Succession of totals

1. Abstract

When another entry is added to the same day, the new total becomes the previous total. This paper distinguishes a total’s value from its designation within the entry procedure.

Mathematical notes / worked examples. The designations describe the arithmetic construction in HMP-OP-001.

2. Designation

The designation “new total” belongs to the result of the entry under consideration. When a subsequent entry is considered, that result occupies the position “previous total”.

In the first stage, 37 is the new total. In the second, it is the previous total. The designation changes. The number does not.

2.1 Reference of designation

A total is previous or new in relation to an entry. The designation alone does not identify that entry.

See HMP-OP-001 §2 for the entry procedure and HMP-QA-001 §2 for the reference cases.

3. Numerical equality

Adding zero leaves the value unchanged. The terms previous and new still identify different stages.

Numerical equality does not remove the distinction between the two positions in the construction.

This is a mathematical reference case, not a specification of the values accepted by the app’s input controls.

4. The retained record

The succession described in §2 applies within one logging day. An earlier day’s retained total does not become the previous total of the current day merely because it remains in the history.

Retention is distinct from inclusion. The presence of both example records does not give the current day a total of 49g.

5. Scope

These designations describe the relation between values in a mathematical construction. They do not specify stored status fields or additional steps a person must perform in the app.

Corrections to logged entries are described separately in HMP-OP-001 §5.