Type system enforces metadata that navigation depends on
Type: note · Status: seedling
The navigation argument assumes documents have descriptions. But descriptions don't appear spontaneously — the type system is what makes them exist.
The note base type defines description as the only required field. Any document that crosses from text to note must acquire a description, and validation can check that it's present, non-empty, and discriminating. This is the enforcement mechanism: the type creates the obligation, and /validate checks compliance.
Without this enforcement, a knowledge base degrades quickly. Agents writing notes under time pressure skip metadata. Human authors forget. The result is a collection of documents that can only be navigated by opening each one — which defeats the point of having a structured KB.
The type system's role here is not routing (that's the navigation claim) but ensuring the routing data exists at all. It's the difference between a library with a catalogue and a library where some books have catalogue cards and some don't. The catalogue is only useful if it's comprehensive; the type system is the mechanism that makes it comprehensive.
Relevant Notes:
- types-give-agents-structural-hints-before-opening-documents — depends on: the navigation argument that assumes descriptions exist; this note explains why they do
- note base type — defines description as the only required field — the enforcement mechanism this note describes
- text root type — the boundary: crossing from text to note triggers the description requirement
- why-notes-have-types — context: the overview of all type system roles; this note develops the enforcement role
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