# ADR-022 — EAGER→LAZY Fetch Strategy for Document Collections

**Date:** 2026-05-18
**Status:** Accepted
**Issue:** #467
**PR:** #622

---

## Context

A pre-production query audit of 24 HTTP requests to the document list and detail endpoints
produced **2,733 SQL statements** — primarily N+1 queries caused by `FetchType.EAGER` on
`Document.receivers`, `Document.tags`, `Document.trainingLabels`, and `Document.sender`.

With EAGER fetch, every `Document` loaded by any repository method immediately triggers
additional `SELECT` statements for each associated collection, regardless of whether the
caller needs those associations. For a list of 100 documents, this means up to 400 extra
queries for `receivers` alone.

---

## Decision

Switch all four associations to `FetchType.LAZY` and use a two-tier strategy to load exactly
what each code path needs:

**Tier 1 — Named entity graphs on `Document` + `@EntityGraph` overrides on `DocumentRepository`:**

- `Document.full` — loads `sender`, `receivers`, `tags` — used by `findById` (detail view)
- `Document.list` — loads `sender`, `tags` — used by `findAll(Spec, Pageable)`,
  `findAll(Spec)`, and `findAll(Pageable)` (list/search/dashboard paths)

Each repository method that is called from a hot code path has an `@EntityGraph` override
that declares exactly which associations to JOIN-fetch, collapsing N+1 into 1–2 queries.

**Tier 2 — `@BatchSize(50)` fallback on all four associations:**

For any lazy access path not covered by an entity graph (e.g., a future ad-hoc query or an
in-memory sort that touches `trainingLabels`), Hibernate batches the secondary `SELECT` to
at most one statement per 50 entities instead of one per entity.

**Session lifetime for post-return lazy access:**

`getDocumentById` and `getRecentActivity` return entities to callers that may access lazy
associations after the repository call returns. Both methods are annotated
`@Transactional(readOnly = true)` to keep the Hibernate session open until the service method
returns, making those post-return accesses safe.

This is an intentional exception to the project convention that read methods are not annotated
(see `CLAUDE.md §Services`). The convention remains correct for all other read methods; this
exception applies only to methods that serve lazy-initialized associations to their callers.

---

## Alternatives Considered

### `@BatchSize`-only (no entity graphs)

`@BatchSize(50)` on all associations would eliminate the worst N+1 cases (100 documents → 2
batch queries instead of 100 individual queries) without requiring repository overrides. Simpler
to maintain — no named graph definitions, no per-method overrides.

Rejected because batch loading is best-effort: it depends on what Hibernate happens to find in
the first-level cache and produces a variable number of statements. Entity graphs produce a
deterministic, verifiable statement count that can be asserted in tests. The query-count test
suite (`DocumentRepositoryTest`) validates the exact statement bounds on every CI run.

### Single unified entity graph (`Document.full` everywhere)

Loading `receivers` on every list query is wasteful — the document list view only needs
`sender` and `tags`. `receivers` is a `@ManyToMany` collection that, when JOIN-fetched together
with `tags`, forces Hibernate to split into two queries anyway (to avoid Cartesian product).
Using a single graph on list paths would load data the UI does not display.

Rejected in favour of two graphs with distinct scopes: `Document.list` for list paths
(sender + tags), `Document.full` for detail paths (sender + receivers + tags).

### `@Transactional` on the Spring Data repository methods

Spring Data allows `@Transactional` on repository interfaces directly. This would keep the
session open for all calls to those methods without touching the service layer.

Rejected because the transaction boundary belongs at the service layer — repositories should
not own transaction lifecycle. The service methods are the natural scope for "keep the session
open long enough for the caller to use the result."

---

## Consequences

- **Query count reduced from ~2,733 to ≤10 statements per 24 HTTP requests** — verified by
  `DocumentRepositoryTest` query-count assertions and `DocumentLazyLoadingTest` smoke tests.
- **Read methods that return lazily-initialized entities must carry `@Transactional(readOnly = true)`.**
  Any future service method that loads a `Document` and returns it to a caller that accesses
  lazy associations must follow this pattern. Removing the annotation causes
  `LazyInitializationException` in production.
- **New lazy code paths need an entity graph or `@BatchSize` review.** Any new
  `DocumentRepository` method added to a hot code path should be assessed for N+1 risk and
  given an `@EntityGraph` override if warranted.
- **`@JsonIgnoreProperties({"hibernateLazyInitializer", "handler"})` required on serialized lazy-proxy entities.**
  `Person` and `Tag` carry this annotation to prevent Jackson from attempting to serialize
  Hibernate proxy internals when the association is not initialized. Any new entity that is
  used as a lazy association and serialized directly (without a DTO) needs the same annotation.
- **Named graph strings in `Document.java` and `DocumentRepository.java` must stay in sync.**
  The `@NamedEntityGraph(name = "Document.full")` / `@NamedEntityGraph(name = "Document.list")`
  definitions on `Document` are referenced by string in every `@EntityGraph(value = "...")` on
  `DocumentRepository`. If the names diverge (e.g. a graph is renamed in one place but not the
  other), Spring Data throws at application startup. Always update both files together when
  renaming or restructuring a named graph.
