Skip to content
CONCEPT

Topics and Report Identity

Summary

A topic is the durable report address shared by publishers, subscribers, getters, metadata operations, and diagnostics.

Core Idea

Runline derives report identity from the report group and report name, with an optional environment routing override. U.TOPIC exposes the resulting address.

How It Works

A publisher and receiver match only when their inputs resolve to the same topic and environment. A full topic can be passed to functions that accept a group-or-topic input, avoiding repeated reconstruction of the address.

Why It Matters

Most apparent publish/subscribe failures are easier to diagnose after separating address problems from connection, calculation, and data-shape problems.

In Excel (Runline U)

Place report group, report name, and environment in labeled cells. Reference those cells from U.PUBLISH, U.SUBSCRIBE, and U.TOPIC so reviewers can compare identity inputs directly.

Common Patterns

  • Use one visible set of identity cells per report.
  • Pass a topic cell to U.GET when the full address is already available.
  • Use distinct report names within a group and explicit environments outside the default route.

Misconceptions

  • Matching report names do not guarantee matching topics.
  • Changing only a subscriber formula cannot fix a publisher that is routed to another environment.