fix: reduces update logs that contain no actual changes

app/Audit/AbstractAuditLogFormatter.php

@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ abstract class AbstractAuditLogFormatter implements IAuditLogFormatter
 {
     protected ?AuditContext $ctx = null;
     protected string $event_type;
+    public const NO_CHANGES_REGISTERED_MESSAGE = 'properties without changes registered';
 
     public function __construct(string $event_type)
     {
@@ -178,21 +179,71 @@ protected function buildChangeDetails(array $change_set): string
         }
 
         if (empty($changed_fields)) {
-            return 'properties without changes registered';
+            return self::NO_CHANGES_REGISTERED_MESSAGE;
         }
 
         $fields_summary = count($changed_fields) . ' field(s) modified: ';
         return $fields_summary . implode(' | ', $changed_fields);
     }
 
+
+    final public function hasMeaningfulChanges(array $change_set): bool
+    {
+        $ignored_fields = $this->getIgnoredFields();
+
+        foreach ($change_set as $prop_name => $change_values) {
+            if (in_array($prop_name, $ignored_fields)) {
+                continue;
+            }
+
+            $old_value = $change_values[0] ?? null;
+            $new_value = $change_values[1] ?? null;
+
+            if ($this->formatFieldChange($prop_name, $old_value, $new_value) !== null) {
+                return true;
+            }
+        }
+
+        return false;
+    }
+
     protected function formatFieldChange(string $prop_name, $old_value, $new_value): ?string
     {
+        if ($this->valuesAreEffectivelyEqual($old_value, $new_value)) {
+            return null;
+        }
+
         $old_display = $this->formatChangeValue($old_value);
         $new_display = $this->formatChangeValue($new_value);
 
         return sprintf("Property \"%s\" has changed from \"%s\" to \"%s\"", $prop_name, $old_display, $new_display);
     }
 
+    protected function valuesAreEffectivelyEqual($old_value, $new_value): bool
+    {
+        if ($old_value === $new_value) {
+            return true;
+        }
+
+        if ($old_value instanceof \DateTimeInterface && $new_value instanceof \DateTimeInterface) {
+            if ($old_value->getTimestamp() === $new_value->getTimestamp()) {
+                return true;
+            }
+
+            try {
+                return $old_value->format('U.u') === $new_value->format('U.u');
+            } catch (\Throwable $e) {
+                return false;
+            }
+        }
+
+        if ((is_scalar($old_value) || is_null($old_value)) && (is_scalar($new_value) || is_null($new_value))) {
+            return $this->formatChangeValue($old_value) === $this->formatChangeValue($new_value);
+        }
+
+        return false;
+    }
+
     /**
      * Format detailed message for many-to-many collection changes
      */

app/Audit/AuditLogOtlpStrategy.php

@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ public function audit($subject, array $change_set, string $event_type,  AuditCon
             return;
         }
             Log::debug("AuditLogOtlpStrategy::audit", ['subject' => $subject, 'change_set' => $change_set, 'event_type' => $event_type]);
-        try {
+            try {
             $entity = $this->resolveAuditableEntity($subject);
             if (is_null($entity)) {
                 Log::warning("AuditLogOtlpStrategy::audit subject not found");
@@ -62,6 +62,13 @@ public function audit($subject, array $change_set, string $event_type,  AuditCon
                 Log::warning("AuditLogOtlpStrategy::audit formatter not found");
                 return;
             }
+            if ($event_type === IAuditStrategy::EVENT_ENTITY_UPDATE
+                && !$formatter->hasMeaningfulChanges($change_set)) {
+                Log::debug("AuditLogOtlpStrategy::audit skipping no-op entity update", [
+                    'subject_class' => is_object($subject) ? get_class($subject) : gettype($subject),
+                ]);
+                return;
+            }
             $description = $formatter->format($subject, $change_set);
             if(is_null($description)){
                 Log::warning("AuditLogOtlpStrategy::audit description is empty");
@@ -76,7 +83,7 @@ public function audit($subject, array $change_set, string $event_type,  AuditCon
                 job: $job,
             );
             Log::debug("AuditLogOtlpStrategy::audit entry sent to OTEL", ["user_id" => $ctx->userId, "user_email" => $ctx->userEmail]);
-
+         
         } catch (\Exception $ex) {
             Log::error('OTEL audit logging error: ' . $ex->getMessage(), [
                 'exception' => $ex,

