Basic

Eval set drift

Eval sets grow, and growth is not free. Every case added changes the denominator, so a set that grows quietly makes every past score impossible to compare against.

What you will see

One. A comment line is out of the score and stays in the file.

About 1 min of reading

Try It

Stamp and bump a set

1

Stamp a new case

printf '2026-10-10 added-by-me | q4 | chunk | token price\n' >> /tmp/cases.txt; tail -1 /tmp/cases.txt

Before you run it, say out loud what it will print. Then open the answer.

What it prints
One line with a date and an owner before the case.
2

Bump the set version in the name

cp /tmp/cases.txt /tmp/cases.v2.txt; echo cases.v2

Before you run it, say out loud what it will print. Then open the answer.

What it prints
A new name. The old file stays so old scores still point at something.
3

Mark a case retired

printf '# retired 2026-10-10 always passes\n' >> /tmp/cases.v2.txt; grep -c '^#' /tmp/cases.v2.txt

Before you run it, say out loud what it will print. Then open the answer.

What it prints
One. A comment line is out of the score and stays in the file.

Data Flow

A growing set kept comparable
1 A case is proposed
↓
2 The case is stamped with date and owner
↓
3 The set version is bumped
↓
4 Scores are only compared inside one version
Why this works
Why the set is versioned like code

The set changes at the same rate as the model. Both need a version, or the pair of them cannot be reproduced.

The cost of a large set

Cost is per case per run. A nightly run over a large set is the most expensive loop in the building.

Examples

The quiet growth bug

Two cases added between runs, nobody noticed, and the score rose four points. The model did not improve.

What a case stamp records

The date added and who added it. A case with no owner is a case nobody can defend later.

Retiring a case

A case that always passes is retired, not deleted. It stays in the file and out of the score, so the reason it was retired survives.

Words this lesson uses

Each one is defined here on this site. Open the entry for the full definition and the other words it points at.

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