docs(objectql): name the include-relation boundary of a cross-field comparand, and pin it (#15103 fallback B) (#15781)

The #15103 gate was measured before any code: the ADR-0071 join chain lives
in NativeSQLStrategy, which declines every { $field } comparand (2026-08-12
ruling, #7598), and the driver that compiles the comparand builds no joins —
so the chain cannot serve the where compilation without JOIN planning in the
driver, an alias contract through executeAggregate, or a second enforcement
site for the #5222 rulings. Fallback B: capability unchanged; the query-syntax
page names the boundary and a service-analytics pin measures it over a real
engine (dimension and filter member through the join; the comparand refused
INVALID_FILTER/400 with duty in include; native declined on that pass).


Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01ARYe3yQTQCUFm5qPYNgKaJ

Co-authored-by: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>

Author: claude[bot]

content/docs/protocol/objectql/query-syntax.mdx

@@ -512,6 +512,19 @@ both. The same-table rule applies to the offset column too: `addDays: { $field:
 'duty.grace_days' }` (a relation path) is resolved by the memory evaluator and refused
 by SQL push-down with `INVALID_FILTER`, exactly as a dotted `$field` is.
 
+**A dataset's `include` does not widen this.** A dataset compiles a `LEFT JOIN` for every
+relation it `include`s (ADR-0071, up to three hops), and on the native-SQL path those joins
+serve dimensions, measures and filter *members* — a `where` on `duty.grace_days` reads the
+joined column. A `{ $field }` *comparand* takes a different road: the native-SQL strategy
+declines it so that the driver, which alone holds the declared field set, the column types
+and the tenant column the cross-field rules check, compiles it (#7598) — and the driver
+compiles single-table statements, with no join in scope. So
+`completed_on <= due_on + duty.grace_days` is refused with `INVALID_FILTER` even when `duty`
+is in the dataset's `include`; measured and pinned in
+`packages/services/service-analytics/src/__tests__/include-relation-cross-field-boundary.test.ts`
+(#15103). The spelling that answers on both paths is the same-table one — every column the
+reference names, offset included, is a column of the object the filter runs over.
+
 ### Date, Datetime, and Time Filters
 
 Before a comparison is built, the driver puts the comparand into the **same canonical

