Use simple styles for code blocks in Native platforms

[fabioh8010]

Explanation of Change

This PR fixes code block misalignments in native platforms by simplifying the stylings for these platforms. For a follow-up we will work in a proper fix for it inside react-native.

Fixed Issues

$ #53458
PROPOSAL: #53458 (comment)

Tests

For Android/iOS

1. Go to any chat.
2. Send a message that contains inline code blocks and emojis e.g. Lorem ipsum `dolor 🚀` sit amet, con`s``e`ctetur `adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt` ut labore et dolore `magna` ali`q`u`a`. 🚀
3. Assert a different font and background are being applied to the code blocks and they are properly aligned with the normal text.
4. Go to Settings and switch the Theme.
5. Go to the chat again and assert it's using the corresponding styles from that theme.

For the other Platforms

1. Go to any chat.
2. Send a message that contains inline code blocks and emojis e.g. Lorem ipsum `dolor 🚀` sit amet, con`s``e`ctetur `adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt` ut labore et dolore `magna` ali`q`u`a`. 🚀
3. Assert the same code block stylings as we have today are being used and they are properly aligned with the normal text.
4. Go to Settings and switch the Theme.
5. Go to the chat again and assert it's using the corresponding styles from that Theme.

• Verify that no errors appear in the JS console

Offline tests

Same as Tests.

QA Steps

Same as Tests.

• Verify that no errors appear in the JS console

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)
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    • If any non-english text was added/modified, I used JaimeGPT to get English > Spanish translation. I then posted it in #expensify-open-source and it was approved by an internal Expensify engineer. Link to Slack message:
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  • 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 either coming verbatim from figma or has been approved by marketing (in order to get marketing approval, ask the Bug Zero team member to add the Waiting for copy label to the issue)
  • 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.
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• If a new code pattern is added I verified it was agreed to be used by multiple Expensify engineers
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• 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)
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• I verified any variables that can be defined as constants (ie. in CONST.ts 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)
• 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.
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• 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.
• I added unit tests for any new feature or bug fix in this PR to help automatically prevent regressions in this user flow.
• 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

Screen.Recording.2025-02-18.at.18.45.09-compressed.mov

Android: mWeb Chrome

Screen.Recording.2025-02-18.at.18.50.46-compressed.mov

iOS: Native

Screen.Recording.2025-02-18.at.19.04.51-compressed.mov

iOS: mWeb Safari

Screen.Recording.2025-02-18.at.19.08.04-compressed.mov

MacOS: Chrome / Safari

Screen.Recording.2025-02-18.at.19.09.15-compressed.mov

Screen.Recording.2025-02-18.at.19.10.22-compressed.mov

MacOS: Desktop

Screen.Recording.2025-02-18.at.19.13.16-compressed.mov

[melvin-bot]

@allgandalf 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]

[shawnborton]

Will trigger a test build for us, cc @Expensify/design

[allgandalf]

@shawnborton can you trigger a build please

[shawnborton]

Oops sorry about that, I had forgotten the label. Trying again now!

[github-actions]

🚧 @shawnborton has triggered a test build. You can view the workflow run here.

[shawnborton]

Probably need to merge main on this one?

[fabioh8010]

working on it – will prepare the PR for review and add screenshots/test steps

[fabioh8010]

@shawnborton @allgandalf PR is ready for complete review.

[github-actions]

🚧 @shawnborton has triggered a test build. You can view the workflow run here.

[shawnborton]

I triggered a new test build, let's see what happens.

In the meantime, @fabioh8010 one thing I notice here is that it feels like the text sits far down within the highlighted area:

Meaning, it feels like there is more BG color above the text than below it. Anything we can do to adjust that? Does the inline code have the same line height as the other text (20px)?

[github-actions]

🧪🧪 Use the links below to test this adhoc build on Android, iOS, Desktop, and Web. Happy testing! 🧪🧪

Android 🤖	iOS 🍎
https://ad-hoc-expensify-cash.s3.amazonaws.com/android/56924/index.html	❌ FAILED ❌
	The QR code can't be generated, because the iOS build failed
Desktop 💻	Web 🕸️
https://ad-hoc-expensify-cash.s3.amazonaws.com/desktop/56924/NewExpensify.dmg	https://56924.pr-testing.expensify.com

---

👀 View the workflow run that generated this build 👀

[shawnborton]

Dang, I think all iOS adhoc builds have been busted today... might want to check in the open source room to see what is going on there.

[fabioh8010]

I triggered a new test build, let's see what happens.

