Bug: remaining-stale-binding-redirect-pairs

[drmoisan]

• Work Mode: minor-audit

Summary

Preparation for #953 found that, besides the 11 Fizzler redirects #953 fixes, 15 other assembly and version pairs in the repository's app.config files redirect to a newVersion that no deployed assembly has. #953 adds a Pester test that records these 15 pairs as known exceptions and fails on any new mismatch. This issue covers correcting the 15 pairs and emptying that list.

Environment

• OS/version: Windows 11 (Outlook VSTO add-in)
• Python version: n/a (.NET Framework 4.8 app.config binding redirects)
• Command/flags used: the Bug: stale-fizzler-and-unsafe-binding-redirects #953 redirect-consistency Pester test
• Data source or fixture: */app.config against packages/ assembly versions

Steps to Reproduce

1. After Bug: stale-fizzler-and-unsafe-binding-redirects #953 merges, read the known-mismatch list in the Bug: stale-fizzler-and-unsafe-binding-redirects #953 Pester test. Plan task P2-T16 records the 15 pairs.
2. Compare each pair's newVersion with the deployed assembly version.

Expected Behavior

Every bindingRedirect newVersion names an assembly version that is actually deployed, so the known-mismatch list is empty.

Actual Behavior

15 pairs name versions that are not deployed. They are latent today, but each becomes a load failure as soon as a dependency requests that assembly, which is how #418 happened.

Logs / Screenshots

• Attached minimal logs or screenshot
• Snippet: Bug: stale-fizzler-and-unsafe-binding-redirects #953 plan P2-T16 and its evidence.

Impact / Severity

• Blocker
• High
• Medium
• Low

Source

From: docs/features/potential/2026-10-02-remaining-stale-binding-redirect-pairs.md

[drmoisan]

Restoring sections dropped by the promotion tooling.

Suspected Cause / Notes

Package updates advanced deployed versions without a matching sweep of the redirects. This is the same cause as #953 and #418. Sequence it after #953 merges. The 15 pairs are recorded in #953's plan task P2-T16 and in its Pester test's known-mismatch list.

Proposed Fix / Validation Ideas

• For each pair, correct the redirect or remove it when nothing references the assembly. Remove the pair from the known list in the same change, so the test proves each fix.
• Re-test the Bug: svg-renderer-null-document-nre #418 designer path for PictureBoxSVG after the sweep.

[drmoisan]

Update from #953 (PR #974, merged at 9428736):

• The 15 known stale pairs cover 137 entries. The full list is in docs/features/active/2026-08-04-stale-fizzler-and-unsafe-binding-redirects-953/evidence/other/p2-t16-known-debt-followup.2026-10-02T03-54.md, and in the known-mismatch list of tests/scripts/dependencies/BindingRedirectVerification.Tests.ps1.
• Three assembly names have redirects but no project reference: System.Linq.AsyncEnumerable, Microsoft.IdentityModel.Clients.ActiveDirectory and netstandard. Removing these redirects may be the right fix rather than correcting them.
• Non-blocking test observations from the Bug: stale-fizzler-and-unsafe-binding-redirects #953 review, to address alongside:
  • a bare Should -Throw with no expected message or type;
  • empty and whitespace-only ProjectText inputs are untested;
  • one It block holds five assertions; split it for clearer failures.

[drmoisan]

Scope amendment (2026-10-03, maintainer direction): the following are folded into this issue rather than filed separately.

1. Remove six unused using Microsoft.Graph.* directives in UtilitiesCS:

   • UtilitiesCS/OutlookObjects/Store/StoreWrapper.cs (line 7)
   • UtilitiesCS/EmailIntelligence/ClassifierGroups/Triage/Triage_OlLogic.cs (line 10)
   • UtilitiesCS/EmailIntelligence/ClassifierGroups/Categories/CategoryClassifierGroup.cs (lines 11-12)
   • UtilitiesCS/EmailIntelligence/ClassifierGroups/ManagerAsyncLazy.cs (line 18)
   • UtilitiesCS/OutlookObjects/Folder/FolderMinimalWrapper.cs (line 6)

   Research checked each directive against the types in the referenced Microsoft.Graph assembly and found no type or extension method that binds through any of them, including in Triage_OlLogic.cs. The plan proves each removal with a Grep count before and after, and with both msbuild Rebuild gates (zero CS0246, CS0103, CS0104, CS0234 or CS1061).

2. Reword the CLAUDE.md C#1 item 3 bullet "Do not add /p:Nullable=enable". It currently says there is no Directory.Build.props. The new wording says that no project and neither root build file (Directory.Build.props, Directory.Build.targets) sets <Nullable>. The conclusion is unchanged, and no .claude/** file is edited.

3. Related defect under the in-scope directive: CategoryClassifierGroup.cs is 539 lines, over the 500-line limit. The IConditionalEngine Implementation region moves unchanged into a new partial file, UtilitiesCS/EmailIntelligence/ClassifierGroups/Categories/CategoryClassifierGroup.ConditionalEngine.cs, with a Compile Include in UtilitiesCS.csproj.

Records in the feature folder docs/features/active/2026-10-02-remaining-stale-binding-redirect-pairs-973/:

• issue.md: section "Scope Amendment (2026-10-03, maintainer direction)".
• spec.md: Parts F, G and H, acceptance criteria AC19 to AC23, and the Scope Amendment Log. No existing criterion was weakened. AC16 now admits only the six named .cs files, limited to the permitted edits.
• research/2026-10-03T00-41-graph-usings-and-claude-md-bullet-research.md
• Plan plan.2026-10-02T22-16.md revision 1.6, cleared by executor preflight. The clearance record is under evidence/other/.

Branch: bug/remaining-stale-binding-redirect-pairs-973.