[development] node_load() oddness

[Brian Vuyk]

Can anyone think of a situation where a node_load() contained in a 
function returns partial results when the function is called from a 
batch script?

I have a simple function that I am calling the from a batch API script 
that processes through a bunch of nodes to fix filepaths in certain 
migrated content. I've begun experiencing a strange issue while testing 
it; I've boiled it down to the following test case:

<?php

function migration_fix_photos($nid) {
   $node = node_load($nid);
   dpm($node);
   drupal_set_message('NID is ' . $nid);
}
?>

When I call this function with a given NID from a batch script, on some 
runs, the $node object returned by $node_load is only partially loaded - 
it has 3 of the 10-12 CCK fields the node should contain, also, 
$node->title, $node->nid, $node->uid and $node->type are missing from 
the object, among other portions.

The behavior changes between runs of the batch script. I can run a 
testing run, and only get partially loaded nodes. I can re-run the batch 
script, and they are fully loaded. Note that this changes per-run of the 
batch script, not per-call of the function. That is, when the batch 
script operates on 2000 nodes, the partial node_load() will or will not 
happen for all 2000 times the above function is run. I could run the 
batch script again, and get perfectly normal results for all 2000 nodes 
next time.

If I call the above function directly, it shows correct results every 
time. This only happens when called from a batch script. Note that the 
$nid argument is always shown as correct (tested with the 
drupal_set_message() call).

Does anyone have any ideas why this is happening? I have tried using 
Xdebug, but I can't determine how to attach onto the background AJAX  
requests the browser is making.