docs: the pg LISTEN identifier-truncation wake-collision note (review 004 item 13)

deployment.md's Postgres co-tenancy paragraph and engine-postgres.md's
connection-architecture wake-substrate section now carry the 63-byte
identifier-truncation collision note as dated annotations: two names
longer than 63 bytes sharing a 63-byte prefix silently register the
same server-side wake channel; pg_notify (the parameter path, untrun-
cated, rejecting >= 64-byte channels) is unaffected, so the collapse is
on the registration side. Mitigation: keep mechanism names at most 63
bytes (byte count). The naming contract's deliberate no-cap verdict is
untouched. Discharges review 004 'findings recorded, not fixed' item
13 (task docs-pg-identifier-truncation-note).
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glm-5.3-flash committed 2026-10-11 15:03:55 +00:00
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--- ---
status: stable status: stable
last_updated: "2026-10-11 (the log-facade decision of record landed — last_updated: "2026-10-11 (the pg identifier-truncation wake-collision
note — review 004 item 13's doc-fix disposition — added to the
Postgres engine section).
Earlier the same day: the log-facade decision of record landed —
[ADR-025](decisions/025-log-facade.md): engine diagnostics route [ADR-025](decisions/025-log-facade.md): engine diagnostics route
through the `tracing` facade, silent by default, subscriber wiring on through the `tracing` facade, silent by default, subscriber wiring on
the consumer/binary; the diagnostics-posture section added below. the consumer/binary; the diagnostics-posture section added below.
@@ -90,6 +93,28 @@ engine-owned PostgreSQL schema (default `alkstore`, per-engine option)
— layout per [ADR-010](decisions/010-queue-semantics-depth.md) §8 — layout per [ADR-010](decisions/010-queue-semantics-depth.md) §8
(resolved from [queues.md](queues.md)'s namespace bullet). (resolved from [queues.md](queues.md)'s namespace bullet).
One pg-specific naming caveat, dated per the family's amendment
convention *(annotated 2026-10-11 — review 004 item 13, recorded
"not fixed" in the review with a fold-into-the-next-doc-pass
disposition; this note is that fix)*: the wake machinery
interpolates the channel as a quoted SQL identifier on
`LISTEN`/`UNLISTEN`, and PostgreSQL truncates identifiers to
**63 bytes (`NAMEDATALEN` − 1)** server-side — with only a
`NOTICE`, never an error — so two distinct names longer than 63
bytes sharing a 63-byte prefix register the **same** server-side
wake channel (a silent cross-channel collision). The `pg_notify`
path is unaffected by the truncation — it carries the channel as a
text parameter, not an identifier, and the server rejects channels
of 64 bytes or more there ("channel name too long") — so the
collapse is on the registration side. The
[naming contract](core-contract.md#naming--reserved-namespace)
deliberately caps no name (the length-independence verdict stands),
so nothing engine-side warns. Mitigation:
**keep mechanism names under the PostgreSQL identifier limit —
at most 63 bytes; the limit counts bytes, not characters, so
multibyte names reach it sooner.** Distinct names within the limit
cannot collide.
### Mem engine ### Mem engine
- No connections — there is nothing to budget. The engine instance - No connections — there is nothing to budget. The engine instance
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--- ---
status: stable status: stable
last_updated: "2026-10-10 (review-wave-5 gate: the verification backlog fully discharged in the version-stamped contract suite, green against this engine; spec flipped draft → stable)" last_updated: "2026-10-11 (review 004 item 13's wake-channel
identifier-truncation note — the doc-fix disposition — added to the
connection-architecture wake-substrate section).
Earlier, 2026-10-10 (review-wave-5 gate: the verification backlog fully discharged in the version-stamped contract suite, green against this engine; spec flipped draft → stable)"
--- ---
# Postgres engine # Postgres engine
@@ -60,6 +63,26 @@ obligations live in the core spec.
broadcast re-subscribe (no server round-trips); per-channel broadcast re-subscribe (no server round-trips); per-channel
connections are never warranted at this scale (POC-verified). connections are never warranted at this scale (POC-verified).
