FAILURE MAP
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FA-26691 / HTTP ranges / Open access

Unknown complete lengths serialize as an asterisk · case 01

Unknown complete lengths serialize as an asterisk.

Verified by executionVariant 1 · 6 checks per implementationDownload source bundle ↓JSON ↗

ROOT CAUSE

The content-range-unknown-total decision uses return f"bytes {start}-{end}/{total}".

THE FAILURE

The content-range-unknown-total decision uses return f"bytes {start}-{end}/{total}".

Unsuccessful approach: The partial repair uses return f"bytes {start}-{end}/{total or chr(42)}", which still violates the stated contract.

Case contract

Serialize already valid bounds as bytes start-end/total; None total serializes as *. Zero is a known total in this formatting-only unit.

Why this case matters

Range responses combine representation identity, conditional requests, framing, and partial-object state.

1 / The failure

Exit 1
"""Failure Map reference implementation. Python standard library only."""
import json

N = 1
observations = []
def solve(start, end, total):
    return f"bytes {start}-{end}/{total}"
def check(label, actual, expected):
    observations.append({"check": label, "actual": actual, "expected": expected, "passed": actual == expected})
check('content-range-unknown-total fixture 0', solve(0,N,None), "bytes 0-"+str(N)+"/*")
check('content-range-unknown-total fixture 1', solve(0,0,0), "bytes 0-0/0")
check('content-range-unknown-total fixture 2', solve(0,N,N+1), "bytes 0-"+str(N)+"/"+str(N+1))
check('content-range-unknown-total fixture 3', solve(1,2,3), "bytes 1-2/3")
check('content-range-unknown-total fixture 4', solve(N,N,None), "bytes "+str(N)+"-"+str(N)+"/*")
check('content-range-unknown-total fixture 5', solve(0,0,1), "bytes 0-0/1")
print(json.dumps({"observations": observations, "passed": all(x["passed"] for x in observations)}, ensure_ascii=False))
raise SystemExit(0 if all(x["passed"] for x in observations) else 1)
Boundary fixtureActualExpectedOutcome
content-range-unknown-total fixture 0bytes 0-1/Nonebytes 0-1/*Failed
content-range-unknown-total fixture 1bytes 0-0/0bytes 0-0/0Passed
content-range-unknown-total fixture 2bytes 0-1/2bytes 0-1/2Passed
content-range-unknown-total fixture 3bytes 1-2/3bytes 1-2/3Passed
content-range-unknown-total fixture 4bytes 1-1/Nonebytes 1-1/*Failed
content-range-unknown-total fixture 5bytes 0-0/1bytes 0-0/1Passed

SHA-256 / 065b2364a8d7bfb218b518c27616a3dc3eb7ccbd5c6c99ba2dc261259437d4fc

2 / The unsuccessful fix

Exit 1
"""Failure Map reference implementation. Python standard library only."""
import json

N = 1
observations = []
def solve(start, end, total):
    return f"bytes {start}-{end}/{total or chr(42)}"
def check(label, actual, expected):
    observations.append({"check": label, "actual": actual, "expected": expected, "passed": actual == expected})
check('content-range-unknown-total fixture 0', solve(0,N,None), "bytes 0-"+str(N)+"/*")
check('content-range-unknown-total fixture 1', solve(0,0,0), "bytes 0-0/0")
check('content-range-unknown-total fixture 2', solve(0,N,N+1), "bytes 0-"+str(N)+"/"+str(N+1))
check('content-range-unknown-total fixture 3', solve(1,2,3), "bytes 1-2/3")
check('content-range-unknown-total fixture 4', solve(N,N,None), "bytes "+str(N)+"-"+str(N)+"/*")
check('content-range-unknown-total fixture 5', solve(0,0,1), "bytes 0-0/1")
print(json.dumps({"observations": observations, "passed": all(x["passed"] for x in observations)}, ensure_ascii=False))
raise SystemExit(0 if all(x["passed"] for x in observations) else 1)
Boundary fixtureActualExpectedOutcome
content-range-unknown-total fixture 0bytes 0-1/*bytes 0-1/*Passed
content-range-unknown-total fixture 1bytes 0-0/*bytes 0-0/0Failed
content-range-unknown-total fixture 2bytes 0-1/2bytes 0-1/2Passed
content-range-unknown-total fixture 3bytes 1-2/3bytes 1-2/3Passed
content-range-unknown-total fixture 4bytes 1-1/*bytes 1-1/*Passed
content-range-unknown-total fixture 5bytes 0-0/1bytes 0-0/1Passed

SHA-256 / 90f3156e87bf2d66501b0caba36140c2d7a1ffd301bd408a73069c59a147f196

HELD IN THE MEMBER ARCHIVE

The verified repair and its recorded checks are member-only.

This mechanism has 6 recorded checks per implementation. The open-access tier publishes the failure and the unsuccessful fix; the repaired source that passes every check, and the observations that prove it, are available to members.

Every case sharing this mechanism uses the same contract and the same repair, so this one record is held back for all of them.

Member access is invitation-based. Sign in with your invited account to inspect the repair.

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Verification & scope

Deterministic simplified range service, with stipulated local policies and already parsed trusted inputs; not a complete HTTP implementation. This reproducer isolates one failure mechanism. Results cover the supplied fixtures. Variants within a family share a test contract and should remain grouped when constructing evaluation splits. Related mechanisms with a shared evaluation_group must also remain together; these controlled models are not independent production incidents.

Observations recorded using Python 3.12.14 at 2026-09-29T14:41:18.198033+00:00.

Case digest / a678406c95ec69312e19a71370dfe64fb2ae2707e33f203f5524d5f3e66f2773