Some very very basic docs + specify minimum python version for Puya itself

.github/workflows/check-python.yaml

@@ -17,10 +17,10 @@ jobs:
       - name: Install poetry
         run: pipx install poetry
 
-      - name: Set up Python 3.11
+      - name: Set up Python 3.12
         uses: actions/setup-python@v4
         with:
-          python-version: "3.11"
+          python-version: "3.12"
           cache: "poetry"
 
       - name: Install dependencies
@@ -46,8 +46,8 @@ jobs:
       - name: Stop LocalNet
         run: algokit localnet stop
 
-      - name: pytest coverage comment - using Python 3.11 on ubuntu-latest
-        if: matrix.python == '3.11' && matrix.os == 'ubuntu-latest'
+      - name: pytest coverage comment - using Python 3.12 on ubuntu-latest
+        if: matrix.python == '3.12' && matrix.os == 'ubuntu-latest'
         continue-on-error: true # forks fail to add a comment, so continue any way
         uses: MishaKav/pytest-coverage-comment@main
         with:

README.md

@@ -1,76 +1,46 @@
-# Puya - Algorand TEAL compiler + Python language bindings
+# Puya - Algorand TEAL compiler + AlgoPy Python language bindings
 
-```shell
-poetry install
-poetry shell
-# Run the compiler
-puya examples/amm
-# OR compile all examples
-python -m scripts.compile_all_examples
-# OR run tests
-pytest
-```
+[Project background and guiding principles](docs/principles.md).
 
-## Existing README stuff - needs clean up
+## Installation
 
-TODO:
-How to handle identity for compound objects i.e. dataclasses so that semantic compatability is retained
-    Ideas:
-        Enforce value equality (dataclasses implement data equality by default)
-        Could carry a unique identifier for the object to represent it's identity
+The minimum supported Python version for running Puya itself is 3.12.
 
-how to handle user libs with type stubs:
-    option: don't. only want to handle algopy specific code anyway, which needs
-            to be fully typed.
+You can install the developer preview of Puya directly from this repo by using [pipx](https://pipx.pypa.io/stable/):
+```shell
+pipx install git+https://github.com/algorandfoundation/puya.git
+```
 
+Or you can clone the repo and have a poke around without installing it globally.
 
-THOUGHTS:
-- mypy call expr resolves to full node (ie FuncDef) when not through member ref
-- user classes (ie not contracts) can't be allowed to override (maybe not even define??) methods, unless we want to implement vtables..................
+```shell
+git clone https://github.com/algorandfoundation/puya.git
+cd puya
+poetry install
+poetry shell
+```
 
+Note that with this method you'll need to activate the virtual environment created by poetry
+before using the puya command in each new shell that you open - you can do this by running
+`poetry shell` in the `puya` directory.
 
-we probably want to vendor mypy, for a few reasons:
-1) we want to pin to an exact version, without possibly getting in the way of user updating their venv version and/or CI/CD config changes
-2) we need to stop mypy from being compiled with mypyc, which I don't think we can do with a wheel package? and
-3) even if we can/could stop it being compiled, it slows things down a lot for the user, so that's not a great experience
-4) can simplify our debugging/development experience (not really a reason by itself, but a nice bonus)
+To check that you can run the `puya` command successfully after that, you can run the help command:
 
-mypy is MIT licensed, except for some files in mypy/mypyc
-git submodules could be one approach here, but we can't point it to a subdirectory (ie mypy/mypy)
-we can possibly exclude these after the fact in our build to prevent our package becoming too larg
-and/or licensing violations, but the import paths might get a bit verbose (ie wyvern.vendor(?).mypy.mypy).
-maybe a manual approach is best, possibly with a script to do the update.
-we definitely don't want any alterations to the mypy code base, except perhaps in the most dire of
-circumstances where we need to patch a particular bug (but really, even then, we should contribute this back upstream ASAP)
+`puya -h`
 
+To compile a contract or contracts, just supply the path(s) - either to the .py files themselves,
+or the containing directories. In the case of containing directories, any contracts discovered
+therein will be compiled, allowing you to compile multiple contracts at once. You can also supply
+more than one path at a time to the compiler.
 
+## Language guide
 
-TODOs:
-error handling at expression level, needs stub data. current handling could generate spurious extra errors
+Coming soon! For now, refer to the examples to see what's possible.
 
