Reasoning

Failure shapes

Each failure shape names a way a check goes wrong without failing, the invariant it breaks, its fix, the records it shows up in and the quality rules that refuse it.

No reachable check

Details
Shape
A representation that no check reaches.
Fix
Declare the representation into a check's jurisdiction, or state in writing that it lies outside it.
Breaks
epi-reachable-check
Seen in
Manual-Only Governance, Unobservable Failure, Untested Implementation
Refused by rules
None, because whether a representation is reachable is a property of the gate's jurisdiction, which no source rule sees

How it is checked

Checked by
the quality rules each shape names, which refuse its syntactic signature where one exists, the classification step of the verification substrate, which files every silent failure under a shape before a fix is chosen
Population
Every source file the named rules lint, and every failure a check or a review classifies
Freshness
A verdict stands until the linted source, a named rule or the shape's instances change
Refusal
A named rule fails the lint stage on the signature; the invariant each shape breaks is gated in every structured document that grounds it
Observation
The runtime observations that locate a failure, which are then filed under a shape
Evidence
Watched to fire and to accept: a suite plants a shape that names no invariant and no canon, and the bundled shapes validate clean
Authoritative side
The invariant the shape breaks, which the shape cites, while each named rule conforms to the shape's signature
Depends on
Not answered
Shape it refuses
Not answered

Empty domain

Details
Shape
A check that ran over an empty domain and reported a pass.
Fix
Report the population beside every rate, and confirm at start-up that every name the check uses resolves.
Breaks
epi-declared-domain
Seen in
Silent Failure
Refused by rules
empty-block, exception-handling

How it is checked

Checked by
the quality rules each shape names, which refuse its syntactic signature where one exists, the classification step of the verification substrate, which files every silent failure under a shape before a fix is chosen
Population
Every source file the named rules lint, and every failure a check or a review classifies
Freshness
A verdict stands until the linted source, a named rule or the shape's instances change
Refusal
A named rule fails the lint stage on the signature; the invariant each shape breaks is gated in every structured document that grounds it
Observation
The runtime observations that locate a failure, which are then filed under a shape
Evidence
Watched to fire and to accept: a suite plants a shape that names no invariant and no canon, and the bundled shapes validate clean
Authoritative side
The invariant the shape breaks, which the shape cites, while each named rule conforms to the shape's signature
Depends on
Not answered
Shape it refuses
Not answered

Spent parent

Details
Shape
A parent counted as read while its children were never read.
Fix
Subtract the read set from the child set and report what remains.
Breaks
epi-declared-domain
Refused by rules
None, because a read set is known only while the run executes

How it is checked

Checked by
the quality rules each shape names, which refuse its syntactic signature where one exists, the classification step of the verification substrate, which files every silent failure under a shape before a fix is chosen
Population
Every source file the named rules lint, and every failure a check or a review classifies
Freshness
A verdict stands until the linted source, a named rule or the shape's instances change
Refusal
A named rule fails the lint stage on the signature; the invariant each shape breaks is gated in every structured document that grounds it
Observation
The runtime observations that locate a failure, which are then filed under a shape
Evidence
Watched to fire and to accept: a suite plants a shape that names no invariant and no canon, and the bundled shapes validate clean
Authoritative side
The invariant the shape breaks, which the shape cites, while each named rule conforms to the shape's signature
Depends on
Not answered
Shape it refuses
Not answered

Edge from spelling

Details
Shape
A dependency created because two names share a word.
Fix
Join on the id the referent declares.
Breaks
epi-declared-dependency
Seen in
Hidden Dependency
Refused by rules
None, because a join on spelling reads like any other string comparison in source

How it is checked

Checked by
the quality rules each shape names, which refuse its syntactic signature where one exists, the classification step of the verification substrate, which files every silent failure under a shape before a fix is chosen
Population
Every source file the named rules lint, and every failure a check or a review classifies
Freshness
A verdict stands until the linted source, a named rule or the shape's instances change
Refusal
A named rule fails the lint stage on the signature; the invariant each shape breaks is gated in every structured document that grounds it
Observation
The runtime observations that locate a failure, which are then filed under a shape
Evidence
Watched to fire and to accept: a suite plants a shape that names no invariant and no canon, and the bundled shapes validate clean
Authoritative side
The invariant the shape breaks, which the shape cites, while each named rule conforms to the shape's signature
Depends on
Not answered
Shape it refuses
Not answered

Trusted leaf

Details
Shape
A node inside the graph that is trusted without a check, such as an exit code or a modification time.
Fix
Route the node through a check that can fail, and disclose what no check can reach.
Breaks
epi-verdict-is-representation
Seen in
Flaky Test Normalization, Mock Mirage, Security Theater
Refused by rules
error-handling

