Communication: Update thread when switching reply context

[badkeyy]

Checklist

General

• I tested all changes and their related features with all corresponding user types on a test server.
• This is a small issue that I tested locally and was confirmed by another developer on a test server.
• Language: I followed the guidelines for inclusive, diversity-sensitive, and appreciative language.
• I chose a title conforming to the naming conventions for pull requests.

Client

• Important: I implemented the changes with a very good performance, prevented too many (unnecessary) REST calls and made sure the UI is responsive, even with large data (e.g. using paging).
• I strictly followed the principle of data economy for all client-server REST calls.
• I strictly followed the client coding and design guidelines.
• Following the theming guidelines, I specified colors only in the theming variable files and checked that the changes look consistent in both the light and the dark theme.
• I added multiple integration tests (Jest) related to the features (with a high test coverage), while following the test guidelines.
• I added authorities to all new routes and checked the course groups for displaying navigation elements (links, buttons).
• I documented the TypeScript code using JSDoc style.
• I added multiple screenshots/screencasts of my UI changes.
• I translated all newly inserted strings into English and German.

Motivation and Context

When using the “Show X Replies” button in the Communication section to open threads, switching between threads does not update the displayed chat text in the thread view. Instead, the chat text from the first opened thread remains visible, which can lead to confusion.
Fixes #9754 and #9803

Description

After many hours of debugging I found that a ngOnChanges lifecycle hook in PostingContentPartComponent was missing. I added the hook and it now the threads work as expected.

Steps for Testing

Prerequisites:

• 1 Instructor
• 1 Course with existing communications

1. Log in to Artemis
2. Navigate to Course Communication section
3. Click on “Show X Replies” to open a thread.
4. Switch to another thread using the same method.
5. Observe that the chat text in the thread view does update

Testserver States

Note

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Review Progress

Performance Review

• I (as a reviewer) confirm that the client changes (in particular related to REST calls and UI responsiveness) are implemented with a very good performance even for very large courses with more than 2000 students.
• I (as a reviewer) confirm that the server changes (in particular related to database calls) are implemented with a very good performance even for very large courses with more than 2000 students.

Code Review

• Code Review 1
• Code Review 2

Manual Tests

• Test 1
• Test 2

Exam Mode Test

• Test 1
• Test 2

Performance Tests

• Test 1
• Test 2

Screenshots

Summary by CodeRabbit

• New Features
  • Enhanced the Posting Content component to dynamically respond to changes in input properties, ensuring content is updated accordingly.
• Bug Fixes
  • Improved the initialization process of the Posting Content component for better handling of dynamic updates.

[coderabbitai]

Walkthrough

The pull request modifies the PostingContentPartComponent in the Artemis web application to improve its handling of dynamic content updates. The changes involve implementing the OnChanges lifecycle hook alongside the existing OnInit interface. This allows the component to react to changes in the postingContentPart input property after the initial component initialization, ensuring that the content is processed whenever the input changes.

Changes

File	Change Summary
src/main/webapp/app/shared/metis/posting-content/posting-content-part/posting-content-part.components.ts	- Added OnChanges to component implementation - Added ngOnChanges method to handle input changes - Updated ngOnInit method signature to explicitly return void

Assessment against linked issues

Objective	Addressed	Explanation
Thread view message update [#9754]	✅

Possibly related PRs

• Communication: Fix incorrect display of edit and delete icons when switching between threads #9000: Similar ngOnChanges implementation in AnswerPostHeaderComponent
• Communication: Fix user interface reload on channel selection #9464: Related to loading state management
• Communication: Fix element height in announcement channel #9664: Dynamic handling of input properties
• Communication: Fix scrolling error for long messages #9997: Managing component state and scrolling

Suggested labels

tests, client, small, bugfix, component:Communication, ready to merge

Suggested reviewers

• EneaGore
• asliayk
• JohannesStoehr
• SimonEntholzer
• krusche

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[coderabbitai]

Actionable comments posted: 0

🧹 Nitpick comments (1)

src/main/webapp/app/shared/metis/posting-content/posting-content-part/posting-content-part.components.ts (1)

63-67: Add a JSDoc comment for ngOnChanges
Other lifecycle methods include doc comments. Consider adding a short doc comment describing the purpose of this method for consistency and clarity.

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Configuration used: .coderabbit.yaml
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📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 97c0636 and dd884af.

📒 Files selected for processing (1)

• src/main/webapp/app/shared/metis/posting-content/posting-content-part/posting-content-part.components.ts (3 hunks)

🧰 Additional context used

📓 Path-based instructions (1)

src/main/webapp/app/shared/metis/posting-content/posting-content-part/posting-content-part.components.ts (1)

Pattern src/main/webapp/**/*.ts: angular_style:https://angular.io/guide/styleguide;methods_in_html:false;lazy_loading:true;code_reuse:true;tests:meaningful;types:PascalCase;enums:PascalCase;funcs:camelCase;props:camelCase;no_priv_prefix:true;strings:single_quotes;localize:true;btns:functionality;links:navigation;icons_text:newline;labels:associate;code_style:arrow_funcs,curly_braces,open_braces_same_line,indent_4;memory_leak_prevention:true;routes:naming_schema;chart_framework:ngx-charts;responsive_layout:true

🔇 Additional comments (3)

src/main/webapp/app/shared/metis/posting-content/posting-content-part/posting-content-part.components.ts (3)

1-1: Imports are consistent with Angular style guidelines
The additional imports for OnChanges and SimpleChanges are appropriate and correctly placed.

---

30-30: Good practice to leverage both OnChanges and OnInit
Implementing OnChanges ensures re-initialization logic runs whenever the input changes, enhancing responsiveness. No further changes required here.

---

59-59: Method signature specifies a return type
Declaring ': void' explicitly aligns with the Angular style guide, making the method’s intent clearer.

[github-actions]

There hasn't been any activity on this pull request recently. Therefore, this pull request has been automatically marked as stale and will be closed if no further activity occurs within seven days. Thank you for your contributions.

[vinceclifford]

Tested on TS6, works as expected.

[cremertim]

It seems like the behaviour is still flaky, i can still reproduce the error on ts1. See video from @PaRangger

[PaRangger]

Hey! Thanks for looking into the issues! When I am testing on TS1, the content of the first message still stays the same, when switching between threads (see gif).

Edit: From what I saw in other PRs, it might help to update the component from @Inputs to input signals, and then using effect() instead of ngOnChanges. That might increase reactivity and would then also help in the Angular 19 migration 😄

[FelberMartin]

Can confirm the issue. Just tested the changes on TS1, and the issue seems to persist. Tested on both Firefox and Chrome

[badkeyy]

Closed in favour of #10122