packages/services/service-analytics/src/__tests__/include-relation-cross-field-boundary.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,243 @@
+// Copyright (c) 2026 ObjectStack. Licensed under the Apache-2.0 license.
+
+/**
+ * [#15103] A cross-field comparand naming a column of an `include`d relation —
+ * the boundary, measured on one dataset over a real engine.
+ *
+ * ## Why this is a pin and not a feature
+ *
+ * The #14104 ruling spelled its driving shape as
+ * `completed_at <= due_date + duty.grace_days` — a RELATION path. #15103 was
+ * ruled **A, gated on one measurement** (maintainer ruling 5548479553,
+ * 2026-09-05): if the ADR-0071 join chain a dataset already compiles for its
+ * `include`d relations can serve the `where` compilation of a `{ $field }`
+ * comparand, SQL push-down accepts that spelling for `include`d relations; if
+ * it cannot without inventing JOIN planning, fallback **B** — capability
+ * unchanged, the ruling's example corrected to the same-table spelling, and
+ * the boundary named. The measurement answered B; this file is its executable
+ * form, so the sentence `query-syntax.mdx` states is re-read the day the
+ * boundary moves.
+ *
+ * ## What was measured
+ *
+ * - The join chain lives in `NativeSQLStrategy` (`qualifyAndRegisterJoin`),
+ *   where it already serves dimensions, measures AND filter MEMBERS. The first
+ *   block drives a dimension and a `runtimeFilter` member on `duty.grace_days`
+ *   through one `LEFT JOIN` over a real SQLite engine and reads real rows back.
+ * - A `{ $field }` comparand never reaches that chain. `canHandle` DECLINES
+ *   it (maintainer ruling 2026-08-12 Q1 = B, #7598) so that `driver-sql`
+ *   enforces the four #5222 rulings with metadata only it holds; the driver
+ *   compiles single-table statements — no join exists there, and nothing about
+ *   the dataset's `include` reaches it (`executeAggregate` carries `groupBy`,
+ *   `aggregations`, `filter`, `timezone`, `context` and nothing else). So the
+ *   dotted comparand is refused `INVALID_FILTER` / 400 EVEN WHEN the relation
+ *   is in `include` — the second block, bare arm and offset arm, with the
+ *   native-SQL spy proving the chain was never consulted.
+ * - The same-table spelling answers on the SQL path over the same fixture —
+ *   the third block, the positive control. The memory half of the asymmetry
+ *   (the evaluator WALKS `duty.grace_days` when the row carries the relation)
+ *   is pinned where the evaluator lives:
+ *   `packages/formula/src/matches-filter-field-reference-offset.test.ts`;
+ *   this package does not depend on `@objectstack/formula`, deliberately.
+ *
+ * ## What landing A would need — none of it authorised by #15103
+ *
+ * A join synthesised inside the driver (JOIN planning, the ruling's fallback
+ * trigger); a join descriptor threaded through `executeAggregate` → engine →
+ * `DriverQuery` (the alias contract the 2026-08-06 and 2026-09-05 rulings both
+ * exclude); or the `$field` compilation moved into `NativeSQLStrategy` behind
+ * new `StrategyContext` hooks and a second implementation of the #5222
+ * rulings (option A of the 2026-08-12 ruling, rejected there). A red here is
+ * the signal that one of those landed and the docs owe a new sentence.
+ */
+
+import { describe, it, expect, beforeAll, afterAll } from 'vitest';
+import {
+  CROSS_FIELD_OFFSET_OBJECT_FIELDS,
+  CROSS_FIELD_OFFSET_ROWS,
+} from '@objectstack/driver-sql';
+import { SqliteWasmDriver } from '@objectstack/driver-sqlite-wasm';
+import { DatasetSchema } from '@objectstack/spec/ui';
+import type { AggregationNode, FilterCondition } from '@objectstack/spec/data';
+import type { DriverQuery } from '@objectstack/spec/contracts';
+import type { ExecutionContext } from '@objectstack/spec/kernel';
+
+import { AnalyticsService } from '../analytics-service.js';
+
+const TASK = 'cross_field_task';
+const DUTY = 'cross_field_duty';
+const CTX = { tenantId: 'org_A' } as ExecutionContext;
+
+/** The offset fixture's task, plus the `duty` lookup the ruling's shape walks. */
