bcquality/microsoft/knowledge/performance/avoid-get-inside-loop-on-large-table.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

26 lines
1.7 KiB
Markdown

---
bc-version: [all]
domain: performance
keywords: [n-plus-one, get, findfirst, loop, inner-lookup, large-table]
technologies: [al]
countries: [w1]
application-area: [all]
---
# Avoid Get / FindFirst inside a loop on a large inner table
## Description
A `Get` or `FindFirst` against a different record inside a loop body produces one database round-trip per iteration — the classic N+1 pattern. Per the upstream guidance, "Flag when a `Get()`/`FindFirst()` is called inside a loop for each record — this creates N+1 database round-trips." The cost only matters when the inner table is meaningful: lookups against temporary tables, singleton setup tables, enum-mapping tables, permission objects, or Role IDs are bounded and safe. The pattern to catch is the inner lookup that hits a production-scale table for every outer row.
## Best Practice
When the loop needs values from another record, lift the lookup out of the loop if the rows can be collected up front, or apply `SetLoadFields` so each inner read transfers only the columns the loop actually uses (see `use-setloadfields-for-partial-records.md`). When the inner record is small or bounded, leave the call site alone — the rule targets large-table inner lookups specifically.
See sample: `avoid-get-inside-loop-on-large-table.good.al`.
## Anti Pattern
Iterating BOM lines and calling `Item.Get(BOMLine."No.")` per row to read a costing method, with no `SetLoadFields` on `Item`. Each iteration issues one query against Item (~800k rows) and pulls the entire row to read two fields. The fix is `Item.SetLoadFields("Costing Method", "Standard Cost");` ahead of the loop — still N reads, but each one transfers only the needed columns.
See sample: `avoid-get-inside-loop-on-large-table.bad.al`.