feat: Enhance AL Parser with Table and Field Parsing Capabilities by OGR-67 · Pull Request #25 · OGR-67/AL2DBML

OGR-67 · 2026-03-19T20:30:30Z

Description

Added methods to IAlParser for parsing tables and fields.
Introduced DBMLTable and DBMLColumn models to represent parsed structures.
Implemented parsing logic for tables and table extensions in AlParser.
Enhanced OutputSchema to include a list of tables.
Added unit tests for table parsing and extensions, ensuring correct functionality.
Created fixture files for various tables and table extensions to support testing.

Closes

closes #13
closes #7
closes #14

- Added methods to IAlParser for parsing tables and fields. - Introduced DBMLTable and DBMLColumn models to represent parsed structures. - Implemented parsing logic for tables and table extensions in AlParser. - Enhanced OutputSchema to include a list of tables. - Added unit tests for table parsing and extensions, ensuring correct functionality. - Created fixture files for various tables and table extensions to support testing.

Copilot

Pull request overview

Adds table/table-extension parsing to the AL parser so parsed schemas can represent tables and their columns (including primary keys and FlowFields), alongside existing enum support.

Changes:

Extend IAlParser/AlParser with table, table-extension, and field parsing methods.
Introduce DBMLTable/DBMLColumn models and expand OutputSchema to track parsed tables.
Add fixtures and unit tests covering table parsing, key detection, and extension merges (including names with slashes/dots).

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 24 out of 24 changed files in this pull request and generated 6 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
src/AL2DBML.Tests/TestBase.cs	Adds shared fixture loading and parser resolution for tests.
src/AL2DBML.Tests/Parser/TableParserTests.cs	New unit tests for table and tableextension parsing/merging.
src/AL2DBML.Tests/Parser/EnumParserTests.cs	Refactors to use `TestBase` and adds more enum/enumextension coverage.
src/AL2DBML.Tests/Fixtures/Tables/Customer.al	Adds table fixture used by parsing tests.
src/AL2DBML.Tests/Fixtures/Tables/SalespersonPurchaser.al	Adds table fixture to validate slash handling.
src/AL2DBML.Tests/Fixtures/Tables/PurchaseHeader.al	Adds table fixture to validate composite PK handling.
src/AL2DBML.Tests/Fixtures/Tables/GenJournalLine.al	Adds table fixture to validate dotted names and composite PKs.
src/AL2DBML.Tests/Fixtures/TableExts/CustomerExtension.al	Adds tableextension fixture used for merge tests.
src/AL2DBML.Tests/Fixtures/TableExts/SalespersonPurchaserExtension.al	Adds tableextension fixture used for slash-name merge tests.
src/AL2DBML.Tests/Fixtures/TableExts/PurchaseHeaderExtension.al	Adds tableextension fixture used for enum-field addition tests.
src/AL2DBML.Tests/Fixtures/TableExts/GenJournalLineExtension.al	Adds tableextension fixture used for dotted-name merge tests.
src/AL2DBML.Tests/Fixtures/Enums/SalespersonPurchaserType.al	Adds enum fixture for slash-name parsing tests.
src/AL2DBML.Tests/Fixtures/Enums/GenJournalDocumentType.al	Adds enum fixture for dotted-name parsing tests.
src/AL2DBML.Tests/Fixtures/Enums/PaymentTermsCalcType.al	Adds enum fixture for `implements` parsing tests.
src/AL2DBML.Tests/Fixtures/Enums/VATBusinessPostingGroup.al	Adds enum fixture for multi-`implements` parsing tests.
src/AL2DBML.Tests/Fixtures/EnumExts/SalespersonPurchaserTypeExtension.al	Adds enumextension fixture for merge tests.
src/AL2DBML.Tests/Fixtures/EnumExts/GenJournalDocumentTypeExtension.al	Adds enumextension fixture for merge tests.
src/AL2DBML.Parser/Helpers/AlSyntaxHelper.cs	Moves helper into `AL2DBML.Parser.Helpers` namespace.
src/AL2DBML.Parser/AlParser.cs	Implements table/tableextension/field parsing and PK/FlowField extraction.
src/AL2DBML.Core/Models/OutputSchema.cs	Adds `Tables` collection to the schema model.
src/AL2DBML.Core/Models/DBMLTable.cs	New model representing a parsed table.
src/AL2DBML.Core/Models/DBMLColumn.cs	New model representing a parsed table column/field.
src/AL2DBML.Core/Models/DBMLEnum.cs	Removes unused `using` lines (no behavior change).
src/AL2DBML.Application/Interfaces/IAlParser.cs	Extends parser interface with table/extension/field APIs.

