Prevent empty author links in Posts list tables

[faisal-alvi]

Trac ticket: https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/62913

Description:

This PR addresses an issue in the Posts List Table where posts without an assigned author display an empty author column. A similar fix is already applied to the Media List Table (#8271), but the issue also affects other list tables.

Changes Made

• Added a fallback text (— no author) when get_the_author() returns an empty string.
• Ensured get_the_author_meta( 'ID' ) is only used when get_the_author() is not empty, preventing invalid author links.
• Mirrors the approach taken in the Media List Table fix for consistency.

This aligns with feedback from @joedolson on https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/62913#comment:5, where he suggested extending the fix to all list tables, not just the Media List Table.

Testing Instructions

Check the comment below.

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This Pull Request is for code review only. Please keep all other discussion in the Trac ticket. Do not merge this Pull Request. See GitHub Pull Requests for Code Review in the Core Handbook for more details.

[github-actions]

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Props faisal03, audrasjb, sumitbagthariya16.

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[faisal-alvi]

Testing Instructions

1. Log in to the WordPress admin panel.
2. Navigate to Posts → Add New and create a new post.
3. Assign an existing user as the post’s author.
4. Publish the post.
5. Go to Posts → All Posts.
6. Verify that the Author column displays the correct author name.
7. Click on the author name and ensure it links to the correct author archive.
8. Create a new post and assign it to a test user.
9. Navigate to Users → All Users and delete the test user.
10. Choose the option that removes the user but keeps their posts OR use UPDATE wp_posts SET post_author = 0 WHERE post_type = 'post' LIMIT 1; query to reset the author.
11. Go to Posts → All Posts.
12. Verify that the Author column shows — no author instead of being empty.

[github-actions]

Test using WordPress Playground

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Test this pull request with WordPress Playground.

[qasumitbagthariya]

QA Test Report

I tested this PR using the following query to reset the author:

UPDATE wp_posts SET post_author = 0 WHERE post_type = 'post' LIMIT 1;

After running the query and removing the author from the post, I noticed that a dash (-) sign appears in place of the author name.

Before

After

Testing Environment

• WordPress: WordPress 6.8-beta1
• PHP: 8.2.
• Web Server: Nginx 1.20.2
• Browser: Chrome
• OS: macOS 15.2