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Glama

Valuein — SEC EDGAR Fundamentals & Smart-Money Data

Compare two fiscal periods

compare_periods
Read-onlyIdempotent

Returns a company's reported figures for two fiscal periods side by side, with each figure's absolute and percentage change, a significance label (minor under 5%, notable 5 to 15%, significant over 15%) and a count of material changes. Use this when the user asks how a company changed between two years or quarters. Periods given in reverse order are swapped and the result says so.

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema
NameRequiredDescriptionDefault
tickerYesTicker symbol or SEC CIK of the company, e.g. AAPL.
period_aYesEarlier period: FY and the year, or Q1 to Q4, a hyphen and the year, e.g. FY2023.
period_bYesLater period, in the same format as period_a, e.g. FY2024.
as_of_dateNoPoint-in-time cutoff, YYYY-MM-DD: only figures filed with the SEC on or before this date, e.g. 2024-06-30.

Output Schema

TableJSON Schema
NameRequiredDescriptionDefault
_metaYesProvenance envelope — data lineage for every MCP response
tickerYes
changesYesPer-metric deltas: metric, label, period_a, period_b, delta, delta_pct, significance
swappedYesTrue when inputs were reordered so period_b is the more recent period
period_aYesEarlier period descriptor: label, fiscal_year, fiscal_period, period_end, filing_date
period_bYesLater period descriptor, same shape as period_a
as_of_dateNo
company_nameNo
total_metricsYesCount of metrics compared across the two periods
material_changesYesCount of metrics flagged as a material change