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Copilot · 2026-03-19T20:36:14Z

+    private void ParseFields(string content, DBMLTable table, List<string> primaryKeys)
+    {
+        var fieldMatches = Regex.Matches(content, Patterns.Field, RegexOptions.Multiline);
+
+        foreach (Match fieldMatch in fieldMatches)
+        {
+            var columnName = AlSyntaxHelper.CleanName(fieldMatch.Groups[2].Value);
+            var columnType = AlSyntaxHelper.CleanName(fieldMatch.Groups[4].Value);
+            var fieldBody = fieldMatch.Groups[6].Value;
+
+            var isFlowField = fieldBody.Contains("FieldClass") && fieldBody.Contains("FlowField");
+            var calcFormula = ExtractCalcFormula(fieldBody);
+
+            var existingColumn = table.Fields.FirstOrDefault(c => c.Name == columnName);
+            if (existingColumn == null)
+            {
+                table.Fields.Add(new DBMLColumn
+                {
+                    Name = columnName,
+                    Type = columnType,
+                    IsPrimaryKey = primaryKeys.Contains(columnName),
+                    IsFlowfield = isFlowField,


ParseFields does an O(n) lookup (FirstOrDefault) for every parsed field, which can become O(n^2) for large tables. Also primaryKeys.Contains(columnName) is a linear, case-sensitive search. Consider building a Dictionary<string, DBMLColumn> (or using table.Fields keyed by name) and converting primaryKeys to a HashSet<string> with StringComparer.OrdinalIgnoreCase to avoid performance issues and case-sensitivity surprises.

Copilot · 2026-03-19T20:36:15Z

+    public string Name { get; set; } = string.Empty;
+    public string Type { get; set; } = string.Empty;
+    public bool IsPrimaryKey { get; set; } = false;
+    public string[]? References { get; set; } = new string[2];


References is declared nullable (string[]?) but is initialized to new string[2], which yields an array containing two null elements. This is a surprising default and can lead to null entries at runtime. Either make it non-nullable and initialize with meaningful values, or default it to null/Array.Empty<string>() until references are actually populated.

Suggested change

public string[]? References { get; set; } = new string[2];

public string[]? References { get; set; } = System.Array.Empty<string>();

Copilot · 2026-03-19T20:36:15Z

+    public string Type { get; set; } = string.Empty;
+    public bool IsPrimaryKey { get; set; } = false;
+    public string[]? References { get; set; } = new string[2];
+    public bool IsFlowfield { get; set; } = false;


Property name IsFlowfield is inconsistently cased compared to IsPrimaryKey and the AL term FlowField. Renaming to IsFlowField would better align with standard C# PascalCase word boundaries and reduce confusion for consumers of the model.

Suggested change

public bool IsFlowfield { get; set; } = false;

public bool IsFlowField { get; set; } = false;

Copilot · 2026-03-19T20:36:15Z

+        // Embed the fixture files so it's part of the assembly and can be loaded easily
+        var assembly = Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly();
+        var resourceName = $"AL2DBML.Tests.Fixtures.{path.Replace("/", ".")}";
+        using var stream = assembly.GetManifestResourceStream(resourceName)!;


LoadFixture uses the null-forgiving operator on GetManifestResourceStream(resourceName). If the resource name is wrong or the file isn't embedded, this becomes a NullReferenceException without context. Consider checking for null and throwing an exception that includes resourceName (and maybe listing available resources) to make test failures actionable.

Suggested change

using var stream = assembly.GetManifestResourceStream(resourceName)!;

var stream = assembly.GetManifestResourceStream(resourceName);

if (stream is null)

{

var availableResources = string.Join(", ", assembly.GetManifestResourceNames());

throw new InvalidOperationException(

$"Embedded fixture resource '{resourceName}' was not found. " +

$"Available resources: {availableResources}");

}

Copilot · 2026-03-19T20:36:15Z

+    public DBMLColumn ParseField(string alFieldContent)
+    {
+        var fieldMatch = Regex.Match(alFieldContent, Patterns.Field, RegexOptions.Multiline);
+
+        if (!fieldMatch.Success)
+            throw new FormatException("Field pattern not found or invalid");
+
+        var columnName = AlSyntaxHelper.CleanName(fieldMatch.Groups[2].Value);
+        var columnType = AlSyntaxHelper.CleanName(fieldMatch.Groups[4].Value);
+        var fieldBody = fieldMatch.Groups[6].Value;
+
+        var isFlowField = fieldBody.Contains("FieldClass") && fieldBody.Contains("FlowField");
+        var calcFormula = ExtractCalcFormula(fieldBody);
+
+        return new DBMLColumn
+        {
+            Name = columnName,
+            Type = columnType,
+            IsFlowfield = isFlowField,
+            CalcFormula = calcFormula
+        };


ParseField is a new public API on IAlParser but doesn’t appear to have any unit coverage (unlike ParseTable/ParseTableExtension). Adding a focused test for a representative field (including an enum type and a FlowField/CalcFormula case) would help prevent regressions in the regex and group indexing.

