Syntax validation of Automation's Mustache Expressions?

[Martin Cleaver]

When debugging an Automation that uses a complex expression, the single-line dialog boxes are difficult to work with.

The dialog box is too small (expressions can be multiline), doesn't provide syntax highlighting, and can't give immediate feedback to me the user if there is a simple mismatch of parenthesis or braces. Or if sections are not properly nested.

IntelliJ Community Edition has a Handlebars/Mustache - IntelliJ IDEs Plugin that can do this. So I find myself pasting between IntelliJ and Automation. 

But even that does not work well as the plugin refuses to accept:

• issue.Custom Field Name - doesn't like spaces, with or without double quotes
• close of debug {{/}} ({/debug} is okay) 

And this workaround doesn't see the JQL... such that it cannot ensure that the parenthesis are balanced. Not ideal.

Has someone got another suggestion to make debugging easier on the eyes? Ideally for DC... though I appreciate that is a long ask.

The code is at intellij-plugins/handlebars at master · JetBrains/intellij-plugins · GitHub if someone wants to take it upon themself to adapt it.

Thanks,

   Martin.

[Bill Sheboy]

Hi @Martin Cleaver 

I added this suggestion to improve automation rule validation, and sadly it has moved to the dreaded "Future Consideration" status: https://jira.atlassian.com/browse/JSWCLOUD-22692

For complex smart values and JSON, I write them initially in tools like Notepad++ so I can use the syntax highlighting and bracket matching.  Then I save snips of things I use often to reduce errors before pasting into rules for testing.

Kind regards,
Bill

[Martin Cleaver]

Hey Bill.

Are there particular plug-ins you use in Notepad++? 

I use the JSON ones - is there something for JQL or Mustache?

Kind regards & thanks,

Martin

[Bill Sheboy]

I am currently only using the JSON ones.  Probably worth some searches for JQL and others support, so I'll look around a bit.

[Martin Cleaver]

I did discover that spullara/mustache.java: Implementation of mustache.js for Java (github.com) is the library used by Jira Automation on DC.