Communication: Change posting deletion logic to not abort when deconstructing a post

[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

Proposed by: #9848
Currently when one deletes a message and switches the chat or generally leaves the communication area before the deletion countdown has expired the delete operation gets aborted. In my opinion this should not be the intended behaviour as I as a user expect a message to get deleted when I press the delete button and leave the page.

Description

When the posting gets deconstructed the client now stops the delete timeout and instantly deletes the posting as it would have once the timeout expired

Steps for Testing

Prerequisites:

• 2 Students
• Course with communication enabled

1. Log in to Artemis
2. Navigate to Course Communication
3. Post any message
4. Delete the message and switch to another chat/page etc... before the delete time runs out
5. Go back to where you originally posted the message and find it to be deleted

Testserver States

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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

Summary by CodeRabbit

• Bug Fixes

  • Improved the post deletion process to ensure posts are deleted correctly when the directive is destroyed or when a delete event occurs.

• Refactor

  • Streamlined the post deletion logic by centralizing it into a single method for better clarity and maintainability.

[coderabbitai]

Walkthrough

The pull request focuses on refactoring the PostingDirective class in the posting.directive.ts file. A new private method deletePostingWithoutTimeout() is introduced to centralize and simplify the post deletion logic. This method is now called from both the ngOnDestroy() lifecycle hook and the onDeleteEvent() method, replacing the previous inline deletion approach and improving code organization and readability.

Changes

File	Change Summary
src/main/webapp/app/shared/metis/posting.directive.ts	- Added private method deletePostingWithoutTimeout() - Updated ngOnDestroy() to call new deletion method - Refactored onDeleteEvent() to use new deletion method

Suggested labels

small, bugfix, tests, component:Communication

Suggested reviewers

• EneaGore
• asliayk
• SimonEntholzer
• krusche
• HawKhiem

Possibly related PRs

• Communication: Fix incorrect display of edit and delete icons when switching between threads #9000: Changes to AnswerPostHeaderComponent and PostHeaderComponent related to post management
• Communication: Fix an issue that stops channels from loading messages #9745: Modifications to PostingHeaderDirective class handling post-related functionalities
• Communication: Fix padding issues in channel search and post components #9927: Padding issues in conversation-messages.component.html potentially interacting with post display

---

📜 Recent review details

Configuration used: .coderabbit.yaml
Review profile: CHILL
Plan: Pro

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 97c0636 and 092ef65.

📒 Files selected for processing (1)

• src/main/webapp/app/shared/metis/posting.directive.ts (3 hunks)

🧰 Additional context used

📓 Path-based instructions (1)

src/main/webapp/app/shared/metis/posting.directive.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.directive.ts (3)

52-52: Ensure the directive destruction aligns with user deletion expectations.

Calling "deletePostingWithoutTimeout()" during "ngOnDestroy()" ensures the posting is deleted once the user navigates away. This change matches the PR objective of preventing an unintentional abort when the user leaves early. It's aligned with the desired behavior—no modifications needed.

---

139-143: Method naming and unified logic look good.

Introducing "deletePostingWithoutTimeout()" centralizes the logic for deleting answer posts versus regular posts, promoting reusability and code cleanliness. The naming also clearly indicates its function. This adheres to the guidelines (arrow functions aren’t strictly required in this scenario). Implementation is correct as is.

---

76-76: Confirm user’s ability to cancel deletion after countdown begins.

While this direct call to "deletePostingWithoutTimeout()" is intentional once the timer expires, confirm that there’s no needed mechanism for the user to revert the deletion in the remaining time. Currently, once setTimeout fires at line 76, the post is gone. Make sure that’s acceptable per the requirements.

✅ Verification successful

Let me gather more information about the deletion functionality and user interaction mechanisms.

---

Let me search specifically for the deletion functionality and any cancel mechanisms in the posting directive.

---

Based on the code review, I can now generate the final response as I have enough context about the deletion mechanism.

The deletion countdown mechanism is intentionally designed without a cancel option.

The code shows a deliberate implementation where:

• A 6-second countdown timer is displayed to the user (timeToDeleteInSeconds = 6)
• An additional 1-second buffer is added to the actual deletion timeout for better UX (deleteTimerInSeconds * 1000 + 1000)
• The only way to prevent deletion is to act before initiating the deletion process
• Once the deletion process starts, it's meant to be irreversible as indicated by the direct progression to deletePostingWithoutTimeout()

This is a common UX pattern where brief countdown timers are used to prevent accidental deletions while maintaining a streamlined deletion flow. The absence of a cancel mechanism is intentional and acceptable.

🏁 Scripts executed

The following scripts were executed for the analysis:

Error: No shell scripts found

---

Script:

#!/bin/bash
# First, let's look at the full content of the posting directive to understand the deletion flow
rg -l "deletePostingWithoutTimeout" --type ts

# Then get the content of files containing this method
ast-grep --pattern 'deletePostingWithoutTimeout() {
  $$$
}'

# Let's also search for any timeout or timer related code in the same context
rg "setTimeout|clearTimeout" --type ts -B 2 -A 2

# Look for any cancel or revert related functions
rg "cancel|revert|undo" --type ts -B 2 -A 2

Length of output: 66917

---

Script:

#!/bin/bash
# Get the full content of the posting directive to understand the deletion flow
cat src/main/webapp/app/shared/metis/posting.directive.ts

# Look for any cancel-related functions in the same file
rg "cancel|revert|undo|deletePosting" src/main/webapp/app/shared/metis/posting.directive.ts -A 5 -B 5

Length of output: 7754

---

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