Self-growing neural networks via a custom Rust-to-LLVM compiler
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Hi HN,I built NOMA (Neural-Oriented Machine Architecture), a systems language where reverse-mode autodiff is a compiler pass (lowered to LLVM IR).My goal is to treat model parameters as explicit, growable memory buffers. Since NOMA compiles to standalone native binaries (no Python runtime), it allows using realloc on weights mid-training. This makes "self-growing" architectures a system primitive rather than a complex framework hack.I just pushed a reproducible benchmark (Self-Growing XOR) to validate the methodology: it compares NOMA against PyTorch and C++, specifically testing how preserving optimizer state (Adam moments) during growth affects convergence.I am looking for contributors! If you are into Rust, LLVM, or SSA, I’d love help on the harder parts (control-flow AD and memory safety).Repo: https://github.com/pierridotite/NOMA
HN · launched Dec 28, 2025 · 8 upvotes (top 58%) · 0 views
Niche: programming language compilers · 77 launches, 2 in the last 7 days ▼ -60% · Explore this niche →
Category and tags
- Horizontal
- Dev tools
- Developer
- AI-native
- Hobby / open-source project
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More like this: all 77 launches in programming language compilers →
Could you build this?
No Building a custom compiler in Rust that translates dynamic neural network topologies directly to LLVM IR with custom reverse-mode automatic differentiation passes requires specialized compiler engineering and computer science expertise.
What it would actually take: Requires deep expertise in compiler design (Rust, LLVM C++/Rust bindings, custom IR passes) and numerical methods for automatic differentiation. The developer must implement custom memory allocators for dynamically growing parameter tensors, construct computation graphs lowering to LLVM instructions, and optimize machine code emission without runtime reliance on standard libraries like PyTorch.
Discussion
3 comments analyzed.
Feature requests: Support for complex control flow in reverse-mode AD, SSA Phi-node handling during automatic differentiation
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Launched 55 days after the earliest competitor.
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