Users of Axolotl need to be able to scaffold a new project with a CLI. This will spin up a new Anchor project with the right dependencies for building an Axolotl project.

Sometime before the beta we should handle the usage of TypeScript/JavaScript libraries within Axolotl TypeScript code. This will be challenging because the libraries may or may not be typed so we won't be able to lean on TypeScript nearly as much.

Seahorse handles Python modules and still does type-checking so we should be able to draw inspiration there.

We currently have the scaffolding for the compiler. It uses swc_ecma_parser to turn TypeScript into an AST in Rust.

We need to take that AST and transform it into Anchor-compatible Rust. For the "Hello World" proof, we will be heavily inspired by the Seahorse compiler.

Because we are using TypeScript, we can create custom TypeScript ESLint rules to enforce any custom compiler rules in the developer's editor.

Compiler steps

• [x] Parse TypeScript source into an AST
• [ ] Compile TypeScript source to Rust
  • [ ] Type-check to ensure all code can be valid Rust
  • [ ] Convert TypeScript into Anchor-compativle Rust

The Axolotl TypeScript library will be used to:

• Provide Solana/Rust types to the user's TypeScript code
• Provide helper functions that are useful for developing Solana programs

Types

Since Axolotl programs are written with TypeScript, we can provide types to the users. For Seahorse programs, the types are included in a static file next to your Anchor program.

Rust data types

Refer to the Rust documentation for data types.

Anchor has defined JavaScript --> Rust types. We'll be taking as much inspiration from their implementation as possible. Integers greater than 32 bytes will utilize bn.js, common for both Anchor and Solana.

Solana types

• [ ] Pubkey
  • 32-byte account identifier
  • Source
• [x] AccountInfo
  • Account information
  • Source
• [ ] Signer
• [ ] Program
  • Used for CPI
  • Source
• [ ] Clock
  • Information about the network's time
  • Source
• [ ] TokenAccount
• [ ] TokenMint

@solana/web3.js has a lot of classes and types that we will likely be able to utilize/export from Axolotl.

Anchor types

• [ ] Accounts struct
  • Source
• [ ] Context
  • Source
• [ ] Errors

Helper functions

• [ ] declare_id / ID helpers
  • Generated by Anchor
  • Instead of a user dealing with this, let's programmatically manage it with .env or something similar
• [ ] Helpers related to lamports?

Release

• [ ] Released under @axolotl/sol