[Audit][Implementation] Replace localeCompare with static Collator implementation

[kacper-mikolajczak]

Details

This is a follow-up PR to original localeCompare improvements: #36592 (comment)

Fixed Issues

$ #36592 (comment)
PROPOSAL: #35234 (comment)

Tests

In case of this PR, there are many places where function is being replaced. If reviewer who is way more experienced with app could help identifying critical steps that need to be checked to prevent regressions. As a reference, I am pasting the list of steps from original PR:

1. Open app
2. Use English as preferred language
3. Open report
4. Write a message
5. See if LHN ordering is correct (chat with draft is ordered correctly)
6. Change to Spanish and repeat the steps
7. Verify that the ordering matches main too (use pinned, drafts, archived)

In the recordings section, videos posted shows a few user behaviours to check if app works correctly

Offline tests

QA Steps

In case of this PR, there are many places where function is being replaced. If reviewer who is way more experienced with app could help identifying critical steps that need to be checked to prevent regressions. As a reference, I am pasting the list of steps from original PR:

1. Open app
2. Use English as preferred language
3. Open report
4. Write a message
5. See if LHN ordering is correct (chat with draft is ordered correctly)
6. Change to Spanish and repeat the steps
7. Verify that the ordering matches main too (use pinned, drafts, archived)

PR Author Checklist

• I linked the correct issue in the ### Fixed Issues section above
• I wrote clear testing steps that cover the changes made in this PR
  • I added steps for local testing in the Tests section
  • I added steps for the expected offline behavior in the Offline steps section
  • I added steps for Staging and/or Production testing in the QA steps section
  • I added steps to cover failure scenarios (i.e. verify an input displays the correct error message if the entered data is not correct)
  • I turned off my network connection and tested it while offline to ensure it matches the expected behavior (i.e. verify the default avatar icon is displayed if app is offline)
  • I tested this PR with a High Traffic account against the staging or production API to ensure there are no regressions (e.g. long loading states that impact usability).
• I included screenshots or videos for tests on all platforms
• I ran the tests on all platforms & verified they passed on:
  • Android: Native
  • Android: mWeb Chrome
  • iOS: Native
  • iOS: mWeb Safari
  • MacOS: Chrome / Safari
  • MacOS: Desktop
• I verified there are no console errors (if there's a console error not related to the PR, report it or open an issue for it to be fixed)
• I followed proper code patterns (see Reviewing the code)
  • I verified that any callback methods that were added or modified are named for what the method does and never what callback they handle (i.e. toggleReport and not onIconClick)
  • I verified that the left part of a conditional rendering a React component is a boolean and NOT a string, e.g. myBool && <MyComponent />.
  • I verified that comments were added to code that is not self explanatory
  • I verified that any new or modified comments were clear, correct English, and explained "why" the code was doing something instead of only explaining "what" the code was doing.
  • I verified any copy / text shown in the product is localized by adding it to src/languages/* files and using the translation method
    • If any non-english text was added/modified, I verified the translation was requested/reviewed in #expensify-open-source and it was approved by an internal Expensify engineer. Link to Slack message:
  • I verified all numbers, amounts, dates and phone numbers shown in the product are using the localization methods
  • I verified any copy / text that was added to the app is grammatically correct in English. It adheres to proper capitalization guidelines (note: only the first word of header/labels should be capitalized), and is approved by marketing by adding the Waiting for Copy label for a copy review on the original GH to get the correct copy.
  • I verified proper file naming conventions were followed for any new files or renamed files. All non-platform specific files are named after what they export and are not named "index.js". All platform-specific files are named for the platform the code supports as outlined in the README.
  • I verified the JSDocs style guidelines (in STYLE.md) were followed
• If a new code pattern is added I verified it was agreed to be used by multiple Expensify engineers
• I followed the guidelines as stated in the Review Guidelines
• I tested other components that can be impacted by my changes (i.e. if the PR modifies a shared library or component like Avatar, I verified the components using Avatar are working as expected)
• I verified all code is DRY (the PR doesn't include any logic written more than once, with the exception of tests)
• I verified any variables that can be defined as constants (ie. in CONST.js or at the top of the file that uses the constant) are defined as such
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• If any new file was added I verified that:
  • The file has a description of what it does and/or why is needed at the top of the file if the code is not self explanatory
• If a new CSS style is added I verified that:
  • A similar style doesn't already exist
  • The style can't be created with an existing StyleUtils function (i.e. StyleUtils.getBackgroundAndBorderStyle(theme.componentBG))
• If the PR modifies code that runs when editing or sending messages, I tested and verified there is no unexpected behavior for all supported markdown - URLs, single line code, code blocks, quotes, headings, bold, strikethrough, and italic.
• If the PR modifies a generic component, I tested and verified that those changes do not break usages of that component in the rest of the App (i.e. if a shared library or component like Avatar is modified, I verified that Avatar is working as expected in all cases)
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  • I verified that all the inputs inside a form are aligned with each other.
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• If the main branch was merged into this PR after a review, I tested again and verified the outcome was still expected according to the Test steps.

