Forum Home Forum Home > Site News, Newbies, Help and Improvements > Report bugs here
  New Posts New Posts RSS Feed - New very serious bug (UNICODE characters)
  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Events   Register Register  Login Login

New very serious bug (UNICODE characters)

 Post Reply Post Reply Page  12>
Author
Message
NotAProghead View Drop Down
Special Collaborator
Special Collaborator
Avatar
Errors & Omissions Team

Joined: October 22 2005
Location: Russia
Status: Offline
Points: 7852
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote NotAProghead Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: New very serious bug (UNICODE characters)
    Posted: May 12 2023 at 16:30
My teammate found a new and very serious bug.
If it will not be fixed a good amount of PA database will be sooner or later damaged - actually any album with special characters will be spoiled after editing, no matter from the album page or from Admin panel.

Step by step instruction how to reproduce the problem:
1. Choose any album in Admin panel and add the line with special characters:
2. Save changes, refresh the album page - changes look OK:
3. Choose the album in Admin panel once again - special characters turned to abracadabra:


Edited by NotAProghead - May 12 2023 at 17:00
Who are you and who am I to say we know the reason why... (D. Gilmour)
Back to Top
progaardvark View Drop Down
Collaborator
Collaborator
Avatar
Crossover/Symphonic/RPI Teams

Joined: June 14 2007
Location: Sea of Peas
Status: Online
Points: 51054
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote progaardvark Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 13 2023 at 11:23
This looks like a character encoding scheme error in whatever code the admin panel is using, or the code that sends the data back and forth from the database. Maybe it's trying to convert UTF-8 to ASCII or ISO 8859-1 or maybe something else? 

In the library world I work in, we used to have similar problems between MARC-8 and UTF-8, but that doesn't happen so much nowadays since most of our databases have been updated to handle the full Unicode character set.
----------
i'm shopping for a new oil-cured sinus bag
that's a happy bag of lettuce
this car smells like cartilage
nothing beats a good video about fractions
Back to Top
NotAProghead View Drop Down
Special Collaborator
Special Collaborator
Avatar
Errors & Omissions Team

Joined: October 22 2005
Location: Russia
Status: Offline
Points: 7852
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote NotAProghead Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 13 2023 at 13:49
^ Anyway nothing we can do w/out M@X. Bartek (Tuzvihar) already notified him via Facebook, hope it will be fixed.
Who are you and who am I to say we know the reason why... (D. Gilmour)
Back to Top
I prophesy disaster View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: December 31 2017
Location: Australia
Status: Offline
Points: 4779
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote I prophesy disaster Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 13 2023 at 14:46
I experienced something similar in a forum post not long ago. I was trying to use the word "Kobaia" but with a diaeresis over the "i". IIRC, the word displayed correctly initially but subsequently displayed a junk character upon returning to the post.
 
Also, I recently tried to post a link to the Wikipedia article "Bonini's paradox", in which "%27" is used in the address in place of "'". But even though I copied the link address from the address bar of the Wikipedia article page, the resulting link failed to point to the article (though the link did work as a link to something).
 

No, I know how to behave in the restaurant now, I don't tear at the meat with my hands. If I've become a man of the world somehow, that's not necessarily to say I'm a worldly man.
Back to Top
Hrychu View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: November 03 2013
Location: poland?
Status: Online
Points: 5358
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hrychu Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 19 2023 at 22:28
Any updates? Has this been fix'd?
“On the day of my creation, I fell in love with education. And overcoming all frustration, a teacher I became.”
— Ernest Vong
Back to Top
BaldFriede View Drop Down
Prog Reviewer
Prog Reviewer
Avatar

Joined: June 02 2005
Location: Germany
Status: Offline
Points: 10261
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BaldFriede Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 20 2023 at 03:47

Writing "Kobaďan" still works for me in threads.



Edited by BaldFriede - May 20 2023 at 03:48


BaldJean and I; I am the one in blue.
Back to Top
Logan View Drop Down
Forum & Site Admin Group
Forum & Site Admin Group
Avatar
Site Admin

Joined: April 05 2006
Location: Vancouver, BC
Status: Offline
Points: 35804
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Logan Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 20 2023 at 03:56
^ The forum has different architecture, provided by WebWiz, from the rest of the site. There are diacritics that work in forums that haven't in the database entries for bands and artists (and the rest of the site).

I read the problem that was being referred to went away: fixed, resolved....
Back to Top
projeKct View Drop Down
Special Collaborator
Special Collaborator
Avatar
Errors & Omissions Team

Joined: November 03 2013
Location: Canada
Status: Offline
Points: 2909
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote projeKct Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 20 2023 at 04:47
Yes, the problem is gone (for now). We were discussing it in the Collab Zone, sorry.

So this time (it's not the first time) it lasted a few days, almost a week... Shocked

And we don't know if it was repaired by M@X or just randomly gone... because we didn't have any word from him. Ermm


Edited by projeKct - May 20 2023 at 04:48
Back to Top
projeKct View Drop Down
Special Collaborator
Special Collaborator
Avatar
Errors & Omissions Team

Joined: November 03 2013
Location: Canada
Status: Offline
Points: 2909
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote projeKct Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 29 2023 at 18:58
... and, as you may have noticed, the problem is back again!

Since M@X seems unreachable, we have to find a solution by ourselves.

Here is what I suggest. We all know that editing directly from the album page is not a good idea, as some special characters are messed up. And now the same thing happens within the Admin panel.

