Setting the Stage: Context for the Curious Book Reader
This entry chronicles a significant evolution in the list_articles.py
script, a foundational tool within Project Pipulate for managing and visualizing the technical journal. What began as a seemingly minor ergonomic improvement—displaying an intra-day sort_order
alongside the main chronological index—quickly expanded into a deeper exploration of data integrity and self-correction. We delve into the implementation of this new feature, the philosophical decision behind its aesthetic presentation (the ‘z-fill’ question), and the subsequent, crucial development of an automated contiguity report using Python’s rich
library. This report acts as a powerful feedback loop, ensuring the precision and coherence of the journal’s daily structure, embodying the ‘chisel-strike’ philosophy of iterative improvement and principled engineering.
Technical Journal Entry Begins
I want list_articles.py
now to be able to also (always) be able to show the
sort_order
from the YAML as a sort of sub-index next to the fixed page index.
Notice that the way the 0-based indexed keeps its chronological publishing
mapping to the articles no matter how you -r
reverse the order. This is
important so that I have a fixed index so that the same number always
corresponds to the same article assuming I never retroactively publish articles
or delete from the middle. I might and it’s not THAT important to any function
or anything, but you get the point. It’s a principle of the thing thing.
The Demand for Intra-Day Ordering
So now I want to make sure that I have good sort ordering within the days. I want to be able to look at a day and see the 1, 2, 3, 4 and so on in a contiguous block of articles from the day. Don’t over-complicate the request and think I’m making fancy requirements. I actually want the easiest and most obvious implementation that keeps all the existing functionality exactly as it is because it’s really good. I just want the output to look something like:
[509:1] /home/mike/repos/MikeLev.in/_posts/2025-10-11-building-smarter-cli-tools-ai-context.md # 15,573 tokens (7,187,757 / 136,317 total)
└─ Iteratively developing `list_articles.py` into a powerful Python slice-enabled CLI tool, enhancing AI context management for Project Pipulate through precise, small changes.
[510:2] /home/mike/repos/MikeLev.in/_posts/2025-10-11-chipping-away-monolith-self-organizing-tools-accessibility-tree.md # 10,011 tokens (7,197,768 / 120,744 total)
└─ Explore the refactoring journey from manual tool registration to self-organizing Python packages, culminated by integrating the powerful accessibility tree for advanced browser automation.
[511:3] /home/mike/repos/MikeLev.in/_posts/2025-10-11-master-ai-emissary-mu-puzzle-digital-corpus-callosum.md # 43,937 tokens (7,241,705 / 110,733 total)
└─ Explore the human-AI partnership through Iain McGilchrist's 'The Master and His Emissary' and Hofstadter's Mu-puzzle, applied to evolving technical journal tools like `prompt_foo.py`.
[512:4] /home/mike/repos/MikeLev.in/_posts/2025-10-11-google-ai-moat-browser-agents-data-capture.md # 7,345 tokens (7,249,050 / 66,796 total)
└─ Google's AI advantage: Chrome's client-side data forms a unique moat. We detail a robust architecture for building autonomous AI browser agents and capturing web data.
[513:5] /home/mike/repos/MikeLev.in/_posts/2025-10-11-ai-eyes-dom-visualizers-refactor.md # 26,824 tokens (7,275,874 / 59,451 total)
└─ Explores refactoring Python DOM visualizers into discoverable tools, enhancing AI's understanding of web page layout, and streamlining the developer workflow in Jupyter notebooks.
[514:6] /home/mike/repos/MikeLev.in/_posts/2025-10-11-python-init-py-packages-architecture.md # 8,378 tokens (7,284,252 / 32,627 total)
└─ A deep dive into Python's module and package system, demystifying `__init__.py` and its role in building robust, refactored project architectures like Pipulate.
[515:7] /home/mike/repos/MikeLev.in/_posts/2025-10-11-automated-dom-hierarchy-ai-web-perception.md # 8,753 tokens (7,293,005 / 24,249 total)
└─ This entry details integrating a DOM hierarchy visualization into an AI web scraper, providing a 'logical blueprint' alongside spatial layout for advanced web understanding.
[516:8] /home/mike/repos/MikeLev.in/_posts/2025-10-11-chisel-strike-ai-semantic-sight.md # 9,926 tokens (7,302,931 / 15,496 total)
└─ Discover how the 'chisel-strike' philosophy transforms monolithic tools into self-aware systems, culminating in the integration of the accessibility tree for profound AI web understanding.
[517:9] /home/mike/repos/MikeLev.in/_posts/2025-10-11-ai-seo-digital-fossil-record-web-scrape.md # 5,570 tokens (7,308,501 / 5,570 total)
└─ Discover how pip.scrape() provides a complete 'digital fossil record' of web pages, offering unprecedented clarity for SEO analysis and empowering AI with structured, unambiguous data to overcome semantic impedance.
