# Session handoff — 2026-05-29 (51)

Fifty-first handover. **Continuation of handoff-50's bug-fix loop.**
The user steered this session twice with strategic judgement that
proved correct both times (see §2). Three issues resolved — two bug
fixes and one substantial cross-mode unification — plus two follow-up
trackers spawned from #6's earlier /runda pass were tackled (#18
closed benign-but-hardened, #17 fixed). **ADR-0022 gained Amendment 3;
ADR-0036 gained Amendment 2.**

## §1. State at handoff

**Branch:** `main`. **HEAD `10e5197`.** **Tests: 2051 passing, 0
failing, 0 unexpected skips, 1 pre-existing ignored** (the same
ignored doctest as prior baselines). **Clippy: clean.** Nothing
pushed (per the user's rules — push is the user's step).

Commits since handoff-50's `abc9bb6`:

```
10e5197 feat: bring simple-mode insert arity diagnostics to parity with advanced
7cccf4e refactor: make completion-drop gate schema-aware for consistency
fa5d0dc fix: insert VALUES between-values hint points at comma not close-paren
```

Test count moved 2040 → 2051 (+11 net across the three commits).

## §2. The two user steers that shaped the session

This session is worth reading for **how the user's judgement
redirected the work** — both calls were right and both uncovered real
problems a naive pass would have missed.

1. **"Most of the open issues were reported at the same time — the
   fixes we already applied may have changed the outcome of other
   reports."** This re-validation instinct was correct. Acting on it,
   every issue picked up got a *confirm-it-still-reproduces* first
   step. Result: **#2's reported root cause was wrong** (the report
   blamed string literals; it was not literal-type-specific at all),
   and **#18 turned out benign** (the divergence it described cannot
   reach the code path it gates). Neither would have surfaced without
   re-probing against current HEAD first. **This is now the standing
   agreement: the first step of every bug pickup is to reproduce it on
   current code before designing a fix.**

2. **On #17, the user rejected the "easy way out."** When implementation
   of the chosen Approach A revealed a larger blast radius, the lead
   floated reverting to the lighter Approach B. The user pushed back:
   *"this feels like mistakes were made in the past which resulted in
   this discrepancy, and approach B is the easy way out … I'd rather
   stick to A and get this sorted really cleanly — we're still in the
   original dev phase, it'd be good to create a strong basis for future
   maintenance, even if it means more work now."* This was **exactly
   right**: there genuinely was a past discrepancy (issue #1's
   simple-mode submit teaching note was a *workaround* for the very gap
   #17 names), and Approach A — done properly — unified both modes onto
   one model rather than piling a third bespoke surface on top.
   Sticking with A also surfaced (and closed) a genuine
   **execution-safety regression** that the lighter path would have left
   buried.

## §3. Resolved issues

### #2 — VALUES between-values hint (commit `fa5d0dc`)

**Re-characterised on investigation.** The report's hypothesis (per-
column inference abandoned *when the first literal doesn't match the
first column's type role*) was **wrong** — probing `values ('Oli'`,
`values (42`, `values (3.5` all reproduced identically. Not literal-
type-specific.

**Real root cause:** the ambient-hint ladder's bottom rung
(`ambient_hint_core_in_mode`, `src/input_render.rs`) parsed
**schemalessly** (`parse_command_in_mode`) while every higher rung was
already schema-aware. Type-blind, the grammar closes an `insert …
values (…)` tuple after one value, so the "Next:" hint pointed at `)`
when the schema-aware walk (knowing the remaining columns) expects `,`.
The same schemaless parse also reported wrong-arity *closed* tuples as
complete → the hint read "submit with Enter" for an input the real
parse rejects.

**Fix:** the fallback rung now calls
`parse_command_with_schema_in_mode(input, cache, mode)`. One-line
change (the cache was already in scope). Verified the friendly arity
diagnostic is **not masked** — in advanced mode it fires at a higher
rung and still wins (guard test
`advanced_mode_wrong_arity_insert_keeps_friendly_diagnostic_over_fallback`).

