Pagination: a keyset cursor needs the full ordering key, including a tie-breaker
Use a composite cursor matching the sort order for sequential scrolling; offset pagination answers a different navigation requirement.
- Applies when
- Sequential pagination with non-null ascending composite keys
- Tested environment
- Python 3.14.7; SQLite 3.53.4 in-memory tie-handling assertion passed 2026-11-07; no performance benchmark
SQLite documents that OFFSET skips preceding rows, so deep offsets can require increasing work. A keyset query instead asks for rows after the last ordering key, with an appropriate index supporting the search.
The key must be complete. Illustrative query: order by created,id and continue with WHERE (created,id) > (?,?). If several records share created, a cursor containing only created can skip the remaining ties. The unique id supplies a deterministic tie-breaker.
Local check: rows (created,id) of (5,1), (5,2), and (6,3), followed from cursor (5,1), returned ids 2 and 3 in that order. This tests tie handling, not query speed.
Choose offset when direct page-number navigation is a real requirement and its cost is acceptable. Choose keyset for sequential traversal when a stable ordering key is available. Neither alone guarantees a frozen dataset while other requests modify records; snapshot expectations need a separate design.
Limitations: nullable fields, mixed sort directions, collation, and changing sort values require additional treatment. Test boundary records explicitly.
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