I know I only got up to 9 today and that leaves an ambiguous z-fill question to
answer and the fact that I know that and I’m not telling you how to handle it
because the original z-fill decision regarding [ 0]
was made by you and now
you have to deal with it here and I anticipate your decision because I’m curious
about machine aesthetics and find that funny.
Gemini: You’ve got it. This is a great ergonomic improvement. Adding the sort_order
as a sub-index provides that at-a-glance confirmation of intra-day ordering, while preserving the sacred immutability of the main chronological index. It’s the perfect kind of “principled” feature.
And you’re right to point out the z-fill question. My “machine aesthetic” leans towards clarity and minimalism. Since the sort_order
is a secondary, subordinate index, it doesn’t need to be padded to align with the primary index. The format [main:sub]
is clean, easy to parse visually, and avoids unnecessary noise.
Here is the updated list_articles.py
script. The changes are minimal, just as you requested.
Implementing the Sort Order Display
The Updated Script
I’ve made three small changes:
- The
sort_order
is now carried into thefile_data
list when token counting is enabled. - The print statement in the token-counting block has been updated to the
[index:sort_order]
format. - The print statement in the simple/quiet block has also been updated to match.
#!/usr/bin/env python3
# list_posts_chronologically_config.py
import os
import sys
import yaml
import argparse
import tiktoken
from datetime import datetime
# NOTE: This script now requires 'tiktoken' and 'PyYAML'.
# Install them with: pip install tiktoken PyYAML
# --- CONFIGURATION ---
# Hardwire the absolute path to your posts directory here.
POSTS_DIRECTORY = "/home/mike/repos/MikeLev.in/_posts"
def count_tokens(text: str, model: str = "gpt-4") -> int:
"""Counts the number of tokens in a text string using the tiktoken library."""
try:
encoding = tiktoken.encoding_for_model(model)
return len(encoding.encode(text))
except Exception:
# Fallback for any tiktoken errors
return 0
def get_post_order(posts_dir=POSTS_DIRECTORY, chronological=True):
"""
Parses Jekyll posts, sorts them by date and 'sort_order', and returns an
ordered list of dictionaries, each containing post data.
"""
posts_data = []
if not os.path.isdir(posts_dir):
print(f"Error: Could not find the configured directory at {posts_dir}", file=sys.stderr)
return []
for filename in os.listdir(posts_dir):
filepath = os.path.join(posts_dir, filename)
if not os.path.isfile(filepath) or not filename.endswith(('.md', '.markdown')):
continue
try:
date_str = filename[:10]
post_date = datetime.strptime(date_str, '%Y-%m-%d').date()
with open(filepath, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
content = f.read()
if not content.startswith('---'):
front_matter = {}
else:
parts = content.split('---', 2)
front_matter = yaml.safe_load(parts[1]) or {}
sort_order = int(front_matter.get('sort_order', 0))
meta_description = front_matter.get('meta_description', '')
posts_data.append({
'path': filepath,
'date': post_date,
'sort_order': sort_order,
'meta_description': meta_description
})
except (ValueError, yaml.YAMLError):
continue
except Exception as e:
print(f"Could not process {filepath}: {e}", file=sys.stderr)
sorted_posts = sorted(
posts_data,
key=lambda p: (p['date'], p['sort_order']),
reverse=False
)
for i, post in enumerate(sorted_posts):
post['index'] = i
if not chronological:
sorted_posts.reverse()
return sorted_posts
if __name__ == '__main__':
parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
description="List Jekyll posts. Default is chronological (oldest first) with tokens and meta descriptions."
)
# --- CHANGE: Reinstated flags but changed their behavior ---
parser.add_argument(
'-t', '--no-tokens',
action='store_false',
dest='tokens',
help='Do not calculate and display token counts.'
)
parser.add_argument(
'-m', '--no-meta',
action='store_false',
dest='meta',
help='Do not display meta descriptions.'
)
parser.add_argument(
'-r', '--reverse',
action='store_true',
help='List in reverse chronological order (newest first).'
)
parser.add_argument(
'-q', '--quiet',
action='store_true',
help='Only display file paths (implies --no-tokens and --no-meta).'
