Positive Negative Sum Balance

Description

Report positive and negative signed totals with net and magnitude-normalized balance; all-zero observations have unknown/null balance.

A descriptive statistic depends on what is counted, how observations are weighted, and which reference or denominator is used. Removing observations differs from replacing them at cutoffs, and a ratio of totals differs from a mean of individual ratios. Keep those conventions and measurement units explicit when comparing results.

Report positive and negative signed totals with net and magnitude-normalized balance; all-zero observations have unknown/null balance.

When to use this tool

Use this tool to report positive and negative signed totals with net and magnitude-normalized balance; all-zero observations have unknown/null balance.

How to use the tool and how it works

Enter values using the field definitions below.
Run the operation. Correct input errors before interpreting an output.
Read result.positive, result.negative, result.net, result.balance. Use the ordering, boundary rules and absence conditions described below.

Sum positive and negative values separately. Return their net and net divided by positive minus negative, or null when that denominator is zero.^[1]

Input field	Meaning and units	Accepted input
values	Finite observations in the measurement units used by reference or cutoffs.	Dense list of at most 128 finite numbers; integer/shape constraints above also apply.

Output field	Interpretation
result	Object containing the named fields below.
result.positive	Sum of positive observations, or positive count in the sign-count operation.
result.negative	Signed sum of negative observations, or negative count in the sign-count operation.
result.net	Positive subtotal plus signed negative subtotal.
result.balance	Net divided by total absolute signed magnitude, or null if that magnitude is zero.

json

{
  "input": {
    "values": [
      3,
      -1,
      -2,
      0
    ]
  },
  "output": {
    "result": {
      "positive": 3,
      "negative": -3,
      "net": 0,
      "balance": 0
    }
  }
}

Limitations and assumptions

The negative subtotal retains its sign; balance is a dimensionless descriptive ratio.
Use consistent units within each measured list and its reference/cutoffs. Ratios carry numerator units divided by denominator units unless those units cancel. Ordinary floating-point arithmetic is used; input validation does not establish statistical suitability.
Every declared top-level input field is required and unexpected fields are rejected. Ordinary strings are limited to 8,192 UTF-16 code units and lists to 128 entries, with tighter operation-specific bounds where stated. JSON text has bounded nesting and node counts.
Numeric outputs must be finite and no larger in absolute magnitude than the safe-integer limit; operations returning exact large integers use decimal text. Positions are zero-based and spans end exclusively unless the operation explicitly states a different convention.

Alternative or Complementary methods

Check the descriptive convention and denominator before comparing results. Use a separate inferential model when you need uncertainty, significance, causal interpretation or population estimates.

References

Tool behavior and example: Positive Negative Sum Balance — tool.io

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