R/specially.R

In pointblank: Data Validation and Organization of Metadata for Local and Remote Tables

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# 
# This file is part of the 'rich-iannone/pointblank' package.
# 
# (c) Richard Iannone <riannone@me.com>
# 
# For full copyright and license information, please look at
# https://rich-iannone.github.io/pointblank/LICENSE.html
#

#' Perform a specialized validation with a user-defined function
#'
#' @description 
#' The `specially()` validation function allows for custom validation with a
#' function that *you* provide. The major proviso for the provided function is
#' that it must either return a logical vector or a table where the final column
#' is logical. The function will operate on the table object, or, because you
#' can do whatever you like, it could also operate on other types of objects. To
#' do this, you can transform the input table in `preconditions` or inject an
#' entirely different object there. During interrogation, there won't be any
#' checks to ensure that the data is a table object.
#' 
#' @section Preconditions:
#' Providing expressions as `preconditions` means **pointblank** will preprocess
#' the target table during interrogation as a preparatory step. It might happen
#' that a particular validation requires a calculated column, some filtering of
#' rows, or the addition of columns via a join, etc. Especially for an
#' *agent*-based report this can be advantageous since we can develop a large
#' validation plan with a single target table and make minor adjustments to it,
#' as needed, along the way. Within `specially()`, because this function is
#' special, there won't be internal checking as to whether the
#' `preconditions`-based output is a table.
#'
#' The table mutation is totally isolated in scope to the validation step(s)
#' where `preconditions` is used. Using **dplyr** code is suggested here since
#' the statements can be translated to SQL if necessary (i.e., if the target
#' table resides in a database). The code is most easily supplied as a one-sided
#' **R** formula (using a leading `~`). In the formula representation, the `.`
#' serves as the input data table to be transformed (e.g., `~ . %>%
#' dplyr::mutate(col_b = col_a + 10)`). Alternatively, a function could instead
#' be supplied (e.g., `function(x) dplyr::mutate(x, col_b = col_a + 10)`).
#' 
#' @section Actions:
#' Often, we will want to specify `actions` for the validation. This argument,
#' present in every validation function, takes a specially-crafted list
#' object that is best produced by the [action_levels()] function. Read that
#' function's documentation for the lowdown on how to create reactions to
#' above-threshold failure levels in validation. The basic gist is that you'll
#' want at least a single threshold level (specified as either the fraction of
#' test units failed, or, an absolute value), often using the `warn_at`
#' argument. This is especially true when `x` is a table object because,
#' otherwise, nothing happens. For the `col_vals_*()`-type functions, using 
#' `action_levels(warn_at = 0.25)` or `action_levels(stop_at = 0.25)` are good
#' choices depending on the situation (the first produces a warning when a
#' quarter of the total test units fails, the other `stop()`s at the same
#' threshold level).
#' 
#' @section Briefs:
#' Want to describe this validation step in some detail? Keep in mind that this
#' is only useful if `x` is an *agent*. If that's the case, `brief` the agent
#' with some text that fits. Don't worry if you don't want to do it. The
#' *autobrief* protocol is kicked in when `brief = NULL` and a simple brief will
#' then be automatically generated.
#' 
#' @section YAML:
#' A **pointblank** agent can be written to YAML with [yaml_write()] and the
#' resulting YAML can be used to regenerate an agent (with [yaml_read_agent()])
#' or interrogate the target table (via [yaml_agent_interrogate()]). When
#' `specially()` is represented in YAML (under the top-level `steps` key as a
#' list member), the syntax closely follows the signature of the validation
#' function. Here is an example of how a complex call of `specially()` as a
#' validation step is expressed in R code and in the corresponding YAML
#' representation.
#' 
#' R statement:
#' 
#' ```r
#' agent %>% 
#'   specially(
#'     fn = function(x) { ... },
#'     preconditions = ~ . %>% dplyr::filter(a < 10),
#'     actions = action_levels(warn_at = 0.1, stop_at = 0.2), 
#'     label = "The `specially()` step.",
#'     active = FALSE
#'   )
#' ```
#' YAML representation:
#' 
#' ```yaml
#' steps:
#' - specially:
#'     fn: function(x) { ... }
#'     preconditions: ~. %>% dplyr::filter(a < 10)
#'     actions:
#'       warn_fraction: 0.1
