Development: Fix null pointer exception when fetching student participation

[mateusmm01]

Checklist

General

• This is a small issue that I tested locally and was confirmed by another developer on a test server.
• Language: I followed the guidelines for inclusive, diversity-sensitive, and appreciative language.
• I chose a title conforming to the naming conventions for pull requests.

Changes affecting Programming Exercises

• High priority: I tested all changes and their related features with all corresponding user types on a test server configured with the integrated lifecycle setup (LocalVC and LocalCI).

Motivation and Context

Currently, Code Editor and Repositories can't be opened if the exercise doesn't have a start or release date.

Description

When fetching a participation, it is first checked if a start date exists before continuing with the checks.

Steps for Testing

Prerequisites:

Test that everything works as expected when opening code editor and repositories for programming exercises without start or release date

Testserver States

Note

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Green = Currently available, Red = Currently locked

Review Progress

Performance Review

• I (as a reviewer) confirm that the client changes (in particular related to REST calls and UI responsiveness) are implemented with a very good performance
• I (as a reviewer) confirm that the server changes (in particular related to database calls) are implemented with a very good performance

Code Review

• Code Review 1
• Code Review 2

Manual Tests

• Test 1
• Test 2

Exam Mode Test

• Test 1
• Test 2

Test Coverage

Screenshots

Summary by CodeRabbit

• Bug Fixes
  • Adjusted access control logic for students to participate in programming exercises, ensuring they can only access the exercises after the start date.
• Tests
  • Updated programming exercise participation tests to include a releaseDate parameter, enhancing the accuracy of test scenarios.

[coderabbitai]

Walkthrough

The update focuses on refining the access control logic within a specific method to ensure students can only access participations in programming exercises based on the current time and the exercise start date. This adjustment enhances the precision of access control, aligning access permissions more closely with the timing of the exercise.

Changes

File Path	Change Summary
.../web/rest/ProgrammingExerciseParticipationResource.java	Modified access control logic in hasAccessToParticipationElseThrow to consider exercise start date and current time.
.../exercise/programmingexercise/ProgrammingExerciseParticipationIntegrationTest.java	Added releaseDate parameter to test methods and updated test logic accordingly.

Related issues

• Issue Programming exercises with deadline extension wrongfully displayed in 'Past' section #7678: The changes in this PR might indirectly address the issue by refining access control, which could impact how exercises are displayed as Current or Past, especially if the logic is related to exercise start times and individual due dates.
• Issue Exam: Divide the Testing Process into Steps #6621: Although the primary focus is different, the emphasis on timing and access control in this PR could potentially intersect with the objectives of ensuring proper exercise configuration and access before and after exams.
• Issue Programming Exercise: Changing the short name while importing breaks tests #7188: This PR's focus on access control based on exercise start dates does not directly address the issue of the test.json file breaking due to changes in exercise short names during import.

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[pzdr7]

Tested on TS3.

• As a student, I can open the code editor and repository of a programming exercise even when it has no release date and no start date.
• Just to be sure, I tested it in an exam as well and encountered no problems.

-> Works as expected!

[b-fein]

Code changes look good

[laurenzfb]

code lgtm

[rstief]

Code looks good