xref: /plugin/annotations/DESIGN.md (revision 9fd890c3d28899ac6132f5f0d76a031cc5c27f1a)
1# Annotations Plugin — Design & Architecture
2
3A developer reference for the annotations plugin. For installation and end-user
4behaviour see [README.md](README.md); for the wider review/environment
5conventions see `CLAUDE.md` in the plugins root.
6
7## Concept
8
9Word- and sentence-level annotations on wiki pages, in the spirit of
10Hypothes.is and `ep_comments_page`:
11
12- **Out-of-band.** Annotations live in a separate per-page JSON file, never in
13  the page text or the wiki changelog. Creating one needs only `AUTH_READ`, so
14  a group whose page *edit* access is blocked can still annotate.
15- **Text-quote anchored.** Each annotation is tied to the quoted text plus a
16  little surrounding context, not to a character position, so it survives minor
17  edits and is re-found in the rendered DOM on each page load.
18- **Threaded.** Annotations carry replies, and a reply may itself reply to
19  another reply (each records a `parentId`), so a discussion nests into a tree.
20  Open/resolved status lives at the annotation level.
21- **Orphan-aware.** When the quoted text disappears from the page the annotation
22  becomes an *orphan* — still stored, surfaced through a counter, and bulk-
23  removable by an admin.
24
25## Components
26
27| File | Owns |
28|------|------|
29| `plugin.info.txt` | Manifest: name, author, version date, description, repository URL. |
30| `helper.php` | The per-page store, all CRUD, server-side orphan detection, and the **permission rules as the single source of truth**. Pure logic — permission methods take facts (user, admin flag, ACL level) as parameters and read no globals. |
31| `action.php` | Event registration; injecting the page payload into `JSINFO`; the AJAX endpoint and **permission enforcement** (gathers facts from DokuWiki globals, calls the helper). |
32| `admin.php` | Admin-only wiki-wide overview (**Admin → Annotations**): lists annotated pages with normal/orphaned counts; per-page and wiki-wide "clear orphaned". Reuses the `lastseen`/`usersettings` sortable + filterable + paginated table machinery. |
33| `script.js` | All front-end behaviour: boot/gate, load + re-anchor, highlights, gutter markers, counter, selection→new-annotation flow, thread panels, and AJAX. Plain IIFE, vanilla JS. |
34| `style.css` | Styling via DokuWiki theme tokens (`__background__`, `__text__`, …). The amber (open) / green (resolved) highlight hues come from the `--ann-open-rgb` / `--ann-resolved-rgb` custom properties that `action.php` injects from config (with `:root` fallbacks here). |
35| `lang/<iso>/lang.php` | The usersettings toggle label/description (PHP side) plus the front-end UI strings under `$lang['js']`, exposed to `script.js` as `LANG.plugins.annotations`. Ships `en`, `de`, `ru`, `ja`. |
36
37Documentation lives in [`README.md`](README.md) (end users) and this file
38(developers); the licence is in `LICENSE` (GPL 2).
39
40## Data model & storage
41
42One pretty-printed JSON file per page at `metaFN($id, '.annotations')`
43(`data/meta/<namespace>/<page>.annotations`):
44
45```json
46{
47  "version": 1,
48  "annotations": [
49    {
50      "id": "a1b2c3d4e5f6g7h8",
51      "anchor": { "exact": "...", "prefix": "...", "suffix": "...", "start": 123 },
52      "author": "alice",
53      "created": 1716336000,
54      "modified": 1716336000,
55      "body": "Does this cover remuxes?",
56      "status": "open",
57      "resolved_by": "",
58      "resolved_at": 0,
59      "replies": [
60        {
61          "id": "x1y2z3a4b5c6d7e8",
62          "parentId": "",
63          "author": "bob",
64          "created": 1716336100,
65          "modified": 1716336100,
66          "body": "Yes, remuxes count."