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

  1. Changed19 schema fields changed
    • changedInput schema / properties / as_of_date / description
      Previous value: -"Point-in-time date (YYYY-MM-DD). Only returns facts with accepted_at on or before this date — eliminates look-ahead bias for backtesting."New value: +"Point-in-time cutoff, YYYY-MM-DD: only figures filed with the SEC on or before this date, e.g. 2024-06-30."
    • changedInput schema / properties / period_a / description
      Previous value: -"Earlier fiscal period. Format: 'FY2023' for annual or 'Q1-2023' for quarterly."New value: +"Earlier period: FY and the year, or Q1 to Q4, a hyphen and the year, e.g. FY2023."
    • changedInput schema / properties / period_b / description
      Previous value: -"Later fiscal period. Format: 'FY2024' for annual or 'Q1-2024' for quarterly."New value: +"Later period, in the same format as period_a, e.g. FY2024."
    • changedInput schema / properties / ticker / description
      Previous value: -"Stock ticker symbol, e.g. AAPL, MSFT, BRK.B — or a CIK (SEC identifier), e.g. '0000320193'."New value: +"Ticker symbol or SEC CIK of the company, e.g. AAPL."
    • removedOutput schema / properties / _meta / properties / cost_usd
      Removed value: -{
      -  "additionalProperties": false,
      -  "description": "Per-call cost transparency. Omitted for subscription-only tools that have no PAYG-equivalent price.",
      -  "properties": {
      -    "amount_usd": {
      -      "minimum": 0,
      -      "type": "number"
      -    },
      -    "basis": {
      -      "description": "payg_charge = real agent-pay charge. payg_rate_card = indicative price, not billed.",
      -      "enum": [
      -        "payg_charge",
      -        "payg_rate_card"
      -      ],
      -      "type": "string"
      -    },
      -    "billed": {
      -      "description": "true = this amount was actually charged via PAYG for this call. false = indicative PAYG-equivalent value; your plan already covers this call for free.",
      -      "type": "boolean"
      -    }
      -  },
      -  "required": [
      -    "amount_usd",
      -    "billed",
      -    "basis"
      -  ],
      -  "type": "object"
      -}
    • removedOutput schema / properties / _meta / properties / data_plan
      Removed value: -{
      -  "description": "Access plan: sample | sp500 | pro | full",
      -  "type": "string"
      -}
    • changedOutput schema / properties / _meta / properties / fundamentals_as_of / description
      Previous value: -"ISO timestamp when the FINANCIAL STATEMENTS were last rebuilt in bulk. Use THIS — not `last_updated` — when telling a user how current the cross-sectional fundamentals are. The snapshot is republished on every weekday price refresh while the statements are carried forward unchanged, so `last_updated` can be far more recent than the numbers it sits next to. It is a floor for a single filer, not a ceiling: a filer with a live partition receives its filing, facts and ratios intraday (minutes after EDGAR dissemination), so an entity-scoped read may carry a filing newer than this; cross-sectional ranks (factor scores, earnings signals) refresh with the weekly bulk export."New value: +"Use THIS — not `last_updated` — when telling a user how current the cross-sectional fundamentals are. The snapshot is republished on every weekday price refresh while the statements are carried forward unchanged, so `last_updated` can be far more recent than the numbers it sits next to. It is a floor for a single filer, not a ceiling: a filer with a live partition receives its filing, facts and ratios intraday (minutes after EDGAR dissemination), so an entity-scoped read may carry a filing newer than this; cross-sectional ranks (factor scores, earnings signals) refresh with the weekly bulk export."
    • removedOutput schema / properties / _meta / properties / last_updated
      Removed value: -{
      -  "description": "ISO timestamp when the snapshot was exported",
      -  "type": "string"
      -}
    • removedOutput schema / properties / _meta / properties / latency_ms
      Removed value: -{
      -  "description": "Wall-clock milliseconds this tool call took, measured server-side around the handler.",
      -  "minimum": 0,
      -  "type": "integer"
      -}
    • removedOutput schema / properties / _meta / properties / limit_warnings
      Removed value: -{
      -  "description": "Soft-warning array for partial fulfillment. Each entry carries a stable subcode + remediation.options[]. AI agents pattern-match on subcode.",
      -  "items": {
      -    "additionalProperties": true,
      -    "properties": {
      -      "code": {
      -        "const": "LIMIT_EXCEEDED",
      -        "type": "string"
      -      },
      -      "current_plan": {
      -        "type": "string"
      -      },
      -      "extensions": {
      -        "additionalProperties": {},
      -        "type": "object"
      -      },
      -      "limit_type": {
      -        "type": "string"
      -      },
      -      "limit_value": {},
      -      "remediation": {
      -        "additionalProperties": true,
      -        "properties": {
      -          "contact_sales": {
      -            "type": "string"
      -          },
      -          "default_action": {
      -            "type": "string"
      -          },
      -          "options": {
      -            "items": {
      -              "additionalProperties": {},
      -              "type": "object"
      -            },
      -            "type": "array"
      -          },
      -          "pricing_page": {
      -            "type": "string"
      -          }
      -        },
      -        "required": [
      -          "options",
      -          "default_action",
      -          "pricing_page",
      -          "contact_sales"
      -        ],
      -        "type": "object"
      -      },
      -      "requested_value": {},
      -      "returned_value": {},
      -      "subcode": {
      -        "type": "string"
      -      }
      -    },
      -    "required": [
      -      "code",
      -      "subcode",
      -      "limit_type",
      -      "current_plan",
      -      "remediation"
      -    ],
      -    "type": "object"
      -  },
      -  "type": "array"
      -}
