Description
Return publication-gap bounds from two date envelopes.
Bibliographic records connect authors, versions, publication dates and locators through explicit identifiers. Literal comparisons and counts help reconcile those records but do not retrieve publications, authenticate sources or establish the quality or meaning of a citation.
Return publication-gap bounds from two date envelopes.
When to use this tool
Use Publication Date Precision Gap when checking the stated bibliographic record, locator, date or counting convention.
How to use the tool and how it works
- Enter firstEarliestDate, firstLatestDate, secondEarliestDate, secondLatestDate. Use the units and conventions below.
- Run the tool. Correct any format, range, or cross-field input error before interpreting the output.
- Read minimumGapDays, maximumGapDays, orderingCertain. Inspect orderingCertain before interpreting the associated values.
Return publication-gap bounds from two date envelopes. Require real Gregorian ordered intervals; minimumGap = secondEarliest-firstLatest, maximumGap = secondLatest-firstEarliest in UTC days, orderingCertain requires strict nonoverlap in either direction.1
| Input field | Meaning and units | Accepted input |
|---|---|---|
| firstEarliestDate | First Earliest Date | Required. Text; maximum UTF-16 length 8192. Real proleptic Gregorian YYYY-MM-DD; four-digit years 0000-9999 accepted. |
| firstLatestDate | First Latest Date | Required. Text; maximum UTF-16 length 8192. Real proleptic Gregorian YYYY-MM-DD; four-digit years 0000-9999 accepted. |
| secondEarliestDate | Second Earliest Date | Required. Text; maximum UTF-16 length 8192. Real proleptic Gregorian YYYY-MM-DD; four-digit years 0000-9999 accepted. |
| secondLatestDate | Second Latest Date | Required. Text; maximum UTF-16 length 8192. Real proleptic Gregorian YYYY-MM-DD; four-digit years 0000-9999 accepted. |
| Output field | Interpretation | Returned shape |
|---|---|---|
| minimumGapDays | Minimum Gap Days | Required. Safe integer. |
| maximumGapDays | Maximum Gap Days | Required. Safe integer. |
| orderingCertain | Strictly disjoint date envelopes in either order; touching endpoints are not enough. | Required. Boolean. |
{
"input": {
"firstEarliestDate": "2024-01-01",
"firstLatestDate": "2024-01-03",
"secondEarliestDate": "2024-01-05",
"secondLatestDate": "2024-01-06"
},
"output": {
"minimumGapDays": 2,
"maximumGapDays": 5,
"orderingCertain": true
}
}Limitations and assumptions
- Touching date envelopes are not certainly ordered; these are supplied date precision bounds, not confidence intervals or publication-history verification.
- Inputs must satisfy both the field types and the cross-field conditions above. Invalid input causes an error; a successful false flag or documented placeholder is a different result.
Alternative or Complementary methods
Inspect the original publications and authoritative metadata, and use complete identifier-aware reference management for scholarly attribution and evidence appraisal.
References
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