What are Salesforce Governor Limits? Types & Best Practices

Have you ever coded in Salesforce and hit a mysterious wall? That’s likely a Salesforce Governor Limit in action! These built-in safeguards keep the platform running smoothly for everyone by preventing any single user from hogging resources. But what exactly are they, and how can you code effectively within their boundaries? This blog will give you a clear breakdown of what governor limits are in Salesforce through various Salesforce interview questions, why governor limits are introduced in Salesforce, and the best practices to manage them effectively.

What are Salesforce Governor Limits?

To understand Salesforce governor limits, you have to know what Salesforce is. Salesforce is a multi-tenant cloud platform, and our organization shares common resources with other organizations. These restrictions on resources are enforced through Governor Limits provided by Salesforce so that one single user organization does not misuse these and end up hogging all the resources. It’s simply the safety that stops you from passing out all data to process, store, and manipulate in your Salesforce org.

These are some of the restrictions that limit this platform. Years ago, Salesforce implemented Governor Limits poorly and effectively in all aspects, particularly affecting records allocation. However, it provides automation and customization with custom code, which can be written in Apex, Salesforce’s programming language. Governor Limits are actions like limiting the number of database queries (SOQL) or data manipulation statements (DML) allowed in a single Apex transaction.

This includes limits on the number of records being processed, storage capacities, API calls, and code size maintained. There are “hard” and “soft” limits. Hard limits throw exceptions during overflow, while soft are only about performance and potential optimizer efforts.

Salesforce developers and admins must clearly understand Governor Limits. Following the above guidelines will help you write efficient Apex code, optimize your data access pattern, and run smoothly in terms of resource allocation for your org.

What Is Salesforce Multitenancy?

Before we can explain the purpose of governor limits, you need to understand that Salesforce is a multi-tenant architecture. What is multitenancy? A multitenant architecture allows an instance of the application to serve multiple customers – tenants. All tenant applications share infrastructure, but you must guarantee that each within a tenancy is isolated and another cannot see the data created in one tenancy.

This means a shared database and computing resources across all Salesforce customers. This has many advantages: it is cost-effective, easy to upgrade and maintain, and provides a uniform experience. However, the biggest challenge with this kind of infrastructure management is resources.

Practice these Salesforce Interview Questions before applying for your upcoming job interview.

Types of Salesforce Governor Limits

There are multiple types of Salesforce governor limits, with each type governing a different kind of resource used. The following are the main categories:

1. Apex Limits

These limits relate to Apex, which is the Salesforce programming language.

• SOQL Queries Limit: The total amount of SOQL queries that you can run in a single transaction.
• DML Statements: This component is a peak limit for complete DML operations (insert, update, and delete).
• CPU Time: The amount of CPU time that can run in a single transaction.
• Heap Size: The maximum memory that an Apex transaction can use.
• Callouts: The number of HTTP callouts is the maximum number of requests you can make to an external service in a single transaction.

2. API Limits

These APIs are provided by Salesforce, using which external systems can be integrated with Salesforce.

• API Rate Limiting: The number of requests made per user in a day. The limits are in place to keep the Salesforce platform responsive and reliable.

3. Data Storage Limits

Every Salesforce organization has its own data size and file storage limits. You can monitor these limits, which are based on the number of licenses purchased, by checking the Salesforce setup menu.

4. Email Limits

You have to send up to a 24-hour quantity of emails through Salesforce as Salesforce was restricted. This minimizes spam and keeps the email service functioning.

5. Salesforce Flow Limits:

Salesforce Flows are automation tools that empower business and admin users to achieve efficient, streamlined processes. But they, too, have certain limits – say, the number of elements executed at runtime or how many flows can be triggered in an hour.

Why is Salesforce Governor Limits Important?

Salesforce Governor Limits are an essential part of the force.com platform, which ensures that your trigger codes or other Salesforce functionalities do not cause long-running requests. And why that matters:

1. Fair Resource Allocation: Governor limits define thresholds that prevent any single tenant from overusing shared resources, ensuring all users have roughly equal access to Salesforce’s capabilities. This is crucial in a multi-tenant setup where resource contention can substantially affect performance.
2. System Performance Sustainability: Salesforce limits the use of resources in several ways to help keep it responsive and performant. Anything leaking a resource (e.g., memory, threads) could slow the system down and bring it down for everyone on that platform.
3. Enhancing Security: Governor limits make your organization more secure by limiting data retrieval and modification. This ensures that the data cannot be tampered with and keeps bad actors from disrupting service.
4. Promoting Best Coding Practices: Developers are encouraged to write efficient and optimized code that stays within governor limits, which results in a better-performing application, best coding practices, and resource management.

Governor Limit Best Practices

Developers and administrators should follow best practices to manage and work within Salesforce governor limits effectively. Here are some key strategies:

1. Efficient Querying

Use Selective Queries

Ensure that SOQL queries are selective by using indexed fields and filters to limit the number of records returned. Non-selective queries that return large data sets can easily hit query limits and degrade performance. For example, I always prefer specific conditions over broad ones, such as querying for accounts with a particular status rather than fetching all accounts.

