posit-dev / posit-dev/positron

poor ergonomics for "Show Traceback" for long tracebacks

Open
#3,496 1 comment 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

Nobody has claimed this yet.

lang: r usability
Dominant language
TypeScript
Stars
4.3k
Forks
184
Avg merge
1d 11h
Merged PRs (30d)
206

Description

I accidentally clicked "Show Traceback" on a recursive error, giving me quite of bit output.

https://github.com/posit-dev/positron/assets/14034784/685b1516-5ca3-4eae-9964-b110d00d19f5

To reproduce, run the following code in the R console.

f <- function(x) {
  f(x)
}

f(1)

I can't put my finger on it, but it didn't feel good. there is a "Hide Traceback" button but it can be annoying to get back to if you loose it as it is on the top of the output.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

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 running the recursive example in the R console and inspecting the Show Traceback and Hide Traceback controls shown in the issue. Trace how the traceback output and its controls behave when the output is long, then define an interaction that keeps the hide control reachable and verify it with the same reproduction.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
r
Domain
frontend
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

Get new issues in your inbox

A short digest of beginner-friendly GitHub issues.