From 0d4d285bd2c19697164175280b32bf93e3a7b1da Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: "Justin M. Keyes" <justinkz@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 17 Apr 2026 19:10:20 -0400
Subject: perf(vim.fn): call Lua-implemented vim.fn.xx() directly #39166

Problem:
- Builtin "Vimscript" functions (f_xx) are mostly implemented in C.
  Partly that's because there is some boilerplate required to call out
  to Lua.
- Calls to `vim.fn.foo()` always marshall over the Lua <=> Vimscript
  ("typval") bridge, even if `fn.foo()` is implemented entirely in Lua:
  ```
  Lua => typval => Object => Lua => Object => typval => Lua.
  ```

Solution:
Functions declared in eval.lua with `func_lua` are implemented in
entirely in Lua (`_core/vimfn.lua`).

- `gen_eval.lua` wires `func_lua` entries to `lua_wrapper`, which handles
  the typval conversion for Vimscript callers (slow path).
- `nlua_call()` detects `func_lua` functions and calls the Lua
  implementation directly. This eliminates all conversion overhead for
  Lua callers (fast path).
- Validate at build-time that `func`, `func_float`, and `func_lua` are
  mutually exclusive.
- Migrate `hostname()` as a toy example, to show the idea.
---
 src/nvim/lua/executor.c | 22 ++++++++++++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 22 insertions(+)

(limited to 'src/nvim/lua/executor.c')

diff --git a/src/nvim/lua/executor.c b/src/nvim/lua/executor.c
index 7c4e42420a..4cd81e365d 100644
--- a/src/nvim/lua/executor.c
+++ b/src/nvim/lua/executor.c
@@ -1207,6 +1207,7 @@ static bool viml_func_is_fast(const char *name)
   return false;
 }
 
+/// "vim.call()", aka "vim.fn".
 int nlua_call(lua_State *lstate)
 {
   Error err = ERROR_INIT;
@@ -1224,6 +1225,27 @@ int nlua_call(lua_State *lstate)
     return luaL_error(lstate, "Function called with too many arguments");
   }
 
+  // Fast path: if the vimfn is defined with `func_lua`, call the Lua function
+  // directly without Lua→typval→Object→Lua round-trip.
+  const char *func_lua = find_internal_func_lua(name);
+  if (func_lua) {
+    lua_getglobal(lstate, "require");
+    lua_pushliteral(lstate, "vim._core.vimfn");
+    if (lua_pcall(lstate, 1, 1, 0) != 0) {
+      return lua_error(lstate);
+    }
+    lua_getfield(lstate, -1, func_lua);
+    lua_remove(lstate, -2);  // remove module table
+    // Push args (still on the stack as Lua values).
+    for (int j = 0; j < nargs; j++) {
+      lua_pushvalue(lstate, j + 2);
+    }
+    if (lua_pcall(lstate, nargs, 1, 0) != 0) {
+      return lua_error(lstate);
+    }
+    return 1;
+  }
+
   typval_T vim_args[MAX_FUNC_ARGS + 1];
   int i = 0;  // also used for freeing the variables
   for (; i < nargs; i++) {
-- 
cgit