Forem: Michal Moczulski

Github Action - handling input default value

Michal Moczulski — Thu, 06 Jan 2022 20:45:14 +0000

Today I want to share a recently learned technique for handling input default value for automatically triggered actions.

`workflow_dispatch` trigger

Github Action offers the way to parametrize your action when you're using workflow_dispatch to manually trigger the action.

Let's say we have simple greeting action



name: Greeting Action
on:
  workflow_dispatch:
    inputs:
      name:
        default: "Octocat"
        description: "Name to greet"
jobs:
  say-hello:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - run: echo "Hello ${{ github.event.inputs.name }}"

It allows you to run action with a custom name parameter. From the Github UI perspective, it looks like this

It works in a very simple way. Passed name or default value can be accessed with ${{ github.event.inputs.name }}. But the problem is that this input will be only available for jobs triggered with workflow_dispatch event.

Different types of triggers

As you probably know, a single action can have more triggers than just workflow_dispatch. For example, your action can be triggered with push event or scheduled with cron.

Initially, I thought that the default value of the input parameter will be used but this is not true. The action triggered with non workflow_dispatch event doesn't have access to inputs. This may produce subtle bugs when your action calls ${{ github.event.inputs.<key> }}. Watch out for this.

Shell Parameter Expansion to the rescue

I found parameter expansion technique particularly useful in solving this problem.

Without going much into details, you can think of parameter expansion as a way to provide a default value when a parameter is unset or null (but it's more than that - more details).

A Simple Bash example



# let's define empty VAL parameter
~$ VAL=
~$ echo ${VAL:-"default"} # we use parameter expansion here
default # since VAL is empty "default" is printed

Solution

Knowing how parameter expansion works, let's see how to use it to solve the problem.



steps:
   - run: |
     USER_INPUT=${{ github.event.inputs.name }}
     # Use user input or fall back to "Octocat"
     NAME=${USER_INPUT:-"Octocat"}
     # use $NAME in your action, value will be always provided

When your action is triggered with workflow_dispatch event NAME value will be equal to the value provided by the user. In other cases, it will fall back to "Octocat".

If I want to use input value across different steps I usually create separate step for exporting my input value.



steps:
      - name: Set name output
        id: name
        run: |
          USER_INPUT=${{ github.event.inputs.name }}
          echo "::set-output name=value::${USER_INPUT:-"Octocat"}"

      - name: Use output
        # Now I can access my parameter in a similar fashion to github.events.inputs.name
        run: echo "Hello ${{ steps.name.outputs.value}}"

This strategy allows me to create and maintain a single action with different triggers.

How I use Android Studio - my tips and tricks

Michal Moczulski — Tue, 21 Dec 2021 16:48:11 +0000

I like to read posts and articles about tricks for Android Studio cause you can learn so many new things. For me, it's fascinating to see how people can optimize working with Android Studio in so many different ways.

Today I want to share 5 tricks I use every day working with Android Studio.

Tip #1 - I don't use tabs

Without using tabs in Android Studio I feel like I can focus more easily cause I work on one file at a time. When I need to work with two or more files at the same time (e.g. implementation and test files) I simply split the screen.

To disable tabs simply go to Preferences > Editor > General > Editor Tabs and

set Tab placement to None
set Tab limit to 1

How I navigate code without tabs?

cmd/ctrl + e - to look for recently opened file
cmd/ctrl + o - open class
cmd/ctrl + f - open file
cmd/ctrl + shift + a -> split right - to split screen when I need to work with two or more files
option/alt + tab - to switch between splitted windows

Tip #2 - disable design windows

This tip is related to design windows whenever you work with XML or Compose layouts. When you open XML/Compose file Android Studio loads the design window along with the code. It can cause small lag which is annoying especially when you want to quickly skim the code.

But the good thing is that you can easily disable it. Just go to Preferences > Editor > Design Tools and set Code as default editor mode.

Now opening XML/Compose file should be faster.