How it is checked

Checked by
the quality rules each shape names, which refuse its syntactic signature where one exists, the classification step of the verification substrate, which files every silent failure under a shape before a fix is chosen
Population
Every source file the named rules lint, and every failure a check or a review classifies
Freshness
A verdict stands until the linted source, a named rule or the shape's instances change
Refusal
A named rule fails the lint stage on the signature; the invariant each shape breaks is gated in every structured document that grounds it
Observation
The runtime observations that locate a failure, which are then filed under a shape
Evidence
Watched to fire and to accept: a suite plants a shape that names no invariant and no canon, and the bundled shapes validate clean
Authoritative side
The invariant the shape breaks, which the shape cites, while each named rule conforms to the shape's signature
Depends on
Not answered
Shape it refuses
Not answered

Lossy lowering

Details
Shape
A reshaped representation that dropped a distinction a later check needs.
Fix
Keep the distinction, and refuse at the writer anything the layout cannot express.
Breaks
epi-preserved-distinction
Seen in
Null Semantics Drift, Schema Drift, Silent Data Corruption
Refused by rules
type-safety

How it is checked

Checked by
the quality rules each shape names, which refuse its syntactic signature where one exists, the classification step of the verification substrate, which files every silent failure under a shape before a fix is chosen
Population
Every source file the named rules lint, and every failure a check or a review classifies
Freshness
A verdict stands until the linted source, a named rule or the shape's instances change
Refusal
A named rule fails the lint stage on the signature; the invariant each shape breaks is gated in every structured document that grounds it
Observation
The runtime observations that locate a failure, which are then filed under a shape
Evidence
Watched to fire and to accept: a suite plants a shape that names no invariant and no canon, and the bundled shapes validate clean
Authoritative side
The invariant the shape breaks, which the shape cites, while each named rule conforms to the shape's signature
Depends on
Not answered
Shape it refuses
Not answered

Stale read

Details
Shape
A check that reads a representation the run already changed.
Fix
Derive after the last mutator, and decide freshness by the fingerprint of the inputs and the code.
Breaks
epi-fresh-read
Seen in
Cache Poisoning by Design
Refused by rules
None, because no catalogued rule refuses a cache keyed by time or by lifetime alone

How it is checked

Checked by
the quality rules each shape names, which refuse its syntactic signature where one exists, the classification step of the verification substrate, which files every silent failure under a shape before a fix is chosen
Population
Every source file the named rules lint, and every failure a check or a review classifies
Freshness
A verdict stands until the linted source, a named rule or the shape's instances change
Refusal
A named rule fails the lint stage on the signature; the invariant each shape breaks is gated in every structured document that grounds it
Observation
The runtime observations that locate a failure, which are then filed under a shape
Evidence
Watched to fire and to accept: a suite plants a shape that names no invariant and no canon, and the bundled shapes validate clean
Authoritative side
The invariant the shape breaks, which the shape cites, while each named rule conforms to the shape's signature
Depends on
Not answered
Shape it refuses
Not answered

Two derivations

Details
Shape
One question answered by two derivations that can drift apart.
Fix
Collapse them to one derivation, computed by the producer of the answer.
Breaks
epi-one-derivation
Seen in
Duplicated Authority
Refused by rules
duplicate-code

How it is checked

Checked by
the quality rules each shape names, which refuse its syntactic signature where one exists, the classification step of the verification substrate, which files every silent failure under a shape before a fix is chosen
Population
Every source file the named rules lint, and every failure a check or a review classifies
Freshness
A verdict stands until the linted source, a named rule or the shape's instances change
Refusal
A named rule fails the lint stage on the signature; the invariant each shape breaks is gated in every structured document that grounds it
Observation
The runtime observations that locate a failure, which are then filed under a shape
Evidence
Watched to fire and to accept: a suite plants a shape that names no invariant and no canon, and the bundled shapes validate clean
Authoritative side
The invariant the shape breaks, which the shape cites, while each named rule conforms to the shape's signature
Depends on
Not answered
Shape it refuses
Not answered

Absence certified by observation

Details
Shape
No observed failure read as proof that no failure exists.
Fix
Use the observation to locate failures, and leave the verdict on absence to a check.
Breaks
epi-observation-locates
Refused by rules
None, because the shape lies in how a report is read, not in source

How it is checked

Checked by
the quality rules each shape names, which refuse its syntactic signature where one exists, the classification step of the verification substrate, which files every silent failure under a shape before a fix is chosen
Population
Every source file the named rules lint, and every failure a check or a review classifies
Freshness
A verdict stands until the linted source, a named rule or the shape's instances change
Refusal
A named rule fails the lint stage on the signature; the invariant each shape breaks is gated in every structured document that grounds it
Observation
The runtime observations that locate a failure, which are then filed under a shape
Evidence
Watched to fire and to accept: a suite plants a shape that names no invariant and no canon, and the bundled shapes validate clean
Authoritative side
The invariant the shape breaks, which the shape cites, while each named rule conforms to the shape's signature
Depends on
Not answered
Shape it refuses
Not answered

