{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.baseline","code":"thing-q1262182","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q1262182/","name":"baseline","alternateNames":[],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.3","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Cross-cutting context","entryKind":"thing","plane":"XCT","domain":["XCT.QTY"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"In typography, the imaginary line on which the letters of a line of text sit, below which descenders such as those of p and g extend, used to align type across fonts and sizes, define line spacing and position text in page layout and user interfaces; the baseline is one of the font metric lines alongside the x-height, cap height, ascender and descender lines, and the word also names reference values in other fields, which are separate senses.","purpose":"Let an agent explain the typographic baseline and its role in font metrics and layout, relay how baselines are used in typesetting and interface design, and distinguish it from the other senses of baseline.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Reference for alignment","Descenders below it","Basis of baseline grids","Cross-script variation"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"understand","name":"Understand","description":"What the baseline is.","layers":[{"id":"definition","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","findings":[{"id":"definition-finding","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","questions":[{"text":"What is the typographic baseline, and how does it relate to other font metric lines?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Is the question about typography or another sense of baseline?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"scripts","name":"Scripts","description":"Baselines across scripts.","findings":[{"id":"scripts-finding","name":"Scripts","description":"Scripts.","questions":[{"text":"How do baselines differ in Latin, Devanagari, Chinese and other scripts?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific script?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"use","name":"Use","description":"Layout and interfaces.","layers":[{"id":"grids","name":"Grids","description":"Baseline grids.","findings":[{"id":"grids-finding","name":"Grids","description":"Grids.","questions":[{"text":"How are baseline grids used in page and web layout?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits typographic grid?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"software","name":"Software","description":"Software alignment.","findings":[{"id":"software-finding","name":"Software","description":"Software.","questions":[{"text":"How do CSS, OpenType and interface toolkits handle baseline alignment?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"craft","name":"Craft","description":"Typography craft.","layers":[{"id":"design","name":"Design","description":"Type design.","findings":[{"id":"design-finding","name":"Design","description":"Design.","questions":[{"text":"How do type designers set baselines and overshoot for optical alignment?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which sources are cited?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"shift","name":"Shift","description":"Baseline shift.","findings":[{"id":"shift-finding","name":"Shift","description":"Shift.","questions":[{"text":"How are superscripts, subscripts and mixed fonts aligned with baseline shift?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits typesetting?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"context","name":"Context","description":"History and senses.","layers":[{"id":"history","name":"History","description":"History.","findings":[{"id":"history-finding","name":"History","description":"History.","questions":[{"text":"How did the baseline concept develop in manuscript ruling and metal type?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits the history of typography?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"senses","name":"Senses","description":"Other senses.","findings":[{"id":"senses-finding","name":"Senses","description":"Senses.","questions":[{"text":"How is baseline used in surveying, medicine, project management and sport?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific sense?","kind":"action"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Measure and align text to the baseline in typesetting and layout work.","Report font metrics such as baseline, x-height and cap height from font files."],"mustNot":["Confuse the typographic baseline with a baseline measurement or reference value in data.","Shift baselines in a layout so that text is cut off or unreadable at common sizes.","Mix scripts with different baseline conventions without checking the result renders correctly.","Ignore that baseline alignment affects readability for people with low vision."],"requiresHuman":["Approving typographic specifications for accessibility-critical material."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Poor baseline and spacing choices make text hard to read for people with low vision or dyslexia.","Scripts other than Latin have their own baseline conventions that tools often ignore."],"affectedParties":["Readers, especially with low vision","Readers of non-Latin scripts","Designers"]},"owners":{"steward":"Nobody owns the concept; font designers set the metrics in each typeface.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q66018460","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"font line","type":"related","note":"in registry terms"},{"target":"x-height","type":"related","note":"another font metric"},{"target":"typesetting","type":"related","note":"for alignment"},{"target":"baseline","type":"related","note":"in other fields, separate senses"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.baseline","Wikidata: Q1262182 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1262182)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":[]},"recognition":{"applicability":"optional","items":["Line on which letters sit","Font metric alongside x-height and cap height","Baseline in surveying, medicine or project management is a different sense","An invisible line under a row of letters, shown as a guide in design tools."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain the metric line","relay uses in layout","describe baseline grids","distinguish other senses"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Misaligned type across fonts","Confusing senses","Inconsistent metrics in font files"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["OpenType font metric specifications","CSS specifications for baseline alignment","No regulation"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Aligning text.","Latin baseline","baselines in other scripts such as the hanging baseline of Devanagari","baseline grids in layout","baseline alignment in CSS and interface toolkits","baseline shift for superscripts and subscripts"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q1262182: baseline","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1262182","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Baseline (typography)","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseline_%28typography%29","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should font metrics be the primary linked entry?","How should font specifications be linked?","How should baselines in non-Latin scripts be recorded?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q1262182/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q1262182/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-13T01:44:01Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"not-applicable","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-06T19:51:54+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"Plane XCT: no invented physical properties."},"score":1.0}}