Bug: Export evaluation creates pending exports even when CSO already has the same value

[JayVDZ]

Description

When evaluating outbound exports, the ExportEvaluationServer.CreateAttributeValueChanges method creates PendingExportAttributeValueChange entries based on MVO attribute changes, but never compares the pending export value against the existing CSO attribute value.

This results in unnecessary pending exports being created when the CSO already has the same value as what would be exported.

Steps to Reproduce

1. AD has User A with displayName = "Elliot Davies"
2. JIM imports → CSO has displayName = "Elliot Davies"
3. JIM syncs → MVO gets displayName = "Elliot Davies" (this registers as a 'change' to the MVO)
4. Export evaluation → Creates pending export for displayName = "Elliot Davies"
5. Bug: Code never checks that CSO already has displayName = "Elliot Davies"

Expected Behaviour

The export evaluation should compare the pending export value against the existing CSO attribute value and skip creating a pending export if they match (no-net-change).

Actual Behaviour

Pending exports are created even when the CSO already has the identical value, resulting in:

• Unnecessary pending exports cluttering the UI
• Wasted export/import cycles
• Confusing UX where pending export values match CSO values

Root Cause

In JIM.Application/Servers/ExportEvaluationServer.cs, the CreateAttributeValueChanges method (lines 741-913) checks if MVO attributes changed but never loads or compares against the CSO's current attribute values.

Proposed Fix

In CreateAttributeValueChanges, before adding an attribute change:

1. Load the existing CSO attribute value for the target attribute
2. Compare the pending export value against the CSO value
3. Skip creating the PendingExportAttributeValueChange if values are identical

This would require passing the CSO (or its attribute values) into the method and adding comparison logic for each data type.

Impact

• Performance: Creates unnecessary database records and export cycles
• UX: Confusing display of pending exports that appear identical to current values
• Data integrity: No functional impact, but wastes resources

Related Files

• JIM.Application/Servers/ExportEvaluationServer.cs - CreateAttributeValueChanges method

[JayVDZ]

Implementation Progress Update

Completed Phases

Phase 1-6: Core Implementation ✅

• Added NoChange to ObjectChangeType enum
• Created NoChangeReason enum (MvoNoAttributeChanges, CsoAlreadyCurrent)
• Added NoChangeReason field to ActivityRunProfileExecutionItem
• Added counters to ActivityRunProfileExecutionStats
• Added Sync.VerboseNoChangeRecording system setting (seeded, with getter)
• Implemented per-page CSO attribute cache for memory-bounded detection
• Added GetCsoAttributeValuesByCsoIdsAsync repository method
• Integrated no-net-change detection into both SyncFullSyncTaskProcessor and SyncDeltaSyncTaskProcessor
• Created ExportEvaluationResult class for tracking counts

Phase 8: Unit Testing ✅

• Created 26 unit tests in ExportEvaluationNoChangeTests.cs
• Covers all 7 data types (string, int, DateTime, binary, Guid, bool, reference)
• Covers null handling and edge cases

Phase 10: Multi-Valued Attribute Support ✅

• Changed cache from Dictionary to ILookup to support multiple values per attribute
• Updated IsCsoAttributeAlreadyCurrent to handle all change types:
  • Add: Skip if value already exists in CSO
  • Remove: Skip if value doesn't exist in CSO
  • Update: Skip if single value matches
  • RemoveAll: Skip if CSO has no values
• Added group membership scenario tests (large groups with 1000+ members)

Remaining Work

Phase 7: Statistics & UI ⏳

• Add UI stat cards to ActivityDetail.razor
• Display "MVO No Changes" and "CSO Already Current" counters

Phase 9: Workflow (E2E) Tests ⏳

• End-to-end tests using WorkflowTestHarness

Key Technical Details

The implementation uses a per-page ILookup<(Guid CsoId, int AttributeId), ConnectedSystemObjectAttributeValue> cache to:

1. Bound memory usage (cleared between pages)
2. Support multi-valued attributes (e.g., group membership)
3. Enable O(1) lookups during export evaluation

All 574 JIM.Worker.Tests pass, including the 26 new ExportEvaluationNoChangeTests.

[JayVDZ]

Phase 9 Complete: Workflow (E2E) Tests

Created comprehensive workflow tests in test/JIM.Workflow.Tests/Scenarios/Sync/NoNetChangeWorkflowTests.cs:

Passing Tests (9)

1. CsoAlreadyCurrent_NoPendingExportsCreated_Async - Verifies no exports when CSO has same values
2. PartialNoNetChange_OnlyDifferentAttributesExported_Async - Only changed attributes create exports
3. CsoAlreadyCurrent_StatsCounterIncremented_Async - Stats counters work
4. NullToValue_CreatesPendingExport_Async - Exports created for null→value
5. DifferentValues_CreatesPendingExport_Async - Exports created for value changes
6. NewCso_CreatesPendingExport_Async - Exports always created for new CSOs
7. StringAttributeMatch_NoPendingExport_Async - String comparison works
8. IntegerAttributeMatch_NoPendingExport_Async - Integer comparison works
9. IntegerAttributeMismatch_CreatesPendingExport_Async - Integer mismatch detected

Explicit Tests (3) - require additional harness infrastructure

• GroupMembership_AddMemberAlreadyExists_NoExportCreated_Async
• GroupMembership_AddNewMember_ExportCreated_Async
• GroupMembership_RemoveMemberNotExists_NoExportCreated_Async

These group membership tests are marked explicit as the workflow harness doesn't yet support multi-valued attribute flows. The core logic is covered by unit tests in ExportEvaluationNoChangeTests.cs.

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Implementation Summary - All Phases Complete

Phase	Status	Description
1	✅	Model changes (NoChange enum, NoChangeReason, stats counters)
2	✅	Per-page CSO attribute cache with ILookup
3	✅	Comparison logic in ExportEvaluationServer
4	✅	ExportEvaluationResult tracking
5	✅	VerboseNoChangeRecording system setting
6	✅	Worker integration (Full/Delta sync processors)
7	✅	UI stat cards and colour helper
8	✅	Unit tests (26 tests covering all scenarios)
9	✅	Workflow E2E tests (9 passing, 3 explicit)
10	✅	Multi-valued attribute support (ILookup, Add/Remove/RemoveAll)

All 851 tests pass ✅