---
name: Witness Span
desc: The one-based line and column range mosaika reports for a witness block.
category:
  - concept
belongs:
  - sirno-witness
prerequisite:
  - witness-record
---

A *witness span* is a source range inside a repository file.
It has a one-based start line and column
and a one-based end line and end column that points after the matched text.
`mosaika` reports the span; Sirno stores it on the *witness record*.

A record holds three spans:
the full block region,
the opening delimiter,
and the closing delimiter.
The region span is what `--full` output walks to print every spanned line.

Delimiter spans exclude leading indentation.
A sentinel written under indented code still resolves,
and the stored start column points at the comment marker, not the line start.
This keeps delimiter spans stable when a witness moves between
top-level and nested code.

The span is positional, not semantic.
It says where evidence sits, never whether the evidence is correct.
That judgment stays with the reviewer reading the spanned lines.

---

> **Sirno generated links begin. Do not edit this section.**

- belongs (to):
  - [sirno-witness](sirno-witness.md)
- belongs (from): (none)

> **Sirno generated links end.**