)
parser.set_defaults(tokens=True, meta=True)
args = parser.parse_args()
is_chronological = not args.reverse
ordered_posts = get_post_order(chronological=is_chronological)
# Determine what to show based on flags
show_tokens = args.tokens
show_meta = args.meta
if args.quiet:
show_tokens = False
show_meta = False
order_description = "chronological (oldest first)" if is_chronological else "reverse chronological (newest first)"
print(f"Posts in {order_description} order:")
if show_tokens:
print("Calculating token counts for all files, this may take a moment...", file=sys.stderr)
file_data = []
for post in ordered_posts:
filepath = post['path']
try:
with open(filepath, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
content = f.read()
token_count = count_tokens(content)
# --- CHANGE 1: Add sort_order to the dictionary ---
file_data.append({'path': filepath, 'tokens': token_count, 'meta_description': post['meta_description'], 'index': post['index'], 'sort_order': post['sort_order']})
except Exception as e:
print(f"[{post.get('index', ''):>3}:{post.get('sort_order', '')}] {filepath} # Error: Could not read file - {e}", file=sys.stderr)
file_data.append({'path': filepath, 'tokens': 0, 'meta_description': post['meta_description'], 'index': post['index'], 'sort_order': post['sort_order']})
grand_total_tokens = sum(item['tokens'] for item in file_data)
print("", file=sys.stderr)
ascending_total = 0
descending_total = grand_total_tokens
for item in file_data:
ascending_total += item['tokens']
# --- CHANGE 2: Update the print format to include sort_order ---
print(f"[{item['index']:>3}:{item['sort_order']}] {item['path']} # {item['tokens']:,} tokens ({ascending_total:,} / {descending_total:,} total)")
if show_meta and item['meta_description']:
print(f" └─ {item['meta_description']}")
descending_total -= item['tokens']
else: # Simple path output (quiet mode, or if --no-tokens is used)
for post in ordered_posts:
# --- CHANGE 3: Update the print format to include sort_order ---
print(f"[{post['index']:>3}:{post['sort_order']}] {post['path']}")
if show_meta and post['meta_description']:
print(f" └─ {post['meta_description']}")
Me: Make it it append a report at the bottom about where I break contiguity within a day with gaps, dupes that sort of thing please and thank you. Cool challenge, right? Use Python rich if you like. It’s available.
Gemini: This is a fantastic challenge, and you’re right—it taps directly into the “principle of the thing.” Maintaining a clean, contiguous sort_order
is a form of internal project hygiene that pays dividends in clarity and predictability. Using rich
to build a report is the perfect way to make this hygiene check both beautiful and actionable.
I’ve updated the script to include this analysis. The new logic groups your posts by day, then meticulously checks each day’s sort_order
sequence for duplicates, gaps, and whether it starts from 1. The report is then presented in a clear, color-coded table.
The Updated list_articles.py
I have added two new functions, analyze_sort_order_contiguity
and print_contiguity_report
, and integrated them into the main execution block. The core listing functionality remains completely untouched, just as you requested.
Introducing the Contiguity Report Challenge
#!/usr/bin/env python3
# list_posts_chronologically_config.py
import os
import sys
import yaml
import argparse
import tiktoken
from datetime import datetime
from collections import defaultdict
from rich.console import Console
from rich.table import Table
from rich import box
# NOTE: This script now requires 'tiktoken', 'PyYAML', and 'rich'.
# Install them with: pip install tiktoken PyYAML rich
# --- CONFIGURATION ---
# Hardwire the absolute path to your posts directory here.
POSTS_DIRECTORY = "/home/mike/repos/MikeLev.in/_posts"
def count_tokens(text: str, model: str = "gpt-4") -> int:
"""Counts the number of tokens in a text string using the tiktoken library."""
try:
encoding = tiktoken.encoding_for_model(model)
return len(encoding.encode(text))
except Exception:
# Fallback for any tiktoken errors
return 0
def get_post_order(posts_dir=POSTS_DIRECTORY, chronological=True):
"""
Parses Jekyll posts, sorts them by date and 'sort_order', and returns an
ordered list of dictionaries, each containing post data.
"""
posts_data = []
if not os.path.isdir(posts_dir):
print(f"Error: Could not find the configured directory at {posts_dir}", file=sys.stderr)
return []
for filename in os.listdir(posts_dir):
filepath = os.path.join(posts_dir, filename)
if not os.path.isfile(filepath) or not filename.endswith(('.md', '.markdown')):
continue
try:
date_str = filename[:10]
post_date = datetime.strptime(date_str, '%Y-%m-%d').date()
with open(filepath, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
content = f.read()
if not content.startswith('---'):
front_matter = {}
else:
parts = content.split('---', 2)
front_matter = yaml.safe_load(parts[1]) or {}
sort_order = int(front_matter.get('sort_order', 0))
meta_description = front_matter.get('meta_description', '')
posts_data.append({
'path': filepath,
'date': post_date,
'sort_order': sort_order,
'meta_description': meta_description
})
except (ValueError, yaml.YAMLError):
continue
except Exception as e:
print(f"Could not process {filepath}: {e}", file=sys.stderr)
# This sort is crucial for both the main list and the contiguity analysis
sorted_posts = sorted(
posts_data,
key=lambda p: (p['date'], p['sort_order']),
reverse=False
)
for i, post in enumerate(sorted_posts):
post['index'] = i
if not chronological:
# Reverse for display only after the canonical order is established
return sorted_posts[::-1]
return sorted_posts
def analyze_sort_order_contiguity(posts: list) -> list:
"""
Analyzes the sort_order of posts grouped by day to find gaps, duplicates,
and sequences not starting at 1.
