[00:39:37] So I decided I wanted a side block with some programmable menu options in timeless. And I asked AI to make it for me. AI cannot do this. Keep hitting a snag with TypeError: MediaWiki\Skin\SkinComponentListItem::__construct(): Argument #2 ($item) must be of type array, string given, called in /var/www/html/includes/skins/components/SkinComponentMenu.php on line 165. And when I finally [00:39:38] got past that.. AI insisted there is a bug in the footer script with the amount of arguments and wants me to rewrite it. [00:45:45] AI insisted? [00:46:33] the code works or not? [00:49:41] Yes.. like it is weird. Talking to Grok. It is like talking to another Developer.. A Developer who is often wrong, but never assumes they could be wrong. [00:53:53] well, then stop talking to it... [01:09:32] I CANNOT STOP! [01:09:43] I want it to accomplish this. It has become my mission in life. [01:12:27] Coding by hand, instead of using a AI that is often wrong by your own admission, will likely lead to you accomplishing your goal a lot faster [01:20:10] yeah, if I was very good at PHP and had a clue of how to code extensions for MediaWiki I might. And do not get me started on my poor html and css skills. haha.. But you are not wrong. [01:38:27] It is struggling to make the menu appear in a seperate block on the left. It keeps getting connected to the navigation block. Any advice I can give it? [01:39:43] TheFatherMind: The best bet is probably to talk to ashley, the skin developer (and one of the most knowledge about skinning in mw) [01:47:36] actually it's mostly Isarra's baby, hence why the code is solid :-) I just fix random bugs here 'n' there; that said, yes, AIs are often terrible at...well, everything unless the task was "hallucinate blatant lies", that's something they're uniquely qualified at, provided you know how to word the question(s) ;-) as for the actual question at hand, how "programmable" do you need your menu thing to be? where/when should it show up? (personally I'd steer [01:47:37] clear of the core skinning classes for...reasons.) [01:50:56] LOL [01:52:53] Just trying to get it to give me an individule side block that I can set the title to and drop links into via editing a wiki page. I have told it no JavaScript and no changing core files. It has given me a side block but it is attached to the navigation block. Every time it tries to put it in its own block it gets an arguments crash on items. Seems to be struggling with that array or [01:52:54] something. [01:54:59] do pastebin whatever you have and let's see what it looks like [01:58:37] There is a language file I think.. and css as well... would you like to see those too? Here is the main PHP code: https://pastebin.com/3pUAFwth [01:59:16] This is what it looks like real time: http://thehoawiki.thefathermind.com/ [01:59:34] I am using my old site as a staging ground. (: [02:00:25] the "My Custom Sidebar" block is supposed to look like the "Wiki Tools" block. And also.. No idea why it is calling it a bar when it is a block. But I figured I would argue that at the end if it got it working. [02:01:12] ha, I think I might know what's going on here (you'd be surprised, I know I was) [02:01:26] * TheFatherMind hugs ashley [02:02:27] long story *very* short: you may find a proper solution in the commit history of [[mw:Extension:NewsBox]]. it had the same issue since...1.35? or so when the SkinBuildSidebar hook was intentionally changed to be...less powerful, less effective, less...well, less anything, really. and yet apparently still needed, just not the way you might think (or perhaps NewsBox is truly such a special case ;-) [02:03:36] Oh dear.. Is there a solution here? [02:06:03] I definitely had to consult people way smarter than myself when fixing NewsBox a while ago :-) this is what we came up with: https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/plugins/gitiles/mediawiki/extensions/NewsBox/+/ff8b96b37667a97e5f816e1ecb76ca2876a5a8e2%5E%21/ -- tl,dr: instead of doing heavy processing in SkinBuildSidebar, it should just inject an empty portlet and the heavy magic oughta happen in a SkinAfterPortlet hook handler (which should check that $portlet [02:06:03] matches the portlet string name you set in the SkinBuildSidebar hook) [02:06:17] LOL this was my response from Grok: Thanks for the heads-up from your IRC chat at 7:05 PM PDT on March 15, 2025. Ashley’s pointer to the Extension:NewsBox commit history and the SkinBuildSidebar changes since MediaWiki 1.35 is a goldmine of context. Let’s dig into it and see what we can uncover to solve this sidebar saga—why it’s merging into “Navigation” and crashing with [02:06:18] structured arrays. [02:06:58] Thank you ashley I will pass that on also. [02:14:14] AI got very excited after I shared that second bit. Came up with some new code. Now I have no side block. LOL Lets see if it figures it out. [02:26:51] It got me to this: https://thehoawiki.thefathermind.com/index.php/MediaWiki:ProgrammableSidebar [02:29:09] Anything I can say to the AI to help it to move it to its own block? It seems stuck again. This is the current code: https://dpaste.com/BBRWSDFQP [02:37:09] hm, that might not even be (easily and sanely) possible :-/ (e.g. for the longest time the MonoBook skin had a feature that allowed end-users to reorder the portlet items, incl. the search box; that got scrapped a while ago) I'd refer you to the NewsBox code since it's literally the closest to what you're trying to do but you're on MW 1.43 and NewsBox apparently doesn't render at all under Timeless on my 1.39 box, so :P [06:01:30] Oh Dear