eclipse-theia/theia

[preferences][enhancement] Provide a better error message when the user/workspace file is not a valid JSON

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#7,138 opened on Feb 12, 2020

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enhancementhelp wantedpreferences

Description

Description

Reproduction Steps

  • Manually edit one of the settings.json file. Make it an invalid JSON.
  • Restart the frontend app.

User error: Screen Shot 2020-02-12 at 10 06 27

The user might not know what the user_storage:settings.json means.

Error in the browser console:

root ERROR Failed to update the value of workbench.iconTheme. Error: Can not add index to parent of type property
log @ logger-protocol.ts:112
(anonymous) @ logger-frontend-module.ts:41
(anonymous) @ logger.ts:312
(anonymous) @ logger.ts:304
Promise.then (async)
../node_modules/@theia/core/lib/common/logger.js.Logger.log @ logger.ts:299
log @ logger.ts:45
(anonymous) @ abstract-resource-preference-provider.ts:116
step @ abstract-resource-preference-provider.ts:15
(anonymous) @ abstract-resource-preference-provider.ts:15
fulfilled @ abstract-resource-preference-provider.ts:15
Promise.then (async)
step @ abstract-resource-preference-provider.ts:15
fulfilled @ abstract-resource-preference-provider.ts:15
Promise.then (async)
step @ abstract-resource-preference-provider.ts:15
(anonymous) @ abstract-resource-preference-provider.ts:15
push.../node_modules/@theia/preferences/lib/browser/abstract-resource-preference-provider.js.__awaiter @ abstract-resource-preference-provider.ts:15
push.../node_modules/@theia/preferences/lib/browser/abstract-resource-preference-provider.js.AbstractResourcePreferenceProvider.setPreference @ abstract-resource-preference-provider.ts:89
(anonymous) @ preference-service.ts:260
step @ preference-service.ts:15
(anonymous) @ preference-service.ts:15
(anonymous) @ preference-service.ts:15
../node_modules/@theia/core/lib/browser/preferences/preference-service.js.__awaiter @ preference-service.ts:15
../node_modules/@theia/core/lib/browser/preferences/preference-service.js.PreferenceServiceImpl.set @ preference-service.ts:251
../node_modules/@theia/core/lib/browser/common-frontend-contribution.js.CommonFrontendContribution.updateThemePreference @ common-frontend-contribution.ts:315
(anonymous) @ common-frontend-contribution.ts:297
(anonymous) @ event.ts:117
../node_modules/@theia/core/lib/common/event.js.CallbackList.invoke @ event.ts:125
../node_modules/@theia/core/lib/common/event.js.Emitter.fire @ event.ts:217
set @ icon-theme-service.ts:172
../node_modules/@theia/core/lib/browser/icon-theme-contribution.js.DefaultFileIconThemeContribution.registerIconThemes @ icon-theme-contribution.ts:56
(anonymous) @ icon-theme-contribution.ts:40
step @ icon-theme-contribution.ts:15
(anonymous) @ icon-theme-contribution.ts:15
(anonymous) @ icon-theme-contribution.ts:15
../node_modules/@theia/core/lib/browser/icon-theme-contribution.js.__awaiter @ icon-theme-contribution.ts:15
../node_modules/@theia/core/lib/browser/icon-theme-contribution.js.IconThemeApplicationContribution.onStart @ icon-theme-contribution.ts:38
(anonymous) @ frontend-application.ts:335
(anonymous) @ frontend-application.ts:365
step @ frontend-application.ts:15
(anonymous) @ frontend-application.ts:15
(anonymous) @ frontend-application.ts:15
../node_modules/@theia/core/lib/browser/frontend-application.js.__awaiter @ frontend-application.ts:15
../node_modules/@theia/core/lib/browser/frontend-application.js.FrontendApplication.measure @ frontend-application.ts:361
(anonymous) @ frontend-application.ts:334
step @ frontend-application.ts:15
(anonymous) @ frontend-application.ts:15
step @ frontend-application.ts:15
(anonymous) @ frontend-application.ts:15
fulfilled @ frontend-application.ts:15
Promise.then (async)
step @ frontend-application.ts:15
(anonymous) @ frontend-application.ts:15
../node_modules/@theia/core/lib/browser/frontend-application.js.__awaiter @ frontend-application.ts:15
../node_modules/@theia/core/lib/browser/frontend-application.js.FrontendApplication.startContributions @ frontend-application.ts:302
(anonymous) @ frontend-application.ts:123
step @ frontend-application.ts:15
(anonymous) @ frontend-application.ts:15
(anonymous) @ frontend-application.ts:15
../node_modules/@theia/core/lib/browser/frontend-application.js.__awaiter @ frontend-application.ts:15
../node_modules/@theia/core/lib/browser/frontend-application.js.FrontendApplication.start @ frontend-application.ts:122
start @ index.js:38
Promise.then (async)
./src-gen/frontend/index.js @ index.js:76
__webpack_require__ @ bootstrap:63
(anonymous) @ bootstrap:198
(anonymous) @ bootstrap:198
Show 18 more frames
preference-service.ts:263 Uncaught (in promise) Error: Unable to write to Default Settings.
    at PreferenceServiceImpl.<anonymous> (preference-service.ts:263)
    at step (preference-service.ts:15)
    at Object.next (preference-service.ts:15)
    at fulfilled (preference-service.ts:15)

OS and Theia version:

Diagnostics:

Contributor guide

Tech stack
typescript
Domain
frontenddeveloper experience
Issue type
feature
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
2
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-3 hours
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
stale
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
clear
Prerequisites
TypeScriptTheia basicsJSON parsingError handling
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
80
Research direction
The issue is about improving error messages when user/workspace settings.json is invalid. Currently, a cryptic error is thrown. Look in theia/packages/preferences/src/browser/abstract resource preference provider.ts where JSON parsing occurs. The preference service catches errors but shows a generic message. Modify the error handling in abstract resource preference provider.ts to catch JSON parse errors and display a user friendly message like 'Your settings.json is not valid JSON'. Also consider updating error messages in preference service.ts. The stack trace in the issue shows the flow. Ensure the new error message is informative and guides the user to fix the file.