[PAID] [$1000] Markdown - ~~~hello~~~ is inconsistent with other markdown like ***hello***

[lanitochka17]

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Action Performed:

Precondition: Logged into the Expensify App

1. Open any chat between 2 people
2. Tap the message field
3. Type hello and tap the enter key on the mobile keyboard
4. Type ~~~hello~~~ and tap the send icon

Expected Result:

Strikethrough should cross the word "hello" only

Actual Result:

Strikethrough crosses the word "hello" and other characters

Workaround:

Unknown

Platforms:

Which of our officially supported platforms is this issue occurring on?

• Android / native
• Android / Chrome
• iOS / native
• iOS / Safari
• MacOS / Chrome / Safari
• MacOS / Desktop

Version Number: 1.3.56-2

Reproducible in staging?: Yes

Reproducible in production?: Yes

If this was caught during regression testing, add the test name, ID and link from TestRail:

Email or phone of affected tester (no customers):

Logs: https://stackoverflow.com/c/expensify/questions/4856

Notes/Photos/Videos: Any additional supporting documentation

Bug6173398_inconsistent_markdown.mp4

Expensify/Expensify Issue URL:

Issue reported by: Applause - Internal Team

Slack conversation:

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• Upwork Job URL: https://www.upwork.com/jobs/~01f3068ef97b3f01cd
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• Last Price Increase: 2023-08-30
• Automatic offers:
• akamefi202 | Contributor | 26421098

[melvin-bot]

Triggered auto assignment to @strepanier03 (Bug), see https://stackoverflow.com/c/expensify/questions/14418 for more details.

[melvin-bot]

Bug0 Triage Checklist (Main S/O)

• This "bug" occurs on a supported platform (ensure Platforms in OP are ✅)
• This bug is not a duplicate report (check E/App issues and #expensify-bugs)
  • If it is, comment with a link to the original report, close the issue and add any novel details to the original issue instead
• This bug is reproducible using the reproduction steps in the OP. S/O
  • If the reproduction steps are clear and you're unable to reproduce the bug, check with the reporter and QA first, then close the issue.
  • If the reproduction steps aren't clear and you determine the correct steps, please update the OP.
• This issue is filled out as thoroughly and clearly as possible
  • Pay special attention to the title, results, platforms where the bug occurs, and if the bug happens on staging/production.
• I have reviewed and subscribed to the linked Slack conversation to ensure Slack/Github stay in sync

[akamefi202]

Proposal

Please re-state the problem that we are trying to solve in this issue.

Strikethrough markdown(~~~hello~~~) doesn't cross the word "hello" only.

What is the root cause of that problem?

I think the problem is replace regex of strikethrough markdown in expensify-common repo.

/\B~((?=\S)((~~(?!~)|[^\s~]|\s(?!~))+?))~\B(?![^<]*(<\/pre>|<\/code>|<\/a>))/g

https://github.com/Expensify/expensify-common/blob/7735de14112a968fd6a4f5af710d2fbaefc8809d/lib/ExpensiMark.js#L207-L209

There is ~~(?!~) part so <del> tag will include two ~ characters if the markdown contains multiple ~ characters before content text.

What changes do you think we should make in order to solve the problem?

We need to update the replace regex rule of strikethrough markdown by removing ~~(?!~) part.

/\B~((?=\S)(([^\s~]|\s(?!~))+?))~\B(?![^<]*(<\/pre>|<\/code>|<\/a>))/g

I tried jest test in expensify-common repo and confirmed that the updated regex won't regress previous issues.

What alternative solutions did you explore? (Optional)

N/A

[strepanier03]

Testing this now, was having an issue this morning with the Android app.

[strepanier03]

Following the steps as described I can easily recreate this on Android New Expensify app.

[melvin-bot]

Job added to Upwork: https://www.upwork.com/jobs/~01f3068ef97b3f01cd

[melvin-bot]

Current assignee @strepanier03 is eligible for the External assigner, not assigning anyone new.

[melvin-bot]

Triggered auto assignment to Contributor-plus team member for initial proposal review - @parasharrajat (External)

[Krishna2323]

Proposal

Please re-state the problem that we are trying to solve in this issue.

Strikethrough markdown(~~~hello~~~) doesn't cross the word "hello" only.

What is the root cause of that problem?

The problem is with the regex & the part of the regex causing the unexpected behavior is the ~~(?!~). In the given input ~~~text~~~, after the first tilde is matched, the regex finds two tildes not followed by another tilde, so it captures those two tildes as well as the word text. This is why we get the result with ~~text struck through and the trailing tildes remaining untouched.

https://github.com/Expensify/expensify-common/blob/7735de14112a968fd6a4f5af710d2fbaefc8809d/lib/ExpensiMark.js#L207-L209

What changes do you think we should make in order to solve the problem?

