3 AL/BC patterns: Insert/Delete trigger defaults on master data and declined Confirm in OnValidate

[Michael Dieringer (MichaelDieringer)]

Summary

Three articles about silent defaults on record writes and confirmations. All three compile without a diagnostic and pass review by eye.

• data-modeling/master-data-must-be-inserted-with-trigger.md
  • Record.Insert() does not run OnInsert, because RunTrigger defaults to false (Learn).
  • On a master table that skips the initialization: No./No. Series when No. is blank, the conditional contact and salesperson defaults, Global Dimension 1/2 overwrite, UpdateReferencedIds, and timestamps.
  • In BCApps W1 BaseApp, master-table inserts use Insert(true) 34 times against 6 bare Insert(). All 6 fall under the stated exceptions: temporary records, XMLport round-trips (ExportItemData:405, MfgExportItemData:415), CatalogItemManagement, and CopyItem.
  • Microsoft's DataMigration facades and Templ. Mgt. codeunits all use Insert(true), so migration from an external source is explicitly not an exception.
  • Framed as the "trigger does work the caller depends on" case of pass-false-to-insert-when-trigger-not-needed.md, so the decision stays per call. There is deliberately no Modify counterpart, because Base App uses Modify() without trigger routinely.
• data-modeling/delete-master-data-with-trigger.md
  • Delete()/DeleteAll() without true, called from outside the owning table, skips its OnDelete guard. Example: Currency.OnDelete (lines 797-820) blocks deletion while open Cust./Vendor/Employee ledger entries exist, and Customer.OnDelete runs codeunit 361 MoveEntries.
  • A scan of all ~3,000 BaseApp delete calls found trigger-less deletes on these tables outside the owning table only in codeunit 1812. That is a no-postings data-migration rebuild and is listed as an exception.
  • Also out of scope:
    • the owning table's own cascade (Currency.OnDelete calls CurrExchRate.DeleteAll())
    • same-key delete-and-reinsert (JobArchiveManagement restore)
    • temporary records
  • Notes that table-extension OnBeforeDelete/OnAfterDelete still run (Learn).
• error-handling/declined-confirm-must-abort-not-partially-apply.md
  • In OnValidate, the field already holds its new value. A declined Confirm that only skips a side effect therefore commits the new value while leaving state tied to the old value orphaned.
  • Scoped to side effects whose absence orphans state. Optional follow-ups are explicit non-findings: Sales Header "Do you want to update the lines?" → end else exit, and Opportunity."Campaign No.".
  • if not Confirm(...) then Error('') is shown as the standard abort (InteractionTemplate), and restoring xRec as the alternative (To-do "Team Code").
  • Links avoid-user-prompts-inside-transactions.md and job-queue-handlers-must-not-require-ui.md.

Relationship to existing articles: reconciled with and cross-linked to:

• pass-false-to-insert-when-trigger-not-needed
• master-table-no-from-number-series-in-oninsert
• owning-table-must-delete-dependents-in-ondelete
• do-not-modify-or-delete-posted-ledger-entries
• datatransfer-skips-triggers-and-subscribers

None are restated.

Verification

• Every fixture was compiled with alc 30.0 against Base App 28.2. The only warnings are AA0137 on two intentionally empty stub parameters in the Confirm sample.
• Every BCApps citation was re-opened at main 837ef8024.
• Learn pages checked: Record.Insert(Boolean), Delete, DeleteAll, OnValidate, Confirm.

Wiring

• al-data-modeling-review.md and al-error-handling-review.md gain targeted checks.
• Each check lists its exclusions in the cue itself: owning-table cascade, same-key reinsert, migration rebuild, XMLport round-trip, and optional-follow-up confirms.
• All three are registered in evaluation/review-fixtures.json.

Test plan

• validate_frontmatter.py: 0 errors (2 pre-existing warnings in unrelated files)
• Test-ReviewFixtures.ps1: 222 cases / 111 paired articles
• Test-ReviewContract.ps1, Test-SkillIndex.ps1, Test-KnowledgeIndex.ps1, Test-KnowledgeRetrieval.ps1: pass
• CLA: license/cla check passes (CURABIS ApS company agreement on file)
• Domain owner review (microsoft/knowledge/data-modeling/, microsoft/knowledge/error-handling/)

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[Jesper Schulz-Wedde (JesperSchulz)]

Reviewed 4e2a3ead4d246ef7f8bef74186c2c04219029379. The master insert/delete guidance accurately reflects trigger defaults and current Customer/Currency behavior while preserving temporary/staging, owning-table cascade, same-key restore, explicit initialization, and no-postings rebuild exceptions. The declined-confirm rule is scoped to provably orphaned old state, not optional follow-ups or safe pre-write cancellation, and the good sample aborts before the side effect. The package is consistent with existing performance/ownership guidance and all three pairs are registered. Exact-head local frontmatter, knowledge index/retrieval, skill/schema, review-contract, and changed-path fixture validation pass (222 cases). No merge-critical issue found. GitHub validation workflows are awaiting approval and should run before merge.

[Jesper Schulz-Wedde (JesperSchulz)]

Michael Dieringer (@MichaelDieringer), could you resolve the conflict? Looks good otherwise!

[Michael Dieringer (MichaelDieringer)]

Resolved, thanks! Merged current main (insert-only overlaps with #203/#207 in al-data-modeling-review.md and review-fixtures.json, both sides kept); all local validators pass.