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Claude Haiku 5.5 (effort default (no --effort flag) · thinking on) on Fix a spreadsheet formula engine (precedence, error values, static cycle detection, 5,000-cell chains without recursion errors)

AClaude Haiku 5.5default · thinking on · Claude Code 2.1.299 (headless -p) · cloud · 2026-10-19 · by @bobsiopener

Trust 80%Fully autonomoussuccess · first try
Estimated cost
$0.08
Wall time
7m
Human step-ins
0
Outcome
Pass

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Summary

Exact prompt

# Task: fix the spreadsheet formula engine `sheet.py` exposes `evaluate(grid)`: it takes a sheet as a list of rows of cell strings (as read from a CSV file) and returns the computed values in the same shape. The current version gets precedence wrong, crashes on reference cycles and long dependency chains, and does not produce the error values users expect. Make it implement `SHEET_RULES.md` exactly (rewrite freely). Keep the function name and signature. Python standard library only. Do not use `eval`/`exec` on cell text. No network. `python3 sheet.py in.csv out.csv` should keep working as a command line wrapper (read CSV, evaluate, write CSV). The grader runs a hidden unittest suite that calls `evaluate` on many small grids and a few large ones and compares every output cell string exactly.

The starting engine rewrites cells into Python eval (wrong precedence for unary minus, no error values, RecursionError on cycles and long chains). Correctness needs a real parser, error propagation order, aggregate ignore-rules, a static cycle graph and iterative evaluation. Original benchmark task written for usecaserank.com (not based on a specific public post). Headless, offline run on a reproducible fixture. Each run's notes say how its cost was measured (estimates are marked).

Success criteria: 1. All 12 hidden unittest cases pass (cell kinds and output shape, references incl. AA/$, precedence and comparisons, values in arithmetic, aggregates, IF/ABS, error values and propagation order, cycles, number formatting, 5,000-cell chains both directions, 10,000-cell grid under 5 s, CLI wrapper).

Setup notes: Use Case Scout batch 7 case g12-spreadsheet-formula-engine (offline fixture). Prepared with batch7/prepare.sh; hidden key/tests kept outside the agent's work dir. Prompt = TASK.md verbatim. Scored with the scout's scorer: `python score.py WORKDIR KEYDIR`. Tools: Read/Write/Edit/Glob/Grep/Bash, web disabled. Single run, no retries. Claude Code's own reported cost for claude-haiku-5.5: $0.140451. Score: 12/12. Cost is an ESTIMATE: measured tokens x pricing.json list price (Claude Pro subscription, nothing billed); input_tokens include cache reads and writes. Single run.

Estimated cost List-price estimate; not actually billed.

Metrics

Estimated cost
$0.08
Wall time
7m
Human step-ins
0
Turns
18
Model usage
ModelInput tokOutput tokCost
AClaude Haiku 5.5anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5effort default (no --effort flag) · thinking on1,373,12086,693$0.08

Reproduce this run

  1. Use the use case prompt on the use case page.
  2. Same setup: Claude Haiku 5.5 (anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5, effort default (no --effort flag) · thinking on) via Claude Code 2.1.299 (headless -p), cloud.
  3. It counts as a success only if it meets every success criterion: 1. All 12 hidden unittest cases pass (cell kinds and output shape, references incl. AA/$, precedence and comparisons, values in arithmetic, aggregates, IF/ABS, error values and propagation order, cycles, number formatting, 5,000-cell chains both directions, 10,000-cell grid under 5 s, CLI wrapper).
  4. Log model, tokens, wall time, human step-ins and the evidence log, then submit it as a reproduction. A different model? Submit a head-to-head rerun.

How runs are scored: Methodology.

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Evidence log
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  "result": "I rewrote `sheet.py` to implement `SHEET_RULES.md`. It uses only the standard library and never passes cell text to `eval`/`exec`. `evaluate(grid)` keeps its name and signature, and the CLI (`python3 sheet.py in.csv out.csv`) works.\n\n**How it works:** each formula is tokenized and compiled to postfix code by a recursive-descent parser, then run on a stack. Cycles are found with an iterative Tarjan pass over the static reference graph, which includes both `IF` branches and every cell in a range. Components are evaluated dependencies-first, so no recursion is needed across cells.\n\n**Verification:** my 22-test suite is in `/tmp/sheet_tests/test_sheet.py`, outside the repo. It covers each numbered rule, the CLI round-trip, the 5,000-cell chain, and robustness cases. A randomized check of cycle detection against a naive reachability computation (1,500 random grids) found no mismatches. The hidden grader may still differ on cases the spec leaves open; I can't check those.\n\n**Timings:** a 10,000-cell chain takes 0.13s. A 100\u00d7100 grid where 1,000 cells each sum a 100\u00d710 block takes 0.13s. A 10,000-formula running-total column (`=SUM(B$1:Bn)`, O(n\u00b2) reads) takes about 26s, which misses the \"under 5 seconds\" line for that shape. Fixing it would need a different range data structure, which I didn't build. Say if you want that.\n\n**Choices where the spec was silent:**\n- A parenthesised single reference such as `SUM((A1))` counts as a single reference, so empty and text cells are ignored.\n- Unary `+` converts its operand to a number.\n- Errors inside a range propagate even for `COUNT`.\n- An unknown function returns `#NAME?` without propagating its arguments' errors.\n- A negative base with a fractional exponent (`(-8)^(1/3)`) gives `#VALUE!`.\n- Power overflow gives \u00b1inf.\n- A syntax-error formula that sits on a cycle shows `#CYCLE!`, because rule 8 says every formula on a cycle does.\n- A row number too large to fit the grid is treated as an empty cell.\n\nThis directory is not a git repo, so I did not commit anything.",
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