To modify the regex to strike through content only if there is one opening and one closing tilde, we just need to make a few adjustments:

/\B(?<!~)~((?=\S)([^\s~]|\s(?!~))+?)(?<!~)~(?!~)\B(?![^<]*(<\/pre>|<\/code>|<\/a>))/g

The only change is adding another (?<!~) before the second tilde to ensure that it's not immediately preceded by another tilde. This ensures that we only strike through content surrounded by single tildes on each side.

Slack like implementation:

We can update the regex to work only if there is only one tilde on both sides & ignore if there is more than one. Thats how slack also works.

What alternative solutions did you explore? (Optional)

We can also strike through text if there is one or two tilde on both sides.

Result (Slack like implementation)

bug_demo.mp4

[Krishna2323]

@strepanier03 @parasharrajat, can we confirm what is the expected result here.
I think we can just handle this like Slack does. proposal

[parasharrajat]

Will be checking it today...

[malaki12003]

Proposal
Please re-state the problem that we are trying to solve in this issue.
The existing functionality of the strikethrough markdown (~~~hello~~~) demonstrates a deficiency in effectively crossing out solely the word "hello." Our objective is to exclusively apply the strikethrough formatting to the text enclosed between the innermost pairs of tildes ('~').

What is the root cause of that problem?

The fundamental issue stems from the regular expression (regex) utilized within the expensify-common library, specifically the segment ~~(?!). Detecting two consecutive sequences of '' within this portion appears redundant. A more sensible approach would involve capturing the text between a single tilde and its subsequent counterpart, effectively encompassing the intended content.

What changes do you think we should make in order to solve the problem?

I suggest to use a simpler version of the regex and remove double ~ checking like the following:
\B~((?=\S)([^~]+?))~\B(?![^<]*(</pre>|</code>|</a>))

What alternative solutions did you explore? (Optional)

Similar to the approach used for bolding, I believe we could apply the same strategy, but instead of crossing out the text between the two innermost pairs of tildes, we would do it for the outermost pairs.

Result:

[melvin-bot]

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[malaki12003]

Contributor details
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Upwork Profile Link: https://www.upwork.com/freelancers/~014a16efe272767102

[melvin-bot]

✅ Contributor details stored successfully. Thank you for contributing to Expensify!

[parasharrajat]

@Krishna2323 Can you add more details about how will you solve this? I just see theory.

[parasharrajat]

@akamefi202's proposal looks good to me. Please make sure all tests pass and the pass issue does not pop up again.

🎀 👀 🎀 C+ reviewed

[melvin-bot]

Triggered auto assignment to @tylerkaraszewski, see https://stackoverflow.com/c/expensify/questions/7972 for more details.

[Krishna2323]

@parasharrajat, I updated my proposal, @akamefi202 proposal will fail in some cases. I think it's better to ignore multiple tilde because they might cause some issues, GitHub & Slack also does the same.
Test with: ~test ~test~~

bug_demo_proposal.mp4

[strepanier03]

@parasharrajat - Friendly bump on the proposal update you asked for from @Krishna2323. Thanks!

[melvin-bot]

Reviewing label has been removed, please complete the "BugZero Checklist".

[melvin-bot]

The solution for this issue has been 🚀 deployed to production 🚀 in version 1.3.68-17 and is now subject to a 7-day regression period 📆. Here is the list of pull requests that resolve this issue:

• Update strikethrough replace rule to fix multiple tilde error #27169

If no regressions arise, payment will be issued on 2023-09-20. 🎊

After the hold period is over and BZ checklist items are completed, please complete any of the applicable payments for this issue, and check them off once done.

• External issue reporter - N/A internal report
• Contributor that fixed the issue - @akamefi202 - $1000 + $500 (speed bonus) = $1500 (Upwork)
• Contributor+ that helped on the issue and/or PR - @parasharrajat - $1000 + $500 (speed bonus) = $1500 (MR)

For reference, here are some details about the assignees on this issue:

• @parasharrajat does not require payment (Eligible for Manual Requests)
• @akamefi202 requires payment offer (Contributor)

As a reminder, here are the bonuses/penalties that should be applied for any External issue:

• Merged PR within 3 business days of assignment - 50% bonus
• Merged PR more than 9 business days after assignment - 50% penalty

[melvin-bot]

BugZero Checklist: The PR fixing this issue has been merged! The following checklist (instructions) will need to be completed before the issue can be closed:

