Beagle SCM

JS-080: verbs/put/put.js appendAndAssign is O(N^2) + re-rolls ulog ts

be put a b c … lowers each path arg to its own handler call, and each call's commitOps invokes appendAndAssign, which DRAINS the whole wtlog, concatenates the new rows, and rewrites the entire file (temp + fsync + rename) — once per arg. A wide arg list is quadratic plus N temp-file cycles. It also HAND-ROLLS ulog's monotonic-stamp policy (nowAfter(tail) then +1 per row) instead of calling the shared writer, so any future ts-policy change diverges silently. ulog.appendInPlace/feedRows exist for exactly this. Output is correct today (put rows carry no per-row ts in the tree), so the divergence is latent. Method: Issues.

Input

Context

• verbs/put/put.js:152 commitOps calls appendAndAssign(repo.bePath, rows, floorTs) per non-silent arg-batch.
• :170-174 appendAndAssign re-reads ALL old rows via ulog.each into old[] every call (the O(N) drain).
• :175-184 re-derives tail, ulog.nowAfter(tail), the floorTs floor, and the per-row ts = ts + 1n bump — a copy of ulog.feedRows/append.
• :185 ulog.write(bePath, old.concat(fresh)) rewrites the whole ULOG (temp _stage + io.rename) — the O(N) write, paid once per arg → O(N^2).
• shared/ulog.js:181 appendInPlace(path, rows, ts) books ONE container and feeds at the watermark (no whole-file drain); :190 feedRows owns the nowAfter+floor++1 stamp policy appendAndAssign re-implements.

Goals

• Staging a put no longer rewrites the entire wtlog per arg; one open container (or one streaming append) carries the batch.
• The ts policy routes through ulog (feedRows/appendInPlace), not a second hand-rolled copy in put.js.
• Still return the ASSIGNED ts per row (the restamp at :159-160 reads it).
• A repro asserting the staged ts == the restamp ts under a multi-arg put.

Constraints

• verbs/put/put.js + maybe a small shared/ulog.js helper; keep the row shapes (put <path> / put <path>#<dst>) and floorTs cohort behaviour.
• libabc+libdog ONLY; byte-equivalent wtlog to native be put a b c.

WIP

Design decisions

• Either (a) call ulog.appendInPlace once for the whole batch and re-read the tail to recover assigned ts, or (b) add an ulog helper that feeds and RETURNS the assigned ts array (the one bit appendAndAssign needs that feedRows does not expose) — preferred, kills the duplication outright.
• appendAndAssign then becomes a thin wrapper over the shared helper.

TODOs

• Repro-first test/js/put/*: multi-arg put a b c asserts each file's restamp mtime == its staged row ts, and the wtlog is byte-identical to native; instrument to confirm ONE write, not N.
• Add ulog.feedRowsAssign (feed + return assigned ts) or reuse appendInPlace; route appendAndAssign through it.

Blockers and bummers

• appendInPlace does not currently return assigned ts — needs the small helper or a tail re-read; pick one.

• 2026-07-07 audit: STILL OPEN, but the proposed fix API IS GONE — JSQUE-020 928aaad5 RETIRED ulog.appendInPlace/feedRows with core/job.js (shared/ulog.js:246 note). verbs/put/put.js:198 appendAndAssign still drains all rows (ulog.each:200) + rewrites the whole file (ulog.write:213), called per arg-batch (:449,:502,:660,:681). The fix must re-introduce a streaming append helper (they no longer exist) or add one to ulog.js.

Outcome

• (pending)