Proof B — Ecco-style columns via file-per-item + Bases

Companion to ecco-columns-proof.md. Same seven items, opposite design: each item is its own note, its columns are YAML frontmatter, and the views are Bases blocks. Items live in proofs/items/.

Why this variant exists: Talbot’s hypothesis was frontmatter + Bases. Proof A shows Bases cannot reach bullets inside a note. It can reach items that are notes — and Bases cells are editable, which is the one thing Dataview’s read-only query output cannot do. This is the variant that competes with Ecco’s grid on ergonomics.

The trade it makes: no native collapsible hierarchy. Parent/child is a parent: property, not folding.

View 1 — “All items, by ABC” (Ecco: the master notepad)

filters:
  and:
    - file.path.contains("Focus/proofs/items")
    - type == "ecco-item"
views:
  - type: table
    name: All items
    order:
      - file.name
      - abc
      - status
      - action
      - focus
      - parent
    sort:
      - property: abc
        direction: ASC

View 2 — “Today only” (Ecco: a filtered notepad over the same items)

filters:
  and:
    - file.path.contains("Focus/proofs/items")
    - focus == "today"
views:
  - type: table
    name: Today
    order:
      - file.name
      - abc
      - status
    sort:
      - property: abc
        direction: ASC

View 3 — “Waiting on someone”

filters:
  and:
    - file.path.contains("Focus/proofs/items")
    - status == "waiting"
views:
  - type: table
    name: Waiting
    order:
      - file.name
      - action

Expected rows

Same seven items as Proof A, so the counts must match it exactly:

• View 1: 7 rows, sorted A, A, A, B, B, B, C.
• View 2: 3 rows — chilton-follow-up · confirm-send-date · rate-scanner-daily-ops.
• View 3: 1 row — confirm-send-date.

The check that actually decides this (30 seconds)

In View 1, click the status cell on refresh-filter-focus and change todo to WIP.

• If the cell edits in place and items/refresh-filter-focus.md now reads status: WIP → this variant edits like Ecco’s grid, and it is the one Phase 1 should trial. Obsidian’s help describes bases as letting you “view, edit, sort, and filter files and their properties”, but confirm it here rather than take the docs’ word for it.

• If the cell is read-only → Bases offers nothing Dataview doesn’t, the hierarchy loss buys nothing, and Proof A’s Dataview route wins by default.

Then note the second thing: hierarchy. confirm-send-date and attach-deck-v2 are children of chilton-follow-up only by a parent: property. There is no folding. Decide whether that loss matters more than the editing gain.