• [@parasharrajat] The PR that introduced the bug has been identified. Link to the PR: Markdown issue resolved expensify-common#461
• [@parasharrajat] The offending PR has been commented on, pointing out the bug it caused and why, so the author and reviewers can learn from the mistake. Link to comment: Markdown issue resolved expensify-common#461 (comment)
• [@parasharrajat] A discussion in #expensify-bugs has been started about whether any other steps should be taken (e.g. updating the PR review checklist) in order to catch this type of bug sooner. Link to discussion: N/A
• [@parasharrajat] Determine if we should create a regression test for this bug. = Yes
• [@parasharrajat] If we decide to create a regression test for the bug, please propose the regression test steps to ensure the same bug will not reach production again. = Yes
• [@strepanier03] Link the GH issue for creating/updating the regression test once above steps have been agreed upon: https://github.com/Expensify/Expensify/issues/318932

[akamefi202]

@parasharrajat Could you please close this issue if there isn't any problem?

[parasharrajat]

BugZero Checklist: The PR fixing this issue has been merged! The following checklist (instructions) will need to be completed before the issue can be closed:

• [@parasharrajat] The PR that introduced the bug has been identified. Link to the PR: Markdown issue resolved expensify-common#461

• [@parasharrajat] The offending PR has been commented on, pointing out the bug it caused and why, so the author and reviewers can learn from the mistake. Link to comment: Markdown issue resolved expensify-common#461 (comment)

• [@parasharrajat] A discussion in #expensify-bugs has been started about whether any other steps should be taken (e.g. updating the PR review checklist) in order to catch this type of bug sooner. Link to discussion: N/A

• [@parasharrajat] Determine if we should create a regression test for this bug. Yes

• [@parasharrajat] If we decide to create a regression test for the bug, please propose the regression test steps to ensure the same bug will not reach production again.

Regression Test Steps

1. Open any chat in the app.
2. Type ~~~hello~~~ and send the message.
3. Check if strikethrough crosses the word "hello" only and if it has two tilde characters before & after.
4. Type ~~~~ and send the message.
5. Observe that it is sent as normal text and message has same four ~.

Do you agree 👍 or 👎 ?

[jeet-dhandha]

@parasharrajat A suggestion - we should ask in slack channel on what more markdown issues / expectations are there and then include all those expectations as test cases in our regex tests.

[jeet-dhandha]

So that no more regex related bugs happen in future. And also we can ask for future/current regex requirements so that we can handle those in the regex and also add test cases related to it.

[parasharrajat]

I have already done that. I will ping the thread again.

[strepanier03]

Working on payment and regression test stuff now, will have an update shortly.

[strepanier03]

@parasharrajat - The bonus comment isn't taking into consideration the merge freeze. I don't want to deny the speed bonus if it should be eligible because the merge freeze wasn't accounted for.

With the merge freeze considered, should the bonus get paid here? It looks like it should from this PR.

[parasharrajat]

It is a little complicated. There are two PRs and the first PR was created for the e-common repo which was held for merge freeze. Thus we couldn't create a second PR before the merge freeze. The first PR was ready to merge within a day and the second one was created only to update the version.

Given this, I think it would have been merged within 3 days and thus should be applicable. @strepanier03

[strepanier03]

Thank you for weighing in @parasharrajat, I agree with your comments and that's the sense I got as well from viewing the two PRs.

I will move forward with finalizing this and appreciate your quick response.

I'll update once this is ready to close.

[strepanier03]

Payment summary

• External issue reporter - N/A internal report
• Contributor that fixed the issue - @akamefi202 - $1000 + $500 (speed bonus) = $1500 (Upwork)
• Contributor+ that helped on the issue and/or PR - @parasharrajat - $1000 + $500 (speed bonus) = $1500 (MR)

[strepanier03]

@parasharrajat - Please feel free to put in your Manual Request for payment and let me know when you do. I'll assign Jason at that point to do the payment.

@akamefi202 - You're paid out via Upwork and I closed the contract.

Thank you both for your work here and being part of the community.

[melvin-bot]

@tylerkaraszewski, @strepanier03, @parasharrajat, @akamefi202 Uh oh! This issue is overdue by 2 days. Don't forget to update your issues!

[parasharrajat]

Thanks @strepanier03 Feel free to close this, I can track payment in closed state.

[strepanier03]

Awesome, I'll assign Jason and close this out.

[strepanier03]

@JmillsExpensify - Payment summary here.

Request is submitted and I'm closing now. Cheers!

[parasharrajat]

Payment requested as per #25693 (comment)

[JmillsExpensify]

$1,500 payment approved for @parasharrajat based on BZ summary.