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Sarj Standards

SQL · performance

no-offset-pagination

sql:no-offset-pagination

OFFSET pagination — use cursor pagination (WHERE id > :cursor).

Code
SARJ107
Default
error
Fix
none
Languages
sql

Why

OFFSET scans and discards every skipped row, so later pages become slower as the result set grows.

Fix

Filter on a stable cursor column, preserve its ordering, and retain a bounded LIMIT.

Before / after

Executed by this rule’s unit tests.

Before

Pagination that scans skipped rows

queries/calls.sql · focus
SELECT id FROM call ORDER BY id LIMIT 50 OFFSET 100;

After

Pagination bounded by a stable cursor

queries/calls.sql · focus
SELECT id FROM call WHERE id > :cursor ORDER BY id LIMIT 50;

Limits

  • The rule recognizes literal and common driver parameter markers following OFFSET.

Formerly: no-limit-offset