bi-01 step 01 — Spec-phrase search and symbol lookup

Goal

Land inside the right Blink code in under three queries, twice: once for a spec-defined subsystem (where phrase search works) and once for an implementation invention (where it does not).

Tasks

  1. Predict first, in writing. For each target below, write the subsystem and directory you expect before searching. This is the measurement; skipping it makes the step worthless.

  2. Spec-phrase search. Find Blink's implementation of the CSS cascade's specificity comparison, and the comment quoting the tie-break rule. Use a distinctive multi-word term of art, quoted — not a common word.

  3. Symbol search. Use symbol: to jump to a declaration rather than 200 mentions. Confirm the difference in hit count between the bare term and the symbol: form.

  4. Where phrase search fails. Now find the class in //cc that owns compositor main-thread state. There is no spec text to quote. Use the naming grammar instead (Impl / Client / Host / Delegate).

  5. Record every query, including the ones that returned nothing. Zero hits is information: generated code, wrong subsystem, or a flag-gated feature.

Done when

  • Predictions written before the first query
  • Both targets located, with the working queries recorded
  • You can state why technique 1 worked for one target and not the other
  • Hit counts compared for bare term vs symbol: