Automate checking all blocks needed for each exercise are available in that exercise

[gregdyke]

(needs to be a better way to technically do it!)

[illicitonion]

Greg would like this to be automatic

[sansaid]

1. Scan through exercises in ./exercises directory
2. Look for blocks by scanning for text in the format `<TEXT>` block and generating the associated JSON for that block
3. This then needs to go into the exercise block that's associated with that exercise

Some things to think about:

• This could be more easily done with React - speak to Ali about doing this from his branch
• This feels like it should be part of the task Mitch is doing - check with Mitch that this won't clash with his work
• Look into how we can use more sophisticated tagging in the markdown to ensure that the blocks in there get added to the HTML (e.g. see if we can comment in markdown)

[sansaid]

Something for later, but markdown ignores HTML comments and doesn't render them. Maybe we can wrap the code blocks in something like <!--block_include-->TEXT<!--block_include--> so that we can parse it more easily.

[gregdyke]

FWIW, I had expected we would work on the code generated from the markdown, rather than on the input to the markdown.

[gregdyke]

1. Scan through exercises in ./exercises directory

I think this task can be completely decoupled from how the exercises get enumerated in the first place. We can assume it gets plugged in just above wherever the exercise components get created (currently they are called "BlocklyEditor")

2. Look for blocks by scanning for text in the format ``  `<TEXT>` block `` and generating the [associated JSON](https://developers.google.com/blockly/guides/configure/web/toolbox) for that block

as mentioned in my previous comment, I would not necessarily work from the markdown, though @40thieves would be relevant. Would you expect to generate html from markdown inside the component for a single exercise, or before? (the parsing needs to happen before because of the cumulativeness across exercises)

3. This then needs to go into the exercise block that's associated with that exercise

And this should happen cumulatively

so if exercise 1 mentions blocks A, B, C
and exercise 2 mentions blocks B and D, then the toolbox for exercise 2 should have A, B, C, D

--

Additionally, we should consider when a XXXX Menu is mentioned - that it should potentially pull in the whole menu (relevant for the Variables and Functions Menus in particular)

And that at some point, certain blocks get added in "quietly"

[sansaid]

It looks like we'll be continuing work off the react branch, so will frame the problem from that perspective.

[sansaid]

Some challenges to bear in mind:

• From markdown, need to figure out the category of the block (maybe we should create a map for predefined "blocks", assuming their names are unique across categories)

Observations:

• Code is in the client folder inside react branch

Next steps:

• Create an iterable function that produces a component of LessonMarkdowns which also contains the toolbox for each lesson
• Raise a PR against main branch to POC the predefined list of blocks map

[sansaid]

Had a chat with @40thieves and @gregdyke about what approach to take - approach is summarised in this Google doc.