NetLogo / NetLogo/Galapagos

Simplify correcting widget code errors

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Beak widgets
Dominant language
CoffeeScript
Stars
65
Forks
47
PR merge metrics
No merged PRs in 30d

Description

The current state of NetLogo Web is that widgets with compiler errors (sliders, monitors, and buttons) will display with red highlighting and when clicked will display a popup that shows the compiler error. This functionality was added before NLW had authoring. The user then has to enter authoring mode and right-click or double-click the widget to edit it and correct the problem with no indication in the editor window what the error was.

A better future state would be to popup the authoring window for the widget when it is clicked with the compiler error given clearly at the top so the user can correct it.

For plots, they currently don't obey the "indicate an error, popup the error message" behavior. Instead they popup the error when the model recompile happens and then on each subsequent full-model recompile. The plot also doesn't show an indicator of the error (red text, etc), it's just a blank "New Plot" area that cannot be clicked on.

Contributor guide

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First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by tracing how compiler errors are displayed for sliders, monitors, buttons, and plots, including the authoring-window and full-model recompile paths. Done means clicking an errored widget opens its authoring view with the compiler error clearly shown, while plots visibly indicate errors and follow the same interaction behavior.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
coffeescript
Domain
frontend
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
38/100

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