Tip #3 - studio command

Android Studio allows an easy way to create studio command. Simply go to Tools > Create studio launcher command. The command allows you to open the specific project directly within Android Studio. It's especially useful when you use the terminal a lot.

Usage example:

~$ git clone git@github.com:mrmike/Ok2Curl.git
~$ studio Ok2Curl # opens Ok2Curl with Android Studio

or if you are already in the project directory simply call

~$ studio .

Tip #4 - find the file in the project structure

I usually work with complex projects with many modules and thousands of files. Often I need to quickly localize the file in the project structure. To do that, I use option/alt + F1, and then press 1 for selecting this file in the project structure.

After that your file will be selected in the project window. Additionally you can open file in the finder.

option/alt + F1 and then 1 to select file in project view
option/alt + F1 and then 8 to select file in the finder
cmd/ctrl + - to collapse everything in the project view

Tip #5 - everything is searchable

In Android Studio (and basically in any JetBrains editor), almost every window is searchable. What does it mean? If you are in the active window you can simply start typing to find the best matching result. Let's look at the example.

Imagine I've just opened recent file window (cmd/ctrl + e) and I want to open README.md

I can simply start typing re to select file and click enter to open it.

It's a really simple trick but can save you many mouse clicks and the best part is it works almost everywhere :)

Summary

I hope you'll find tricks useful and maybe you can incorporate some of them into your daily workflow. I'd love to hear from you what're your best tricks in Android Studio. You can leave a comment or ping me on Twitter at @moczul.

🔊 Say Github - monitoring Github Workflow

Michal Moczulski — Sun, 12 Dec 2021 18:17:36 +0000

Introduction

Disclaimer: Presented solution applies to OS X but the general idea can be easily adjusted to other systems.

Recently I have found a great tool called saydle. It's a simple Gradle wrapper that notifies you using say command when your build is completed.

I think it's a great example of improving everyday workflow with simple system command. I run many Android builds on daily basis using Github CI, so I've started thinking about similar solution for notifying me when my Github Workflow is completed.

Solution - 1st approach

After doing quick research, it turned out that I've already had all the necessary components to monitor Github Workflow.

I used Github command line tool to be notified when a workflow is completed.

gh run watch <run-id> && say "Workflow completed"

Run id can be obtained directly from the workflow URL or the workflow list command

gh run list

System notification - 2nd approach

Going a step further I've thought that relying on sound maybe it's not the best option. I've decided to display system notification instead of using say command. For displaying notification I used terminal-notifier tool which is pretty straightforward to use.

gh run watch <run-id> && terminal-notifier -message 'Workflow completed'

Clickable notification - my final approach

At this moment I was pretty happy with my current solution but then I thought that clickable notification taking me directly to the Github Workflow result page would be even cooler.

After checking that terminal-notifier supports URL parameter I created a simple script.

#!/usr/bin/env bash

WORKFLOW_ID=$1
URL=https://github.com/<USERNAME>/<PROJECT>/actions/runs/$WORKFLOW_ID
gh run watch $WORKFLOW_ID && terminal-notifier -message 'Workflow completed' -open $URL

Usage is simple:

./monitor-workflow <run-id>

After my workflow was completed I've got the notification:

And as expected, clicking it took me to the result page.

Summary

It took me around 20 minutes to build the final version. It helps me save time every day while I'm waiting for my Android builds.

Maybe this solution won't fit your needs, but I want to encourage you to create tools that work for you. Creating custom solutions with all the great tools out there is now simpler than ever before.

Happy hacking :)

Forem: Michal Moczulski

Github Action - handling input default value

workflow_dispatch trigger

Different types of triggers

Shell Parameter Expansion to the rescue

Solution

How I use Android Studio - my tips and tricks

Tip #1 - I don't use tabs

Tip #2 - disable design windows

Tip #3 - studio command

Tip #4 - find the file in the project structure

Tip #5 - everything is searchable

Summary

🔊 Say Github - monitoring Github Workflow

Introduction

Solution - 1st approach

System notification - 2nd approach

Clickable notification - my final approach

Summary

`workflow_dispatch` trigger