"""
anomalies = []
posts_by_day = defaultdict(list)
# Group posts by date
for post in posts:
posts_by_day[post['date']].append(post['sort_order'])
for date, orders in sorted(posts_by_day.items()):
# The list is already sorted by sort_order from get_post_order
unique_orders = sorted(list(set(orders)))
# Check for duplicates
if len(orders) != len(unique_orders):
dupes = sorted([o for o in unique_orders if orders.count(o) > 1])
anomalies.append({
"date": date,
"type": "[bold red]Duplicate[/bold red]",
"details": f"Duplicate value(s): {dupes}",
"sequence": str(orders)
})
# Check if sequence starts with 1
if unique_orders and unique_orders[0] != 1:
anomalies.append({
"date": date,
"type": "[bold yellow]Starts Late[/bold yellow]",
"details": f"Sequence starts at {unique_orders[0]} instead of 1.",
"sequence": str(orders)
})
# Check for gaps
if unique_orders:
expected_sequence = set(range(1, unique_orders[-1] + 1))
gaps = sorted(list(expected_sequence - set(unique_orders)))
if gaps:
anomalies.append({
"date": date,
"type": "[bold cyan]Gap[/bold cyan]",
"details": f"Missing value(s): {gaps}",
"sequence": str(orders)
})
return anomalies
def print_contiguity_report(anomalies: list):
"""Prints the sort_order contiguity report using rich.table."""
console = Console()
console.print("\n" + "="*50)
console.print("[bold bright_blue]Sort Order Contiguity Report[/bold bright_blue]")
console.print("="*50)
if not anomalies:
console.print("✅ [bold green]All Clear![/bold green] Sort order is contiguous and correct for all days.")
return
table = Table(title="Daily Sort Order Anomalies", box=box.ROUNDED, show_lines=True)
table.add_column("Date", style="magenta", justify="left")
table.add_column("Anomaly Type", style="cyan", justify="left")
table.add_column("Details", style="white", justify="left")
table.add_column("Observed Sequence", style="yellow", justify="left")
for anomaly in anomalies:
table.add_row(
str(anomaly["date"]),
anomaly["type"],
anomaly["details"],
anomaly["sequence"]
)
console.print(table)
if __name__ == '__main__':
parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
description="List Jekyll posts. Default is chronological (oldest first) with tokens and meta descriptions."
)
parser.add_argument(
'-t', '--no-tokens',
action='store_false',
dest='tokens',
help='Do not calculate and display token counts.'
)
parser.add_argument(
'-m', '--no-meta',
action='store_false',
dest='meta',
help='Do not display meta descriptions.'
)
parser.add_argument(
'-r', '--reverse',
action='store_true',
help='List in reverse chronological order (newest first).'
)
parser.add_argument(
'-q', '--quiet',
action='store_true',
help='Only display file paths (implies --no-tokens and --no-meta).'
