correctness.unordered_page
A deny rule, scope workflow. A read that skips rows without ordering them, so the page it skips is undefined.
Synopsis
$ orion-server clippy ./definitions
deny[correctness.unordered_page] a read that skips rows without ordering them, so the page it skips is undefined
Description
A data_query or mongo_read whose skip is not accompanied by a sort. skip names a position in an order. Without one the rows come back in whatever the query plan emitted, so “skip the first 20” names no particular set. Two calls need not agree, with no writes in between and no error anywhere. The dialect already refuses this one level in: an include must state a sort. The per-parent page is cut in the database, and “the first 10 orders” otherwise has no defined answer. The root page has the same problem and keeps accepting it, so the finding is here.
Caveats
Silent when skip is the literal 0, which skips nothing. Silent when a sort is given, whether or not its keys are unique. Silent for a limit with no sort, which is a legitimate “any n”. See Paging for the cursor that pages without an offset at all.
Related
- Advisory checks: every rule, the levels, and where certainty comes from.
orion-server clippy: the command, its flags and exit codes.- Test workflows offline: running the rules against a set.
- Workflows: the step grammar the rule reads.
Last verified 14 September 2026