Meter must resolve to a primary-beat-unit before any pulse-visibility rule can run

Every meter is either simple (beat = a plain note value), compound (beat = a dotted note value, e.g. the dotted quarter in 6/8), or additive/irregular (beat groups like 2+3 or 3+2+2 that cannot be derived from the numerator/denominator alone and must be stated explicitly). Gould's, Read's, and Ross's rhythm-notation guidance is stated in terms of this primary beat, not a flat quarter-note total.

Gould, Behind Bars, ch. 'Time signatures' (compound vs. simple beat unit); Stone, Music Notation in the 20th Century, additive/irregular meters (grouping must be declared, not inferred).

This rule can be decided from pitches, durations and voices — no layout required. A validator can check it before anything is drawn.