+## Examples
 
-### Parking lot
-- match statements
-- efficient compound types including pass-by-ref using bytes[] as scratch pointers with loadss/storess
-- type tags at end of bytes[] pointers, allowing union types as args and isinstance checks 
-- inlineable functions either via explicit hints or via optimisation
-- improved constant folding when encountering a non-literal (e.g UInt64) that wraps a known-constant value
-- support properties - probably requires inlining?
-- More Pythonic ways of using Txn et al:
-  - `for arg in Txna.application_args`
-  - `len(Txna.application_args)`
-  - `Txna.application_args[0]`
-- for functions like `box_get` that return `value, did exist: bool` - translate to `value | None`
-- support for user defined Protocols (PEP 544)
-- support user reserved scratch slots (and syntax to load / store values)
-  -  `gloads` allows an application to query another transaction's scratch space, in order for this to be useful a wyvern built app needs a way to push values to `well known` slots
-- on reference to `app_(local|global)_get(_ex)?` et. al. extract keys if literals,
-  and if dynamic then warn if storage schema not specified explicitly
-- allow overrides of local and global storage keys... somehow. or maybe we allow compacting them
-  for more storage space as a compiler flag? this would be less helpful though if you wanted to
-  read them off chain directly...
-- allow more idiomatic `is not None` for `Local.__getitem__` result rather than returning a tuple
-  - similarly, allow global (ie member vars) to be ` | None = None` ??
-- default values for subroutine arguments
-- optimize large x in (...y) ops to use `match` op
-- 
+- [voting](examples/voting/voting.py)
+- [AMM](examples/amm/contract.py)
+- [auction](examples/TEALScript/auction/contract.py)
+- [non-ABI calculator](examples/calculator/contract.py)
+- [local storage](examples/local_storage)

