Add check for empty datasets in NWB containers

src/nwbinspector/checks/__init__.py

@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@
     check_order_of_images_unique,
 )
 from ._nwb_containers import (
+    check_dataset_not_empty,
     check_empty_string_for_optional_attribute,
     check_large_dataset_compression,
     check_small_dataset_compression,
@@ -103,6 +104,7 @@
     "check_order_of_images_unique",
     "check_order_of_images_len",
     "check_index_series_points_to_image",
+    "check_dataset_not_empty",
     "check_empty_string_for_optional_attribute",
     "check_small_dataset_compression",
     "check_large_dataset_compression",

src/nwbinspector/checks/_nwb_containers.py

@@ -42,6 +42,39 @@ def check_large_dataset_compression(
     return None
 
 
+@register_check(importance=Importance.CRITICAL, neurodata_type=NWBContainer)
+def check_dataset_not_empty(nwb_container: NWBContainer) -> Optional[Iterable[InspectorMessage]]:
+    """
+    Check if any datasets in the container are empty (have zero elements).
+
+    Empty datasets can cause issues with analysis and visualization tools, and generally indicate
+    missing or incomplete data.
+
+    Parameters
+    ----------
+    nwb_container: NWBContainer
+        The NWB container to check for empty datasets.
+
+    Returns
+    -------
+    Optional[Iterable[InspectorMessage]]
+        Inspector messages for each empty dataset found, or None if no empty datasets are found.
+    """
+    for field_name, field in getattr(nwb_container, "fields", dict()).items():
+        if not isinstance(field, (h5py.Dataset, zarr.Array)):
+            continue
+
+        # Check if the dataset has zero elements
+        if field.size == 0:
+            yield InspectorMessage(
+                severity=Severity.HIGH,
+                message=f"The dataset '{os.path.split(field.name)[1]}' is empty (has zero elements). "
+                f"Datasets should contain data.",
+            )
+
+    return None
+
+
 @register_check(importance=Importance.BEST_PRACTICE_SUGGESTION, neurodata_type=NWBContainer)
 def check_small_dataset_compression(
     nwb_container: NWBContainer,