67        }
68      ]
69    }
70  ]
71}
72```
73
74Replies are stored as a **flat** list; `parentId` (empty for a top-level reply,
75otherwise the id of the reply being answered) lets the client rebuild the nested
76thread (`buildReplyTree`). The `reply`, `edit_reply` and `delete_reply` actions
77return the **full updated annotation**, so the panel re-renders the whole thread
78in a single round-trip.
79
80Limits and identifiers: `SCHEMA_VERSION = 1` and `MAX_QUOTE = 1000` are
81`helper.php` constants; the context-slice length and body cap are now config
82(`context_length`, `body_cap`, defaulting to 64 and 10000 via the
83`DEFAULT_CONTEXT` / `DEFAULT_BODY` fallbacks). IDs are
84`bin2hex(random_bytes(8))` — 16 hex chars. Writes go through `io_lock()` →
85modify → `io_saveFile()` → `io_unlock()` (the `mutate()` helper); a modifier
86returning `false` aborts the write (used for "target not found").
87
88## Text-quote anchoring
89
90An anchor is `{exact, prefix, suffix, start}`:
91
92- `exact` — the selected text, whitespace-normalised (runs collapsed to one
93  space, trimmed). The same normalisation is applied on capture (JS), on
94  storage (PHP), and on matching, so client and server agree.
95- `prefix` / `suffix` — context on each side to disambiguate a quote that
96  appears more than once. Client captures ~30 chars; server caps at 64.
97- `start` — a character-offset hint into the page text, used only as a
98  tie-breaker.
99
100**Re-anchoring (client, `locate` + `buildRange`)**: collect the content text
101with a `TreeWalker`, normalise it once with `normalizeWithMap` — which returns
102the normalised string **and** a normalised→raw index map built in lockstep (they
103must share the same trimming, or every highlight shifts by a character) — search
104for the normalised `exact`, disambiguate repeats with `prefix`/`suffix`,
105tie-break with the `start` hint, then map the chosen offset back to a DOM `Range`
106and wrap it in a highlight `<span>`. All matches are located first and wrapped
107last-to-first, so wrapping (which splits text nodes) never disturbs a
108not-yet-wrapped offset. A quote that cannot be located is an orphan (no
109highlight, no gutter marker).
110
111## Orphan detection (two layers)
112
113- **Client (live UI).** Anything `findRange` cannot anchor on page load is
114  counted as orphaned; the count feeds the counter bar, and the orphaned link
115  opens a drawer at the bottom of the content area with those threads.
116- **Server (authoritative, `findOrphaned`).** For the admin "clear orphaned"
117  action the page is rendered with `p_wiki_xhtml`, block-closing tags are turned
118  into spaces, tags/entities are stripped, whitespace normalised, and each
119  annotation's `exact` is searched with `mb_strpos`. This re-check is the source
120  of truth for deletion, so a stale client can't cause data loss.
121
122## Admin overview (`admin.php`)
123
124`admin_plugin_annotations` (**Admin → Annotations**, admin-only) is the wiki-wide companion to
125the per-page counter-bar buttons: it lists every annotated page with its **Normal** (present)
126and **Orphaned** counts and offers a per-page and a wiki-wide "clear orphaned".
127
128- **Enumeration.** `helper::getAnnotatedPages()` runs DokuWiki's `search()` over
129  `$conf['metadir']` with the `searchAnnotations` callback, which maps every `*.annotations`
130  file back to a page id via `pathID()` (and drops files left empty after all their annotations
131  were deleted). Counts come from `helper::pageCounts($id)`, which renders the page once
132  (`getPageText`) and applies the shared `quoteMissing()` rule — the same rule `findOrphaned()`
133  uses, so "Normal" on the overview means exactly "not orphaned".
134- **Cost.** Detecting orphans requires rendering each annotated page; because the overview sorts
135  and filters on the counts, every annotated page is processed per load. `p_wiki_xhtml` is
136  render-cached, so steady-state cost is low; the first load after edits re-renders.
