eduaguilera/whep

footprint_balance: compare_footprint_methods conflates NA-valued footprints with zero

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#212 opened on Jul 22, 2026

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area:footprintbuggood first issuehelp wantedmechanicalno-data-neededpriority:low

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Description

What

compare_footprint_methods() (R/footprint_balance.R:104-121) uses sum(value) with no na.rm, so a cell containing an NA sums to NA; the subsequent tidyr::replace_na(value_a, 0) — intended to fill cells absent from one method — silently rewrites that NA to 0.

Why it matters

A genuine-but-NA footprint is reported as "zero footprint", fabricating a spurious abs_diff equal to the other method's full value.

Suggested fix / check

Distinguish "absent from this method" from "present but NA" before replacing with 0.

From deep static audit (2026-07-22), parallel subsystem review pass. Deduplicated against then-open issues. Not verified by running unless stated.

Contributor guide

Research direction
Inspect the compare footprint methods() function in R/footprint balance.R. Focus on how NA values flow through sum() and tidyr::replace na(), and consider how to distinguish missing by absence from true NA footprints.
Tech stack
r
Domain
data
Issue type
Bug
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
2
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-3 hours
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
Active
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
Clear
Prerequisites
GitR
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
75