Stop on confidence

Details
Shape
A run that stops because the model is confident, before completion, saturation and verification hold.
Fix
Stop only when the three conditions hold, or when the run is blocked on something outside it.
Breaks
epi-terminate-on-three
Refused by rules
None, because the shape lies in how a run decides to stop, not in source

How it is checked

Checked by
the quality rules each shape names, which refuse its syntactic signature where one exists, the classification step of the verification substrate, which files every silent failure under a shape before a fix is chosen
Population
Every source file the named rules lint, and every failure a check or a review classifies
Freshness
A verdict stands until the linted source, a named rule or the shape's instances change
Refusal
A named rule fails the lint stage on the signature; the invariant each shape breaks is gated in every structured document that grounds it
Observation
The runtime observations that locate a failure, which are then filed under a shape
Evidence
Watched to fire and to accept: a suite plants a shape that names no invariant and no canon, and the bundled shapes validate clean
Authoritative side
The invariant the shape breaks, which the shape cites, while each named rule conforms to the shape's signature
Depends on
Not answered
Shape it refuses
Not answered

Unfailable floor

Details
Shape
A threshold set below what its population already meets, so the check it guards cannot fail until most of the population is gone.
Fix
Set the floor from the population as it stands, and plant a case below it to watch the check fail.
Breaks
epi-verdict-is-representation
Refused by rules
None, because whether a floor can be reached is a property of the population, which no source rule sees

How it is checked

Checked by
the quality rules each shape names, which refuse its syntactic signature where one exists, the classification step of the verification substrate, which files every silent failure under a shape before a fix is chosen
Population
Every source file the named rules lint, and every failure a check or a review classifies
Freshness
A verdict stands until the linted source, a named rule or the shape's instances change
Refusal
A named rule fails the lint stage on the signature; the invariant each shape breaks is gated in every structured document that grounds it
Observation
The runtime observations that locate a failure, which are then filed under a shape
Evidence
Watched to fire and to accept: a suite plants a shape that names no invariant and no canon, and the bundled shapes validate clean
Authoritative side
The invariant the shape breaks, which the shape cites, while each named rule conforms to the shape's signature
Depends on
Not answered
Shape it refuses
Not answered

Verdictless verifier

Details
Shape
A tool named as a verifier that reports no pass, no fail and no exit code, so what it examines has no check at all.
Fix
Give the tool a verdict and an exit code, or rename it to the probe it is.
Breaks
epi-reachable-check
Refused by rules
None, because whether a tool issues a verdict is a property of its output contract, which no source rule sees

How it is checked

Checked by
the quality rules each shape names, which refuse its syntactic signature where one exists, the classification step of the verification substrate, which files every silent failure under a shape before a fix is chosen
Population
Every source file the named rules lint, and every failure a check or a review classifies
Freshness
A verdict stands until the linted source, a named rule or the shape's instances change
Refusal
A named rule fails the lint stage on the signature; the invariant each shape breaks is gated in every structured document that grounds it
Observation
The runtime observations that locate a failure, which are then filed under a shape
Evidence
Watched to fire and to accept: a suite plants a shape that names no invariant and no canon, and the bundled shapes validate clean
Authoritative side
The invariant the shape breaks, which the shape cites, while each named rule conforms to the shape's signature
Depends on
Not answered
Shape it refuses
Not answered

Unindexed construct kind

Details
Shape
A kind of construct the index a family of checks reads never records, so every check over that index misses every construct of the kind.
Fix
Record the kind in the index, and confirm that a planted construct of the kind is reported.
Breaks
epi-preserved-distinction
Refused by rules
None, because an index's coverage of construct kinds is a property of its builder, which no source rule sees

How it is checked

Checked by
the quality rules each shape names, which refuse its syntactic signature where one exists, the classification step of the verification substrate, which files every silent failure under a shape before a fix is chosen
Population
Every source file the named rules lint, and every failure a check or a review classifies
Freshness
A verdict stands until the linted source, a named rule or the shape's instances change
Refusal
A named rule fails the lint stage on the signature; the invariant each shape breaks is gated in every structured document that grounds it
Observation
The runtime observations that locate a failure, which are then filed under a shape
Evidence
Watched to fire and to accept: a suite plants a shape that names no invariant and no canon, and the bundled shapes validate clean
Authoritative side
The invariant the shape breaks, which the shape cites, while each named rule conforms to the shape's signature
Depends on
Not answered
Shape it refuses
Not answered