Three `typing_surface` snapshots re-baselined (form_a one-value
`Next:` `)`→`,`; form_b too-few and form_c wrong-count: the misleading
"Submit with Enter" → the accurate parse error). **ADR-0022
Amendment 3** records the schema-aware fallback.

### #18 — completion-drop schemaless gate (commit `7cccf4e`, closed benign-but-hardened)

The ticket flagged `completion.rs:336`'s `input_parses_complete` gate
using the schemaless parse (sibling of #2). **Investigated as the
ticket asked: it's benign with the current grammar.** The gate drives
exactly one thing — dropping a candidate that *exactly equals* the
trailing partial (don't re-suggest `pk` at the end of `create table T
with pk`). The schemaless/schema-aware parse *does* diverge (e.g.
`insert into T values (1, 1, 'x')` — int into a bool column), but the
divergence is confined to **value type/arity**, while the drop only
ever removes a re-offered **keyword** == partial — and those positions
never coincide. Probed every plausible co-occurrence; candidate output
was identical with and without the fix.

**Disposition (user chose "keep as hardening"):** applied the one-line
schema-aware fix anyway (matches #2, strictly safe — can only ever
*retain* a candidate the schemaless gate would have dropped). No
behavioural test possible (no observable bug); the suite staying green
is the regression cover. Rationale recorded in a code comment.

### #17 — simple-mode arity diagnostic parity (commit `10e5197`)

**The substantial one.** Simple-mode wrong-count inserts showed a bare
`expected `,`/`)`` while advanced mode showed a friendly *"N column(s)
… M value(s)"* message. Root cause: simple `insert` and advanced
`insert` are different grammar nodes (ADR-0033 Am1). Advanced routes a
wrong-count tuple to a type-blind fallback (`tuple_value_list`) so it
**structurally matches** and `dml_insert_arity_diagnostics` fires; the
simple DSL value list (`column_value_list`) built a fixed-length typed
`Seq`, so a wrong-count tuple **Mismatched** and the diagnostic never
ran.

**Fix — unified onto the one ADR-0027 model (structural parse + ERROR
diagnostic), advanced left byte-for-byte unchanged:**

1. **Grammar:** new `dsl_insert_value_list` gate (`data.rs`) routes a
   wrong-count DSL insert tuple to the shared `FALLBACK_VALUE_LIST` so
   it matches and the diagnostic fires. **Gated to `Mode::Simple`** —
   in advanced the DSL node stays strict (otherwise a non-SQL shape
   like Form C `insert into T (1,2)` would spuriously match and be
   accepted in advanced; `sql_insert.rs` owns advanced inserts).
   `count_tuple_values` (moved to `shared.rs`) and a new
   `insert_target_columns` (extracted from `column_value_list`) are now
   **shared** by both grammars so the gate and the typed slots never
   disagree.
2. **Diagnostic is mode-aware:** `dml_insert_arity_diagnostics` gained a
   `mode` param. Advanced Form B expects **all** columns (auto-fills
   nothing); simple Form B/C expects the **user-fillable** columns
   (`serial`/`shortid` auto-fill, ADR-0018 §3). It now also counts the
   DSL Form A role (`insert_first_item`, distinct from SQL
   `insert_column`) and scans the keyword-less Form C tuple. New
   catalog keys `diagnostic.insert_arity_mismatch_form_b_simple` (names
   the fillable *and* the auto-generated columns) and
   `diagnostic.insert_arity_mismatch_all_auto`.
3. **Submit safety (the regression that A surfaced):** a wrong-count
   DSL insert now parses `Ok` + carries the ERROR diagnostic, so it
   would otherwise have **dispatched and executed**. A unified Ok-arm
   pre-flight (`dsl_insert_count_mismatch_notes`, `input_render.rs`)
   now **blocks `ExecuteDsl`** and shows the teaching note — mirroring
   the advanced Ok-arm pre-flight. The issue #1 Err-arm note retires.
   `advanced_alternative_note`'s gate now reads the validity verdict
   (not just `DefiniteErrorAt`) so the cross-mode pointer still fires
   for the new parse-Ok-with-ERROR shape, but **only** when the line is
   genuinely valid in advanced (Form B 3-val → pointer; Form C / too-few
   → no pointer).

