bcquality/microsoft/knowledge/performance/triggers-and-media-field-regress-modifyall.md
Jesper Schulz-Wedde a9f3c50863 Regenerate microsoft/knowledge from upstream BCApps instructions
The previous LLM-generated knowledge files contained factual
hallucinations. The most visible was the claim that `FindFirst` /
`FindLast` "forces a full-table scan" on an unfiltered record - it does
not; those APIs return a single row via the current key.

Other inaccuracies the audit found and fixed:

* `FindSet(true)` was described as "taking a LockTable". The correct
  upstream phrasing is that `FindSet(true)` sets
  `ReadIsolation::UpdLock` on the read. UpdLock and LockTable are
  related but distinct mechanisms.
* The list of production-scale tables had been invented beyond the
  upstream source (e.g. "Detailed Cust. Ledg. Entry") without a
  citation. The regenerated list matches the ten tables upstream lists
  with their P95 row counts.
* `SetLoadFields` guidance had been augmented with an extra mechanism
  claim ("the database resolves the filter using the index without
  hydrating the value") not present in upstream.

Approach: full regeneration of `microsoft/knowledge/` from the six
upstream BCApps Code Review instruction files, with Microsoft Learn /
the AL language reference as a secondary source. Every claim in every
regenerated file is anchored to a verbatim upstream quote (or a Learn
URL); the audit trail lives in artifacts/trace-<domain>.json on the
session workspace.

The PR #11 transaction/error-handling cluster is preserved verbatim:

* performance/understand-implicit-transaction-boundary.md
* performance/codeunit-run-as-atomic-sub-operation.{md,good.al,bad.al}
* performance/codeunit-run-requires-prior-commit-inside-transaction.{md,good.al,bad.al}
* performance/use-tryfunction-for-error-catching-not-rollback.{md,good.al,bad.al}
* performance/avoid-commit-inside-loops.{md,good.al,bad.al}
* security/commitbehavior-attribute-scopes-explicit-commits.{md,good.al,bad.al}
* testing/transactionmodel-attribute-governs-test-transactions.{md,good.al,bad.al}

These articles already cite Microsoft Learn and were carefully
cross-referenced; the regeneration skips their topics rather than
duplicating them.

File counts after regeneration:

  performance   35 .md  (5 preserved + 30 new)
  privacy       17 .md
  security      18 .md  (1 preserved + 17 new)
  style         33 .md
  testing        1 .md  (preserved)
  ui            19 .md
  upgrade       18 .md

Total 141 atomic knowledge files, each strictly one rule. All pass
.github/scripts/validate_frontmatter.py with 0 errors and 0 warnings.

Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
2026-05-21 09:53:09 +02:00

2.1 KiB

bc-version domain keywords technologies countries application-area
all
performance
modifyall
deleteall
regression
triggers
media
getglobaltabletriggermask
subscriber
al
w1
all

Triggers, subscribers, and media fields can silently regress ModifyAll / DeleteAll

Description

ModifyAll and DeleteAll usually execute as single SQL statements, but the platform falls back to a fetch-then-row-by-row loop under specific conditions. Per the upstream guidance, the regression is triggered by any of: global database triggers defined via GetGlobalTableTriggerMask or GetDatabaseTableTriggerSetup (so that OnDatabaseDelete/OnGlobalDelete must run); event subscribers on the table's OnBeforeDelete/OnAfterDelete (for DeleteAll) or OnBeforeModify/OnAfterModify (for ModifyAll); or "adding a Media or MediaSet table field to either the table or table extension." Each of these forces the platform to materialize each affected row in AL.

Best Practice

Before introducing any of the above on a table — a global trigger registration, a Modify/Delete subscriber, a media or media-set field — note every ModifyAll/DeleteAll that targets the table and assess whether the regression cost is acceptable. The upstream guidance is explicit: "There should be a very good reason for doing any of the above since they will significantly regress performance of ModifyAll and/or DeleteAll." Once a table has regressed, multiple ModifyAll calls each iterate the rows themselves, so consolidating to one explicit FindSet+Modify loop becomes faster than chaining several ModifyAll calls.

Anti Pattern

Adding a media field to a hot table — or subscribing to its modify/delete events from a generic logging codeunit — without auditing the bulk-write call sites. The schema change is mechanical; the performance change is invisible at the call site and only surfaces when a previously fast ModifyAll starts paying the per-row trigger cost in production. The mirror anti-pattern is chaining several ModifyAll calls on a table that has already regressed; each one re-iterates the same rows.