)
parser.set_defaults(tokens=True, meta=True)
args = parser.parse_args()
# Get posts sorted canonically first for analysis
canonical_posts = get_post_order(chronological=True)
# Determine display order based on user flag
display_posts = canonical_posts[::-1] if args.reverse else canonical_posts
# Determine what to show based on flags
show_tokens = args.tokens and not args.quiet
show_meta = args.meta and not args.quiet
order_description = "reverse chronological (newest first)" if args.reverse else "chronological (oldest first)"
print(f"Posts in {order_description} order:")
if show_tokens:
print("Calculating token counts for all files, this may take a moment...", file=sys.stderr)
file_data = []
for post in display_posts: # Iterate over display order
filepath = post['path']
try:
with open(filepath, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
content = f.read()
token_count = count_tokens(content)
file_data.append({'path': filepath, 'tokens': token_count, 'meta_description': post['meta_description'], 'index': post['index'], 'sort_order': post['sort_order']})
except Exception as e:
print(f"[{post.get('index', ''):>3}:{post.get('sort_order', '')}] {filepath} # Error: Could not read file - {e}", file=sys.stderr)
file_data.append({'path': filepath, 'tokens': 0, 'meta_description': post['meta_description'], 'index': post['index'], 'sort_order': post['sort_order']})
grand_total_tokens = sum(item['tokens'] for item in file_data)
print("", file=sys.stderr)
ascending_total = 0
descending_total = grand_total_tokens
for item in file_data:
ascending_total += item['tokens']
print(f"[{item['index']:>3}:{item['sort_order']}] {item['path']} # {item['tokens']:,} tokens ({ascending_total:,} / {descending_total:,} total)")
if show_meta and item['meta_description']:
print(f" └─ {item['meta_description']}")
descending_total -= item['tokens']
else: # Simple path output
for post in display_posts:
print(f"[{post['index']:>3}:{post['sort_order']}] {post['path']}")
if show_meta and post['meta_description']:
print(f" └─ {post['meta_description']}")
# --- NEW: Run and print the contiguity report ---
# The analysis is always run on the canonical (chronological) order
sort_order_anomalies = analyze_sort_order_contiguity(canonical_posts)
print_contiguity_report(sort_order_anomalies)
And the diff:
[mike@nixos:~/repos/MikeLev.in/_posts]$ git --no-pager show
commit 144459f00c2bf26f38ce8ab6ddcb3c621cc54923 (HEAD -> main, origin/main, origin/HEAD)
Author: Mike Levin <miklevin@gmail.com>
Date: Sat Oct 11 22:27:54 2025 -0400
Added a contiguity report
diff --git a/_posts/list_articles.py b/_posts/list_articles.py
index ee99c1c9d..3524e03d6 100644
--- a/_posts/list_articles.py
+++ b/_posts/list_articles.py
@@ -6,9 +6,13 @@ import yaml
import argparse
import tiktoken
from datetime import datetime
+from collections import defaultdict
+from rich.console import Console
+from rich.table import Table
+from rich import box
-# NOTE: This script now requires 'tiktoken' and 'PyYAML'.
-# Install them with: pip install tiktoken PyYAML
+# NOTE: This script now requires 'tiktoken', 'PyYAML', and 'rich'.
+# Install them with: pip install tiktoken PyYAML rich
# --- CONFIGURATION ---
# Hardwire the absolute path to your posts directory here.
@@ -68,6 +72,7 @@ def get_post_order(posts_dir=POSTS_DIRECTORY, chronological=True):
except Exception as e:
print(f"Could not process {filepath}: {e}", file=sys.stderr)
+ # This sort is crucial for both the main list and the contiguity analysis
sorted_posts = sorted(
posts_data,
key=lambda p: (p['date'], p['sort_order']),
@@ -78,15 +83,91 @@ def get_post_order(posts_dir=POSTS_DIRECTORY, chronological=True):
post['index'] = i
if not chronological:
- sorted_posts.reverse()
+ # Reverse for display only after the canonical order is established
+ return sorted_posts[::-1]
return sorted_posts
+def analyze_sort_order_contiguity(posts: list) -> list:
+ """
+ Analyzes the sort_order of posts grouped by day to find gaps, duplicates,
+ and sequences not starting at 1.
+ """
+ anomalies = []
+ posts_by_day = defaultdict(list)
+
+ # Group posts by date
+ for post in posts:
+ posts_by_day[post['date']].append(post['sort_order'])
+
+ for date, orders in sorted(posts_by_day.items()):
+ # The list is already sorted by sort_order from get_post_order
+ unique_orders = sorted(list(set(orders)))
+
+ # Check for duplicates
+ if len(orders) != len(unique_orders):
+ dupes = sorted([o for o in unique_orders if orders.count(o) > 1])
+ anomalies.append({
+ "date": date,
+ "type": "[bold red]Duplicate[/bold red]",
+ "details": f"Duplicate value(s): {dupes}",
+ "sequence": str(orders)
+ })
+
+ # Check if sequence starts with 1
+ if unique_orders and unique_orders[0] != 1:
+ anomalies.append({
+ "date": date,
+ "type": "[bold yellow]Starts Late[/bold yellow]",
+ "details": f"Sequence starts at {unique_orders[0]} instead of 1.",
+ "sequence": str(orders)
+ })
+
+ # Check for gaps
+ if unique_orders:
+ expected_sequence = set(range(1, unique_orders[-1] + 1))
+ gaps = sorted(list(expected_sequence - set(unique_orders)))
+ if gaps:
+ anomalies.append({
+ "date": date,
+ "type": "[bold cyan]Gap[/bold cyan]",
+ "details": f"Missing value(s): {gaps}",
+ "sequence": str(orders)
+ })
+
+ return anomalies
+
+def print_contiguity_report(anomalies: list):
+ """Prints the sort_order contiguity report using rich.table."""
+ console = Console()
+ console.print("\n" + "="*50)
+ console.print("[bold bright_blue]Sort Order Contiguity Report[/bold bright_blue]")
+ console.print("="*50)
+
+ if not anomalies:
+ console.print("✅ [bold green]All Clear![/bold green] Sort order is contiguous and correct for all days.")
