Bugfix — Issue #773: exec.inc.php:182 E_WARNING on every execution save (testprojects.options NULL/empty)

Issue: #773 Branch: fix/issue-773-exec-options-warning · Commits: 9469bc3f5 (fix), 1b9eecd23 (regression suite) Status: FIXED & VERIFIED (2026-08-29)

Symptom

Every write_execution() save (Execute Tests → Save Steps WIP / any manual single execution save, incl. POST /api/execute/?action=save) writes one E_WARNING event into the Event Viewer (events table) whenever the owning test project has no options blob:

E_WARNING
Undefined property: stdClass::$requirementsEnabled - in lib/functions/exec.inc.php - Line 182

Root cause chain

1. api/execute/index.php:874 (and legacy lib/execute/execSetResults.php) call write_execution() → lib/functions/exec.inc.php:181: $topt = $tprojectMgr->getOptions($execSign->tproject_id);
2. lib/functions/exec.inc.php:182: if( $topt->requirementsEnabled ) { — unguarded property read.
3. lib/functions/testproject.class.php:3904 getOptions() returns (object)[] — an object with zero properties — whenever testprojects.options is NULL, an empty string, not serialized PHP, or unserialize() fails (guards at lines 3911-3924, added by the #581/#564 hardening). requirementsEnabled only exists when the persisted blob actually contains it.
4. Reading a non-existent property on a plain object raises the PHP E_WARNING, which the framework's handler writes to the events table (Event Viewer).

Triggering DB state: testprojects.options IS NULL — legacy projects, projects created through paths that never wrote an options blob, DB restored from an old dump.

Why only this call site breaks: every sibling read of requirementsEnabled already guards it (common.php:361-362 isset(...) &&, resultsNavigator.php:24-25 isset, printDocOptions.php:159-160 isset, tcEdit.php:409 !empty(...) && isset(...)). exec.inc.php:182 was the single unguarded read in the executor family.

Approach — guard the read (minimal fix)

lib/functions/exec.inc.php:182 now reads:

$topt = $tprojectMgr->getOptions($execSign->tproject_id);
if( isset($topt->requirementsEnabled) && $topt->requirementsEnabled ) {

Missing requirementsEnabled ⇒ treated as requirements disabled, i.e. the req-link freeze branch is skipped — exactly the legacy semantics for a project whose blob is NULL (the option_reqs column defaults 0 anyway).

Alternatives rejected:

• Make getOptions() return a fully-defaulted options object: larger blast radius (every caller iterates the returned object; setOptions() at testproject.class.php:3929 foreach ($itemOpt as $prop => $value) would then persist defaults on unrelated updates) and does not remove the need for the same guard pattern at the other call sites.

Files changed

File	Change
lib/functions/exec.inc.php	+1: guard requirementsEnabled read in write_execution() with isset()
tmp/TLU_Test_Cases.md	+Suite 773 (4 test cases, 4/4 PASS)

Verification

• php -l lib/functions/exec.inc.php → no syntax errors.
• Primary: truncated events; with testprojects.options=NULL ran POST /api/execute/?action=save → HTTP 200 saved:true, SELECT COUNT(*) FROM events = 0 (pre-fix: exactly the exec.inc.php Line 182 E_WARNING row).
• Regression matrix:
  1. options=NULL → save → 0 events ✅
  2. full blob requirementsEnabled=0 → save → 0 events, freeze branch skipped ✅
  3. full blob requirementsEnabled=1 + real req_coverage row with link_status=1 (OPEN) linked to the tcversion → save → req_coverage.link_status 1→2 (CLOSED_BY_EXEC) and req_versions.is_open 1→0 (freeze works ⇒ branch NOT skipped) ✅
  4. Event Viewer shows no new Error/Warning (only the login AUDIT row) ✅