In the meantime, @fabioh8010 one thing I notice here is that it feels like the text sits far down within the highlighted area:

Meaning, it feels like there is more BG color above the text than below it. Anything we can do to adjust that? Does the inline code have the same line height as the other text (20px)?

@shawnborton These are the styles that are being passed to the code block Text in native:

 (NOBRIDGE) LOG  boxModelStyle {"backgroundColor": "#072419", "borderBottomColor": "#1A3D32", "borderBottomLeftRadius": 5, "borderBottomRightRadius": 5, "borderBottomWidth": 1, "borderLeftColor": "#1A3D32", "borderLeftWidth": 1, "borderRightColor": "#1A3D32", "borderRightWidth": 1, "borderTopColor": "#1A3D32", "borderTopLeftRadius": 5, "borderTopRightRadius": 5, "borderTopWidth": 1, "paddingLeft": 5, "paddingRight": 5}
 (NOBRIDGE) LOG  textStyle {"color": "#E7ECE9", "fontFamily": "Expensify Mono", "fontSize": 13, "fontStyle": "normal", "fontWeight": "400", "lineHeight": 20, "writingDirection": "ltr"}

As you can see line height is 20px. I think this impression you had is because of the different font we use for inline code blocks (Expensify Mono). Check out the difference if I remove this font in native.

With Expensify Mono font	With normal font

[shawnborton]

Hmm are you sure? Doesn't it feel like there is much more space about the d in the first line compared to the second line where it feels like there is much more space above it?

You can see they aren't the same:

Can you look into that for us?

[fabioh8010]

@shawnborton Ok, now I understand what you are mentioning, I'm going to have a look today!

[fabioh8010]

@shawnborton The problem seems to happen when you have emojis inside the code blocks.

It will happen even if I remove all styles from the code block Text components. I think it's some internal problem caused by the nested Text components used to render the code blocks.

Unfortunately I couldn't find the root cause yet. Do you think this is a blocker for now or we can proceed with this fix?

[shawnborton]

Hmm I think we can proceed, but let's definitely keep investigating and see if we can solve it.

[allgandalf]

@fabioh8010 is this ready for final review ?

[fabioh8010]

@allgandalf Yes

[allgandalf]

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 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 either coming verbatim from figma or has been approved by marketing (in order to get marketing approval, ask the Bug Zero team member to add the Waiting for copy label to the issue)
  • 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.ts 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 */
  • The file is named correctly
  • The component has a clear name that is non-ambiguous and the purpose of the component can be inferred from the name alone
  • The only data being stored in the state is data necessary for rendering and nothing else
  • For Class Components, any internal methods passed to components event handlers are bound to this properly so there are no scoping issues (i.e. for onClick={this.submit} the method this.submit should be bound to this in the constructor)
  • Any internal methods bound to this are necessary to be bound (i.e. avoid this.submit = this.submit.bind(this); if this.submit is never passed to a component event handler like onClick)
  • All JSX used for rendering exists in the render method
  • The component has the minimum amount of code necessary for its purpose, and it is broken down into smaller components in order to separate concerns and functions
• 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 UI (e.g. new buttons, new UI components, changing the padding/spacing/sizing, moving components, etc) or modifies the form input styles:
  • I verified that all the inputs inside a form are aligned with each other.
  • I added Design label and/or tagged @Expensify/design 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.
• For any bug fix or new feature in this PR, I verified that sufficient unit tests are included to prevent regressions in this flow.
• 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

Screen.Recording.2025-02-26.at.2.19.36.PM.mov

MacOS: Desktop

[allgandalf]

This PR:

This PR

hey guys, do you approve this styling on light mode? the background for the code block is a bit lighter in the current PR, confirming this before approving

[fabioh8010]

@allgandalf The background color should be the same as before, I didn't change them in my PR. I think they look lighter because we don't have the borders anymore.

[allgandalf]

ahh, now that you point it out, yes, it makes sense!

[allgandalf]

Simplified!!!, thanks for the hard work @fabioh8010

[grgia]

Changes LGTM, @shawnborton do you want to do a final pass?

[shawnborton]

All good on my end. And then do we have follow up GHs in place to make sure we don't lose track of progress here? Seems like we still want to investigate a few things regarding emoji line heights, as well as borders.

[fabioh8010]

All good on my end. And then do we have follow up GHs in place to make sure we don't lose track of progress here? Seems like we still want to investigate a few things regarding emoji line heights, as well as borders.

I think we can create a follow-up issue to proceed directly to investigate the correct fix in the native side?

[shawnborton]

Works for me!

[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.

[github-actions]

🚀 Deployed to staging by https://github.com/grgia in version: 9.1.7-1 🚀

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