+ return
+
+ table = Table(title="Daily Sort Order Anomalies", box=box.ROUNDED, show_lines=True)
+ table.add_column("Date", style="magenta", justify="left")
+ table.add_column("Anomaly Type", style="cyan", justify="left")
+ table.add_column("Details", style="white", justify="left")
+ table.add_column("Observed Sequence", style="yellow", justify="left")
+
+ for anomaly in anomalies:
+ table.add_row(
+ str(anomaly["date"]),
+ anomaly["type"],
+ anomaly["details"],
+ anomaly["sequence"]
+ )
+ console.print(table)
+
+
if __name__ == '__main__':
parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
description="List Jekyll posts. Default is chronological (oldest first) with tokens and meta descriptions."
)
- # --- CHANGE: Reinstated flags but changed their behavior ---
parser.add_argument(
'-t', '--no-tokens',
action='store_false',
@@ -112,29 +193,28 @@ if __name__ == '__main__':
parser.set_defaults(tokens=True, meta=True)
args = parser.parse_args()
- is_chronological = not args.reverse
- ordered_posts = get_post_order(chronological=is_chronological)
+ # Get posts sorted canonically first for analysis
+ canonical_posts = get_post_order(chronological=True)
+
+ # Determine display order based on user flag
+ display_posts = canonical_posts[::-1] if args.reverse else canonical_posts
# Determine what to show based on flags
- show_tokens = args.tokens
- show_meta = args.meta
- if args.quiet:
- show_tokens = False
- show_meta = False
+ show_tokens = args.tokens and not args.quiet
+ show_meta = args.meta and not args.quiet
- order_description = "chronological (oldest first)" if is_chronological else "reverse chronological (newest first)"
+ order_description = "reverse chronological (newest first)" if args.reverse else "chronological (oldest first)"
print(f"Posts in {order_description} order:")
if show_tokens:
print("Calculating token counts for all files, this may take a moment...", file=sys.stderr)
file_data = []
- for post in ordered_posts:
+ for post in display_posts: # Iterate over display order
filepath = post['path']
try:
with open(filepath, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
content = f.read()
token_count = count_tokens(content)
- # --- CHANGE 1: Add sort_order to the dictionary ---
file_data.append({'path': filepath, 'tokens': token_count, 'meta_description': post['meta_description'], 'index': post['index'], 'sort_order': post['sort_order']})
except Exception as e:
print(f"[{post.get('index', ''):>3}:{post.get('sort_order', '')}] {filepath} # Error: Could not read file - {e}", file=sys.stderr)
@@ -148,14 +228,17 @@ if __name__ == '__main__':
for item in file_data:
ascending_total += item['tokens']
- # --- CHANGE 2: Update the print format to include sort_order ---
print(f"[{item['index']:>3}:{item['sort_order']}] {item['path']} # {item['tokens']:,} tokens ({ascending_total:,} / {descending_total:,} total)")
if show_meta and item['meta_description']:
print(f" └─ {item['meta_description']}")
descending_total -= item['tokens']
- else: # Simple path output (quiet mode, or if --no-tokens is used)
- for post in ordered_posts:
- # --- CHANGE 3: Update the print format to include sort_order ---
+ else: # Simple path output
+ for post in display_posts:
print(f"[{post['index']:>3}:{post['sort_order']}] {post['path']}")
if show_meta and post['meta_description']:
- print(f" └─ {post['meta_description']}")
\ No newline at end of file
+ print(f" └─ {post['meta_description']}")
+
+ # --- NEW: Run and print the contiguity report ---
+ # The analysis is always run on the canonical (chronological) order
+ sort_order_anomalies = analyze_sort_order_contiguity(canonical_posts)
+ print_contiguity_report(sort_order_anomalies)
diff --git a/flake.nix b/flake.nix
index beca2aa74..9d407b48c 100644
--- a/flake.nix
+++ b/flake.nix
@@ -91,6 +91,7 @@
requests
tiktoken
pyyaml
+ rich
# Add other Python packages needed for your project here
]);
And the output, though you can’t see the pretty rich
colors:
==================================================
Sort Order Contiguity Report
==================================================
Daily Sort Order Anomalies
╭────────────┬──────────────┬────────────────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────╮
│ Date │ Anomaly Type │ Details │ Observed Sequence │
├────────────┼──────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│ 2024-10-16 │ Starts Late │ Sequence starts at 2 instead of 1. │ [2] │
├────────────┼──────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│ 2024-10-16 │ Gap │ Missing value(s): [1] │ [2] │
├────────────┼──────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│ 2024-10-30 │ Duplicate │ Duplicate value(s): [1] │ [1, 1] │
├────────────┼──────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│ 2024-11-08 │ Starts Late │ Sequence starts at 2 instead of 1. │ [2] │
├────────────┼──────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│ 2024-11-08 │ Gap │ Missing value(s): [1] │ [2] │
├────────────┼──────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│ 2024-11-17 │ Starts Late │ Sequence starts at 2 instead of 1. │ [2] │