Screenshots/Videos

Android: Native

Android: mWeb Chrome

mandroid.mp4

iOS: Native

iOS: mWeb Safari

mios.mp4

MacOS: Chrome / Safari

web.mp4

MacOS: Desktop

desktop.mp4

[kacper-mikolajczak]

@mountiny here is a PR that contains replacement of all localeCompare usages. When it comes to anti-regression behaviour, it might be more beneficial to test custom implementation of localeCompare thoroughly, than all of its usages.

[mountiny]

@kacper-mikolajczak could you dig around if there is some comparison already made online? these two seems like commonly used options so I assume there might be someone who already compared them.

[kacper-mikolajczak]

Based on MDN reference for localeCompare, it uses Intl.Collator under the hood if possible:

In implementations with Intl.Collator API support, this method simply calls Intl.Collator.

Also, the docs suggests to use the solution introduced in original PR:

When comparing large numbers of strings, such as in sorting large arrays, it is better to create an Intl.Collator object and use the function provided by its compare() method.

With general compatibility provided by internal APIs, we should focus on ensuring that our custom usage is tested and works as expected. Thus the tests that are checking if we provide (and update to) correct locale are the ones we are looking for.

From the external usage standpoint, it is good to have anti-regression tests that ensures the API (in this case arguments and returning values of the function) are aligned with internal API.

Additionally, I am posting a few sites that compare Intl.Collator and localeCompare:

• performance benchmark
• why we need correct locale when comparing strings
• how Hermes engine tests Intl
• Hermes Android localeCompare implementation (seemingly familiar to ours)

Let me know if that answers your concerns, @mountiny 👍

[kacper-mikolajczak]

For now, we spawn new collator for different locales, but the options stay static:

const COLLATOR_OPTIONS: Intl.CollatorOptions = {usage: 'sort', sensitivity: 'base'};

What might be worth to consider, is to let developers customise the options as well.

Pros:

• conforms to original native API
• can cover edge-cases where different options are needed

Cons:

• this will lead to more collators being spawned (in current solution collator changes only when app's language is changed)

It is not must-have thing, but can be discussed as an extension for future 👍

[mountiny]

@kacper-mikolajczak thank you very much, I think this addressed my concerns! I think we dont have to do much more in this case given the Intl.Collator is used under the hood

It is not must-have thing, but can be discussed as an extension for future 👍

I agree we dont have to worry about this now

[kacper-mikolajczak]

Great! In that case I am filling out the PR requirements 👍

[melvin-bot]

@techievivek Please copy/paste the Reviewer Checklist from here into a new comment on this PR and complete it. If you have the K2 extension, you can simply click: [this button]

[kacper-mikolajczak]

@mountiny PR ready to be reviewed 👍

[kacper-mikolajczak]

Hi @techievivek 👋 Is there any way I can help you with the review?

[mountiny]

