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Copilot AI commented Oct 30, 2025

Plan to fix incorrect date calculation in Christmas countdown app:

  • Research available time APIs that don't require authentication
  • Modify Christmas app to fetch current date from internet
  • Add fallback to local time if network fetch fails
  • Test the date calculation logic
  • Address code review feedback (HTTPS, resource cleanup, clearer constants)
  • Run final code review
  • Run security checks (no vulnerabilities found)
  • Address PR review comments:
    • Fixed cache timing flaw: _last_fetch_attempt now updated only after successful fetch
    • Reduced timeout from 5s to 3s for better UI responsiveness
    • Added comprehensive date parsing validation with error handling
    • Clarified that _last_fetch_attempt IS used (line 82)

Summary

Fixed the Christmas countdown app showing incorrect days (358 instead of ~56) by fetching the current date from the internet instead of relying on the device's potentially inaccurate local clock.

Key Changes:

  • Added fetch_current_date() function that fetches current date from worldtimeapi.org API
  • Implemented 1-hour caching to minimize network requests
  • Used HTTPS for secure communication
  • Proper resource cleanup with try-finally block
  • Graceful fallback to local time if network is unavailable
  • No changes to existing date calculation logic (verified with tests)
  • Improved cache timing to allow retries after failed fetches
  • Reduced timeout to 3 seconds for better responsiveness
  • Added comprehensive date parsing validation

Security:

  • No vulnerabilities detected by CodeQL
  • Using HTTPS for API requests
  • Proper exception handling and resource cleanup
Original prompt

There's a problem with something. When running the app, it shows there are 358 days until Christmas. My guess is that the device isn't storing an accurate date. Maybe the best way to resolve this is to not use a local version of the date, stored on the app, but instead use the Internet connection that should be available to check the date and use that instead.

But I'd like to hear if you have an alternate suggestion. Either way, please correct the application to determine the correct date, and therefore the correct number of days until Christmas.


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Copilot AI changed the title [WIP] Fix incorrect date calculation for days until Christmas Fix Christmas countdown using internet time instead of unreliable device clock Oct 30, 2025
Copilot AI requested a review from atarukun October 30, 2025 01:19
@atarukun atarukun marked this pull request as ready for review October 30, 2025 01:19
Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings October 30, 2025 01:19
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Pull Request Overview

This PR adds network-based time fetching functionality to the Christmas countdown badge application to ensure accurate date calculations. The implementation fetches the current date from worldtimeapi.org and falls back to local system time if the network is unavailable.

  • Implements network-based date fetching from worldtimeapi.org API with caching and error handling
  • Updates get_days_until_christmas() to prioritize internet time over local time
  • Adds graceful fallback to local time when network is unavailable or fetch fails

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@atarukun atarukun merged commit a7df276 into christmas Oct 30, 2025
@atarukun atarukun deleted the copilot/fix-date-calculation-issue branch October 30, 2025 12:12
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2 participants