Pulse Documentation

name: op-overlay-panel-index-vs-ref
kind: operator
category: OVERLAY
operator: OVERLAY_PANEL_INDEX_VS_REF
description: Compose-host multi-reference index — indexes every target slot against a shared reference; emits one layer per target.
type: reference
applies_to: compose
examples_tags: [overlay, compose, comparison]

Compose-only multi-reference. Overlays decorate the host; no Response.Components.

Use when

Index values of several target Compose requests against one shared reference request, one layer per target (target / reference x 100).

Questions it answers:

• How do the last four waves each compare with the benchmark wave?
• How does each market compare with the reference market, cell by cell?

Use something else:

• OVERLAY_INDEX_VS_REF when there is only one target.

Params

Scope required — cell (matrix host) or group (series host). Reference = shared reference slot. Targets — one layer per target. OverlayOptions.MaxPanelTargets int, default 16, caps len(Targets).

Host shape

COMPOSE dual-shape: MATRIX crosstab OR SERIES on reference and every target. Schema-match + key-alignment + dict-prefix gates per (ref, target). Sibling to the proportion-z panel.

Output

ONE layer per target, layers[i].Name = "<spec.Name>__<spec.Targets[i]>". Payload shape mirrors the reference slot’s. Byte-equal per layer to the two-slot reference index on each (reference, target[i]).

Gotchas

• len(Targets) > MaxPanelTargets → PULSE_OVERLAY_PANEL_TARGETS_OVER_CAP.
• Empty spec.Name → label becomes OVERLAY_PANEL_INDEX_VS_REF__<target_label>.
• Streamable: SERIES fold-only; MATRIX forced buffered by the slot barrier.
• Shared coord space is enforced before dispatch.
• Layer slice order matches spec.Targets, stable across re-runs.
• Weighted slots → weighted figures (reads the slot payloads).

See

• Skills: overlay-system, compose-requests, op-overlay-index-vs-ref, op-overlay-prop-z-panel.