Avoid Nested Queries

To reduce complexity and resource consumption, minimize the use of nested SOQL queries. Nested queries can lead to high CPU usage and increased execution time, making it easier to exceed limits. Instead, try to flatten your queries or use subqueries wisely to ensure they are optimized for performance.

Limit Fields

Retrieve only the necessary fields in queries to reduce the data processed. Instead of using SELECT * in SQL, specify the required fields. This reduces the data volume and improves query performance and efficiency.

2. Bulk Processing

Bulkify Code

Process records in bulk rather than one at a time to stay within DML and query limits. Use collections (lists, sets, maps) to handle multiple records in a single transaction. For instance, instead of inserting records individually, gather them into a list and perform a single insert operation. This practice significantly reduces the number of DML statements and ensures that your code runs efficiently.

Use Batch Apex

For processing large volumes of data, use Batch Apex to handle records in smaller, manageable chunks. Batch Apex processes records asynchronously in batches of up to 200 records, enabling you to work with millions of records without hitting governor limits. It also allows for greater control over the processing flow and better handling of large datasets.

3. Efficient DML Operations

Minimize DML Statements

Combine multiple DML operations into a single statement when possible to reduce the number of DML calls. For example, instead of updating records individually, accumulate them in a list and perform a single update operation. This reduces the overhead associated with multiple DML statements and helps you stay within limits.

Use Database Methods

Utilize Database class methods (e.g., Database.insert) with options like allOrNone set to false to handle partial successes and avoid exceeding limits. These methods provide more granular control over DML operations and help manage errors more effectively without exhausting DML limits.

4. Optimize Apex Code

Governor Limit Checkpoints

Use checkpoints in the Developer Console to monitor and optimize resource usage.

Asynchronous Processing

Offload resource-intensive operations to asynchronous processes (e.g., @future methods, Queueable Apex) to reduce the impact on synchronous limits.

This Salesforce Course helps understand the best practices regarding Salesforce Governor Limits.

Governor Limits Practice Exercises

Practicing how to work within governor limits is essential for mastering Salesforce development. Here are some exercises to help you get started:

Exercise 1: Optimize a SOQL Query

Given a requirement to fetch accounts with a specific status, write a selective SOQL query that minimizes resource usage. For example, instead of querying all accounts and filtering in code, use a WHERE clause to filter accounts directly in the SOQL query. Consider using indexed fields to improve performance.

Exercise 2: Bulkify Apex Code

Refactor a piece of Apex code that processes records one at a time to handle records in bulk. For instance, if you have a trigger that processes each record individually, modify it to use collections (like lists or sets) to process multiple records in a single transaction. This helps stay within the DML and SOQL query limits.

Exercise 3: Implement Batch Apex

Create a Batch Apex class to process a large set of records. Ensure the batch size is appropriate to avoid hitting governor limits. For example, if you need to update a million records, write a Batch Apex class with a manageable batch size (e.g., 200 records per batch) to avoid exceeding CPU time and heap size limits.

Exercise 4: Use Asynchronous Processing

Convert a synchronous Apex method that performs heavy computations into an asynchronous @future method. This is useful for operations that can be delayed and allows you to avoid hitting synchronous governor limits. Write an @future method to perform tasks like calling external web services or processing large data sets.

Exercise 5: Monitor and Debug

Analyze debug logs to identify governor limit issues and optimize the code to resolve them. For example, run code in the Developer Console, review the logs for any governor limit warnings or errors, and adjust your code accordingly to optimize performance and resource usage. This practice helps you develop a keen eye for identifying and mitigating potential issues early in development.

Conclusion

Salesforce governor limits govern resource access to ensure resource utilization. Salesforce issues these limits due to its multitenancy architecture. By knowing these limits and using best practices, developers/administrators can ensure that their applications run effectively and as expected, according to Salesforce’s resource constraints. Regular monitoring, efficient coding practices, and leveraging Salesforce tools are key to successfully managing governor limits.

If you’re looking for Salesforce Tutorials, you can visit Edureka’s official website.

FAQs

1. What are governor limits in Salesforce?

Governor limits in Salesforce are predefined restrictions on the amount of data and resources a single organization or user can use within a specific time frame. These limits ensure fair resource allocation, maintain system performance, enhance security, and encourage efficient coding practices.

2. How do we avoid governor limits in Salesforce?

To avoid governor limits in Salesforce, you can:

• Optimize SOQL queries to be selective and efficient.
• Bulkify your code to handle multiple records in a single transaction.
• Use Batch Apex to process large data sets.
• Offload heavy computations to asynchronous processing methods.
• Regularly monitor debug logs and use tools to analyze and optimize your code.

3. How can you query more than 50,000 records in Salesforce?

To query more than 50,000 records in Salesforce, you can use Batch Apex, which processes records in smaller batches, allowing you to handle large data sets without hitting governor limits.

4. What are the synchronous and asynchronous limits in Salesforce?

Salesforce imposes different limits on synchronous and asynchronous processes. For example:

• Synchronous Limits: Include limits on SOQL queries (100 per transaction), DML statements (150 per transaction), and CPU time (10,000 milliseconds).
• Asynchronous Limits: Include higher limits for certain operations, such as 200 SOQL queries per transaction and 250,000 asynchronous Apex method invocations per 24 hours.