**Scope guard (important for future readers):** this is *arity-
diagnostic UX parity only*. It does **not** consolidate value-handling,
execution, or `serial`/`shortid` auto-fill across modes — ADR-0036's
deliberate mode-distinctness stands. The per-mode count difference is a
*consequence* of the auto-fill difference, not a violation of it.

**Documented as ADR-0036 Amendment 2** (cross-ref ADR-0033 §8.1) +
README index + requirements.md H1a.

## §4. ADR / docs work

- **ADR-0022 Amendment 3** (in `fa5d0dc`): the ambient-hint fallback
  rung is now schema-aware. Records that Amendment 1's listing of
  `parse_command_in_mode` as the fallback was an oversight (every other
  rung was schema-aware), and that the friendly arity diagnostic still
  wins at its higher rung. README index updated same-edit.
- **ADR-0036 Amendment 2** (in `10e5197`): simple-mode arity-diagnostic
  parity (full detail in §3 #17). README index updated same-edit.
- **requirements.md H1a** gained citations for both #2 and #17
  contributions.
- **#18** is a code-comment-only decision (benign hardening); no ADR.

## §5. What's open

### Bug reports still open (filed handoff-50)

| # | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| [7](https://github.com/oliversturm/rdbms-playground/issues/7) | Advanced mode: `explain` not yet supported | enhancement |
| [8](https://github.com/oliversturm/rdbms-playground/issues/8) | Advanced-mode syntax highlighting: identifiers and type keywords share the teal colour | bug |
| [9](https://github.com/oliversturm/rdbms-playground/issues/9) | `[ok] explain <Table>` is terse; reconsider the `[ok]`/SQL-echo duplication | bug |
| [10](https://github.com/oliversturm/rdbms-playground/issues/10) | Output panel: `[error]` tag colour identical to `[system]` (ADR-0037 gap) | enhancement |
| [11](https://github.com/oliversturm/rdbms-playground/issues/11) | Copy output panel contents to the system clipboard | enhancement |
| [12](https://github.com/oliversturm/rdbms-playground/issues/12) | Long input hints overflow horizontally | bug |
| [13](https://github.com/oliversturm/rdbms-playground/issues/13) | Undo confirmation dialog: too narrow + language polish | bug |
| [14](https://github.com/oliversturm/rdbms-playground/issues/14) | `--resume` should restore the last-used input mode | enhancement |
| [15](https://github.com/oliversturm/rdbms-playground/issues/15) | Tab completion: offer common SQL function names in expression positions | enhancement |
| [16](https://github.com/oliversturm/rdbms-playground/issues/16) | Restore typing-time column-typo hint for SQL expressions via known-function list | enhancement |

**Closed this session:** #2, #17, #18. **Spawned + closed within the
session:** none new (#17/#18 were spawned in handoff-50 from #6's
/runda pass).

### Categorisation (carried from handoff-50, still current)

- **Bounded code fixes:** #8 (identifier vs type colour), #13 (undo
  dialog).
- **Spec-heavy (discuss first):** #9 (`[ok] explain` redundancy), #10
  (`[error]` tag colour — needs ADR-0037 amendment), #14 (`--resume`
  restore mode — ties to ADR-0015 Iter 6).
- **Substantial scope:** #7 (advanced `explain` — feature gap; ADR-0039
  design agreed, impl deferred), #11 (clipboard copy), #12 (long-hint
  overflow — design call: wrap vs cap vs resize). **Note:** #12 is
  adjacent to this session's hint work — the field-value hints it cites
  are exactly the arity / per-column prose touched in #2 and #17, which
  are now *longer* (the #17 messages name multiple columns). #12 may be
  more visible now; worth checking the hint-panel width handling when
  picked up.
- **Function-list cluster:** #15 + #16 — do **together** (shared
  curated SQL-function-list infrastructure; both spawned from #6).