So we have to:
1) copy all info from the album page to the Admin panel
2) then edit whatever we want
3) then click on Save
4) and it's always a good idea to check the results...
Back to Top
Hrychu View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: November 03 2013
Location: poland?
Status: Online
Points: 5358
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Hrychu Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 09 2023 at 22:26
Looks like it's fixed now! YAY!

“On the day of my creation, I fell in love with education. And overcoming all frustration, a teacher I became.”
— Ernest Vong
Back to Top
projeKct View Drop Down
Special Collaborator
Special Collaborator
Avatar
Errors & Omissions Team

Joined: November 03 2013
Location: Canada
Status: Offline
Points: 2909
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote projeKct Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 10 2023 at 06:00
^ No, it's not... Cry





... but it works if we follow these steps:
1) copy all info from the album page to the Admin panel
2) then edit whatever we want
3) then click on Save
4) and it's always a good idea to check the results...
Back to Top
Cristi View Drop Down
Special Collaborator
Special Collaborator
Avatar
Crossover / Prog Metal Teams

Joined: July 27 2006
Location: wonderland
Status: Online
Points: 43654
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Cristi Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 10 2023 at 06:07
Sometimes it works, sometimes it does not. 

Line-ups with names that have special characters - works most of the time (worked today, I added the albums of a Belgian band). It didn't work in the biography, which I had to edit and it worked the second time. 
Back to Top
Tapfret View Drop Down
Special Collaborator
Special Collaborator
Avatar
Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin

Joined: August 12 2007
Location: Bryant, Wa
Status: Offline
Points: 8581
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Tapfret Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 10 2023 at 08:31
Honestly, is this really a new thing? My experience is that from the earliest days of adding albums in both the main site loader and from the admin panel I have had to re-enter text because of character replacement. I learned early to copy/paste my text to achieve the desired format. It goes beyond "special characters". Sometimes a simple apostrophe results in a string of garbage characters. It even occurred when entering reviews and profile bio info. Am I the only one to have noticed this for years? I am certain it has come up in discussion previously.
Back to Top
NotAProghead View Drop Down
Special Collaborator
Special Collaborator
Avatar
Errors & Omissions Team

Joined: October 22 2005
Location: Russia
Status: Offline
Points: 7852
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote NotAProghead Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 10 2023 at 10:47
^ I believe the problem discussed in this thread is new.
The rest ("a simple apostrophe results in a string of garbage characters. It even occurred when entering reviews and profile bio info") is old and familiar.
Who are you and who am I to say we know the reason why... (D. Gilmour)
Back to Top
NotAProghead View Drop Down
Special Collaborator
Special Collaborator
Avatar
Errors & Omissions Team

Joined: October 22 2005
Location: Russia
Status: Offline
Points: 7852
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote NotAProghead Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 10 2023 at 11:04
It seems I found out how to live with this problem:
- keep the text with correct characters somewhere (in notepad or smth alike);
- edit the page from Admin panel or from the album page - special characters turn to abracadabra;
- edit the page from Admin panel or from the album page once again, using the saved correct text - special characters look OK.

In other words, we have to edit pages with special characters twice. No matter how we edit the album - from Admin panel or from the album page. Exclamation
Who are you and who am I to say we know the reason why... (D. Gilmour)
Back to Top
Tapfret View Drop Down
Special Collaborator
Special Collaborator
Avatar
Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin

Joined: August 12 2007
Location: Bryant, Wa
Status: Offline
Points: 8581
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Tapfret Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 10 2023 at 17:48
^like I said, these is the exact same problem and exact remedy I have been experiencing/doing for years. Character's are being replaced with code text on the first save. A second save of the pasted correct text does not results in the correct text.
Back to Top
projeKct View Drop Down
Special Collaborator
Special Collaborator
Avatar
Errors & Omissions Team

Joined: November 03 2013
Location: Canada
Status: Offline
Points: 2909
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote projeKct Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 10 2023 at 19:20
^ I guess you're right, Ian.

But this new bug is not about adding new albums to the database. It's about editing existing albums within the admin panel. I've been doing that since 2020, and the bug appeared in 2023 only.

Before the bug, the admin panel was a safe place to edit albums. Now it's more complicated and unstable. We have discovered workarounds, but it's much less user-friendly. Mainly for me, as I update hundreds of pages each month.

Anyway, my new tools (scripts) are stronger than anytime before, so I can bypass all those bugs and correct all glitches along the way... Wink
Back to Top
Tapfret View Drop Down
Special Collaborator
Special Collaborator
Avatar
Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin

Joined: August 12 2007
Location: Bryant, Wa
Status: Offline
Points: 8581
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Tapfret Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 11 2023 at 02:50
^I see. It's similar behavior, but now subsequent edits are effected, not just initial entry.
Back to Top
MikeEnRegalia View Drop Down
Special Collaborator
Special Collaborator
Avatar
Honorary Collaborator

Joined: April 22 2005
Location: Sweden
Status: Offline
Points: 21179
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote MikeEnRegalia Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June 11 2023 at 04:27
Looks like something M@x should fix - probably at some point something was upgraded (maybe the database server), and as a result the character encoding changed from UTF-8 to ISO.
Back to Top
siLLy puPPy View Drop Down
Special Collaborator
Special Collaborator
Avatar
PSIKE, JRF/Canterbury, P Metal, Eclectic

Joined: October 05 2013
Location: SFcaUsA
Status: Offline
Points: 15243
Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote siLLy puPPy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 11 2023 at 21:05
I just noticed that all special characters now show up as gobbledygook

IS it just me?

https://rateyourmusic.com/~siLLy_puPPy
Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply Page  12>

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down



This page was generated in 0.250 seconds.
Donate monthly and keep PA fast-loading and ad-free forever.