Reviewer Checklist

• I have verified the author checklist is complete (all boxes are checked off).
• I verified the correct issue is linked in the ### Fixed Issues section above
• I verified testing steps are clear and they cover the changes made in this PR
  • I verified the steps for local testing are in the Tests section
  • I verified the steps for Staging and/or Production testing are in the QA steps section
  • I verified the steps cover any possible failure scenarios (i.e. verify an input displays the correct error message if the entered data is not correct)
  • I turned off my network connection and tested it while offline to ensure it matches the expected behavior (i.e. verify the default avatar icon is displayed if app is offline)
• I checked that screenshots or videos are included for tests on all platforms
• I included screenshots or videos for tests on all platforms
• I verified tests pass on all platforms & I tested again on:
  • Android: Native
  • Android: mWeb Chrome
  • iOS: Native
  • iOS: mWeb Safari
  • MacOS: Chrome / Safari
  • MacOS: Desktop
• If there are any errors in the console that are unrelated to this PR, I either fixed them (preferred) or linked to where I reported them in Slack
• I verified proper code patterns were followed (see Reviewing the code)
  • I verified that any callback methods that were added or modified are named for what the method does and never what callback they handle (i.e. toggleReport and not onIconClick).
  • I verified that the left part of a conditional rendering a React component is a boolean and NOT a string, e.g. myBool && <MyComponent />.
  • I verified that comments were added to code that is not self explanatory
  • I verified that any new or modified comments were clear, correct English, and explained "why" the code was doing something instead of only explaining "what" the code was doing.
  • I verified any copy / text shown in the product is localized by adding it to src/languages/* files and using the translation method
  • I verified all numbers, amounts, dates and phone numbers shown in the product are using the localization methods
  • I verified any copy / text that was added to the app is grammatically correct in English. It adheres to proper capitalization guidelines (note: only the first word of header/labels should be capitalized), and is approved by marketing by adding the Waiting for Copy label for a copy review on the original GH to get the correct copy.
  • I verified proper file naming conventions were followed for any new files or renamed files. All non-platform specific files are named after what they export and are not named "index.js". All platform-specific files are named for the platform the code supports as outlined in the README.
  • I verified the JSDocs style guidelines (in STYLE.md) were followed
• If a new code pattern is added I verified it was agreed to be used by multiple Expensify engineers
• I verified that this PR follows the guidelines as stated in the Review Guidelines
• I verified other components that can be impacted by these changes have been tested, and I retested again (i.e. if the PR modifies a shared library or component like Avatar, I verified the components using Avatar have been tested & I retested again)
• I verified all code is DRY (the PR doesn't include any logic written more than once, with the exception of tests)
• I verified any variables that can be defined as constants (ie. in CONST.js or at the top of the file that uses the constant) are defined as such
• If a new component is created I verified that:
  • A similar component doesn't exist in the codebase
  • All props are defined accurately and each prop has a /** comment above it */
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• If any new file was added I verified that:
  • The file has a description of what it does and/or why is needed at the top of the file if the code is not self explanatory
• If a new CSS style is added I verified that:
  • A similar style doesn't already exist
  • The style can't be created with an existing StyleUtils function (i.e. StyleUtils.getBackgroundAndBorderStyle(theme.componentBG)
• If the PR modifies code that runs when editing or sending messages, I tested and verified there is no unexpected behavior for all supported markdown - URLs, single line code, code blocks, quotes, headings, bold, strikethrough, and italic.
• If the PR modifies a generic component, I tested and verified that those changes do not break usages of that component in the rest of the App (i.e. if a shared library or component like Avatar is modified, I verified that Avatar is working as expected in all cases)
• If the PR modifies a component related to any of the existing Storybook stories, I tested and verified all stories for that component are still working as expected.
• If the PR modifies a component or page that can be accessed by a direct deeplink, I verified that the code functions as expected when the deeplink is used - from a logged in and logged out account.
• If the PR modifies the form input styles:
  • I verified that all the inputs inside a form are aligned with each other.
  • I added Design label so the design team can review the changes.
• If a new page is added, I verified it's using the ScrollView component to make it scrollable when more elements are added to the page.
• If the main branch was merged into this PR after a review, I tested again and verified the outcome was still expected according to the Test steps.
• I have checked off every checkbox in the PR reviewer checklist, including those that don't apply to this PR.

Screenshots/Videos

Android: Native

Android: mWeb Chrome

iOS: Native

iOS: mWeb Safari

MacOS: Chrome / Safari

MacOS: Desktop

[mountiny]

Changes looks good to me. We have confirmed that the methods are behaving the same and added tests in this PR #36879

[mountiny]

I will go ahead with the merge as Vivek wont be online today I think

[OSBotify]

✋ This PR was not deployed to staging yet because QA is ongoing. It will be automatically deployed to staging after the next production release.

[OSBotify]

🚀 Deployed to staging by https://github.com/mountiny in version: 1.4.44-0 🚀

platform	result
🤖 android 🤖	success ✅
🖥 desktop 🖥	success ✅
🍎 iOS 🍎	success ✅
🕸 web 🕸	success ✅

[OSBotify]

🚀 Deployed to production by https://github.com/puneetlath in version: 1.4.44-13 🚀

platform	result
🤖 android 🤖	success ✅
🖥 desktop 🖥	success ✅
🍎 iOS 🍎	success ✅
🕸 web 🕸	success ✅