#'       stop_fraction: 0.2
#'     label: The `specially()` step.
#'     active: false
#' ```
#' 
#' In practice, both of these will often be shorter as only the expressions for
#' validation steps are necessary. Arguments with default values won't be
#' written to YAML when using [yaml_write()] (though it is acceptable to include
#' them with their default when generating the YAML by other means). It is also
#' possible to preview the transformation of an agent to YAML without any
#' writing to disk by using the [yaml_agent_string()] function.
#'
#' @inheritParams col_vals_gt
#' @param fn A function that performs the specialized validation on the data. It
#'   must either return a logical vector or a table where the last column is a
#'   logical column.
#' 
#' @return For the validation function, the return value is either a
#'   `ptblank_agent` object or a table object (depending on whether an agent
#'   object or a table was passed to `x`). The expectation function invisibly
#'   returns its input but, in the context of testing data, the function is
#'   called primarily for its potential side-effects (e.g., signaling failure).
#'   The test function returns a logical value.
#'   
#' @section Examples:
#' 
#' For all examples here, we'll use a simple table with three numeric columns
#' (`a`, `b`, and `c`). This is a very basic table but it'll be more useful when
#' explaining things later.
#' 
#' ```{r}
#' tbl <-
#'   dplyr::tibble(
#'     a = c(5, 2, 6),
#'     b = c(3, 4, 6),
#'     c = c(9, 8, 7)
#'   )
#'   
#' tbl
#' ```
#'   
#' ## A: Using an `agent` with validation functions and then `interrogate()`
#' 
#' Validate that the target table has exactly three rows. This single validation
#' with `specially()` has 1 test unit since the function executed on `x` (the
#' target table) results in a logical vector with a length of 1. We'll determine
#' if this validation has any failing test units (there is 1 test unit).
#' 
#' ```r
#' agent <-
#'   create_agent(tbl = tbl) %>%
#'   specially(fn = function(x) nrow(x) == 3) %>%
#'   interrogate()
#' ```
#' 
#' Printing the `agent` in the console shows the validation report in the
#' Viewer. Here is an excerpt of validation report, showing the single entry
#' that corresponds to the validation step demonstrated here.
#' 
#' \if{html}{
#' \out{
#' `r pb_get_image_tag(file = "man_specially_1.png")`
#' }
#' }
#' 
#' ## B: Using the validation function directly on the data (no `agent`)
#' 
#' This way of using validation functions acts as a data filter. Data is passed
#' through but should `stop()` if there is a single test unit failing. The
#' behavior of side effects can be customized with the `actions` option.
#' 
#' ```{r}
#' tbl %>% specially(fn = function(x) nrow(x) == 3)
#' ```
#'
#' ## C: Using the expectation function
#' 
#' With the `expect_*()` form, we would typically perform one validation at a
#' time. This is primarily used in **testthat** tests.
#' 
#' ```r
#' expect_specially(tbl, fn = function(x) nrow(x) == 3)
#' ```
#' 
#' ## D: Using the test function
#' 
#' With the `test_*()` form, we should get a single logical value returned to
#' us.
#' 
#' ```{r}
#' tbl %>% test_specially(fn = function(x) nrow(x) == 3)
#' ```
#' 
#' ## Variations
#'
#' We can do more complex things with `specially()` and its variants.
#' 
#' Check the class of the target table.
#' 
#' ```{r}
#' tbl %>% 
#'   test_specially(
#'     fn = function(x) {
#'       inherits(x, "data.frame")
#'     }
#'   )
#' ```
#' 
#' Check that the number of rows in the target table is less than `small_table`.
#' 
#' ```{r}
#' tbl %>% 
#'   test_specially(
#'     fn = function(x) {
#'       nrow(x) < nrow(small_table)
#'     }
#'   )
#' ```
#' 
#' Check that all numbers across all numeric column are less than `10`.
#' 
#' ```{r}
#' tbl %>% 
#'   test_specially(
#'     fn = function(x) {
#'       (x %>% 
#'          dplyr::select(where(is.numeric)) %>%
#'          unlist()
#'       ) < 10
#'     }
#'   )
#' ```
#' 
#' Check that all values in column `c` are greater than b and greater than `a`
#' (in each row) and always less than `10`. This creates a table with the new
#' column `d` which is a logical column (that is used as the evaluation of test
#' units).
#' 
#' ```{r}
#' tbl %>% 
#'   test_specially(
#'     fn = function(x) {
#'       x %>%
#'         dplyr::mutate(
#'           d = c > b & c > a & c < 10
#'         )
#'     }
#'   )
#' ```
#' 
#' Check that the `game_revenue` table (which is not the target table) has
#' exactly 2000 rows.
#' 
#' ```{r}
#' tbl %>% 
#'   test_specially(
#'     fn = function(x) {
#'       nrow(game_revenue) == 2000
#'     }
#'   )
#' ```
#'
#' @family validation functions
#' @section Function ID:
#' 2-36
#' 
#' @name specially
NULL