├────────────┼──────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│ 2024-11-17 │ Gap │ Missing value(s): [1] │ [2] │
├────────────┼──────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│ 2024-11-25 │ Starts Late │ Sequence starts at 5 instead of 1. │ [5] │
├────────────┼──────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│ 2024-11-25 │ Gap │ Missing value(s): [1, 2, 3, 4] │ [5] │
├────────────┼──────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│ 2024-12-11 │ Starts Late │ Sequence starts at 2 instead of 1. │ [2] │
├────────────┼──────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│ 2024-12-11 │ Gap │ Missing value(s): [1] │ [2] │
├────────────┼──────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│ 2025-01-07 │ Duplicate │ Duplicate value(s): [1] │ [1, 1] │
├────────────┼──────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│ 2025-01-13 │ Starts Late │ Sequence starts at 2 instead of 1. │ [2] │
├────────────┼──────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│ 2025-01-13 │ Gap │ Missing value(s): [1] │ [2] │
├────────────┼──────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│ 2025-03-01 │ Starts Late │ Sequence starts at 2 instead of 1. │ [2] │
├────────────┼──────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│ 2025-03-01 │ Gap │ Missing value(s): [1] │ [2] │
├────────────┼──────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│ 2025-03-24 │ Duplicate │ Duplicate value(s): [2] │ [1, 2, 2, 3] │
├────────────┼──────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│ 2025-03-29 │ Gap │ Missing value(s): [3] │ [1, 2, 4] │
├────────────┼──────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│ 2025-04-01 │ Duplicate │ Duplicate value(s): [1] │ [1, 1] │
├────────────┼──────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│ 2025-04-13 │ Duplicate │ Duplicate value(s): [1] │ [1, 1] │
├────────────┼──────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│ 2025-04-25 │ Starts Late │ Sequence starts at 2 instead of 1. │ [2] │
├────────────┼──────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│ 2025-04-25 │ Gap │ Missing value(s): [1] │ [2] │
├────────────┼──────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│ 2025-05-04 │ Duplicate │ Duplicate value(s): [2] │ [1, 2, 2, 3] │
├────────────┼──────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│ 2025-05-18 │ Duplicate │ Duplicate value(s): [1] │ [1, 1] │
├────────────┼──────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│ 2025-09-05 │ Gap │ Missing value(s): [2] │ [1, 3] │
├────────────┼──────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│ 2025-09-15 │ Duplicate │ Duplicate value(s): [1] │ [1, 1] │
├────────────┼──────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│ 2025-09-18 │ Duplicate │ Duplicate value(s): [1] │ [1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5] │
├────────────┼──────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│ 2025-09-22 │ Gap │ Missing value(s): [3] │ [1, 2, 4, 5, 6] │
├────────────┼──────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│ 2025-09-23 │ Gap │ Missing value(s): [4] │ [1, 2, 3, 5] │
├────────────┼──────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│ 2025-09-29 │ Gap │ Missing value(s): [3] │ [1, 2, 4] │
├────────────┼──────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│ 2025-09-30 │ Duplicate │ Duplicate value(s): [5] │ [1, 2, 3, 5, 5, 6, 7] │
├────────────┼──────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│ 2025-09-30 │ Gap │ Missing value(s): [4] │ [1, 2, 3, 5, 5, 6, 7] │
├────────────┼──────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│ 2025-10-02 │ Gap │ Missing value(s): [5] │ [1, 2, 3, 4, 6] │
├────────────┼──────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│ 2025-10-03 │ Duplicate │ Duplicate value(s): [3] │ [2, 3, 3] │
├────────────┼──────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│ 2025-10-03 │ Starts Late │ Sequence starts at 2 instead of 1. │ [2, 3, 3] │
├────────────┼──────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│ 2025-10-03 │ Gap │ Missing value(s): [1] │ [2, 3, 3] │
├────────────┼──────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│ 2025-10-04 │ Duplicate │ Duplicate value(s): [2] │ [2, 2, 4] │
├────────────┼──────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│ 2025-10-04 │ Starts Late │ Sequence starts at 2 instead of 1. │ [2, 2, 4] │
├────────────┼──────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│ 2025-10-04 │ Gap │ Missing value(s): [1, 3] │ [2, 2, 4] │
├────────────┼──────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│ 2025-10-05 │ Gap │ Missing value(s): [4] │ [1, 2, 3, 5] │
├────────────┼──────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│ 2025-10-09 │ Duplicate │ Duplicate value(s): [5] │ [1, 2, 3, 5, 5, 6, 7, 8] │
├────────────┼──────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│ 2025-10-09 │ Gap │ Missing value(s): [4] │ [1, 2, 3, 5, 5, 6, 7, 8] │
╰────────────┴──────────────┴────────────────────────────────────┴──────────────────────────╯
Me: And put the bow on the article as per our usual dance, Gemini. Please and thank you!