    • removedOutput schema / properties / _meta / properties / payg_override
      Removed value: -{
      -  "additionalProperties": false,
      -  "description": "Set when this single response was paid for via the agent-pay PAYG flow — the rate-limit / depth-limit checks were bypassed for this call only.",
      -  "properties": {
      -    "amount_cents": {
      -      "type": "number"
      -    },
      -    "entity_scope_hash": {
      -      "type": "string"
      -    },
      -    "meter": {
      -      "type": "string"
      -    },
      -    "quote_id": {
      -      "type": "string"
      -    },
      -    "retry_token_hash": {
      -      "type": "string"
      -    },
      -    "ticker_count": {
      -      "type": "number"
      -    },
      -    "tool": {
      -      "type": "string"
      -    }
      -  },
      -  "required": [
      -    "quote_id",
      -    "tool",
      -    "meter",
      -    "amount_cents",
      -    "ticker_count",
      -    "entity_scope_hash",
      -    "retry_token_hash"
      -  ],
      -  "type": "object"
      -}
    • removedOutput schema / properties / _meta / properties / rate_limit
      Removed value: -{
      -  "additionalProperties": false,
      -  "description": "Caller's remaining budget",
      -  "properties": {
      -    "limit": {
      -      "type": "integer"
      -    },
      -    "remaining": {
      -      "type": "integer"
      -    },
      -    "reset_at": {
      -      "description": "ISO 8601 timestamp when the window resets",
      -      "type": "string"
      -    },
      -    "window": {
      -      "enum": [
      -        "minute",
      -        "hour"
      -      ],
      -      "type": "string"
      -    }
      -  },
      -  "required": [
      -    "limit",
      -    "remaining",
      -    "reset_at",
      -    "window"
      -  ],
      -  "type": "object"
      -}
    • removedOutput schema / properties / _meta / properties / request_id
      Removed value: -{
      -  "description": "Per-request correlation id (8-char)",
      -  "type": "string"
      -}
    • removedOutput schema / properties / _meta / properties / schema_version
      Removed value: -{
      -  "description": "Parquet schema version from manifest.json",
      -  "type": "string"
      -}
    • removedOutput schema / properties / _meta / properties / snapshot
      Removed value: -{
      -  "description": "Snapshot directory name (e.g. snapshot_20260420)",
      -  "type": "string"
      -}
    • removedOutput schema / properties / _meta / properties / truncation / properties / current_plan
      Removed value: -{
      -  "type": "string"
      -}
    • removedOutput schema / properties / _meta / properties / truncation / properties / upgrade_required_for
      Removed value: -{
      -  "type": "string"
      -}
    • removedOutput schema / properties / _meta / properties / truncation / properties / upgrade_url
      Removed value: -{
      -  "type": "string"
      -}
    • changedOutput schema / properties / _meta / required
      Previous value: -[
      -  "data_plan",
      -  "schema_version",
      -  "snapshot",
      -  "last_updated",
      -  "source",
      -  "pit_safe"
      -]New value: +[
      +  "source",
      +  "pit_safe"
      +]
  2. Changed1 schema field changed
    • changedOutput schema / properties / _meta / properties / fundamentals_as_of / description
      Previous value: -"ISO timestamp when the FINANCIAL STATEMENTS were last rebuilt. Use THIS — not `last_updated` — when telling a user how current the fundamentals are. The snapshot is republished on every weekday price refresh while the statements are carried forward unchanged, so `last_updated` can be far more recent than the numbers it sits next to."New value: +"ISO timestamp when the FINANCIAL STATEMENTS were last rebuilt in bulk. Use THIS — not `last_updated` — when telling a user how current the cross-sectional fundamentals are. The snapshot is republished on every weekday price refresh while the statements are carried forward unchanged, so `last_updated` can be far more recent than the numbers it sits next to. It is a floor for a single filer, not a ceiling: a filer with a live partition receives its filing, facts and ratios intraday (minutes after EDGAR dissemination), so an entity-scoped read may carry a filing newer than this; cross-sectional ranks (factor scores, earnings signals) refresh with the weekly bulk export."
  3. Changed2 schema fields changed
    • changedInput schema / properties / ticker / description
      Previous value: -"Stock ticker symbol, e.g. AAPL, MSFT, BRK.B"New value: +"Stock ticker symbol, e.g. AAPL, MSFT, BRK.B — or a CIK (SEC identifier), e.g. '0000320193'."
    • changedInput schema / properties / ticker / pattern
      Previous value: -"^[A-Za-z.\\-]+$"New value: +"^[A-Za-z0-9.\\-]+$"
  4. Changed2 schema fields changed
    • addedOutput schema / properties / _meta / properties / fundamentals_as_of
      Added value: +{
      +  "description": "ISO timestamp when the FINANCIAL STATEMENTS were last rebuilt. Use THIS — not `last_updated` — when telling a user how current the fundamentals are. The snapshot is republished on every weekday price refresh while the statements are carried forward unchanged, so `last_updated` can be far more recent than the numbers it sits next to.",
      +  "type": "string"
      +}
    • addedOutput schema / properties / _meta / properties / price_as_of
      Added value: +{
      +  "description": "ISO timestamp when the price surfaces were last refreshed.",
      +  "type": "string"
      +}
  5. Changed2 schema fields changed
    • addedOutput schema / properties / _meta / properties / cost_usd
      Added value: +{
      +  "additionalProperties": false,
      +  "description": "Per-call cost transparency. Omitted for subscription-only tools that have no PAYG-equivalent price.",
      +  "properties": {
      +    "amount_usd": {
      +      "minimum": 0,
      +      "type": "number"
      +    },
      +    "basis": {
      +      "description": "payg_charge = real agent-pay charge. payg_rate_card = indicative price, not billed.",
      +      "enum": [
      +        "payg_charge",
      +        "payg_rate_card"
      +      ],
      +      "type": "string"
      +    },
      +    "billed": {