tests/Unit/Audit/AbstractAuditLogFormatterDateNoiseTest.php

@@ -0,0 +1,108 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace Tests\Unit\Audit;
+
+/**
+ * Copyright 2026 OpenStack Foundation
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ * http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ **/
+
+use App\Audit\AbstractAuditLogFormatter;
+use App\Audit\Interfaces\IAuditStrategy;
+use DateTime;
+use DateTimeZone;
+use Tests\TestCase;
+
+final class AbstractAuditLogFormatterDateNoiseTest extends TestCase
+{
+    public function testBuildChangeDetailsIgnoresDateTimeSameSecondNoise(): void
+    {
+        $formatter = new ExposingAuditFormatter(IAuditStrategy::EVENT_ENTITY_UPDATE);
+
+        $oldUtc = new DateTime('2026-01-02 03:04:05', new DateTimeZone('UTC'));
+        $newLocalSameSecond = new DateTime('2026-01-02 00:04:05', new DateTimeZone('America/Argentina/Buenos_Aires'));
+
+        $details = $formatter->publicBuildChangeDetails([
+            'submission_begin_date' => [$oldUtc, $newLocalSameSecond],
+        ]);
+
+        $this->assertSame('properties without changes registered', $details);
+        $this->assertFalse($formatter->hasMeaningfulChanges([
+            'submission_begin_date' => [$oldUtc, $newLocalSameSecond],
+        ]));
+    }
+
+    public function testBuildChangeDetailsIgnoresMultipleDateFieldsWithSameInstant(): void
+    {
+        $formatter = new ExposingAuditFormatter(IAuditStrategy::EVENT_ENTITY_UPDATE);
+
+        $old = new DateTime('2025-07-02 07:00:00', new DateTimeZone('UTC'));
+        $newSame = new DateTime('2025-07-02 07:00:00', new DateTimeZone('UTC'));
+
+        $details = $formatter->publicBuildChangeDetails([
+            'submission_begin_date' => [$old, $newSame],
+            'submission_end_date' => [$old, $newSame],
+            'selection_begin_date' => [$old, $newSame],
+            'selection_end_date' => [$old, $newSame],
+        ]);
+
+        $this->assertSame('properties without changes registered', $details);
+    }
+
+    public function testBuildChangeDetailsStillShowsRealDateTimeChange(): void
+    {
+        $formatter = new ExposingAuditFormatter(IAuditStrategy::EVENT_ENTITY_UPDATE);
+
+        $old = new DateTime('2026-01-02 03:04:05', new DateTimeZone('UTC'));
+        $new = new DateTime('2026-01-02 03:04:06', new DateTimeZone('UTC'));
+
+        $details = $formatter->publicBuildChangeDetails([
+            'submission_begin_date' => [$old, $new],
+        ]);
+
+        $this->assertStringContainsString('submission_begin_date', $details);
+        $this->assertStringContainsString('03:04:05', $details);
+        $this->assertStringContainsString('03:04:06', $details);
+        $this->assertTrue($formatter->hasMeaningfulChanges([
+            'submission_begin_date' => [$old, $new],
+        ]));
+    }
+
+    public function testBuildChangeDetailsKeepsOtherNonDateChanges(): void
+    {
+        $formatter = new ExposingAuditFormatter(IAuditStrategy::EVENT_ENTITY_UPDATE);
+
+        $oldUtc = new DateTime('2026-01-02 03:04:05', new DateTimeZone('UTC'));
+        $newLocalSameSecond = new DateTime('2026-01-02 00:04:05', new DateTimeZone('America/Argentina/Buenos_Aires'));
+
+        $details = $formatter->publicBuildChangeDetails([
+            'submission_begin_date' => [$oldUtc, $newLocalSameSecond],
+            'name' => ['Old', 'New'],
+        ]);
+
+        $this->assertStringContainsString('1 field(s) modified', $details);
+        $this->assertStringContainsString('Property "name" has changed', $details);
+        $this->assertStringNotContainsString('submission_begin_date', $details);
+    }
+}
+
+final class ExposingAuditFormatter extends AbstractAuditLogFormatter
+{
+    public function publicBuildChangeDetails(array $change_set): string
+    {
+        return $this->buildChangeDetails($change_set);
+    }
+
+    public function format(mixed $subject, array $change_set): ?string
+    {
+        return null;
+    }
+}