137- **Table.** Reuses the JS-free sortable-header + per-column-filter + numbered-pager pattern from
138  `lastseen`/`usersettings`. Only the Page column is filterable (matching title **or** id); the
139  count columns and the actions column are not. The `entries_per_page` config controls paging.
140- **Clearing.** Both clears are POST forms guarded by `checkSecurityToken()` and
141  `helper::canClear(auth_isadmin())`, with Post/Redirect/Get back to the same view. To avoid an
142  illegal nested `<form>` (the table sits inside the GET filter form), the two POST forms are
143  rendered as siblings *after* it and the buttons reach them via the HTML5 `form=` attribute; the
144  per-row button supplies its page id through `name="clearpage"` (**not** `page`, which selects the
145  admin component). `clearOrphanedAll()` loops the annotated pages applying the per-page
146  `clearOrphaned()`, so the authoritative re-check runs for each. Destructive buttons confirm via
147  an inline `onclick` (the message is `json_encode`d then `hsc`d, safe at both the JS-string and
148  attribute layers).
149
150## JSINFO injection (important gotcha)
151
152`script.js` needs per-page facts at boot without an extra round-trip, but you
153**cannot** add them by writing `$JSINFO` inside `TPL_METAHEADER_OUTPUT`:
154`tpl_metaheaders()` calls `jsinfo()` and serialises `$JSINFO` into the inline
155`var JSINFO = …;` script **before** firing that event. Instead `handleMetaHeader`
156finds that inline `<script>` in `$event->data['script']` and appends a
157`JSINFO.annotations = {…};` statement so it runs in the same scope. Injection is
158gated to `show` / `export_xhtml` views.
159
160Payload: `{ enabled, pageId, stats, user, isAdmin, token, annotations? }`.
161`user`, `isAdmin` and `token` are included because stock `JSINFO` exposes no
162user identity and no security token — the script reads them from
163`JSINFO.annotations`, not from `JSINFO.userinfo` (which does not exist) or the
164`#dw__token` field. UI strings are **not** in this payload: they travel through
165DokuWiki's per-plugin JS lang bundle, `LANG.plugins.annotations`, built from
166`$lang['js']`.
167
168The optional `annotations` key carries the page's **full annotation list**, so
169`script.js` renders on boot with no `load` round-trip (that AJAX call re-boots
170DokuWiki — ~300 ms — only to re-read this same file). `handleMetaHeader` reads
171the list once and derives `stats` from it via `helper::statsFor()` rather than
172re-reading through `getStats()`. The key is omitted when the feature is off for
173the user, or when the serialized list exceeds the `embed_max_bytes` config
174(default 128 KB; `DEFAULT_EMBED_MAX_BYTES` is the fallback) — in
175which case `script.js` falls back to the `load` endpoint. Because the inline
176`JSINFO` script is regenerated every request (it is not in the parser page
177cache), the embedded list is always current.
178
179## Per-user toggle
180
181Registered with the **usersettings** plugin via `PLUGIN_USERSETTINGS_REGISTER`
182(key `annotations_enabled`, checkbox, default on). `isEnabledForUser()` reads the
183preference through the usersettings helper; if that plugin is absent, or the
184toggle has not been registered yet, the feature defaults to **on**. When a user
185turns it off, `boot()` returns early and nothing is rendered (annotations are
186still stored).
187
188## Permission model
189
190The rules live in `helper.php` and are pure; `action.php` gathers the facts and
191calls them. `isAdmin` is DokuWiki's `auth_isadmin()` (superuser / admin group).
192
193| Action | Rule (helper method) |
194|--------|----------------------|
195| Create annotation / reply / resolve / reopen | logged in **and** `AUTH_READ` on the page — *not* `AUTH_EDIT` (`canAnnotate`) |
196| Edit / delete own annotation | author (`canEditAnnotation`) |
197| Edit / delete own reply | author (`canEditReply`) |
198| Edit / delete **any** annotation or reply | admin (`canEditAnnotation` / `canEditReply`) |
199| Clear resolved / clear orphaned (per page) | admin (`canClear`) |
200| Load (read) annotations | `AUTH_READ` on the page |
201
202## Security
203
204- **CSRF.** Every state-changing action requires a valid DokuWiki security
205  token. The token is injected into `JSINFO.annotations.token` and sent back as
206  `sectok` in the JSON body. `handleAjax` reads it from the parsed body and
207  passes it straight to `checkSecurityToken($token)`. The read-only `load`
208  action is exempt (GET, no token) but still ACL-checked.