      +      "description": "true = this amount was actually charged via PAYG for this call. false = indicative PAYG-equivalent value; your plan already covers this call for free.",
      +      "type": "boolean"
      +    }
      +  },
      +  "required": [
      +    "amount_usd",
      +    "billed",
      +    "basis"
      +  ],
      +  "type": "object"
      +}
    • addedOutput schema / properties / _meta / properties / latency_ms
      Added value: +{
      +  "description": "Wall-clock milliseconds this tool call took, measured server-side around the handler.",
      +  "minimum": 0,
      +  "type": "integer"
      +}
  6. Changed1 schema field changed
    • addedOutput schema / properties / _meta / properties / pit_safe / description
      Added value: +"true iff a zero-look-ahead point-in-time cut was applied to every returned figure"
  7. Changed1 schema field changed
    • changedOutput schema / (root)
      Previous value: -nullNew value: +{
      +  "$schema": "http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#",
      +  "additionalProperties": false,
      +  "properties": {
      +    "_meta": {
      +      "additionalProperties": false,
      +      "description": "Provenance envelope — data lineage for every MCP response",
      +      "properties": {
      +        "as_of_date": {
      +          "type": [
      +            "string",
      +            "null"
      +          ]
      +        },
      +        "data_plan": {
      +          "description": "Access plan: sample | sp500 | pro | full",
      +          "type": "string"
      +        },
      +        "data_quality": {
      +          "additionalProperties": false,
      +          "description": "Server-side invariants run on this response",
      +          "properties": {
      +            "notes": {
      +              "items": {
      +                "type": "string"
      +              },
      +              "type": "array"
      +            },
      +            "validation_failed": {
      +              "items": {
      +                "additionalProperties": false,
      +                "properties": {
      +                  "detail": {
      +                    "type": "string"
      +                  },
      +                  "rule": {
      +                    "type": "string"
      +                  }
      +                },
      +                "required": [
      +                  "rule",
      +                  "detail"
      +                ],
      +                "type": "object"
      +              },
      +              "type": "array"
      +            },
      +            "validation_passed": {
      +              "items": {
      +                "type": "string"
      +              },
      +              "type": "array"
      +            }
      +          },
      +          "required": [
      +            "validation_passed",
      +            "validation_failed",
      +            "notes"
      +          ],
      +          "type": "object"
      +        },
      +        "last_updated": {
      +          "description": "ISO timestamp when the snapshot was exported",
      +          "type": "string"
      +        },
      +        "limit_warnings": {
      +          "description": "Soft-warning array for partial fulfillment. Each entry carries a stable subcode + remediation.options[]. AI agents pattern-match on subcode.",
      +          "items": {
      +            "additionalProperties": true,
      +            "properties": {
      +              "code": {
      +                "const": "LIMIT_EXCEEDED",
      +                "type": "string"
      +              },
      +              "current_plan": {
      +                "type": "string"
      +              },
      +              "extensions": {
      +                "additionalProperties": {},
      +                "type": "object"
      +              },
      +              "limit_type": {
      +                "type": "string"
      +              },
      +              "limit_value": {},
      +              "remediation": {
      +                "additionalProperties": true,
      +                "properties": {
      +                  "contact_sales": {
      +                    "type": "string"
      +                  },
      +                  "default_action": {
      +                    "type": "string"
      +                  },
      +                  "options": {
      +                    "items": {
      +                      "additionalProperties": {},
      +                      "type": "object"
      +                    },
      +                    "type": "array"
      +                  },
      +                  "pricing_page": {
      +                    "type": "string"
      +                  }
      +                },
      +                "required": [
      +                  "options",
      +                  "default_action",
      +                  "pricing_page",
      +                  "contact_sales"
      +                ],
      +                "type": "object"
      +              },
      +              "requested_value": {},
      +              "returned_value": {},
      +              "subcode": {
      +                "type": "string"
      +              }
      +            },
      +            "required": [
      +              "code",
      +              "subcode",
      +              "limit_type",
      +              "current_plan",
      +              "remediation"
      +            ],
      +            "type": "object"
      +          },
      +          "type": "array"
      +        },
      +        "payg_override": {
      +          "additionalProperties": false,
      +          "description": "Set when this single response was paid for via the agent-pay PAYG flow — the rate-limit / depth-limit checks were bypassed for this call only.",
      +          "properties": {
      +            "amount_cents": {
      +              "type": "number"
      +            },
      +            "entity_scope_hash": {
      +              "type": "string"
      +            },
      +            "meter": {
      +              "type": "string"
      +            },
      +            "quote_id": {
      +              "type": "string"
      +            },
      +            "retry_token_hash": {
      +              "type": "string"