tests/Unit/Audit/AbstractAuditLogFormatterHasMeaningfulChangesTest.php

@@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace Tests\Unit\Audit;
+
+/**
+ * Copyright 2026 OpenStack Foundation
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ * http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ **/
+
+use App\Audit\AbstractAuditLogFormatter;
+use App\Audit\Interfaces\IAuditStrategy;
+use DateTimeImmutable;
+use DateTimeZone;
+use Tests\TestCase;
+
+final class AbstractAuditLogFormatterHasMeaningfulChangesTest extends TestCase
+{
+    /**
+     * @dataProvider provideNoOpChangeSets
+     */
+    public function testHasMeaningfulChangesReturnsFalseForNoOps(array $changeSet): void
+    {
+        $formatter = new ExposingMeaningfulAuditFormatter(IAuditStrategy::EVENT_ENTITY_UPDATE);
+        $this->assertFalse($formatter->hasMeaningfulChanges($changeSet));
+        $this->assertSame(AbstractAuditLogFormatter::NO_CHANGES_REGISTERED_MESSAGE, $formatter->publicBuildChangeDetails($changeSet));
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @dataProvider provideMeaningfulChangeSets
+     */
+    public function testHasMeaningfulChangesReturnsTrueForRealChanges(array $changeSet): void
+    {
+        $formatter = new ExposingMeaningfulAuditFormatter(IAuditStrategy::EVENT_ENTITY_UPDATE);
+        $this->assertTrue($formatter->hasMeaningfulChanges($changeSet));
+        $this->assertNotSame(AbstractAuditLogFormatter::NO_CHANGES_REGISTERED_MESSAGE, $formatter->publicBuildChangeDetails($changeSet));
+    }
+
+    public static function provideNoOpChangeSets(): array
+    {
+        $dtUtc = new DateTimeImmutable('2026-01-02 03:04:05', new DateTimeZone('UTC'));
+        $dtSameInstantOtherTz = new DateTimeImmutable('2026-01-02 00:04:05', new DateTimeZone('America/Argentina/Buenos_Aires'));
+
+        return [
+            'same-string' => [[
+                'name' => ['abc', 'abc'],
+            ]],
+            'same-bool' => [[
+                'is_enabled' => [true, true],
+            ]],
+            'same-null' => [[
+                'submission_lock_down_presentation_status_date' => [null, null],
+            ]],
+            'datetime-same-instant-different-tz' => [[
+                'submission_begin_date' => [$dtUtc, $dtSameInstantOtherTz],
+            ]],
+        ];
+    }
+
+    public static function provideMeaningfulChangeSets(): array
+    {
+        $dt1 = new DateTimeImmutable('2026-01-02 03:04:05', new DateTimeZone('UTC'));
+        $dt2 = new DateTimeImmutable('2026-01-02 03:04:06', new DateTimeZone('UTC'));
+
+        return [
+            'string-changed' => [[
+                'name' => ['abc', 'def'],
+            ]],
+            'bool-changed' => [[
+                'is_hidden' => [false, true],
+            ]],
+            'null-to-value' => [[
+                'max_submission_allowed_per_user' => [null, 3],
+            ]],
+            'datetime-changed' => [[
+                'submission_begin_date' => [$dt1, $dt2],
+            ]],
+        ];
+    }
+}
+
+final class ExposingMeaningfulAuditFormatter extends AbstractAuditLogFormatter
+{
+    public function publicBuildChangeDetails(array $change_set): string
+    {
+        return $this->buildChangeDetails($change_set);
+    }
+
+    public function format(mixed $subject, array $change_set): ?string
+    {
+        return null;
+    }
+}