Til Tracker

Seeded text displayed raw HTML & unstyled backticks

Context: The format_learning_body helper used sanitize: false to preserve <strong> tags, but this also allowed other raw HTML from the source text (like <input>) to render. Backticks (`) were preserved but had no special styling.
Resolution: I modified the format_learning_body helper:
1. Escape all HTML first (ERB::Util.html_escape).
2. Bold keywords (<strong>) on escaped string.
3. Wrap backticked content () with <code>` tags on bolded string.
4. Apply simple_format(..., sanitize: false) last.
5. Added CSS for code tag.
Learning: When displaying potentially unsafe text that also needs specific safe HTML formatting, I learned the order matters: Escape first, then selectively add safe tags, then apply structural formatting (like simple_format with sanitize: false).

Tags: seeds formatting view helper html css escaping sanitization code bold frontend debugging

Learned on: April 20, 2024 Edit

Request spec failures (`StaticPages` 404s)

Context: My request specs failed: StaticPages GET /... returns http success failed with Expected response to be a <2XX: success>, but was a <404: Not Found>. This occurred for /home, /hire_me, /about specs in spec/requests/static_pages_spec.rb. The specs were using hardcoded string paths (e.g., get "/static_pages/home") that didn't match the actual routes defined in config/routes.rb.
Resolution: I updated the specs to use the correct Rails path helpers (get root_path, get hire_me_path, get about_path) defined by config/routes.rb.
Learning: I learned to always use Rails path helpers (e.g., root_path, learnings_path, hire_me_path) in request/system specs instead of hardcoding URL strings. This ensures tests remain accurate even if routes change and avoids simple 404 errors. Using rails routes helps check available helpers.

Tags: testing rails-core rspec request-spec routes path-helpers configuration

Learned on: April 14, 2024 Edit

Learnings

Seeded text displayed raw HTML & unstyled backticks

Request spec failures (`StaticPages` 404s)