      +            },
      +            "ticker_count": {
      +              "type": "number"
      +            },
      +            "tool": {
      +              "type": "string"
      +            }
      +          },
      +          "required": [
      +            "quote_id",
      +            "tool",
      +            "meter",
      +            "amount_cents",
      +            "ticker_count",
      +            "entity_scope_hash",
      +            "retry_token_hash"
      +          ],
      +          "type": "object"
      +        },
      +        "pit_safe": {
      +          "type": "boolean"
      +        },
      +        "rate_limit": {
      +          "additionalProperties": false,
      +          "description": "Caller's remaining budget",
      +          "properties": {
      +            "limit": {
      +              "type": "integer"
      +            },
      +            "remaining": {
      +              "type": "integer"
      +            },
      +            "reset_at": {
      +              "description": "ISO 8601 timestamp when the window resets",
      +              "type": "string"
      +            },
      +            "window": {
      +              "enum": [
      +                "minute",
      +                "hour"
      +              ],
      +              "type": "string"
      +            }
      +          },
      +          "required": [
      +            "limit",
      +            "remaining",
      +            "reset_at",
      +            "window"
      +          ],
      +          "type": "object"
      +        },
      +        "request_id": {
      +          "description": "Per-request correlation id (8-char)",
      +          "type": "string"
      +        },
      +        "result_count": {
      +          "type": "integer"
      +        },
      +        "schema_version": {
      +          "description": "Parquet schema version from manifest.json",
      +          "type": "string"
      +        },
      +        "snapshot": {
      +          "description": "Snapshot directory name (e.g. snapshot_20260420)",
      +          "type": "string"
      +        },
      +        "source": {
      +          "const": "SEC EDGAR",
      +          "type": "string"
      +        },
      +        "ticker": {
      +          "type": "string"
      +        },
      +        "truncation": {
      +          "additionalProperties": false,
      +          "description": "Set when fewer rows were returned than requested — explains why and points to a remedy",
      +          "properties": {
      +            "current_plan": {
      +              "type": "string"
      +            },
      +            "plan_limit": {
      +              "minimum": 0,
      +              "type": "integer"
      +            },
      +            "reason": {
      +              "enum": [
      +                "PLAN_LIMIT",
      +                "DATA_NOT_AVAILABLE",
      +                "FISCAL_YEAR_BOUNDARY_FILTER",
      +                "OTHER"
      +              ],
      +              "type": "string"
      +            },
      +            "requested": {
      +              "minimum": 0,
      +              "type": "integer"
      +            },
      +            "returned": {
      +              "minimum": 0,
      +              "type": "integer"
      +            },
      +            "upgrade_required_for": {
      +              "type": "string"
      +            },
      +            "upgrade_url": {
      +              "type": "string"
      +            }
      +          },
      +          "required": [
      +            "requested",
      +            "returned",
      +            "reason"
      +          ],
      +          "type": "object"
      +        }
      +      },
      +      "required": [
      +        "data_plan",
      +        "schema_version",
      +        "snapshot",
      +        "last_updated",
      +        "source",
      +        "pit_safe"
      +      ],
      +      "type": "object"
      +    },
      +    "as_of_date": {
      +      "type": [
      +        "string",
      +        "null"
      +      ]
      +    },
      +    "changes": {
      +      "description": "Per-metric deltas: metric, label, period_a, period_b, delta, delta_pct, significance",
      +      "items": {
      +        "additionalProperties": true,
      +        "properties": {},
      +        "type": "object"
      +      },
      +      "type": "array"
      +    },
      +    "company_name": {
      +      "type": "string"
      +    },
      +    "material_changes": {
      +      "description": "Count of metrics flagged as a material change",
      +      "type": "integer"
      +    },
      +    "period_a": {
      +      "additionalProperties": true,
      +      "description": "Earlier period descriptor: label, fiscal_year, fiscal_period, period_end, filing_date",
      +      "properties": {},
      +      "type": "object"
      +    },
      +    "period_b": {
      +      "additionalProperties": true,
      +      "description": "Later period descriptor, same shape as period_a",
      +      "properties": {},
      +      "type": "object"
      +    },
      +    "swapped": {
      +      "description": "True when inputs were reordered so period_b is the more recent period",
      +      "type": "boolean"
      +    },
      +    "ticker": {
      +      "type": "string"
      +    },
      +    "total_metrics": {
      +      "description": "Count of metrics compared across the two periods",
      +      "type": "integer"
      +    }
      +  },
      +  "required": [
      +    "_meta",
      +    "ticker",
      +    "period_a",
      +    "period_b",
      +    "swapped",
      +    "total_metrics",
      +    "material_changes",
      +    "changes"
      +  ],
      +  "type": "object"
      +}
  8. Changed1 schema field changed
    • changedInput schema / properties / as_of_date / description
      Previous value: -"Point-in-time date (YYYY-MM-DD). Only returns facts with knowledge_at on or before this date — eliminates look-ahead bias for backtesting."New value: +"Point-in-time date (YYYY-MM-DD). Only returns facts with accepted_at on or before this date — eliminates look-ahead bias for backtesting."
  9. First observed

