dustrun

The Dust Virtual Machine (DVM) Reference Executor

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Overview

dustrun is the reference execution environment for the Dust Programming Language (DPL).
It implements the Dust Virtual Machine (DVM) in Rust and serves as the normative semantic authority for executing DPL programs.

While DPL programs are primarily compiled to native binaries for production use, dustrun is required for:

• executing DPL programs without specialized hardware,
• validating admissibility, effects, and time semantics,
• testing and debugging across classical, quantum, and phase regimes,
• enforcing conformance with the DPL specification,
• providing an executable realization of the language semantics.

dustrun is not a compiler.
It is the reference executor against which all other execution targets must be validated.

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Role in the DPL Ecosystem

DPL separates semantic authority from performance realization.

• Specification (spec/ in the DPL repo)
  Defines the meaning of the language.

• Compiler (dustc)
  Produces native binaries or intermediate representations.

• dustrun (this repository)
  Implements the Dust Virtual Machine (DVM) and defines what execution means.

Native binaries do not require dustrun at runtime.
They are correct only if they are observationally and admissibly equivalent to execution via dustrun.

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What dustrun Does

dustrun executes Dust Intermediate Representation (DIR) artifacts according to the DPL specification.

It provides:

• K-regime execution
  Deterministic classical execution with explicit time and effect semantics.

• Q-regime enforcement
  Linear resource tracking, allocation/deallocation, and measurement boundaries, without requiring quantum hardware.

• Φ-regime resolution
  Global admissibility checking, constraint satisfaction, and witness handling.
  Φ-regime computation resolves existence, not step-by-step execution.

• Simulation vs realization modes
  Effects may be logged (simulation) or enacted (realization).

• Deterministic replay
  Identical inputs yield identical outcomes.

If a program is inadmissible, dustrun does not partially execute it.
Non-existence is a valid and enforced outcome.

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What dustrun Does Not Do

dustrun does not:

• parse DPL source code,
• compile or optimize programs,
• perform code generation,
• infer semantics heuristically,
• simulate quantum physics beyond semantic requirements,
• redefine or extend the DPL language.

Those responsibilities belong elsewhere in the DPL toolchain.

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Repository Structure

dustrun/ ├── crates/ │ ├── dvm/ # DVM core: execution semantics, regimes, admissibility │ ├── dustrun/ # CLI binary (produces the dustrun executable) │ └── conformance/ # Spec-aligned conformance test harness ├── tests/ # Deterministic fixtures and golden traces ├── docs/ # Non-normative architecture and usage notes └── Cargo.toml # Workspace root

• crates/dvm is the authoritative implementation of DVM semantics.
• crates/dustrun is a thin command-line interface over the DVM.
• crates/conformance ensures alignment with the DPL specification.

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Typical Usage

Reference execution:

dustrun program.dir

Simulation mode (effects are logged, not realized):

dustrun --simulate program.dir

Deterministic replay:

dustrun --replay trace.json

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Conformance Rule

Any execution backend, including native binaries produced by dustc, is considered correct only if:

• it admits exactly the same executions,
• it rejects exactly the same inadmissible programs,
• it preserves effect ordering and irreversibility,
• it respects time and regime semantics,

as execution via dustrun.

If there is disagreement, dustrun is correct.

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Implementation Language

dustrun is implemented in Rust to provide:

• deterministic behavior,
• strong correctness guarantees,
• portability,
• integration with existing systems tooling.

A future self-hosting implementation in DPL is possible, but only after full semantic parity is provably achieved.

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Status

• DVM semantics: In active development
• CLI stability: Pre-v1
• Performance: Not a goal
• Semantic correctness: Primary goal

dustrun prioritizes correctness, determinism, and semantic fidelity over speed.

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License

dustrun is released under the Dust Open Source License (DOSL).

See the LICENSE file for full terms.

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Relationship to the DPL Specification

The DPL specification (located in the spec/ directory of the main DPL repository) is canonical.

This repository:

• implements the specification,
• does not redefine it,
• and must be updated if the specification changes.

If behavior here conflicts with the spec, this code is wrong.

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Final Note

Without a Dust Virtual Machine, DPL would be untestable, unverifiable, and unusable for most developers today.

dustrun exists to ensure that DPL programs can be written, tested, reasoned about, and trusted—long before specialized hardware becomes commonplace.

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