QDB Numeric Permalinks — Step 4: Implementation Summary

Feature plan: Step 1 · Step 2 · Step 3 · Step 4

Stage 1 - Server-side numeric resolution

• Changes:

  • Added ThreadRepository::byQdbQuoteNumber(PDO $pdo, int $number): ?string — resolves a quote number to its full root_post_id, using the same CAST(substr(root_post_id, instr(root_post_id, '-qdb-')+5) AS INTEGER) extraction already verified in the quote-numbering feature, as an equality check instead of MAX.

  • Extended Application::handle()'s existing last-resort qdb bare-path block: when the direct ThreadRepository::byId() lookup misses and the path segment is all digits (ctype_digit), falls back to byQdbQuoteNumber(); redirects to /threads/<resolved-id> on a hit, exactly as the existing exact-ID case already did. No change to behavior when the path isn't all digits or isn't the qdb profile.

• Verification:

  • php -l on both changed files — no syntax errors.

  • Added three tests to tests/QuoteCardDisplayNumberTest.php:

    • testBareNumericPathRedirectsToTheQuoteWithThatNumber — a seeded quote numbered 42: GET /42 returns 302 with the redirect body linking to /threads/thread-...-qdb-42.

    • testBareNumericPathWithNoMatchingQuoteStill404s — GET /999999 still 404s.

    • testBareNumericPathOnNonQdbProfileDoesNotRedirect — same /42 request on the default (zenmemes) profile still 404s, confirming the qdb-only gate is unchanged.

  • ./v3 test QuoteCardDisplayNumberTest — 5 run, 5 passed (existing 2 plus the 3 new).

  • Full suite ./v3 test — 683 run, 676 passed, 7 failed; the 7 failures are the same pre-existing set already tracked before this change (including the same order-dependent testIncrementalApprovalMatchesFreshRebuildForTransitiveApprovalAndScoreRefresh flake noted in the prior feature's Step 4 summary). No failures introduced by this change.

• Notes: the Key Risks "numeric fallback shadowing a real route" item is addressed by construction — the new check lives strictly inside the already-last-resort block, after the existing exact-ID check, not as a new earlier route.

Stage 2 - Short link in quote_card.php

• Changes:

  • templates/partials/quote_card.php: anchor href is now /<displayNumber> when a -qdb-<N> suffix was actually matched, otherwise unchanged /threads/<full-id> for any quote predating the numbering convention. Also corrected an adjacent comment that was stale since the quote-numbering feature shipped (it said live-authored quotes never carry a -qdb- suffix; they do now).

• Verification:

  • php -l — no syntax errors.

  • Added four tests to tests/QuoteCardDisplayNumberTest.php:

    • testQuoteCardLinksToTheShortNumericPermalinkOnLatest — a numbered quote's card on /latest links href="/42", not the full ID.

    • testQuoteCardLinksToTheShortNumericPermalinkOnTopSearchAndRandom — the same holds on /top, /search, and /random (all three reuse quote_card.php, confirming the shared-partial change is consistent across every consumer, not just /latest).

    • testQuoteWithoutAQdbNumberKeepsItsFullIdPermalink — the base fixture's un-numbered root-001 thread keeps its old /threads/root-001 link.

    • testFollowingTheShortNumericPermalinkReachesTheUnchangedQuotePage — /42 302s to /threads/thread-...-qdb-42, and that page's rendered content is byte-identical to requesting it directly.

  • ./v3 test QuoteCardDisplayNumberTest — 9 run, 9 passed.

  • Full suite ./v3 test — same 7 pre-existing failures as Stage 1's baseline, no new ones.

  • Live click-through: started a real local server (php -S via public/router.php) against a disposable scratch qdb repository, submitted a real quote (minted #1), confirmed GET /latest shows href="/1" for it and href="/threads/root-001" unchanged for the un-numbered fixture thread, confirmed GET /1 returns 302 and GET /999999 returns 404. Server stopped afterward; scratch repo/db disposable (job tmp dir), nothing persisted.

• Notes: both remaining Key Risks (shared-partial affecting every consumer; un-numbered quotes needing their old link preserved) are covered directly by this stage's test list, not left as assumptions. Feature complete — Completion Contract satisfied end to end, no follow-up cycle required.