[AIT-1130] fix(uts): align objects integration tests with corrected specs and run both protocol variants

[sacOO7]

• Fixes https://ably.atlassian.net/browse/AIT-1130
• Based on updated proxy spec at [AIT-1106] fix(uts): correct objects proxy specs and harden proxy rule/timeout guidance specification#501

Intent

While evaluating the derived objects integration suites against the revised UTS specs, three things surfaced: the RTO20e proxy test asserted the wrong error code because the spec itself was wrong (now fixed at source in ably/specification#501), the GC tests carried deviation comments for behaviour that is actually spec-compliant or already covered at the unit tier, and none of the integration suites honoured their specs' Protocol Variants: json, msgpack requirement. This PR aligns the tests with the corrected specs and closes the protocol-variant coverage gap.

Changes

1. proxy/objects_faults.test.ts — RTO20e restructured per the corrected spec

The test previously mutated after the channel was already FAILED and asserted 90001 behind a DEVIATION comment. Per RTO26b that path fails the write precondition and never reaches publishAndApply — the spec, not ably-js, was wrong, and ably/specification#501 fixes it. The test now follows the corrected sequence:

• Force the objects back into SYNCING with an injected ATTACHED carrying the HAS_OBJECTS flag (flags: 128, RTO4c).
• Issue the mutation while SYNCING — the publish and its ACK complete against the real server, then publishAndApply parks in the RTO20e sync wait.
• Poll the proxy log for the server's ACK plus a brief real-time yield, then inject the channel ERROR.
• Assert the pending operation fails with 92008 / statusCode 400 / cause.code 90000 (RTO20e1).

The DEVIATION comment is removed and RTO20e1 added to the file's spec points. Test IDs are unchanged.

2. objects_gc.test.ts — deviation comments replaced with spec references

The four listed deviations turned out not to be deviations:

• undefined vs null: objects-features.md RTLM5d2h says tombstoned entries read back as "undefined/null" — undefined is the JavaScript mapping, so the assertions are compliant as written.
• GC grace-period advancement omitted: the timer-based sweep is intentionally unit-tier — objects/unit RTO10, RTO10b1 and RTLM19 tests verify the actual purge (including the grace-period retention boundary) with controlled clocks, which an integration test on wall-clock time against a real server cannot observe. The header now documents this tier split; test logic is unchanged.

3. objects_sync.test.ts — RTO4 test title aligned

The subscribe-only test's title now matches the corrected spec wording ("Attach without OBJECT_PUBLISH…") and its DEVIATION comment (about the spec title contradicting its own pseudocode) is removed alongside the upstream fix.

4. Protocol variants — new protocol_variants.ts helper

objects_lifecycle_test.md, objects_sync_test.md and objects_gc_test.md all require every test to run once per protocol variant. A small describeWithProtocols helper (mirroring the legacy suite's SharedHelper.testOnJsonMsgpack pattern at describe level) now generates a (json) and a (msgpack) suite per file — no command-line flags, environment variables, or CI changes needed; the existing mocha glob picks both up. Coverage goes from 12 to 24 spec-mandated executions across the three suites.

Validation

All suites run green against the nonprod sandbox through the standard harness:

• objects_faults: 5/5, with the restructured RTO20e observing 92008 (cause 90000) end-to-end through uts-proxy.
• objects_lifecycle / objects_sync / objects_gc: 24/24 across both protocol variants.

Companion spec changes

• ably/specification#501 — the RTO20e correction this PR's faults test derives from.
• The previously missing uts/objects/integration/objects_gc_test.md and the RTO4 title fix in objects_sync_test.md are authored on the spec branch and intended to accompany that PR, making every Source: reference in these test files resolvable.

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

Summary by CodeRabbit

• Tests
  • Expanded object-related integration coverage to run consistently across both protocol formats (JSON and MsgPack), using a shared protocol-parameterized test runner.
  • Updated lifecycle/sync/GC scenarios to better match expected client behavior for tombstoned entries (including clearer expectations around undefined vs null).
  • Enhanced fault-tolerance validation for the proxy during synchronization, replacing the prior assertion path with a publish failure scenario where the channel transitions to FAILED while publishAndApply is waiting, with precise error-code checks.

[coderabbitai]

Walkthrough

This PR adds a describeWithProtocols helper to run integration suites under JSON and MsgPack, applies it across three objects test files, and rewrites a proxy fault test to force a sync-wait failure path and assert the resulting mutation error.