TDQS

A4.4/5.0
Behavior4/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

Annotations already cover the safety profile (readOnly, idempotent, non-destructive), so the bar is lower, yet the description still adds real behavior: the significance thresholds (<5% minor, 5-15% notable, >15% significant), the material-change count, and the fact that reversed periods are swapped with the result disclosing it. It omits error handling for invalid tickers or mismatched period formats.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness4/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

Three sentences, front-loaded with the return shape before the usage cue and the swap rule. The parenthetical significance bands are informative rather than filler, though the output enumeration in sentence one is dense.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness5/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

An output schema exists, so return formatting need not be explained, and the description still sketches the response. With four params fully documented in schema and the swap/idempotency behavior disclosed, an agent has everything needed to call and interpret this tool.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters4/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

Schema coverage is 100%, so baseline is 3, but the description adds meaning beyond the schema by clarifying that period_a/period_b are semantically ordered and that reverse-order input is normalized by swapping (with notification). That goes past the schema's 'earlier/later' labels.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose5/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

States a specific verb and resource (compare a company's reported figures across two fiscal periods) and enumerates the outputs: side-by-side figures, absolute and percentage change, significance label, material-change count. This is clearly distinguishable from siblings like get_financial_ratios or get_company_fundamentals, which retrieve rather than diff.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines4/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

Explicitly says to use it when the user asks how a company changed between two years or quarters, giving the triggering intent. It stops short of naming alternatives or exclusion cases (e.g. use get_financial_ratios for single-period ratios), so it is clear context without routing.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.

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