fix: align table listing pagination across backends (#4412)

Fixes #4379

Remote `table_names` discarded the continuation token after the first
root-listing request, silently returning the server's default page of 10
names. Remote `list_tables` also inherited that server default, while
local listings had no SDK page limit. Python's synchronous and namespace
wrappers still imposed a default limit of 10 names. The namespace
adapter also discarded continuation tokens, so an unlimited REST
namespace listing could stop at the server's page cap.

Follow server-provided root listing tokens until the requested name
limit or the end of the listing, preserving `start_after`, cache
population, and guards against empty or repeated tokens. The namespace
adapter collects every server page, then sorts names and applies the
name cursor and total limit: namespace tokens are opaque, and page order
need not be name order. Empty tokens end the listing; token cycles
return an error. Python sync and namespace `table_names` wrappers now
default to `None`, matching the asynchronous and TypeScript APIs.
Namespace overrides accept the base connection's optional limit,
avoiding import-time signature errors on Python 3.10 and 3.11. Set the
`list_tables` default to 100 at the shared connection boundary,
including namespaces, and return empty results for a zero limit without
sending an invalid server request. Update the SDK documentation to
describe these defaults.

`list_tables()` is now a paginated call in both modes: callers with more
than 100 tables must follow the returned token or supply an explicit
larger limit. `table_names()` without a limit returns every name.
Namespace table-name calls enumerate the namespace before applying name
cursors and limits; use `list_tables()` for paginated access.

Validation:

- Regression cases reproduce the original root-listing truncation and
cover 130 tables, opaque tokens, short pages, explicit limits,
`start_after`, and zero limits.
- Relevant Rust remote database, connection, and local listing test
groups: 175 passed. Namespace adapter tests: 23 passed, including opaque
tokens, unordered and empty pages, name cursors, limits, zero requests,
and token cycles.
- Rebuilt the Python extension; namespace and local/mocked remote
listing tests using `uv.lock`: 46 passed on Python 3.10 and 46 passed on
Python 3.13.
- REST namespace regressions reproduced the truncation before the fix
and now return all 12 names from a server capped at 10 per response, for
sync/async connections at root and child paths. They also cover
unordered pages, name cursors, explicit limits, and zero requests. The
exact Python 3.10 import error also reproduced before the
optional-signature fix.
- TypeScript connection test file: 38 passed; `pnpm build`, `pnpm lint`,
and `pnpm run docs` passed.
- `cargo check --quiet --features remote --tests --examples` and `cargo
clippy --quiet --features remote --tests --examples` passed.
- Rust formatting, Python Ruff formatting/lint, and diff whitespace
checks passed.

<!-- lance-gatekeeper-fix:v1 agent=43f92f1f05ac9ca74229af590945cb88
generation=1 -->

---------

Co-authored-by: Gatefixer <313497061+lancedb-gatefixer[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>

python/python/tests/test_db.py

@@ -245,6 +245,40 @@ def test_db_contains_and_len_include_all_table_name_pages(tmp_db: lancedb.DBConn
     assert "does_not_exist" not in tmp_db
 
 
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_table_listing_defaults_and_zero_limit(tmp_path):
+    names = [f"t{i:03}" for i in range(130)]
+    for name in names:
+        (tmp_path / f"{name}.lance").mkdir()
+
+    db = lancedb.connect(tmp_path)
+    assert db.table_names() == names
+    assert db.table_names(limit=None) == names
+    assert db.table_names(limit=0) == []
+    first = db.list_tables()
+    assert first.tables == names[:100]
+    assert first.page_token
+    second = db.list_tables(page_token=first.page_token)
+    assert second.tables == names[100:]
+    assert second.page_token is None
+    assert db.list_tables(limit=200).tables == names
+    empty = db.list_tables(limit=0)
+    assert empty.tables == []
+    assert empty.page_token is None
+
+    adb = await lancedb.connect_async(tmp_path)
+    assert await adb.table_names() == names
+    assert await adb.table_names(limit=0) == []
+    first = await adb.list_tables()
+    assert first.tables == names[:100]
+    second = await adb.list_tables(page_token=first.page_token)
+    assert second.tables == names[100:]
+    assert second.page_token is None
+    empty = await adb.list_tables(limit=0)
+    assert empty.tables == []
+    assert empty.page_token is None
+
+
 def test_db_contains_stops_after_matching_table_page(
     tmp_db: lancedb.DBConnection, monkeypatch
 ):