One wake-channel naming hazard, noted per the review 004 item 13
disposition *(annotated 2026-10-11)*: the forwarder's
`LISTEN`/`UNLISTEN` carry the channel as a quoted SQL identifier
(`quote_ident` — the POC's quoting shape), and PostgreSQL truncates
identifiers to 63 bytes
(`NAMEDATALEN` − 1) server-side — with only a `NOTICE`, never an
error — so two distinct names longer than 63 bytes sharing a
63-byte prefix register the same server-side wake channel, silently.
The `pg_notify` path is unaffected by the truncation — it carries
the channel as a text parameter, not an identifier (channels of 64
bytes or more are rejected there server-side) — so the collapse is
on the registration side, not the send side. Names are unbounded by
the contract's naming rules (deliberate; [ADR-008](decisions/008-contract-v1-pinning.md)
§4), nothing engine-side warns, and the machinery itself is
name-length agnostic (63 bytes is a server-side limit, not an
engine check). Mitigation is a consumer obligation: keep channel
names under the PostgreSQL identifier limit (at most 63 bytes; the
limit counts bytes, not characters) — the operator-facing statement
lives in the [deployment matrix](deployment.md).
## Mapping the contract ## Mapping the contract
| Contract piece | Engine realization | | Contract piece | Engine realization |
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--- ---
id: docs-pg-identifier-truncation-note id: docs-pg-identifier-truncation-note
name: Document the pg identifier-truncation collision in the release text (review 004 item 13) name: Document the pg identifier-truncation collision in the release text (review 004 item 13)
status: pending status: completed
depends_on: [] depends_on: []
scope: single scope: single
risk: trivial risk: trivial
@@ -32,12 +32,12 @@ annotation per the family's convention.
## Acceptance Criteria ## Acceptance Criteria
- [ ] `deployment.md` carries the truncation-collision note with a - [x] `deployment.md` carries the truncation-collision note with a
dated annotation (mechanism + mitigation, honestly worded) dated annotation (mechanism + mitigation, honestly worded)
- [ ] `engine-postgres.md` carries it too if a wake-channel section - [x] `engine-postgres.md` carries it too if a wake-channel section
exists there (or the absence recorded in Notes) exists there (or the absence recorded in Notes)
- [ ] The validation contract's no-cap verdict untouched - [x] The validation contract's no-cap verdict untouched
- [ ] Doc gate green - [x] Doc gate green
## References ## References
@@ -51,8 +51,33 @@ annotation per the family's convention.
## Notes ## Notes
> To be filled by implementation agent Deployment matrix note: `deployment.md` has no standalone wake-channel
section — the landing site is the Postgres engine's co-tenancy
paragraph under "Connection budgets" (the one place the matrix
discusses naming), as a dated amendment annotation per the family
convention. `engine-postgres.md` has no dedicated wake-channel section
either; the note landed at the end of "Connection architecture" (the
wake substrate lives there) with a cross-reference to the
deployment-matrix statement. Accuracy sharpening beyond the review's
text (verified against Postgres master `commands/async.c`):
`pg_notify` does not merely escape identifier truncation — the server
*rejects* channels of 64 bytes or more there ("channel name too
long", an error), while quoted identifiers on the `LISTEN` side
truncate to 63 bytes silently (a `NOTICE`); the notes state the
collapse is on the registration side. The mitigation is phrased as a
consumer obligation (names at most 63 bytes; a byte count, not a
character count) — no validation contract change, per the task
description.
## Summary ## Summary
> To be filled on completion Landed the pg identifier-truncation collision note in
`docs/architecture/deployment.md` (dated annotation, Postgres engine
section) and `docs/architecture/engine-postgres.md` (connection
architecture, wake-substrate section) — mechanism, honest send-vs-
registration-side statement, and the keep-names-under-63-bytes
mitigation. Frontmatter `last_updated` of both files carried forward.
Verified: `RUSTDOCFLAGS="-D warnings" cargo doc --no-deps` green,
`cargo fmt --check` green, `cargo clippy --all-targets -- -D warnings`
green; `core-contract.md`'s no-cap naming verdict untouched (diff
touching only the two doc files).