Unchanged columns logged when selecting a subset of columns

[KKSzymanowski]

Describe the bug
I have a table which has an order column. When I reorder the elements I update each model with the new order.
Because the table has some large JSON columns I select only id and order columns for efficiency. I set the new order and save the model.

foreach (Faq::query()->get(['id', 'order']) as $faq) {
    $faq->order = $newOrder[$faq->id];
    $faq->save();
}

The diffs created in the activity_log table look like this:

{
   "old": {
      "order": 1,
      "answer": null,
      "question": null
   },
   "attributes": {
      "order": 2,
      "answer": "long JSON content",
      "question": "long JSON content"
   }
}

From what I see laravel-activitylog fetches the model with all columns from the database before creating a log entry which kind of defeats the purpose of my "select list optimization" and produces an incorrect diff.

Generally I want these large JSON columns to be logged in case a user changes them but in this case I only change the order column so I would like to see only the order column in the diff.

I have tried running these updates straight off the Eloquent builder:

Faq::query()->where('id', $id)->update(['order' => $newOrder[$id]]);

but in this case nothing is logged.

I have the following activitylog configuration for my models:

public function getActivitylogOptions(): LogOptions
{
    return LogOptions::defaults()
                     ->logAll()
                     ->logOnlyDirty()
                     ->logExcept([
                         'id',
                         'created_at',
                         'updated_at',
                     ]);
}

To Reproduce
Select a subset of columns from the database, change these columns, save the model and see that other (not initially selected) columns are present in the diff.

Expected behavior
Only columns that've actually been changed should be present in the diff.

Versions

• PHP: 8.1
• Database: MySQL 8
• Laravel: 9.31.0
• Package: 4.6.0

[vishalw89]

In your model you can define it like bellow:

  protected $logAttributes = ['name'];

    public function getActivitylogOptions(): LogOptions
    {
        $loggableAttributes = array_intersect(array_keys($this->attributes), $this->logAttributes);
        return LogOptions::defaults()
            ->logOnly($loggableAttributes)
            ->logOnlyDirty()
            ->dontSubmitEmptyLogs();
    }

This worked for me even when we updating fields which are not in the select statement.

[n41tik]

Hi @KKSzymanowski,

When you call Faq::query()->get(['id', 'order']) you are running selecting all the columns from the database and only using id and order. To fetch only id and order you should use Faq::select(['id', 'order'])->get() this will only fetch id and order from the database

[KKSzymanowski]

@n41tik not true:

DB::listen(function($q) {
    dump($q->sql);
});

Faq::query()->get(['id', 'order']);

"select `id`, `order` from `faqs` where `faqs`.`deleted_at` is null order by `order` asc" // routes/console.php:19

[junnysolano]

Hello everyone,

I am presenting the same situation that @KKSzymanowski indicates, is there any way to resolve it?

I tried @vishalw89 idea but it didn't work for me.

Greetings,

[junnysolano]

Hello everyone again,

Considering this part

$properties['attributes'] = static::logChanges(

            // if the current event is retrieved, get the model itself
            // else get the fresh default properties from database
            // as wouldn't be part of the saved model instance.
            $processingEvent == 'retrieved'
                ? $this
                : (
                    $this->exists
                        ? $this->fresh() ?? $this
                        : $this
                )
        );

I have done the following in the method that returns the options

public function getActivitylogOptions(): LogOptions
    {
        $this->exists = false;

        return LogOptions::defaults()
            ->logOnly([
                'name',
                'last_name'
            ])
            ->useLogName('Person')
            ->logOnlyDirty()
            ->dontSubmitEmptyLogs();
    }

Do you think this could affect the general functioning of the project?

[freestyledork]

I was able to overcome this issue recently with a change in how the trait refreshed the model.
Instead of this:

$properties['attributes'] = static::logChanges(

            // if the current event is retrieved, get the model itself
            // else get the fresh default properties from database
            // as wouldn't be part of the saved model instance.
            $processingEvent == 'retrieved'
                ? $this
                : (
                    $this->exists
                        ? $this->fresh() ?? $this
                        : $this
                )
        );

I modified it to only load the attributes that were previously loaded.
use this:

        // else get the fresh default properties from database
        // as wouldn't be part of the saved model instance.
        $model = $this;
        if (($processingEvent !== 'retrieved') && $this->exists) {
            // Get only the attributes that were originally loaded in the model
            $loadedAttributes = array_keys($this->getAttributes());

            // Create a new query that only selects the originally loaded attributes to 
            // avoid logging incorrect null values in the old object
            $freshModel = $this->setKeysForSelectQuery($this->newQueryWithoutScopes())
                ->select($loadedAttributes)
                ->useWritePdo()
                ->first();

            $model = $freshModel ?? $this;
        }

        $properties['attributes'] = static::logChanges($model);