docs/principles.md

@@ -0,0 +1,180 @@
+
+# Background
+
+**Smart contracts** on the Algorand blockchain run on the Algorand Virtual Machine ([AVM](https://developer.algorand.org/docs/get-details/dapps/avm/)).
+This is a stack based virtual machine, which executes AVM bytecode as part of an [Application Call transaction](https://developer.algorand.org/docs/get-details/transactions/#application-call-transaction).
+The official mechanism for generating this bytecode is by submitting TEAL (Transaction Execution Approval Language) to 
+an Algorand Node to compile.
+
+**Smart signatures** have the same basis in the AVM and TEAL, but have a different execution model, one not involving 
+Application Call transactions. Our focus will primarily be on smart contracts, since they are strictly more powerful
+in terms of available AVM functions.
+
+TEAL is a [non-structured](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-structured_programming) 
+[imperative language](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procedural_programming#Imperative_programming) 
+(albeit one with support for procedure calls that can isolate stack changes since v8 with `proto`). Writing TEAL is very
+similar to writing assembly code. It goes without saying that this is a particularly common or well-practiced model for 
+programming these days.
+
+As it stands today, developers wanting to write smart contracts specifically for Algorand have the option of writing 
+TEAL directly, or using some other mechanism of generating TEAL such as the officially supported [PyTEAL](https://pyteal.readthedocs.io/en/stable/) 
+or the community supported [tealish](https://tealish.tinyman.org/en/latest/).
+
+PyTEAL follows a [generative programming](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_programming#Generative_programming) paradigm,
+which is a form of metaprogramming. Naturally, writing programs to generate programs presents an additional hurdle for 
+developers looking to pick up smart contract development. Tooling support for this is also suboptimal, for example, many
+classes of errors resulting from the interaction between the procedural elements of the Python language and the PyTEAL
+expression-building framework go unnoticed until the point of TEAL generation, or worse go completely unnoticed, and even
+when PyTEAL can/does provide an error it can be difficult to understand.
+
+Tealish provides a higher level procedural language, bearing a passing resemblance to Python, than compiles down to TEAL.
+However, it's still lower level than most developers are used to. 
+For example, the expression `1 + 2 + 3`is [not valid in tealish](https://tealish.tinyman.org/en/latest/language.html#math-logic).
+Another difference vs a higher level language such as Python is that [functions can only be declared after the program
+entry point logic](https://tealish.tinyman.org/en/latest/language.html#functions). 
+In essence, tealish abstracts away many difficulties with writing plain TEAL, 
+but it is still essentially more of a transpiler than a compiler. 
+Furthermore, whilst appearing to have syntax inspired by Python, it both adds and removes many fundamental syntax elements,
+presenting an additional learning curve to developers looking to learn blockchain development on Algorand.
+Being a bespoke language also means it has a much smaller ecosystem of tooling built around it compared to languages like
+Python or JavaScript.
+
+To most developers, the Python programming language needs no introduction. First released in 1991, it's popularity has 
+grown steadily over the decades, and as of June 2023 it is consistently ranked as either the most popular langauge, 
+or second most popular following JavaScript:
+
+- https://octoverse.github.com/2022/top-programming-languages
+- https://stackoverflow.blog/2023/06/13/developer-survey-results-are-in/
+- https://www.tiobe.com/tiobe-index/
+- https://pypl.github.io/PYPL.html
+
+The AlgoKit project is an Algorand Foundation initiative to improve the developer experience on Algorand. Within this
+broad remit, two of the key [principles](https://github.com/algorandfoundation/algokit-cli/blob/main/docs/algokit.md#guiding-principles) 
+are to "meet developers where they are" and "leverage existing ecosystem".
+Building a compiler that allows developers to write smart contracts using an idiomatic subset of a high level language 
+such as Python would make great strides towards both of these goals.
+
+Wyvern was the original internal code name for just such a compiler (now called Puya), one that will transform Python code into valid TEAL 
+smart contracts. In line with the principle of meeting developers where they are, and recognising the popularity of 
+JavaScript and TypeScript, a parallel initiative to build a TypeScript to TEAL compiler is [also underway](https://tealscript.netlify.app).
+
+# Principles
+
+The principles listed here should form the basis of our decision-making, both in the design and implementation.
+
+## Inherited from AlgoKit
+
+As a part of the AlgoKit project, the principles outlined [there](https://github.com/algorandfoundation/algokit-cli/blob/main/docs/algokit.md#guiding-principles) 
+also apply - to the extent that this project is just one component of AlgoKit. 
+
+### "Leverage existing ecosystem"
+
+> AlgoKit functionality gets into the hands of Algorand developers quickly by building on top of the 
+> existing ecosystem wherever possible and aligned to these principles.
+
+In order to leverage as much existing Python tooling as possible, we should strive to maintain the highest level of 
+compatibility with the Python language (and the reference implementation: CPython). 
+
+### "Meet developers where they are"
+
+> Make Blockchain development mainstream by giving all developers an idiomatic development experience in the operating 
+> system, IDE and language they are comfortable with so they can dive in quickly and have less they need to learn before 
+> being productive.
+
+Python is a very idiomatic language. We should embrace accepted patterns and practices as much as possible,
+such as those listed in [PEP-20](https://peps.python.org/pep-0020/) (aka "The Zen of Python").
+
+### "Extensible"
+
+> Be extensible for community contribution rather than stifling innovation, bottle-necking all changes through the 