### Other tracks (unchanged, from requirements.md)

- Track 2 project storage Iter 5/6 — export/import + `--resume` +
  persistent input history + migration framework.
- C3a (modify relationship), C4 (m:n convenience).
- H1 friendly DB-error layer (partial); H1a syntax-help (this session
  added the #2 + #17 contributions).
- Tutorial / lesson system (needs its own ADR).
- V4 session log + Markdown export; I1/I1b multi-line + readline;
  I3 tab-completion polish; I4 syntax highlighting beyond input echo.
- ADR-0039 "explain over advanced SQL" — design agreed, impl deferred
  (this is issue #7).

## §6. Process pins (carried forward, with this session's additions)

- **NEW — reproduce-first.** Per the user's §2.1 steer: the first step
  of every bug pickup is to **confirm it still reproduces on current
  HEAD** before designing a fix. Several handoff-50 reports were filed
  in one batch; earlier fixes may have changed or eliminated others.
- **NEW — no easy-way-out on architectural discrepancies.** Per §2.2:
  when implementation reveals a fix touches a *past discrepancy* (a
  workaround papering over a deeper gap), prefer the unifying fix that
  removes the discrepancy over a lighter patch that deepens it — the
  project is still in its original dev phase and a strong basis is
  worth the extra work. Escalate the trade-off; don't silently take the
  lighter path.
- **Confirm every commit** (propose message, wait). **No AI
  attribution.** **No issue numbers in commit messages** (issue bodies
  + close comments may reference freely).
- **Test-first**; green + clippy-clean is the only acceptable end
  state; current baseline **2051 / 0 / 1**.
- **Follow CLAUDE.md solo-mode phases** explicitly. `/runda` is the
  standard DA tool between/after phases on non-trivial work — this
  session ran it over the #2 fix and the #17 *design* (the design pass
  caught the DSL-Form-A-role mismatch and surfaced the message-wording
  fork before any code was written). The second-round DA discipline
  (the `/runda` re-prompt) caught real issues each time.
- **cargo-insta is NOT installed** as a subcommand. Accept pending
  snapshots by `mv -f <file>.snap.new <file>.snap` (review the diff
  first — these are behaviour changes to verify, not rubber-stamp).
- **GitHub issue tracking** (`gh` CLI) is in use; migrating to Gitea
  (`tea`) later.

## §7. How to take over

1. **Read, in order:** this file → `requirements.md` for open tracks →
   `docs/adr/README.md` for the ADR index → the relevant ADR for
   whatever you pick up. For insert/value-list work, **ADR-0036
   (esp. Amendment 2)** and **ADR-0033 §8.1** are now the authority on
   the arity-diagnostic model — both modes share it.
2. **Baseline:** `cargo test` (2051 / 0 / 1) + `cargo clippy
   --all-targets` (clean).
3. **For a bug fix:** **reproduce it first on current HEAD** (process
   pin above). The `panic!()` probe-test technique (write a throwaway
   test that prints the actual behaviour, run, observe, delete) was the
   fast path all session — see how #2 and #17 were investigated. Then
   failing test → fix → green → /runda → commit-with-approval →
   close-with-summary.
4. **Pick the next ticket** from §5's categorisation. #8 or #13 are the
   bounded quick wins. #15 + #16 should be done together. If picking a
   hint-related ticket (#12), note this session lengthened the
   field-value hint strings.
5. **Architectural note for future insert work:** the insert value-list
   path now has a clean shared spine — `count_tuple_values` and
   `insert_target_columns` in `grammar::shared`, consumed by both the
   DSL gate (`data.rs::dsl_insert_value_list`, simple-only) and the SQL
   gate (`sql_insert.rs::tuple_value_list`). The arity diagnostic
   (`dml_insert_arity_diagnostics`) is mode-aware. Keep that symmetry
   if you extend either side.