Changes

Protocol Variant Test Parameterization

Layer / File(s)	Summary
describeWithProtocols helper test/uts/objects/integration/protocol_variants.ts	New helper module exporting Protocol type and describeWithProtocols, running test bodies once per protocol (json/msgpack) with useBinaryProtocol derived accordingly.
objects_gc suite parameterization and tombstone comments test/uts/objects/integration/objects_gc.test.ts	Wraps the suite in describeWithProtocols, replaces hardcoded useBinaryProtocol: false with the parameter, and updates comments to describe tombstone/undefined readback semantics.
objects_lifecycle suite parameterization test/uts/objects/integration/objects_lifecycle.test.ts	Wraps the suite in describeWithProtocols, updates all realtime client configs to use the protocol parameter, and adds comments on REST provisioning staying in JSON.
objects_sync suite parameterization test/uts/objects/integration/objects_sync.test.ts	Wraps the suite in describeWithProtocols, updates client configs across scenarios, and revises the RTO4 test title/comment for "without OBJECT_PUBLISH" behavior.

RTO20e Proxy Fault Scenario Rewrite

Layer / File(s)	Summary
Sync-wait failure scenario test/uts/objects/integration/proxy/objects_faults.test.ts	Replaces the prior RTO20e test with a combined RTO20e/RTO20e1 scenario that forces SYNCING via an injected ATTACHED frame, starts a set() mutation, waits for the server publish ACK, injects a channel ERROR, and asserts the mutation fails with 92008/statusCode=400 and a matching cause.code.

Estimated code review effort: 3 (Moderate) | ~25 minutes

Poem

A rabbit hops through JSON and binary too,
Testing each protocol, as good rabbits do. 🐇
Tombstones now whisper "undefined", not "null",
And sync-wait failures caught mid-pull.
Two hops, two paths, one burrow of tests —
Hooray for coverage, the rabbit attests! 🥕

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 5

✅ Passed checks (5 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Docstring Coverage	✅ Passed	No functions found in the changed files to evaluate docstring coverage. Skipping docstring coverage check.
Linked Issues check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Out of Scope Changes check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Description Check	✅ Passed	Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled.
Title check	✅ Passed	The title clearly matches the PR’s main changes: aligning objects integration tests with corrected specs and running them across both protocol variants.

✨ Finishing Touches

📝 Generate docstrings

• Create stacked PR
• Commit on current branch

🧪 Generate unit tests (beta)

• Create PR with unit tests
• Commit unit tests in branch fix/uts-liveobjects-integration-tests

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[Copilot]

Pull request overview

Updates the UTS LiveObjects integration test suites to match corrected upstream specs and to execute required protocol variants (json + msgpack), improving conformance and coverage for derived objects behavior.

Changes:

• Restructures the proxy faults RTO20e test to exercise the “fail while waiting for SYNCED” path and assert the corrected error/cause.
• Removes/updates prior deviation notes in sync/GC suites to reflect corrected spec wording and clarified tier responsibilities.
• Adds a describeWithProtocols helper and applies it to run lifecycle/sync/GC integration suites under both json and msgpack variants.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 5 out of 5 changed files in this pull request and generated 1 comment.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
test/uts/objects/integration/proxy/objects_faults.test.ts	Updates RTO20e/RTO20e1 proxy integration scenario and expected error/cause to align with corrected spec flow.
test/uts/objects/integration/protocol_variants.ts	Introduces a describe-level helper to run suites for both json and msgpack protocol variants.
test/uts/objects/integration/objects_sync.test.ts	Wraps suite in protocol variants and updates RTO4 test title to match corrected spec wording.
test/uts/objects/integration/objects_lifecycle.test.ts	Wraps suite in protocol variants; clarifies REST provisioning remains json.
test/uts/objects/integration/objects_gc.test.ts	Wraps suite in protocol variants and replaces deviation text with spec-aligned explanations/references.

Comments suppressed due to low confidence (3)

test/uts/objects/integration/objects_sync.test.ts:32

• setupSandbox/teardownSandbox are defined inside describeWithProtocols, so they will provision and delete a sandbox app once per protocol variant (2× per file). setupSandbox() always provisions a new app, so this adds unnecessary external calls and runtime without improving isolation.

describeWithProtocols('uts/objects/integration/objects_sync', function (useBinaryProtocol) {
  this.timeout(30000);

  before(async function () {
    await setupSandbox();

test/uts/objects/integration/objects_lifecycle.test.ts:32

• setupSandbox/teardownSandbox are currently inside describeWithProtocols, which means a new sandbox app is provisioned and deleted for each protocol variant. Since setupSandbox() always provisions a fresh app, this doubles external provisioning work for the file and can slow/flakify CI.

describeWithProtocols('uts/objects/integration/objects_lifecycle', function (useBinaryProtocol) {
  this.timeout(30000);

  before(async function () {
    await setupSandbox();

test/uts/objects/integration/objects_gc.test.ts:41

• Because setupSandbox/teardownSandbox are defined inside describeWithProtocols, a sandbox app is provisioned and deleted once per protocol variant. setupSandbox() always provisions a new app, so this doubles external provisioning for the file; moving these hooks to root-level avoids the extra app while keeping both protocol variants.

describeWithProtocols('uts/objects/integration/objects_gc', function (useBinaryProtocol) {
  this.timeout(30000);

  before(async function () {
    await setupSandbox();

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[ttypic]

LGTM