[BUG] TableClient SubmitTransactionAsync throws InvalidOperationExteption on empty arguments

[thomaseyde]

Library name and version

Azure.Data.Tables 12.9.1

Describe the bug

Call to table.ClientSubmitTransactionAsync(actions) throws an InvalidOperationException when actions is an empty collection.

There is nothing in the code documentation (tooltip in IDE) which hints that an empty collection is an exceptional case.

This behaviour is unfortunate, because one usually discover this in production logs or during debugging and the exceptions does not add value.

Expected behavior

Passing an empty collection to table.ClientSubmitTransactionAsync(actions) should be treated as a no-op so we do not have to add defensive code for something non-obvious.

Actual behavior

Call to table.ClientSubmitTransactionAsync(actions) throws an InvalidOperationException when actions is an empty collection.

Reproduction Steps

 await tableClient.SubmitTransactionAsync([]);

Environment

No response

[jsquire]

Hi @thomaseyde. Thank you for reaching out and we regret that you're experiencing difficulties. Unfortunately, the client behavior is by design in this scenario and not something that we can apply your suggestion to.

By invoking ClientSubmitTransactionAsync, you are requesting that the client perform a service operation on your behalf. The client does not have the insight to know whether you intended to invoke this with an empty set of arguments or whether that indicates a bug in your application. If we were to silently no-op for this scenario, it signals to callers would that the requested service operation was invoked successfully, which it was not.
This would, itself, be confusing behavior and open the door to another class of application errors. It would also constitute a behavioral breaking change to the existing API contract.

By convention, the Azure SDK clients in all packages perform only validation for client-focused parameters (such as the service endpoint) and basic sanity checks consistent with the REST API spec for a service (such as a null check on a parameter annotated as "required"). We intentionally do not perform deeper inspection of parameter values nor the relationship between them - the service is responsible for these, by contract. As a result, if you pass an empty set of actions, the client will ensure that it is not a null reference and, if so, defer to the service on what it considers valid.

[github-actions]

Hi @thomaseyde. Thank you for opening this issue and giving us the opportunity to assist. We believe that this has been addressed. If you feel that further discussion is needed, please add a comment with the text "/unresolve" to remove the "issue-addressed" label and continue the conversation.