+> Algorand Foundation and preventing the opportunity for other ecosystems being represented (e.g. Go, Rust, etc.). 
+> This helps make developers feel welcome and is part of the developer experience, plus it makes it easier to add 
+> features sustainably
+
+One way to support this principle in the broader AlgoKit context is by building in a mechanism for reusing 
+common code between smart contracts, to allow the community to build their own Python packages.
+
+### "Sustainable"
+
+> AlgoKit should be built in a flexible fashion with long-term maintenance in mind. Updates to latest patches in 
+> dependencies, Algorand protocol development updates, and community contributions and feedback will all feed in to the 
+> evolution of the software.
+
+Taking this principle further, ensuring the compiler is well-designed (e.g. frontend backend separation, 
+with a well-thought-out IR) will help with maintaining and improving the implementation over time. For example,
+adding in new TEAL language features will be easier, same for implementing new optimisation strategies.
+
+Looking to the future, best practices for smart contract development are rapidly evolving. We shouldn't tie the 
+implementation too tightly to a current standard such as ARC-4 - although in that specific example, we would still
+aim for first class support, but it shouldn't be assumed as the only way to write smart contracts.
+
+
+### "Modular components"
+
+> Solution components should be modular and loosely coupled to facilitate efficient parallel development by small, 
+> effective teams, reduced architectural complexity and allowing developers to pick and choose the specific tools and 
+> capabilities they want to use based on their needs and what they are comfortable with.
+
+We will focus on the language and compiler design itself.
+
+An example of a very useful feature, that is strongly related but could be implemented separately instead, 
+is the ability to run the users code in a unit-testing context, without compilation+deployment first. 
+This would require implementing in Python some level of simulation of Algorand Nodes / AVM behaviour. 
+
+### "Secure by default"
+
+> Include defaults, patterns and tooling that help developers write secure code and reduce the likelihood of security 
+> incidents in the Algorand ecosystem. This solution should help Algorand be the most secure Blockchain ecosystem.
+
+Enforcing security (which is multi-faceted) at a compiler level is difficult, and is some cases impossible. 
+The best application of this principle here is to support auditing, which is important and nuanced enough to be 
+listed below as a separate principle.
+
+### "Cohesive developer tool suite" + "Seamless onramp"
+
+> Cohesive developer tool suite: Using AlgoKit should feel professional and cohesive, like it was designed to work 
+> together, for the developer; not against them. Developers are guided towards delivering end-to-end, high quality 
+> outcomes on MainNet so they and Algorand are more likely to be successful.
+
+> Seamless onramp: New developers have a seamless experience to get started and they are guided into a pit of success 
+> with best practices, supported by great training collateral; you should be able to go from nothing to debugging code 
+> in 5 minutes.
+
+These principles relate more to AlgoKit as a whole, so we can respect them by considering the impacts of our decisions
+there more broadly.
+
+## Abstraction without obfuscation
+
+AlgoPy is a high level language (like Python), with support for things such as branching logic, operator precedence, etc., 
+and not a set of "macros" for generating TEAL. As such, developers will not be able to directly influence specific TEAL 
+output, if this is desirable a language such as [Tealish](https://tealish.tinyman.org) is more appropriate.
+
+Whilst this will abstract away certain aspects of the underlying TEAL language, there are certain AVM concerns 
+(such as op code budgets) that should not be abstracted away. That said, we should strive to generate code this is
+cost-effective and unsurprising. Python mechanisms such as dynamic (runtime) dispatch, and also many of it's builtin
+functions on types such as `str` that are taken for granted, would require large amounts of ops compared to the
+Python code it represents.
+
+## Support auditing
+
+Auditing is a critical part of the security process for deploying smart contracts. We want to support this function,
+and can do so in two ways:
+
+1. By ensuring the same Python code as input generates identical output each time the compiler 
+is run regardless of the system it's running on. This is what might be termed [Output stability](https://github.com/algorandfoundation/algokit-cli/blob/main/docs/articles/output_stability.md).
+Ensuring a consistent output regardless of the system it's run on (assuming the same compiler version), means that
+auditing the lower level (ie TEAL) code is possible. 
+
+2. Although auditing the TEAL code should be possible, being able to easily identify and relate it back to the higher level
+code can make auditing the contract logic simpler and easier. 
+
+## Revolution, not evolution
+
+This is a new and groundbreaking way of developing for Algorand, and not a continuation of the PyTEAL/Beaker approach. 
+By allowing developers to write procedural code, as opposed to constructing an expression tree, 
+we can (among other things) significantly reduce the barrier to entry for developing smart contracts for the Algorand platform.
+
+Since the programming paradigm will be fundamentally different, providing a smooth migration experience from PyTEAL 
+to this new world is not an intended goal, and shouldn't be a factor in our decisions. For example, it is not a goal of
+this project to produce a step-by-step "migrating from PyTEAL" document, as it is not a requirement for users to
+switch to this new paradigm in the short to medium term - support for PyTEAL should continue in parallel.

pyproject.toml

@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ packages = [
 ]
 
 [tool.poetry.dependencies]
-python = "^3.11"
+python = "^3.12"
 typing-extensions = "^4.8.0"
 attrs = "^23.1.0"
 structlog = "^23.2.0"
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ line-length = 99
 force-exclude = "src/wyvern/(_typeshed|_vendor)"
 
 [tool.mypy]
-python_version = "3.11"
+python_version = "3.12"
 strict = true
 untyped_calls_exclude = [
     "algosdk",