Validate the trajectory flow contract

The authoritative checker of the flow contract (trajectories, tree, graph, docs_per_group, last_year). "Flow" names the object kind, not the algorithm: any detector – sniff_trajectory_braid() today, alternative sniff_trajectory_<algo>() detectors in the future – must return an object that passes this validator and inherits the birddog_flow class.

Usage

validate_flow(x)

Arguments

x

The object to validate, typically a sniff_trajectory_braid() object or the output of an alternative detector shaped like one.

Value

x, invisibly, when valid; otherwise an error listing every violation.

Details

Beyond the column schema, the checked invariants are the ones that otherwise fail silently: every trajectory node label must be a docs_per_group$group_id key and a graph vertex (the triple key documents and analyses share), the graph must carry the quantity_papers / prop_tracked_intra_group vertex attributes the line plots read, absorbed_into must reference existing trajectories without forming a cycle, each final group must have exactly one central present at last_year, central ids must use the tr:: convention, and start/end must match the node years.

See also

sniff_trajectory_braid(), is_flow()

Other trajectory detection: is_flow(), sniff_trajectory_braid(), sniff_trajectory_channel(), sniff_trajectory_dag(), subset.birddog_flow()