bcquality/microsoft/knowledge/performance/pair-findset-with-next-loop.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
1.6 KiB
Markdown

---
bc-version: [all]
domain: performance
keywords: [findset, findfirst, findlast, get, next, repeat-until, aa0181, aa0233]
technologies: [al]
countries: [w1]
application-area: [all]
---
# Use FindSet with repeat..Next; do not pair FindFirst/FindLast/Get with Next
## Description
Two CodeCop rules carve out the loop pattern. AA0181 says `FindSet()`/`Find()` "must be used with `Next()` method" — these are the multi-row APIs that the runtime sets up for forward iteration. AA0233 says do "NOT use `FindFirst()`/`FindLast()`/`Get()` with `Next()`" — these are single-row APIs, and iterating from them "wastes CPU and bandwidth." Both rules together define one boundary: choose `FindSet` when the body iterates; choose `FindFirst`, `FindLast`, or `Get` when the body uses exactly one record.
## Best Practice
When the body executes `repeat ... until Next() = 0;`, open the iteration with `FindSet()`. When the body needs one record and does not call `Next`, use `FindFirst`, `FindLast`, or — if the full primary key is known — `Get` (see `use-get-instead-of-findfirst-on-full-primary-key.md`). The choice is per call site, not a global preference.
See sample: `pair-findset-with-next-loop.good.al`.
## Anti Pattern
`if Customer.FindFirst() then repeat ... until Customer.Next() = 0;` — AA0233 flags this. The single-row API does not prepare the runtime for iteration, so the loop pays a cost the FindSet path does not. The mirror anti-pattern is calling `FindSet` to read a single record (see `use-isempty-for-existence-check.md` when only existence is required).
See sample: `pair-findset-with-next-loop.bad.al`.