209- **ACL.** `auth_quickaclcheck($id)` gates both reading and writing.
210- **Output.** Bodies are stored as plain text (newlines kept, length-capped) and
211  rendered client-side via `textContent`, so user content is never interpolated
212  as HTML.
213
214## AJAX endpoint
215
216`…/lib/exe/ajax.php?call=annotations` (handled on `AJAX_CALL_UNKNOWN`). The
217`load` action is a GET with query params; everything else is `POST` with an
218`application/json` body. Every response is `{ "success": true, … }` or
219`{ "success": false, "error": "…" }`. `load` is now only a **fallback** for the
220inline-embedded list (see JSINFO injection above); the mutating actions are the
221hot path.
222
223| Action | Method | Token | Extra fields |
224|--------|--------|-------|--------------|
225| `load` | GET | — | — |
226| `create` | POST | ✓ | `anchor`, `body` |
227| `reply` | POST | ✓ | `annId`, `body` |
228| `edit_annotation` | POST | ✓ | `annId`, `body` |
229| `edit_reply` | POST | ✓ | `annId`, `replyId`, `body` |
230| `delete_annotation` | POST | ✓ | `annId` |
231| `delete_reply` | POST | ✓ | `annId`, `replyId` |
232| `resolve` | POST | ✓ | `annId`, `status` (`open`\|`resolved`) |
233| `clear_resolved` | POST | ✓ | — |
234| `clear_orphaned` | POST | ✓ | — |
235
236All actions also take the page `id`.
237
238## Constraints
239
240- **JS/CSS floor: Firefox 78 ESR.** No `#private` fields, `??=`/`||=`/`&&=`,
241  `Array.at`, `structuredClone`, `Object.hasOwn`, native `<dialog>`; no CSS
242  `:has()`, selector `:not()`, `aspect-ratio`, container queries, or nesting.
243  `async`/`await`, `fetch`, classes, `?.`, `??`, `Map`/`Set` are fine.
244- **PHP:** developed against 8.3; requires the `mbstring` extension.
245
246## Resolved (kept here for history)
247
248- **UI localisation — done.** Front-end strings live under `$lang['js']` and are
249  read in `script.js` via `LANG.plugins.annotations`, each with an English
250  fallback (the `t()` / `fmt()` helpers). `toggle_label` / `toggle_desc` stay
251  PHP-side (`getLang`).
252- **Translations — done.** `en`, `de`, `ru`, `ja` ship, all carrying the same
253  `$lang['js']` keys.
254- **Tests — done.** `_test/` has `GeneralTest` (manifest + the
255  `default.php`↔`metadata.php` invariant) and `HelperTest` (permission rules,
256  CRUD, input cleaning, `findOrphaned` against a rendered page). Run:
257  `composer run test -- --group plugin_annotations`.
258- **Cleanup — done.** The unused `ann-highlight-orphaned` constant is gone, and
259  the panel sets `data-status` so the resolved accent in `style.css` applies.
260- **Config — done.** `conf/default.php` + `conf/metadata.php` expose
261  `color_open`, `color_resolved`, `embed_max_bytes`, `context_length` and
262  `body_cap` (labels in `lang/<iso>/settings.php`). The two colours are injected
263  as CSS custom properties (`--ann-open-rgb` / `--ann-resolved-rgb`) by
264  `action.php::injectColourVars()`; `style.css` derives every opacity variant
265  from them and ships `:root` fallbacks. `GeneralTest::testPluginConf` enforces
266  the `default.php`↔`metadata.php` invariant.
267