+const TASK_FIELDS: Record<string, Record<string, unknown>> = {
+  ...CROSS_FIELD_OFFSET_OBJECT_FIELDS,
+  duty: { type: 'lookup', name: 'duty', reference: DUTY },
+};
+const DUTY_FIELDS: Record<string, Record<string, unknown>> = {
+  id: { type: 'text', name: 'id' },
+  name: { type: 'text', name: 'name' },
+  grace_days: { type: 'number', name: 'grace_days' },
+  organization_id: { type: 'text', name: 'organization_id' },
+};
+
+/**
+ * One duty per distinct grace value, so `duty.grace_days` and the task's own
+ * `grace_days` name the SAME number for every row: the relation spelling and
+ * the same-table spelling are one predicate over this fixture, and any
+ * difference in their answers is the paths, never the data.
+ */
+const DUTIES: ReadonlyArray<{ id: string; name: string; grace_days: number | null; organization_id: string }> = [
+  { id: 'duty_2', name: 'two days of grace', grace_days: 2, organization_id: 'o1' },
+  { id: 'duty_0', name: 'no grace', grace_days: 0, organization_id: 'o1' },
+  { id: 'duty_none', name: 'grace unset', grace_days: null, organization_id: 'o1' },
+  { id: 'duty_m3', name: 'three days early', grace_days: -3, organization_id: 'o1' },
+];
+const dutyFor = (grace: number | null): string =>
+  grace === null ? 'duty_none' : grace === 2 ? 'duty_2' : grace === 0 ? 'duty_0' : 'duty_m3';
+const TASKS = CROSS_FIELD_OFFSET_ROWS.map((row) => ({ ...row, duty: dutyFor(row.grace_days) }));
+
+const SAME_TABLE_ON_TIME: FilterCondition = {
+  completed_on: { $lte: { $field: 'due_on', addDays: { $field: 'grace_days' } } },
+};
+const RELATION_OFFSET_ON_TIME: FilterCondition = {
+  completed_on: { $lte: { $field: 'due_on', addDays: { $field: 'duty.grace_days' } } },
+};
+const RELATION_BARE: FilterCondition = {
+  completed_on: { $lte: { $field: 'duty.grace_days' } },
+};
+
+/** The dataset: `duty` IS in `include`, and a dimension already reads through it. */
+const DATASET = DatasetSchema.parse({
+  name: 'task_health_by_duty',
+  label: 'Task health by duty',
+  object: TASK,
+  include: ['duty'],
+  dimensions: [
+    { name: 'title', field: 'title', type: 'string' },
+    { name: 'duty_grace', field: 'duty.grace_days', type: 'number' },
+  ],
+  measures: [
+    { name: 'total', aggregate: 'count' },
+    { name: 'done_on_time', aggregate: 'count', filter: SAME_TABLE_ON_TIME },
+    { name: 'done_on_time_by_duty', aggregate: 'count', filter: RELATION_OFFSET_ON_TIME },
+    { name: 'done_by_duty_bare', aggregate: 'count', filter: RELATION_BARE },
+  ],
+});
+
+interface WireBearingError extends Error {
+  code?: string;
+  status?: number;
+}
+
+const errorFrom = async (run: () => Promise<unknown>): Promise<WireBearingError> => {
+  let returned: unknown;
+  try {
+    returned = await run();
+  } catch (e) {
+    return e as WireBearingError;
+  }
+  throw new Error(`expected a refusal, but the analytics face returned ${JSON.stringify(returned)}`);
+};
+
+describe('[#15103] a cross-field comparand on an `include`d relation — the boundary, measured', () => {
+  let driver: SqliteWasmDriver;
+  let service: AnalyticsService;
+  const rawSqlCalls: string[] = [];
+
+  beforeAll(async () => {
+    driver = new SqliteWasmDriver({ filename: ':memory:' });
+    await driver.initObjects([
+      { name: DUTY, fields: DUTY_FIELDS } as any,
+      { name: TASK, fields: TASK_FIELDS } as any,
+    ]);
+    for (const duty of DUTIES) await driver.create(DUTY, { ...duty });
+    for (const task of TASKS) await driver.create(TASK, { ...task });
+
+    service = new AnalyticsService({
+      debugSql: true,
+      // BOTH paths available: native SQL wins `resolveStrategy` unless it
+      // declines, so the spy on `executeRawSql` MEASURES the decline.
+      queryCapabilities: () => ({ nativeSql: true, objectqlAggregate: true, inMemory: false }),
+      relationshipResolver: (object, rel) => (object === TASK && rel === 'duty' ? DUTY : undefined),
+      executeRawSql: async (_object, sql, params) => {
+        rawSqlCalls.push(sql);
