. Array identity evidence: testKotlinIntArrayVmConformance, test specialized IntArray lowers deterministically for vm conformance, and native test reference_identity_compares_typed_arrays_and_null_without_casts. Array identity tracking: #680. Supported arrays can pass through Any/Any?, fields, function parameters and concrete generic calls without boxing or copying; reverse checked casts and type tests retain the dynamic array type. Explicit array root metadata requires Runtime ABI 1.7.

Evidence: testKotlinIntArrayVmConformance, test specialized IntArray lowers deterministically for vm conformance, native test array_root_casts_preserve_identity_and_dynamic_type, and artifact test array superclass round trips and requires ABI 1_7 and stateless root.

Related work: #681. Remaining type-test/cast support: not scheduled.

Value-class layouts and existing Guest use sites

Status: Supported.

One or multiple immutable constructor properties can contain all twelve primitive types, supported references including nullable references, nested value classes and concrete generic substitutions. Direct locals, assignment, control flow, operators, methods, parameters, returns and typed callbacks preserve the nominal inline layout in compact frames. Generic member methods, interface bridges, destructuring, bound/unbound method and constructor references use the same layouts. Constructor arguments evaluate once in source order; constructor references also execute initializers and their checks. Cyclic inline layouts and mutable payloads produce diagnostics. Any, nullable values, interfaces, ordinary fields, reference arrays, List, MutableList, ArrayList, lambda captures and child-task captures use nominal managed boxes. Reads recover the direct layout. Equality/hash/text are structural and nominal, including NaN and signed-zero behavior, unsigned formatting, nullable fields, nested values and source toString overrides. Precompiled platform/addon libraries export a canonical direct layout, wrapper and all payload fields; a consumer shares these identities, including concrete generic value classes. Single Int/Boolean/Char peripheral handles retain their established scalar ABI fast path. New inline layouts require Runtime ABI 1.15. The Guest frontend and native IDE share K2’s JvmInlineMultiFieldValueClasses frontend setting and retain MultiFieldValueClassRepresentation. This switch permits the shared frontend checker; it does not select a JVM backend. No JVM annotations are needed. Execution evidence: MinimalScriptLoweringTest, tests multi field value classes preserve direct layouts nested calls and managed boundaries and multi field value classes share canonical layouts across precompiled addon boundaries, both executed by testKotlinMfvcVmConformance. Rejection evidence: multi field value classes reject cyclic layouts and mutable payloads. Frontend/library evidence: CompuktersFir2IrPipelineTest, test multi field value classes resolve on Guest platform and retain their IR representation. IDE evidence: DiagnosticQueryTest, test native MFVC analysis preserves source and addon nominal types and members, with and without attached library sources; checks diagnostics, nominal expression types and member completion. Scalar regression evidence: testKotlinValueClassBoxesVmConformance executes value class boxes preserve nominal types nullable collections and iteration and value class boxes share canonical identity across precompiled addon functions. Existing Guest boundaries still apply: secondary constructors, runtime generic instantiation and methods declaring their own type parameters are outside the subset. @JvmInline is deliberately rejected as JVM syntax.

Related work: #701.

See value text and hashing for toString, hashCode, and generated-property rules.