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hrTableEmpty
State represented by this code
For hrTableEmpty, this code narrows the investigation to one engine boundary and should not be flattened into a generic exception. The decisive boundary is the table opened successfully but contains no current record for navigation.
The stored Value is 0x88000515 (positive JET status 1301; 1301). The HRESULT carries a warning, so the call may have useful output or a valid cursor state that must be inspected. Current ESE documentation uses JET_wrnTableEmpty for the corresponding published JET condition.
The first useful distinction is that an empty table is not the same as a missing table, invalid table handle, or failed index selection. Start by capture table identity, transaction snapshot, index selection, range restrictions, and the first move or seek result. That separates a reproducible incident from a later generic cleanup or service error.
Data for a reproducible incident
Preserve the first result before retries, cleanup, service restart, or file replacement changes the evidence. The diagnostic record should identify the exact API phase and the owner of every handle or artifact involved.
- Code-specific observation: capture table identity, transaction snapshot, index selection, range restrictions, and the first move or seek result.
- Bookmark and transaction snapshot: record it together with this result and the timestamp of the first occurrence.
- Index and key: record it together with this result and the timestamp of the first occurrence.
- Seek/move flags: record it together with this result and the timestamp of the first occurrence.
- Returned current key: record it together with this result and the timestamp of the first occurrence.
Use hashes, lengths, IDs, generation numbers, and redacted samples instead of copying directory contents or sensitive database values into routine logs. For this it investigation, a complete provenance chain is often more useful than a second automatic retry.
Objects and state involved
| Diagnostic layer | cursor position, current-record validity, and ordered index navigation |
|---|---|
| Relevant API surface | seek, move, range, key construction, table open, and post-update navigation |
| Code-specific boundary | the table opened successfully but contains no current record for navigation |
| Narrow corrective direction | treat empty as a normal dataset state and avoid reading columns until a move or seek establishes a record |
A warning can leave the cursor positioned on a valid non-equal record., cursor state must be rechecked after updates, deletes, and key changes.
Actions that can make diagnosis worse
- do not assume ordered iteration remains valid after an indexed key changes.
- do not read columns before confirming a current record.
- do not discard the first lower-level Win32, RPC, or JET result merely because a later cleanup call returned a more familiar error.
Nearby ESE or AD backup states
It specifically means that an empty table is not the same as a missing table, invalid table handle, or failed index selection. Related values below can appear in the same workflow but require a different response:
hrSeekNotEqual | a less-than-or-equal or greater-than-or-equal seek positioned the cursor without finding an exact key match |
|---|---|
hrKeyChanged | cursor movement or update caused the current index key to change |
hrLogFileCorrupt | ESE detected structural or checksum corruption while reading a transaction log |
Keep the original constant and hexadecimal value in telemetry. Replacing it with “backup failed” or “database warning” removes the state information needed to select the next legal API call.
Next actions
- Record it,
0x88000515, the API name, the current phase, and all live context or file owners. - Verify the decisive condition by capture table identity, transaction snapshot, index selection, range restrictions, and the first move or seek result.
- Apply only the narrow correction: treat empty as a normal dataset state and avoid reading columns until a move or seek establishes a record.
- After it, recreate any context invalidated by the failure; do not carry stale HBC, cursor, file, or restore-map state into the retry.
- repeat the smallest non-destructive test that reaches the same boundary, then verify both the return value and the resulting file, cursor, backup, or database state.
Acceptance criteria for a fix
A useful regression test for this HRESULT should force the condition “the table opened successfully but contains no current record for navigation”, call one documented API transition, and assert the exact HRESULT. The corrected the case should change only the decisive precondition and should verify cleanup as well as the primary output. For the result backup or restore path, also prove that the resulting set can be enumerated and that no file handle or context remains active after finalization.
Technical references
- ESE warning table — API ordering, file semantics, warning/error interpretation, or recovery behavior relevant to it.
- JET_ERR enumeration
- Open-source ESE implementation
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