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

`rails db:seed` failed (NameError due to heredoc interpolation)

Context: I ran the generated seed script which populated Learning records from LEARNINGS.md. The error occurred processing an entry whose body contained the literal text params[:tag]. The default heredoc syntax (<<~BODY) attempted Ruby interpolation (#{...}) on this text, causing NameError: undefined local variable or method 'params' for main:Object.
Resolution: I changed the heredoc definition for the problematic entry in db/seeds.rb from <<~BODY to <<~'BODY' (note the single quotes). This prevents interpolation within that specific string, treating it literally.
Learning: I learned to be cautious when using interpolating heredocs (<<~DELIMITER) in seed files or scripts if the source text might contain #{}, ${}, or similar sequences that could be misinterpreted as code interpolation. Use non-interpolating heredocs (<<~'DELIMITER') or escape the relevant characters (\#{}) within the string if interpolation is needed elsewhere but not for specific literals.

Tags: seeds database ruby heredoc interpolation error debugging workflow

Learned on: April 20, 2024 Edit

Learnings

Seeded text displayed raw HTML & unstyled backticks

`rails db:seed` failed (NameError due to heredoc interpolation)