astrolabe/docs/exploration/multi-view-data-model-scope.md

# Multi-view data model — scope & plan

Astrolabe authors arbitrary Vega-Lite, including **composed** specs (`layer`,
`hconcat`/`vconcat`/`concat`, `facet`, `repeat`). Most of the spec-structure
machinery already handles composition; the data-facing features carried
single-view assumptions. This memo records the assessment, the data-model
contract that anchors the work, and the milestone plan to make multi-view support
durable. The guiding constraint: **extend Vega-Lite, never break it** — every
native data form must keep working.

## The data-model contract

A dataset reference is exactly Vega-Lite **named data**: a `data` block with a
string `name` and no `values`/`url`/generator key, whose name the spec does not
self-define via top-level `datasets`. This mirrors Vega-Lite's `isNamedData`
(`reference/vega-lite/src/data.ts`). The classification is owned by
`core/spec-data` (`classifyData`, `libraryRefName`); reference extraction
(`spec-refs`), rename (`spec-refs`), and render-time resolution (`rendering`) all
route through it. See `docs/architecture/07` §3.1.

Library references resolve to inline data before embedding
(`core/rendering` → `prepareSpecForRender`); a self-defined `datasets` name is
left for Vega-Lite to resolve natively.

## Assessment: already multi-view vs. single-view assumptions

**Already composition-aware** (recurse all view operators): ref extraction/rename
(`spec-refs`), reference resolution + fit-mode (`rendering`), structural wrap/
unwrap/add-view (`spec-transforms`, `spec-cursor`, `spec-insert`), derived-field
collection (`spec-fields`), config baking (`spec-config`), standalone export
(`chart-export`, reuses `prepareSpecForRender`).

**Single-view assumptions** (the work):

- **Editor data context** (`app/services/active-dataset`) resolves _one_ dataset
  for the whole draft (first ref, or first inline data), with no notion of which
  view the cursor sits in. Completion/hover/inlay (`spec-dataset-hints`) and the
  facet/repeat field defaults (`spec-transform-actions`) therefore offer the wrong
  view's columns in a composition whose views bind different datasets.
- **Extract inline data** (`app/stores/ExtractStore`) lifts only the top-level
  `data` block.
- **Data inspector** (`DataInspector`) surfaces one input + one resolved table; a
  composition produces several `source_<n>`/`data_<n>`.
- **`deriveSnippetName`** (`core/snippet`) reads top-level `mark`/`encoding` only,
  so a composed spec falls back to the default name (graceful, not a bug).
- **Chart builder** is single-view by design; its strict round-trip hydration
  returns `null` for composed specs, so they stay Monaco-only (correct).

## Vega-Lite fidelity clashes

1. **Named inline/url data misread as a reference** — classifying on "has a
   string `name`" alone caught named-inline (`{ name, values }`) and named-url,
   breaking valid specs (spurious `DatasetNotFoundError`, or clobbered inline
   values). _Resolved_ by the `core/spec-data` classifier (M1).
2. **Shadowing** — a library dataset whose name equals a self-defined `datasets`
   key is silently ignored (self-defined wins). Documented precedence; candidate
   for a user-facing note, no code change required.
3. **Case-rule split** — library matching is case-insensitive (`naming.ts`);
   self-defined exclusion and Vega-Lite's own named-data lookup are case-sensitive.
   These are distinct namespaces, so the split is defensible; minor.
4. **Runtime-injected named data** — Vega-Lite allows binding `{ name }` at
   runtime; Astrolabe always pre-resolves, so an imported spec relying on runtime
   injection won't render. Out of scope.

## Milestone plan

- **M1 — data-model foundation** ✅ — `core/spec-data` classifier mirroring
  `isNamedData`; `spec-refs` + `rendering` routed through it. Closes clash 1.
- **M2 — view-scoped editor context** ✅ — `dataBindingAtPath` (climb the cursor's
  JSON path to the nearest enclosing `data`, honoring Vega-Lite's parent→child
  inheritance) + `derivedFieldNamesAtPath` (ancestor-chain `as` outputs).
  `active-dataset` is cursor-scoped (`dataInfoAt(text, offset)`), resolving columns
  for every form (library ref case-insensitive, inline, named-inline, self-defined
  `datasets`, url/generator → none); the three Monaco providers and the
  facet/repeat defaults pass the cursor offset.
- **M4 — multi-view inspection** ✅ (pulled ahead of M3) — `core/inspect-views`
  enumerates the distinct tables the marks draw (from the compiled Vega spec's
  `from.data` + `data[].source` lineage), each with its input + resolved ends;
  `RenderHandle.inspectData()` returns those tables with rows; `DataInspector` adds
  a `SelectControl` view picker (hidden for the single-table case), labels via
  `inspectViewLabel` (named dataset or "View N", never compiler names) + a
  `columns · rows` cue. Enumerating by drawn table (not authored view) is forced by
  Vega-Lite desugaring (a `point: true` line compiles to two layers). Replaced the
  single-pair `core/result-data`.
- **M5 — live / interactive inspection** — make the inspector react to interactive
  selections. A selection-as-**filter** (`filter: {param}`) recomputes a downstream
  view's `data_N` live, so the inspector should re-read on selection change to show
  the brushed result ("what am I visualizing _now_"); a selection-as-**highlight**
  (a `condition` encoding) changes no data, so nothing to react to. Needs a refresh
  model beyond the per-render `renderEpoch`: subscribe to the live view
  (`view.addDataListener` / selection signals), debounced (a brush drag pulses
  continuously — latency/interaction `/council` pass), and a default-on-vs-toggle
  choice. Selection `*_store` tables are not drawn, so the M4 enumeration already
  ignores them.
- **M3 — view-scoped extract** — seed Extract from the focused view's inline data
  (reusing the cursor-scope machinery) and rewrite that view's `data`.

Delivery is incremental, one milestone per commit, verified against real behavior.
The consolidated data-model contract write-up into `docs/architecture` (05/08)
lands once the shape is final.