Copilot · 2026-03-19T20:36:15Z

+        foreach (Match keyMatch in keyMatches)
+        {
+            if (keyMatch.Success)
+            {
+                var keyName = AlSyntaxHelper.CleanName(keyMatch.Groups[1].Value);
+                var keyFields = keyMatch.Groups[2].Value;
+                // Check if this is the primary key by looking for "PK" or "Clustered = true" after it
+                if (keyName.Equals("PK", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) ||
+                    content.Substring(keyMatch.Index).Contains("Clustered = true"))
+                {
+                    return keyFields.Split(',')
+                        .Select(k => AlSyntaxHelper.CleanName(k.Trim()))
+                        .ToList();
+                }
+            }
+        }


Primary key detection uses content.Substring(keyMatch.Index).Contains("Clustered = true"), which scans the entire remainder of the file. If a non-PK key appears before a clustered PK (or any later clustered key), this will incorrectly treat the earlier key as the primary key and return the wrong field list. Consider (1) preferring keyName == "PK" first, and (2) limiting the Clustered = true check to the current key block (e.g., search only until the next key( match or end of the keys section).

Suggested change

foreach (Match keyMatch in keyMatches)

{

if (keyMatch.Success)

{

var keyName = AlSyntaxHelper.CleanName(keyMatch.Groups[1].Value);

var keyFields = keyMatch.Groups[2].Value;

// Check if this is the primary key by looking for "PK" or "Clustered = true" after it

if (keyName.Equals("PK", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) ||

content.Substring(keyMatch.Index).Contains("Clustered = true"))

{

return keyFields.Split(',')

.Select(k => AlSyntaxHelper.CleanName(k.Trim()))

.ToList();

}

}

}

// First, prefer a key explicitly named "PK"

foreach (Match keyMatch in keyMatches)

{

if (!keyMatch.Success)

continue;

var keyName = AlSyntaxHelper.CleanName(keyMatch.Groups[1].Value);

if (!keyName.Equals("PK", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))

continue;

var keyFields = keyMatch.Groups[2].Value;

return keyFields.Split(',')

.Select(k => AlSyntaxHelper.CleanName(k.Trim()))

.ToList();

}

// If no "PK" key is found, look for a clustered key within each key block

foreach (Match keyMatch in keyMatches)

{

if (!keyMatch.Success)

continue;

var keyDefinition = keyMatch.Value;

if (!keyDefinition.Contains("Clustered = true", StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase))

continue;

var keyFields = keyMatch.Groups[2].Value;

return keyFields.Split(',')

.Select(k => AlSyntaxHelper.CleanName(k.Trim()))

.ToList();

}

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings March 19, 2026 20:30

OGR-67 merged commit 9cf6325 into dev Mar 19, 2026
2 checks passed

OGR-67 deleted the 13-test-parsing-table branch March 19, 2026 20:30

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of OGR-67 March 19, 2026 20:31 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Mar 19, 2026

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feat: Enhance AL Parser with Table and Field Parsing Capabilities#25

feat: Enhance AL Parser with Table and Field Parsing Capabilities#25
OGR-67 merged 1 commit into
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13-test-parsing-table

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	public string[]? References { get; set; } = new string[2];
	public string[]? References { get; set; } = System.Array.Empty<string>();

	public bool IsFlowfield { get; set; } = false;
	public bool IsFlowField { get; set; } = false;

-        using var stream = assembly.GetManifestResourceStream(resourceName)!;
+        var stream = assembly.GetManifestResourceStream(resourceName);
+        if (stream is null)
+        {
+            var availableResources = string.Join(", ", assembly.GetManifestResourceNames());
+            throw new InvalidOperationException(
+                $"Embedded fixture resource '{resourceName}' was not found. " +
+                $"Available resources: {availableResources}");
+        }

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OGR-67 commented Mar 19, 2026

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