+        // NativeSQLStrategy emits `$n`; knex speaks `?` — the plugin's own
+        // bridge does this translation (plugin.ts).
+        const result = await driver.execute(sql.replace(/\$(\d+)/g, '?'), params as unknown[]);
+        if (Array.isArray(result)) return result as Record<string, unknown>[];
+        return ((result as { rows?: Record<string, unknown>[] } | null)?.rows ?? []);
+      },
+      executeAggregate: async (objectName, options) => {
+        const query: DriverQuery = {
+          where: options.filter as FilterCondition,
+          groupBy: options.groupBy as DriverQuery['groupBy'],
+          aggregations: options.aggregations?.map(({ field, method, alias }) => ({
+            field,
+            function: method as AggregationNode['function'],
+            alias,
+          })),
+        };
+        return (await driver.aggregate(objectName, query)) as Record<string, unknown>[];
+      },
+    });
+  });
+
+  afterAll(async () => {
+    await driver?.disconnect?.();
+  });
+
+  describe('the ADR-0071 chain serves a projection AND a filter member — on the native path', () => {
+    it('a dimension and a runtimeFilter member on duty.grace_days compile to one LEFT JOIN over the real engine', async () => {
+      rawSqlCalls.length = 0;
+      const result = await service.queryDataset(
+        DATASET,
+        { dimensions: ['duty_grace'], measures: ['total'], runtimeFilter: { duty_grace: { $gte: 0 } } },
+        CTX,
+      );
+      expect(rawSqlCalls, 'native SQL served it').toHaveLength(1);
+      const sql = rawSqlCalls[0];
+      expect(sql).toContain(`LEFT JOIN "${DUTY}" "duty" ON "${TASK}"."duty" = "duty"."id"`);
+      // The WHERE reads the joined column — the chain participates in the
+      // predicate for a MEMBER. This is the half the ruling called
+      // "conceivable"; it is real, for members.
+      expect(sql).toMatch(/WHERE .*"duty"\."grace_days" >= \$1/);
+      // Grace 0 → row 3; grace 2 → rows 1, 2, 5, 6. NULL (4, 7) and -3 (8, 9)
+      // fail `>= 0` — LEFT JOIN semantics keep the NULL-grace rows in the
+      // table and the predicate then drops them, like any NULL comparison.
+      const byGrace = new Map(result.rows.map((r) => [r.duty_grace === null ? null : Number(r.duty_grace), Number(r.total)]));
+      expect(byGrace.get(0)).toBe(1);
+      expect(byGrace.get(2)).toBe(4);
+      expect(byGrace.has(-3)).toBe(false);
+      expect(byGrace.has(null)).toBe(false);
+    });
+  });
+
+  describe('the `$field` COMPARAND never reaches that chain — refused even with `duty` in `include`', () => {
+    for (const [arm, measure, ref] of [
+      ['offset', 'done_on_time_by_duty', 'duty.grace_days'],
+      ['bare', 'done_by_duty_bare', 'duty.grace_days'],
+    ] as const) {
+      it(`${arm} arm → INVALID_FILTER / 400 naming the dotted path; native SQL declined, so no join was ever built`, async () => {
+        rawSqlCalls.length = 0;
+        const err = await errorFrom(() => service.queryDataset(DATASET, { measures: [measure] }, CTX));
+        expect(err.code).toBe('INVALID_FILTER');
+        expect(err.status).toBe(400);
+        expect(err.message).toContain(`"${ref}" is a dotted path`);
+        expect(err.message).toContain('same-table column references only');
+        // The chain was never consulted: the pass declined native SQL
+        // (2026-08-12 ruling) and the driver, which has no chain, refused.
+        expect(rawSqlCalls, 'NativeSQLStrategy did not decline').toEqual([]);
+      });
+    }
+  });
+
+  describe('positive control — the fixture and the road are live', () => {
+    it('the same-table spelling answers on the SQL path: rows 2 and 3 are on time', async () => {
+      rawSqlCalls.length = 0;
+      const result = await service.queryDataset(DATASET, { measures: ['done_on_time'] }, CTX);
+      expect(result.rows).toHaveLength(1);
+      expect(Number(result.rows[0].done_on_time)).toBe(2);
+      expect(rawSqlCalls, 'a cross-field pass is the engine path\'s').toEqual([]);
+    });
+  });
+});