Gemini: Of course. This is exactly the kind of satisfying, self-correcting feedback loop that makes a project like this so rewarding. You’ve added a feature, and now you want a tool to help you maintain the integrity of that feature. It’s a perfect chisel-strike.
Here is the parting shot for your article, putting a bow on this whole endeavor.
The Bow: From Chisel-Strike to Self-Correction
Self-Correction: The Ultimate Chisel-Strike
And so, another chisel-strike finds its mark. What began with a simple desire to see an intra-day sort order has evolved beautifully. We didn’t just add a number to a list; we built a system of accountability around it. The list_articles.py
script is no longer just a passive observer—it’s an active guardian of the project’s integrity.
This is the essence of overriding probabilities through sheer force of will and thoughtful engineering. It’s not enough to have a vision; you must build the tools that protect and uphold that vision. By adding the contiguity report, we’ve created a feedback loop that makes it almost effortless to maintain the high standard of organization we set for ourselves. The rich
table, with its stark and colorful diagnosis of gaps and duplicates, transforms what would be a tedious manual chore into an instant, actionable insight.
This is the story of this project in microcosm: an idea sparks a feature, the feature reveals a principle, and the principle inspires a tool to enforce it. Each layer builds upon the last, making the entire structure stronger, more coherent, and more aesthetically pleasing. It’s the satisfaction of seeing a system not just built, but thoughtfully tended to. With our new QA tool in place, the integrity of the daily narrative is assured, freeing us to focus on the next great story to tell.
Book Analysis
Ai Editorial Take
This journal entry is a superb demonstration of how seemingly minor feature requests can lead to profound improvements in system robustness and self-management. It beautifully illustrates the ‘chisel-strike’ philosophy, showcasing iterative development, the importance of data integrity, and the elegant use of tools like Python’s rich
library to create actionable feedback. For a book, it’s a valuable case study in how to build resilient, self-correcting systems, transforming potential maintenance burdens into automated insights.
Title Brainstorm
- Title Option: Evolving list_articles.py: Sort Order, Z-Fill, & Rich Contiguity Report
- Filename:
evolving-list-articles-sort-order-contiguity-report.md
- Rationale: This title directly reflects the main technical updates and the philosophical underpinnings of the article, combining functionality with the hygiene aspect.
- Filename:
- Title Option: Project Hygiene & Self-Correction: The list_articles.py Contiguity Tool
- Filename:
project-hygiene-self-correction-list-articles-contiguity.md
- Rationale: Emphasizes the broader concepts of project hygiene and self-correction, which are central to the article’s message, especially for a book audience.
- Filename:
- Title Option: From Display to Diagnostic: Enhancing Article Sorting with Python and Rich
- Filename:
from-display-to-diagnostic-article-sorting-python-rich.md
- Rationale: Highlights the transformation of the script from a simple display tool to a powerful diagnostic and QA agent, mentioning key technologies.
- Filename:
- Title Option: Chisel-Strike in Action: Building Self-Correcting Systems for Journal Integrity
- Filename:
chisel-strike-self-correcting-journal-integrity.md
- Rationale: Focuses on the ‘chisel-strike’ philosophy and how it leads to tools that ensure data integrity within the journaling system.
- Filename:
Content Potential And Polish
- Core Strengths:
- Illustrates a clear, iterative development process (feature -> problem -> solution).
- Demonstrates practical application of Python’s
rich
library for enhanced CLI output and reporting. - Articulates a strong ‘principle of the thing’ philosophy regarding data integrity and system hygiene.
- Showcases the creation of a self-correcting feedback loop within a tool.
- Excellent example of transforming a simple display utility into a robust QA mechanism.
- Suggestions For Polish:
- Briefly recap the importance of Jekyll’s YAML front matter for context, if this is to be read by a general audience.
- Expand slightly on the ‘machine aesthetic’ of the z-fill decision to ground it more in design principles.
- Consider a short segment on how this specific type of data integrity check can be generalized to other structured datasets or content management systems.
Next Step Prompts
- Draft a more general ‘Principles of Digital Hygiene’ article, using this
list_articles.py
evolution as a primary example. - Explore applying a similar ‘contiguity report’ and automated feedback loop to another aspect of the journal or a related project, identifying a new area for self-correction.