Fixed issue where active users list in event chat did not update in
real-time when new users joined. Users had to refresh the page to see
newly joined participants.
Root Cause:
- getAllDisplayUsers() used checkedInUsers (loaded once from API) as
base list, with activeUsers (Socket.IO real-time) only for isOnline flag
- When new user joined chat, they appeared in activeUsers but not in
checkedInUsers, so they were not displayed
Solution:
- Rewrote getAllDisplayUsers() to prioritize activeUsers (real-time data)
- Merges activeUsers (online) with checkedInUsers (offline checked-in users)
- Uses Socket.IO data as source of truth for online users
- Enriches with database data when available (firstName, lastName, etc)
- Sorts online users first, offline second
Changes:
- EventChatPage.jsx: Rewrote getAllDisplayUsers() to merge activeUsers
with checkedInUsers, prioritizing real-time Socket.IO data
- useEventChat.js: Added debug logging for active_users events
- socket/index.js: Added debug logging for active_users emissions
Testing:
- User A in chat sees User B appear immediately when B joins
- No page refresh required
- Online/offline status updates in real-time
Implemented display of country flags and competitor numbers in event chat messages:
- Country flags displayed as emoji (🇸🇪, 🇵🇱, etc.) with proper emoji font support
- Competitor numbers shown in #123 format next to usernames
- Normalized data architecture with user and participant caches on frontend
- User data (username, avatar, country) and participant data (competitorNumber) cached separately
- Messages store only core data (id, content, userId, createdAt)
- Prevents data inconsistency when users update profile information
- Fixed duplicate message keys React warning with deduplication logic
- Backend sends nested user/participant objects for cache population
- Auto-updates across all messages when user changes avatar or country
Backend changes:
- Socket.IO event_message and message_history include nested user/participant data
- API /events/:slug/messages endpoint restructured with same nested format
- Batch lookup of competitor numbers for efficiency
Frontend changes:
- useEventChat hook maintains userCache and participantCache
- ChatMessage component accepts separate user/participant props
- ChatMessageList performs cache lookups during render
- Emoji font family support for cross-platform flag rendering
Separate concerns - move Socket.IO and form logic from components to reusable hooks
New Hooks:
- useForm: Generic form state management with handleChange/handleSubmit/reset
- useEventChat: Extract Socket.IO logic from EventChatPage (156 lines)
* Manages messages, active users, connection state
* Handles send message, load older messages with scroll preservation
* Real-time updates via Socket.IO event listeners
- useMatchChat: Extract Socket.IO logic from MatchChatPage (115 lines)
* Manages 1:1 chat messages and connection
* Loads message history from API
* Real-time message sync via Socket.IO
Pages Refactored:
- EventChatPage: 661 → 564 lines (-97 lines, -15%)
- MatchChatPage: 517 → 446 lines (-71 lines, -14%)
Benefits:
- Cleaner component code - UI separated from business logic
- Reusable hooks can be used in other components
- Easier to test - hooks can be unit tested independently
- Better code organization - single responsibility principle
- 168 lines eliminated from pages, moved to 271 lines of reusable hooks
Phase 2 Total: -168 lines
Grand Total (Phase 1+2): -389 lines (-12%)