#' @rdname specially
#' @import rlang
#' 
#' @export
specially <- function(
    x,
    fn,
    preconditions = NULL,
    actions = NULL,
    step_id = NULL,
    label = NULL,
    brief = NULL,
    active = TRUE
) {
  
  segments <- NULL
  
  # Resolve segments into list
  segments_list <-
    resolve_segments(
      x = x,
      seg_expr = segments,
      preconditions = preconditions
    )
  
  if (is_a_table_object(x)) {
    
    secret_agent <-
      create_agent(x, label = "::QUIET::") %>%
      specially(
        fn = fn,
        preconditions = preconditions,
        actions = prime_actions(actions),
        label = label,
        brief = brief,
        active = active
      ) %>%
      interrogate()
    
    return(x)
  }
  
  agent <- x
  
  if (is.null(brief)) {
    
    brief <-
      create_autobrief(
        agent = agent,
        assertion_type = "specially"
      )
  }
  
  # Normalize any provided `step_id` value(s)
  step_id <- normalize_step_id(step_id, columns = "column", agent)
  
  # Get the next step number for the `validation_set` tibble
  i_o <- get_next_validation_set_row(agent)
  
  # Check `step_id` value(s) against all other `step_id`
  # values in earlier validation steps
  check_step_id_duplicates(step_id, agent)
  
  # Add one or more validation steps based on the
  # length of `segments_list`
  for (i in seq_along(segments_list)) {
    
    seg_col <- names(segments_list[i])
    seg_val <- unname(unlist(segments_list[i]))
    
    agent <-
      create_validation_step(
        agent = agent,
        assertion_type = "specially",
        i_o = i_o,
        columns_expr = NULL,
        column = NULL,
        values = fn,
        na_pass = NULL,
        preconditions = preconditions,
        seg_expr = segments,
        seg_col = seg_col,
        seg_val = seg_val,
        actions = covert_actions(actions, agent),
        step_id = step_id,
        label = label,
        brief = brief,
        active = active
      )
  }
  
  agent
}

#' @rdname specially
#' @import rlang
#' @export
expect_specially <- function(
    object,
    fn,
    preconditions = NULL,
    threshold = 1
) {
  
  fn_name <- "expect_specially"
  
  vs <- 
    create_agent(tbl = object, label = "::QUIET::") %>%
    specially(
      fn = fn,
      preconditions = {{ preconditions }},
      actions = action_levels(notify_at = threshold)
    ) %>%
    interrogate() %>%
    .$validation_set
  
  x <- vs$notify %>% all()
  
  threshold_type <- get_threshold_type(threshold = threshold)
  
  if (threshold_type == "proportional") {
    failed_amount <- vs$f_failed
  } else {
    failed_amount <- vs$n_failed
  }
  
  # TODO: express warnings and errors here
  
  act <- testthat::quasi_label(enquo(x), arg = "object")
  
  testthat::expect(
    ok = identical(!as.vector(act$val), TRUE),
    failure_message = glue::glue(
      failure_message_gluestring(
        fn_name = fn_name, lang = "en"
      )
    )
  )
  
  act$val <- object
  
  invisible(act$val)
}

#' @rdname specially
#' @import rlang
#' @export
test_specially <- function(
    object,
    fn,
    preconditions = NULL,
    threshold = 1
) {
  
  vs <- 
    create_agent(tbl = object, label = "::QUIET::") %>%
    specially(
      fn = fn,
      preconditions = {{ preconditions }},
      actions = action_levels(notify_at = threshold)
    ) %>%
    interrogate() %>%
    .$validation_set
  
  if (inherits(vs$capture_stack[[1]]$warning, "simpleWarning")) {
    warning(conditionMessage(vs$capture_stack[[1]]$warning))
  }
  if (inherits(vs$capture_stack[[1]]$error, "simpleError")) {
    stop(conditionMessage(vs$capture_stack[[1]]$error))
  }
  
  all(!vs$notify)
}